Cloyd Claimed by Cleveland, Valdes by Houston

The Phillies announced today that right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Cloyd was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Indians and left-handed reliever Raul Valdes was claimed by the Houston Astros.

Across parts of two seasons, Cloyd posted a 5.98 ERA in 19 appearances, 17 starts for the Phillies. Cloyd struggled to replicate the success of his 2012 campaign with the IronPigs, where he posted a 2.35 ERA and went 12-1 en route to winning the Phillies’ Paul Owens Award. In 2013, a career-high 3.73 BB/9 IP contributed to Cloyd’s decline in performance, as well as a fairly unlucky .365 BABIP. Cloyd lost about a MPH on his fastball in MLB appearances as compared to 2012 and added a curveball according to FanGraphs. Cloyd is not eligible for postseason play with Cleveland.

Valdes, 35, is arbitration eligible for the first time in his career. Valdes was hit hard with the Phils in 2013, allowing 7 HR in just 35 IP. Valdes averaged over a strikeout per inning and was relied upon to pitch more than one inning twelve times.

Analysis: Letting these two pitchers get claimed affords the Phillies some much needed roster space. Back on September 5, I highlighted some of the decisions that would need to be made headed into 2014. In short, the roster will be a mess headed into 2014. Valdes was on my non-tender list while I had Cloyd on my projected 40-man roster.