The Cleveland Indians quietly made additions to their roster on Wednesday when the club signed three free agents to minor league contracts with non-roster invites to spring training in February.
Left-handed pitcher Jeff Beliveau, right-hander Leonel Campos, and third baseman Drew Maggi joined the Indians organization in the depth moves, giving the Tribe some new faces in Goodyear when players begin reporting in less than three months.
Beliveau elected free agency following the 2017 season, one that he split between Toronto’s parent club and its Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. The 30-year-old southpaw went 1-1 with a 7.47 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP in 19 appearances and 15 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays at the Major League level and worked in another 29 outings for the Bisons, going 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 50 1/3 innings.
The left-hander has been almost exclusively a reliever throughout his ten-year professional career. His playing days began in the Chicago Cubs organization, where he made 14 of his 15 pro starts before starting dedicated work from the bullpen. He reached the Majors in 2012, appearing in 22 games for the Cubs in relief. He was picked up by Texas on waivers in the offseason, but after appearing in just one game for the Rangers’ Triple-A Round Rock affiliate at the beginning of the 2013 season, he was purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays.
He had his longest stretch of play at the big league level with the Rays. He appeared in just two-thirds of an inning for the team in 2013, working primarily at the Triple-A level. He split time evenly in 2014 between Tampa and Triple-A Durham, earning a 2.63 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in 30 games for the Rays. He lost nearly all of his 2015 season to a shoulder injury (appearing in just five games with Tampa) and spent 2016 in the minors with the Baltimore Orioles organization.
The right-handed Campos, also 30, hails from Venezuela. His career trajectory took him north of the border like Beliveau to the Toronto Blue Jays organization last season. He worked in 13 games for the Blue Jays, not factoring in a decision while posting a 2.63 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 13 2/3 innings while striking out a quarter of the batters that he faced. He also made one start at High-A Dunedin and worked in 26 games in relief with Buffalo, posting a 3-0 record with nine saves, a 1.65 ERA, and a 1.04 WHIP.
Previously, Campos had worked with the San Diego Padres organization. He signed with the club as an amateur free agent at the end of 2010 and worked his way through the minors before debuting at the big league level in six games in 2014. He made just one appearance in 2015 for the Padres, but saw a bit more work two seasons ago, when he went 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 18 games for the NL West club. The Blue Jays selected him off of waivers last November.
Campos just began offseason play in the Venezuelan Winter League this week for Aguilas de Zulia. He is 0-1 in two games with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP.
Maggi, 28, began his 2017 season playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic before rejoining his teammates in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He spent the entire year with their Triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate, hitting .271 in 84 games. He landed on the 7-day disabled list twice over the course of the season, missing a month with his first stint.
Maggi began his pro career when he was drafted for the second time, signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010. After five seasons in the minors, he was released in March of 2015 and signed with the Los Angeles Angels, spending the season at Double-A. Following the campaign, he joined the Dodgers organization, where he has spent the last two seasons.
A utility man by trade, Maggi has appeared at every position on the field except catcher and center field during his eight years of pro ball. In recent years, his time in the outfield has decreased substantially, with him seeing the bulk of his time around the infield at second base, third base, and shortstop.
Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
