Cleveland Guardians Announce New Roster Move For ALDS

The Cleveland Guardians have made a roster move ahead of Game 2 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers.

Oct 15, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A Cleveland Guardians helmet and glove before game three of the NLDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have replaced injured outfielder Tyler Freeman with Angel Martinez on the ALDS roster, the team announced.

Freeman is dealing with a strained left oblique. He has not played since Sept. 13 as a result of being optioned amid significant struggles.

The 25-year-old slashed a meager .209/.305/.321 with seven home runs and 32 RBI over 383 plate appearances during the regular season. He hit just .057 in August.

Martinez made his major-league debut in June. He remained on the Guardians' roster through early August before being sent back down. However, he was recalled in September.

On the 2024 MLB campaign, Martinez slashed .232/.298/.338 with three homers and 11 RBI across 169 trips to the dish. He was a bit more productive on the minor-league level, slashing .266/.352/.441 with seven long balls and 27 RBI through 258 plate appearances.

Martinez signed with Cleveland as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in July 2018.

Since breaking into the Guardians' farm system in 2019, the 22-year-old has registered a minor-league slash line of .264/.348/.418.

Cleveland is facing the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. It defeated the Tigers by a score of 7-0 in Game 1 to take the early lead in the series.

The Guardians won 92 games and captured the AL Central division title this year. The Tigers snared a Wild Card berth and toppled the Houston Astros on the Wild Card series. Meanwhile, Cleveland was able to secure a first-round bye.

We'll see if Martinez can help the Guardians on their playoff journey.