CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians fired manager Eric Wedge in the final days of a terrible season.
Wedge guided the Indians to one playoff appearance in seven seasons, and this year the club fell out of contention early and is currently one game out of last place in the AL Central.
The Indians, who are 64-92, have scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference at Progressive Field to announce Wedge's dismissal.
Cleveland recently lost 11 straight games and have dropped 20 of its last 25 games.
Wedge will finish out the season as manager, including Wednesday's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox. Cleveland's coaching staff has also been informed it will not be retained, but some of the staff could be rehired by the Indians' next manager.
The Indians are expected to begin interviews for a new manager in the weeks ahead.
Two years ago, Cleveland was one win away from a World Series trip. The Indians fell to 81-81 in 2008, but were expected to bounce back and contend this season. However, a slow start snowballed and by midseason the club traded defending Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and All-Star catcher Victor Martinez to begin rebuilding again.
Owners Larry and Paul Dolan and general manager Mark Shapiro have spent the past several weeks reviewing Cleveland's organization, including the manager and initially said they would wait until after the season before making a decision on Wedge. However, they decided not to delay what many Indians players felt was inevitable.
"When you lose changes are made," catcher Kelly Shoppach. "Nobody is happy when you lose."
