When the Indians needed to recall Jeanmar Gomez from Columbus to make a start last night, somebody had to go down, and it was a surprise when that “somebody” was Matt LaPorta, seeing as how the Tribe has a dearth of right-handed bats.
↵But LaPorta’s struggles this year obviously made the brain-trust for the Tribe consider demoting him to be the lesser of all evils.
↵First base is one area where the Indians can say that they have depth, with Carlos Santana, Shelley Duncan and even Jack Hannahan capable of playing there, which left LaPorta expendable.
↵Manny Acta pointed out LaPorta’s inconsistency as a main reason for his demotion, and said that LaPorta needs to work on his plate discipline.
↵LaPorta cannot return within 10 days unless it is because of someone else being DL’d, which is possible for Shin-Soo Choo. But for now, Cleveland is down a righty bat, which says a lot about LaPorta’s season, when righty bats are needed so badly.