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| The Indians will call up reliever Jensen Lewis on Saturday, Anthony Castrovince twitters. |
Our View: Lewis opened the season as the Tribe's top setup man, but he posted a 5.03 ERA over 28 appearances. He has been dominant over the past month at Triple-A, and he may be worth a look in AL-only leagues if you need a decent middle reliever.
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| The Indians sent Jensen Lewis down to Triple-A Columbus on Saturday, according to their official site. |
Our View: Lewis gained relevance last season after assuming the closing role in Cleveland the final two months of the year and picking up 13 saves, though the team's signing of Kerry Wood during the offseason wiped away any possible value for Lewis in 2009. He's been ineffective this season with a 5.03 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 28 appearances spanning 39.1 innings and will get a chance in the minors to prove he deserves to get called back up. Reliever Jose Veras was promoted to fill his roster spot.
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| Jensen Lewis was a perfect 13-for-13 on save opportunities last season, but is not disappointed that the Indians reeled in Kerry Wood to serve as their closer for 2009, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Lewis said, "You look at a guy like Mariano Rivera and K-Rod and all the other established closers. They had to take that full year of being in the set-up role and prove they could do it for the long haul. I look at it like now we have two closers. If something happens to Kerry, I'd be happy to step in and make sure there's no downfall. Right now he's our guy and we're going to get the ball as many times as we can."
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Our View: Lewis is expected to compete with Joe Smith, Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt and Masa Kobayashi for the primary setup role. Lewis would be worth targeting in deeper leagues if he earns the job in spring training, especially when you consider Kerry Wood's poor track record with durability.
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| Manager Eric Wedge intends to employ several relievers in the setup role, including Jensen Lewis, Joe Smith, Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt and Masa Kobayashi, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. |
Our View: This will prevent any of the mentioned hurlers from holding favorable fantasy value in leagues that feature setup men, namely early in the season.
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| Manager Eric Wedge remarked that Jensen Lewis is not likely to be the Indians' closer in 2009, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Wedge said, "We want to go out and get a closer so we have two options at that spot. Jensen Lewis did a good job for us on a short-term basis."
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Our View: He nailed down 13 saves this season, but held a 3.82 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. The team is not ready to trust him as their full-time closer.
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| One of the Indians top goals heading into the off-season will be to find a viable closer, according to the Indians Official Website. |
Our View: Jensen Lewis posted 13 saves this season but the team isn't overly comfortable naming the 24 year old as their closer heading into next season. With the failures of Rafael Betancourt, the fact that Rafael Perez is left-handed and that Masa Kobayashi was merely a solid arm in the pen this past season, it would appear likely that the team will bring in someone this off-season.
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| Jensen Lewis nailed down his third save on Sunday, and could be the Indians' closer for the future, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. In his past eight appearances, Lewis has given up no runs in 9.2 innings and has earned all three of his saves. By default, manager Eric Wedge handed Lewis the ball recently to see whether he could close games. Wedge said, "He has definitely stepped up for us in his last four or five outings. I think he wants this; he has the personality. The question is whether he can handle it long term. But this is a great test for him. Even before we put him in the closer role, he was pitching effectively for us." When asked about the opportunity to close games, Lewis said, "This is awesome. When you're given the chance, you want to get the side out and shake everybody's hand. Then everybody goes home happy."
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Our View: Lewis is worth targeting in AL-only leagues right now if you need help.
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| Jensen Lewis has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to the big leagues, according to The Sports Network. He is taking over one of the roster spots vacated when Joe Borowski and Rick Bauer were designated for assignment. |
Our View: Lewis has been okay in Buffalo, but he does not retain any fantasy value.
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| Jensen Lewis, who was promoted to the 25-man roster on Tuesday, was optioned to Buffalo today to make room for reliever Rick Bauer, notes the Cleveland Plain Dealer. |
Our View: Jenson has no fantasy value in traditional formats, and neither does the recently promoted Bauer.
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| Jensen Lewis has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jake Westbrook has been placed on the 15-day DL due to right elbow soreness, and Lewis covers his spot on the roster. |
Our View: Tom Mastny is going to cover Westbrook's scheduled start in the rotation tonight against Texas, and the plan is to have him go as long as he can, then be relieved by Lewis and maybe Edward Mujica. If they can get through six innings, then Manager Eric Wedge can handle his bullpen like a normal game. Lewis holds little to no fantasy value, as he surrendered 11 runs on 29 hits over 27.2 innings in his previous stint with the Indians this season.
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| The Indians optioned Jensen Lewis to Triple-A Buffalo Saturday. Lewis posted a 3.58 ERA in 20 games. Edward Mujica replaced him on the roster. |
Our View: Lewis has struggled his last four times out, but it's a little surprising the Tribe didn't give him a longer leash after what he did for them last year.
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| As expected, Jensen Lewis has secured a roster spot with the Indians, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "It's pretty cool," said reliever Jensen Lewis. "I kind of feel like a veteran rookie in the sense that I hit the ground running last year. But to be a part of this club on Opening Day is definitely something to feel proud of." Lewis posted a 2.15 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP to go with 34 strikeouts in 29.1 IP last season. |
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| Indians manager Eric Wedge said early in spring training that Jensen Lewis had all but guaranteed himself a job based on last year's performance, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. However, he qualified that by saying that Lewis was basically a rookie, who couldn't afford to take a step backwards this spring -- Lewis agreed. "I told (GM Mark Shapiro) and Wedgie, 'Last year is last year,' " said Lewis. "There were some good things, but I'm coming in as a rookie, with that mind-set, and I just want to win a job. By the time it's all said and done, hopefully, I'm going back to Cleveland and the snow." So far, so good, as Lewis worked a scoreless inning in Thursday's exhibition game. Lewis posted a 2.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and struck out 34 batters in 29.1 IP last season. |
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| The Indians have purchased the contract of Jensen Lewis from Triple-A Buffalo. Lewis has been terrific out of the pen this year in the minors, holding a combined 1.73 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with a 61/17 K/BB rate over 52 innings at Double- and Triple-A. He will start in middle relief but could work his way into a setup role if he pitches well. |
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