Former Cleveland Indians Infielder Has Reportedly Died

Dave Rosello, the utility infielder who closed out his major league career with the Cleveland Indians, died Wednesday in Kissimmee, Florida. He was 76.

The Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, native joined Cleveland after the 1977 season in a trade that sent him from the Chicago Cubs for minor leaguers Norm Churchill and Bruce Compton. Neither player acquired in the deal ever appeared in a major league game.

Rosello spent the 1978 campaign in the Indians’ minor league system before returning to the big leagues the following year. Over three seasons from 1979 through 1981 he appeared in 173 games for Cleveland, primarily as a reserve at second base, shortstop and third base.

His most productive year in an Indians uniform came in 1979. Rosello hit three home runs and drove in 14 runs that season, both career highs, while batting .243 with a .328 on-base percentage in 59 games.

He followed that with 71 games in 1980, collecting two home runs and 12 RBIs while hitting .248. In the strike-shortened 1981 season he played 43 games, batting .238 with one home run and seven RBIs.

Across his Cleveland tenure Rosello posted a .244 batting average, six home runs and 33 RBIs. Those power and run-production totals accounted for more than half of his career home runs and nearly half of his career RBIs.

He finished his professional career in the United States with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in 1982. Rosello appeared in 111 games that year, spending most of his time at third base, before retiring from organized baseball.

Overall, Rosello played nine major league seasons between the Cubs and Indians. He batted .236 with 206 hits, 10 home runs and 76 RBIs in 422 games, posting a .318 on-base percentage and a .313 slugging percentage.

Defensively he was regarded as a steady glove man who could fill multiple infield spots. Cleveland used that versatility during a period when the club was cycling through middle-infield options.

Rosello made his major league debut with Chicago on Sept. 10, 1972, and played his final big-league game for the Indians on Oct. 5, 1981. His last plate appearance came against the Kansas City Royals.

Before reaching Cleveland he had spent six seasons with the Cubs, including a 1976 campaign in which he started on Opening Day at shortstop and appeared in a career-high 91 games. That year he hit .242 and drew 41 walks against 33 strikeouts.

In the minors he was a three-time American Association All-Star and, in 1972, led Double-A shortstops in assists and total chances. Those tools helped him stick in the majors even as his bat remained modest.

Rosello is survived by two children, two stepchildren and five grandchildren, according to his online obituary. No cause of death was listed in initial reports.

For Indians fans who followed the club in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rosello was a familiar name on the bench and in spot starts, a player who contributed his best power numbers while wearing Cleveland colors and who closed his big-league chapter there.