Garko earns spot on Tribe's opening-day roster

Infielder Mike Rouse and reliever Tom Mastny also made the team.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- Ryan Garko earned a spot on the Cleveland Indians' opening-day roster and will platoon with Victor Martinez at first base.
Utility infielder Mike Rouse and reliever Tom Mastny also made the team, which announced its roster Wednesday when it optioned outfielders Shin-Soo Choo and Ben Francisco and left-hander Juan Lara to Triple-A Buffalo. Infielder Luis Rivas was reassigned to minor-league camp.
Garko, who drove in 45 runs in 50 games last season, landed the most-contested spot on the roster by batting .279 with 10 RBIs so far in spring training.
"It's exciting," Garko said. "On opening day, I'm sure it'll hit me. Everybody kept telling me, 'Just get ready to play,' but that's hard to do when you're trying to make a ballclub. A lot of eyes are on you. But if you can't handle that during the spring, it'll get a lot worse during the year."
Shapiro praises Garko
General manager Mark Shapiro praised Garko, a right-handed hitter, who will give manager Eric Wedge more options.
"The effort and the quality of his work have been consistent," Shapiro said. "This decision wasn't based on just spring training. Part of the equation was last year."
Francisco hit .293 in spring training and played solid defense at all three outfield positions, but the Indians already have plenty of outfielders: David Dellucci, Jason Michaels, Grady Sizemore, Trot Nixon and Casey Blake. Another outfielder, Franklin Gutierrez, will begin the season on the disabled list with a pulled hamstring.
Rouse beat out Rivas for the utility infield spot by batting .366 and showing himself to be a capable shortstop. Rivas, Minnesota's opening day second baseman for five years, hit .200 this spring and has only eight games of big-league experience at shortstop.
Mastny will replace the injured Matt Miller in the bullpen. The right-hander was 5-of-7 in save situations during a brief audition as Cleveland's closer last fall.
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