Indians Activate Pitcher Ryan Merritt From the DL; Designate Him for Assignment

CLEVELAND - The Indians today made a tough decision with one of their feel good stories from their magical postseason run of 2016, as they activated pitcher Ryan Merritt From the disabled list, and designated him for assignment.

Roster move:

- LHP Ryan Merritt activated from DL and designated for assignment.

Ryan played a key role in our 2016 postseason run, pitching a scoreless ALCS Game 5, sending us to the World Series. We thank Ryan and hope this isn't the end of his tenure with us. pic.twitter.com/R3TwlUWHH0
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 13, 2018

Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweeted out that part of the issue is that Merritt's velocity dropped during his rehab stint at AAA Columbus, and the team only had one of two choices, add him to the roster, or DFA him.

If Merritt can make it through waivers, the team may look to bring him back, hoping to be able to work with him to be able to help his velocity.

Merritt was famous for pitching the fifth and deciding game of the ALCS back in 2016 against the Blue Jays on the road, and in that game threw 4.1 innings, not allowing a run with two hits and three K's as the Indians cliched the AL Crown with a 3-0 win.