Vinny Rottino Claimed Off Waivers by Cleveland

Folks, remember what I said yesterday about IF-OF-C Vinny Rottino?  And, for that matter, everything I’ve said about him — his drive, his persistence, and his love for baseball?  And how frustrating it was to see that he’d been placed on waivers?

Well, after the New York Mets designated Rottino for assignment (the so-called “nice” name for being put on waivers), the Cleveland Indians picked Rottino up by claiming Rottino off waivers.  Rottino’s been added to their 40-man roster, but will most likely be sent to AAA ball rather than join the Indians.

Here’s a link to Rottino’s page at Yahoo Sports (the “news and notes” section):

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7852/news;_ylt=Akf2muXHFae0WkWddPyam5.FCLcF

And here’s an article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2012/06/cleveland_indians_claim_vinnie.html

Note that the comments section is particularly brutal with regards to the Rottino claim; the Indians fans are upset because year after year, their team doesn’t seem to do much of anything.  Rottino’s only hitting .182 in the big leagues (though he was hitting .307 at AAA Buffalo, when he was able to play more often), which obviously doesn’t look too impressive to those Indians’ fans.  But they don’t realize that Rottino’s main ability is that he plays many positions well and can reliably hit lefthanders (despite being a righthanded hitter).  Plus, he hustles, doesn’t make mistakes on the base paths, is a smart player . . . really, if these Indians fans just give Rottino a chance (providing the Indians bring him up to the big league club at some point), they might well learn to like him.

But is Rottino an answer to their immediate prayers?  No, he is not . . . which I suppose is why those commentators are being so vicious.  (That does not excuse them, but it does perhaps explain them.)

That being said, it’s very, very good that the Indians see Rottino’s potential (or at least see a need for him) and have claimed him off waivers.  That gives me hope — and it should give Rottino hope, too.

Good luck, Vinny, with the Indians organization.