The Guardians released right-hander Cody Bolton, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Cleveland had designated him for assignment a week ago when they needed a 40-man roster spot to activate David Fry from the injured list.
Bolton has spent the past month on the injured list with Triple-A Columbus. The Guardians could have taken him off the 40-man roster by placing him on the MLB 60-day IL, but that would have required paying him the prorated $760K minimum salary until he was healthy. They opted to designate him for assignment instead. Teams cannot place injured players on outright waivers, so the DFA made a release a formality.
The Guardians acquired Bolton from the Mariners in a cash trade in April. The 26-year-old made one appearance in a Cleveland uniform. He tossed two innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He’d otherwise been in Triple-A, where he threw four frames of two-run ball with five strikeouts. Bolton has also logged some MLB action with the Pirates and Mariners and carries a 5.79 ERA over 42 career innings.
There aren’t any specifics on Bolton’s injury. In situations like this, teams will often try to re-sign the released player to a minor league contract. That’d keep him in the organization without costing them a 40-man roster spot or an MLB salary. Cleveland could look to go that route with Bolton, but he’ll have the option to explore other opportunities if he’d like in free agency.
