Clippers in playoff hunt, but roster is shifting

IL UPDATE

Clippers second baseman Drew Maggi tags out Pablo Reyes of Indianapolis between second and third base as he tries to advance on a run-scoring single by Kevin Newman in the second inning.

Shawn Morimando. That was not a problem with the team being eight games out of first place and out of the IL playoffs.

This season, Columbus could lose catcher Eric Haase, shortstop Yu Chang, first baseman/third baseman Yandy Diaz and, if he’s on the roster at the time, outfielder Greg Allen.

Diaz impressed Cleveland by going 7 for 14 in his last big league stint. Allen has been riding the shuttle from Columbus up I-71 since early May when Bradley Zimmer was injured for the first time.

When Columbus was an affiliate of the Yankees in the mid- to late

1980s and early ’90s, owner George Steinbrenner’s philosophy was to keep his team’s hands off the Clippers on Sept. 1 so they could have a chance to win championships. At that time, New York used Columbus primarily as a stockpile for trades.

That changed when Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada were farmhands.

This has been a crazy season with regard to roster moves for the Clippers.

There was more change when Cleveland traded for St. Louis minor league outfielder Oscar Mercado and assigned him to Columbus.

Right-handed pitcher

Kyle Dowdy also is likely to become a Clipper. He was pitching for Toledo when Detroit traded him to Cleveland with outfielder Leonys Martin before Tuesday’s deadline.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Mercado, outfielder Johnny Field was designated for assignment. What’s extraordinary about the move was that Field, 26, was claimed on waivers from Tampa Bay and sent to Columbus not even a week ago.

This doesn’t mean Field is out, but that Cleveland must trade him or put him through waivers in the next 10 days.

Cleveland has been desperately searching for answers to its depleted outfield for most of the season. Zimmer has been lost for the season after surgery for a torn labrum, Lonnie Chisenhall is on the 60-day disabled list with yet another calf injury and Tyler Naquin is getting a second opinion on a hip injury that could end his season.