Indians Sell Pitcher Mastny’s Contract to Japanese Team

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Tom Mastny is no longer a Cleveland Indian, but his new team isn’t even in America. The reliever’s contract was sold on Tuesday to the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League. Mastny burst onto the scene at the end of the regular season in 2006 when he was featured in 15 games after being called up. During this time, he was very promising had a few memorable outings.

In 2007 he played in 51 games with a record of 7-2 and helped the Indians make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. It was during this season that it seemed like Mastny could be a staple of the Tribe bullpen for some time to come. Control problems and injuries forced him to pitch just 14 games in 2008. Although he did earn one save during the end of the season, he finished with an ERA of 10.80.

Mastny was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays during the 11^th round of the 2003 draft and made around the league minimum during time with the Tribe. Indians’ general manager Mark Shapiro now has another hole to fill in bullpen that was rocky at best during the 2008 season.

Bill Jordan is a contributor to BaseballReflections.com and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].