CLEVELAND — The Indians added newly acquired reliever Chris Perez to the roster Monday. The right-hander left a first-place team in St. Louis to join a last-place club with one of the worst bullpens in the majors.
“I’m excited,” said Perez, who turns 24 on Wednesday. “It’s tough leaving a first-place team but I think it’s a great opportunity for my career. I’ll throw and help this team win and try to turn things around.
“I had the same situation last year in St. Louis. The bullpen had been really bad. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself. I just want to come in and do my thing and hopefully it will help them out and be a little more consistent than what’s been down there.”
What’s been down there for the Indians for the majority of the season has been shoddy relief work by nearly every pitcher the club has employed. With Perez in the fold along with another recently acquired reliever, Jose Veras, Cleveland manager Eric Wedge sees better days ahead for his bullpen.
“We’re working hard to get better down there and find some consistency so we can start defining some roles,” Wedge said. “I think we’ve got some options. We really need Rafael Perez to get going and all of those guys to keep moving in the right direction. Obviously, we feel like the Perez kid we just got has a bright future.”
Chris Perez (1-1, 4.18 ERA in 29 games) served as a setup man for most of the season in St. Louis before getting sporadic work as the Cards attempted to trade him. He will be a candidate along with Veras, Rafael Perez and Joe Smith to fill the same role in Cleveland.
“I’ve always been a short guy, one or two innings,” Chris Perez said. “That’s a role I like.”
Perez and Veras bring something to the table that few of their predecessors in the Cleveland bullpen possessed — a mid-90 mph fastball, similar to closer Kerry Wood.
“Obviously, with that, you have a little bit more room for error,” Wedge said. “I think it’s something we needed.”
To clear room on the roster for the new bullpen addition, the Indians optioned infielder Josh Barfield back to Triple-A Columbus.

Laffey attack

Aaron Laffey deemed himself ready to join the rotation after an inauspicious rehab start for Double-A Akron on Sunday. The Indians didn’t agree.
“We’re going to give him another start,” Wedge said of the left-hander, who allowed three runs on five hits and six walks in 31/3 innings of the Aeros’ 6-4 loss to Binghamton. “He felt good, but we need to see a little more than that.”
Laffey (right oblique strain) has made three rehab starts — two for Akron and one for Triple-A Columbus — and is expected to join the rotation soon, most likely replacing Tomo Ohka.

Limited involvement

Asdrubal Cabrera was out of the lineup a day after being activated from the disabled list, but is expected to play today as the Indians proceed cautiously with their shortstop, who spent nearly a month on the injured list with a left shoulder sprain.
The Indians are following a similar plan with Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner, who are also working their way back from injuries.

Raffy’s rehab

Reliever Rafael Betancourt (right groin strain) is close to beginning a rehab assignment, pitching a simulated game Monday at Progressive Field and scheduled to pitch another one Wednesday.
Betancourt has been on the disabled list since June 1 after posting a 1-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 25 appearances.

Minor details

Columbus’ Andy Marte was named International League Batter of the Week (June 22-28) after hitting .478 with eight RBIs in six games.
Marte entered Monday among the top 10 hitters in the IL at .307 with the team lead in homers (9) and RBIs (40).
♦ Double-A Akron’s Nick Weglarz was named Eastern League Batter of the Week over the same span, hitting .450 with four homers, 12 RBIs and six walks in six games.
It was the second time Weglarz (.261, 12 HR, 55 RBIs in 70 games) has won the award this season.

Pick-n-Pay

The Indians signed another draft pick, agreeing to terms with 26th-round selection Antwonie Hubbard, a right-hander out of the University of Oklahoma.
Cleveland has signed 24 of its 50 draft picks, including 20 of its top 26 selections.

Roundin’ third

Victor Martinez is in a rare slump, entering Monday hitless in his last seven at-bats and hitting just .111 (3-for-27) over his last eight games.
♦ Former Indian Jim Thome entered Monday needing one more walk to tie Hall of Famer Stan Musial for 12th on the all-time list with 1,599 free passes.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at (330) 329-7136
or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

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