Top 5 Prospects for 2015: Cleveland Indians

by Marc Hulet - February 20, 2015

This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The bad news is that the Indians don’t have many intriguing prospect arms. The good news is that the organization boasts some solid offensive prospects and could receive respectable emergency coverage at any position on the field.

The Top 5 Freshman for 2015

1. Francisco Lindor, SS: Jose Ramirez, now a sophomore, laid claim to the shortstop gig in 2014 and enters the year as the favorite to play every day at the position in ’15. However, he has yet to prove himself at the big league level at the plate and in the field so Lindor, the organization’s top prospect, could easily slide into the gig with a strong start to the year. The 21-year-old Puerto Rican infielder split the 2014 season between Double-A and Triple-A and should develop into a plus defender in the Majors. He doesn’t have much power but he hits for a decent average, occasionally hits the ball out of the park and can steal 20+ bases.

2. James Ramsey, OF: Acquired last season from St. Louis, Ramsey is a strong defensive outfielder with excellent makeup and flashes some left-handed pop. The young outfielder doesn’t hit overly well against southpaws so he’ll likely be a part of a platoon, at least early on in his career. The Indians’ current outfield set-up doesn’t really work in the rookie’s favor with all three starters swinging from the left side of the plate.

3. Erik Gonzalez, SS: Gonzalez isn’t a “big named” prospect but he had a breakout season in 2014 while splitting the year between High-A and Double-A. The 23-year-old infielder has some gap pop and can steal 20+ bags. He also has quite a bit of versatility and has experience playing every position in the field. Most of his time has been spent on the left side of the infield at third base and shortstop.

4. Jesus Aguilar, 1B: The 24-year-old Aguilar had a disappointing big league debut in 2014 (19 games) but he produced an OPS of more than .900 at Triple-A. With Nick Swisher coming off of a poor 2014 performance, the rookie first baseman should be “on call” at Triple-A and has the pop to produce 20 home runs or more at the big league level if he can make enough contact. He’s also improved his on-base skills in recent years.

5. Giovanny Urshela, 3B: Incumbent third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall rebounded from a poor 2013 season to have a respectable campaign in ’14. However, his contributions have been modest considering both his offence and defence. If he can’t take another step forward early on in 2015, it could provide Urshela and opportunity to prove himself. A solid defender, the rookie improved his offence in 2014 while spending most of the season in Triple-A. He makes good contact and drove the ball more consistently last year.

Marc Hulet has been writing at FanGraphs since 2008. His work focuses on prospect analysis. Follow him on Twitter @marchulet.

Different than standard definite of "top prospects", his is the prospects for 2015 contribution. I'd not sure if Ramsay would be my guess for No. 2. I'd love to see Urshela up soon, for that matter if not injured he could beat out Chisenhall in spring training.

Cleveland Indians: 3 Potential Breakout Candidates to Watch in Spring Training [from Bleacher Report]

Jesus Aguilar is the type of prospect who can boom or bust in the blink of an eye. The 24-year-old has raw power for days, but it's tough to tell exactly how much of it will appear in games. As a minor leaguer, Aguilar averaged just over 16 home runs per season while averaging just 114 games played.

Unfortunately, Aguilar is his own worst enemy at the plate, and he averaged a 19.7 percent strikeout rate over his seven minor league seasons. Beyond the obvious statistical flaw, Aguilar possesses a choppy swing plane that causes far more swings and misses than he should make.

That issue was on full display in 2014 when he made his big league debut, striking out at a whopping 34.2 percent rate. In his brief showing, Aguilar's issues at the plate resulted in a .121/.211/.121 slash line with just four hits and three RBI.
Not a great showing for a guy with Aguilar's upside.

When Aguilar does connect, the results can be devastating. Even so, Aguilar's power potential won't be enough to win him a spot on the Indians' 25-man roster out of spring training, and it will be an uphill climb to gain at-bats at the big league level before September call-ups.

He'll bide his time in the minors this season, but Aguilar can force the hand of the front office with a solid showing in Columbus. Because of all this, Aguilar remains a candidate to put up a breakout effort in 2015.

Carlos Carrasco

For several years (2007, 2008 and 2009), Carlos Carrasco was considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball.
Like Trevor Bauer, Carrasco's potential has struggled to actualize over prolonged periods of time. At least until last year, anyway, when Carrasco had his best year as a professional.

In 40 appearances (14 starts) with the big league club, Carrasco allowed just a 2.55 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. On top of that, Carrasco logged career-best marks in innings pitched (134), strikeouts per nine innings (9.4), walks per nine innings (1.9) and strikeouts per walk (4.83).

One might say that this was his breakout season, and truthfully, it probably was. However, Carrasco spent most of his time in the bullpen last season, and I'm looking for him to break out and be a solid mid-rotation starter.

One thing to look out for when assessing Carrasco's breakout potential is his having reinvented himself over the course of the year. The idea of Carrasco's "reinvention" was developed well by FanGraphs.com's Eno Sarris, but let's build on that a bit.

First, Carrasco saw an uptick across the board in his average velocity. In addition to that, the 27-year-old relied a lot less heavily on his fastball (50.61 percent in 2014, down from 56.08 percent in 2013) and more on his slider (21.77 percent usage in 2014, up from 7.80 percent in 2013), per BrooksBaseball.net.

Carrasco and the coaching staff must have realized that there was an opportunity in furthering the use of his slider, as the pitch generated its highest whiff rate (29.23 percent) to date.

Carrasco also did an effective job of working down in the strike zone, generating a high percentage of ground balls per ball in play, per BrooksBaseball.net. Carrasco's assault on the bottom of the strike zone is represented well by this chart, which shows that Carrasco threw a whopping 48.23 percent of his pitches in the bottom 40 percent of the pitch-tracking zone.

All of that resulted in a whopping 1.16 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio and, unsurprisingly, his best season to date. If he keeps it up, Carrasco is going to have a great impact on the Indians' starting rotation.

Trevor Bauer


I'm going to write Trevor Bauer into this space every single time I talk about the Indians' breakout candidates, even if it kills me (I did it once last year and once already this year). But, alas, here we are again.

Bauer has every bit of the potential necessary to become a dominant option atop a starting rotation. Unfortunately, to this point, that potential has not actualized over a full season.

However, last year, we saw glimpses of what Bauer can become. Over two separate periods of time in 2014, Bauer flashed at least mid-rotation potential. Over five starts between July 2 and July 23, Bauer pitched to a 3.16 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP and averages of 8.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 3.00 K/BB. The second instance came in a six-start span from Aug. 3 to Aug. 30 where Bauer allowed a 3.34 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP while working to averages of 9.0 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and 1.75 K/BB.

The sheer number of walks he allowed in the second streak is not ideal, but it's impressive that Bauer was able to keep most of his measurables in check while allowing BABIPs of .322 and .286 in those two spans, respectively, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Bauer logged quality starts in 50 percent of his assignments last season, and given his increased average fastball velocity last season, there's room to believe that this improvement will lead to a more consistent pitcher in 2015. Should he come to spring training having worked on his command and control—I'm sure he did, as Bauer is noted for his nearly constant tinkering—then the 24-year-old should take another step forward in 2015.

Possibly a big one.

There should be no squacking about the attendance. You gets what you pays for Dolan!

Jacob Rosen ‏@WFNYJacob 14m14 minutes ago Eugene, OR

Indians expected to have fifth-lowest payroll in MLB, via @craigjedwards / @fangraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mlb-2015 ... big-jumps/ ….
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MLB 2015 Payrolls: Dodgers and Mariners See Big Jumps

by Craig Edwards - February 23, 2015

With all of the arbitration cases heard and the major free agent signings completed, save for perhaps a Cuban free agent or two and a few relievers, we can come up with a solid estimate the Opening Day Payrolls for 2015. In 1998, the Baltimore Orioles’ payroll of $70.4 million topped all of Major League Baseball followed by fifteen straight seasons of New York Yankees payroll dominance. For the first time this centruy, the Los Angeles Dodgers finally unseated the Yankees last year. Despite Alex Rodriguez‘s suspended salary returning to the Yankees payroll and the signing of Chase Headley, the Dodgers remain well ahead. Trades for Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick, the signing of Brandon McCarthy and agreeing to pay for much of Matt Kemp‘s salary this season were more than enough to keep the crown for highest MLB payroll.

MLB Payroll 2015
Figures from Cots. Minimum salaries of $507,500 added to guaranteed contracts to complete the 25-man roster.

For the second straight year, the Dodgers will have the highest payroll in baseball as the season starts. The Dodgers’ $266 million payroll figure appears staggering, more than 25% higher than the Yankees second place number and more than the ninth (Philadelphia Phillies) and tenth (Toronto Blue Jays) highest payrolls combined. However, the Dodgers’ buying power is still not at the level of the Yankees’ last decade. As a percentage of total team salaries, the Yankees’ payroll from 2004-2010 averaged 8.2%, never dipping below 7.5% before finally falling to 7.3% in 2011. The Dodgers’ payroll in 2015 accounts for 7.3% of total team payroll.

This season, just the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins figure to have Opening Day payrolls beneath the Orioles’ 1998 payroll. However, spending has not increased as much as revenues. Opening Day payroll does not account for total player expenses, but the share of revenue for the players has taken a dive in recent years. The $3.65 billion in player payroll as the 2015 season starts is likely around just 40% of a $9 billion industry, continuing a downward trend in player salaries compared with overall revenue.

The American League, generally viewed as the better league and the winner of interleague play for the past dozen years, remains ahead in payroll as well. Despite containing four of the lowest five payrolls in baseball with the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Astros, the AL pays more to its players than its NL counterparts. The AL owns seven of the top 11 payrolls, but due to the smaller markets at the bottom, the lead is not large. The difference between the two leagues is around $40 million, less than $3 million per team.

Compared with 2014 Opening Day payrolls, there has been an increase of around $220 million in 2015. Last year, the Opening Day payrolls amounted to $3.4 billion. The increase for 2015 is 6.4%. Despite signing Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, and James Shields away from the AL, the National League payrolls did not move up as much as in the American League. AL payrolls increased by $142 million while those in the NL increased by $78 million.

Roughly half the teams made increases of at least $10 million led by the Dodgers with a $36.7 million increase over 2014. Only five teams decreased payroll by more than $5 million with the Philadelphia Phillies perhaps beginning to rebuild as they lopped $40 million from their 2014 salaries. See the full chart below.
MLB Payroll Change 2014-2015

The Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox moves in payroll are not surprising given their activity in the offseason. All three teams have brought in significant talent through trades and free agency causing the upward move in payroll. On the other end of the spectrum, the moves of the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves downward makes sense given the talent and contracts that they sent packing in the previous year. Signing Nick Markakis does not make up for losing their two highest salaried players in Justin Upton and Ervin Santana as well as Jason Heyward. Were it not for $13.2 million owed to Dan Uggla in 2015, the Braves’ payroll would be fourth-lowest in baseball.

Outside of the obvious movers, the Seattle Mariners’ offseason has flown a bit under the radar. With the signing of Nelson Cruz, coupled with the addition of Austin Jackson in the David Price deal, the $31.3 million payroll increase of the Mariners was second only to the Dodgers. Another somewhat surprising payroll rise took place in San Francisco. The World Champion Giants’ offseason has been seemingly non-existent aside from losing Pablo Sandoval, but raises to Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, and the trade and signing of Jake Peavy have caused a healthy raise in payroll for 2015. Their opponent in the World Series, the Kansas City Royals, has also seen a decent increase in payroll, although investments in Alex Rios, Edinson Volquez, and Kendrys Morales might not provide the results they are looking for.

On the other end of the spectrum, the paring down of payroll in Arizona and Toronto is somewhat surprising. Arizona’s big move was to sign Yasmany Tomas to a $68.5 million contract, but just $5.5 million of that amount is directed towards 2015. The Diamondbacks traded Martin Prado and Brandon McCarthy to the Yankees last year, and then traded Miguel Montero to the Cubs this offseason. Trevor Cahill is now the Diamondbacks’ highest paid player. With just $32 million committed to payroll in 2016, the Diamondbacks are putting themselves in a good position to spend if they so choose.

Toronto’s big move was the trade for Josh Donaldson and signing Russell Martin, but Donaldson will make just $4.3 million in 2015 and Martin’s deal is backloaded making $7 million for the upcoming season. No big names came off the books for the Blue Jays after last season, but Melky Cabrera, Brandon Morrow, Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus, J.A. Happ, and Casey Janssen combined to make nearly $40 million in 2014. With Mark Buehrle‘s contract coming off the books after 2015, the Blue Jays could also be players in next year’s big free agent class.

The relationship between wins and payroll did not appear close last season with the Yankees missing the playoffs, big spenders Red Sox and Phillies finishing in last place, and the small-market A’s, Royals, and Pirates all making the playoffs. The lack of a relationship between wins and money might not hold true for another season. Cleveland and Oakland will likely keep things going for the smaller markets, but of the top top 13 payrolls, only the Rangers and the Phillies are currently projected to finish with a losing record.

Carrasco a captivating figure in fascinating Tribe rotation

Indians starter Carlos Carrasco talks about his offseason preparation, Tribe Fest and more

By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | 10:29 AM ET

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In a sporting world in which many of us fruitlessly yell coaching tips at our high-definition televisions or offer laughed-off advice when presented with a moment of athlete interaction, some guy named Will broke through the barrier separating ballplayer and common fan.

Will is a baseball junkie from Clearwater, Fla. His kids go to the same school as Carlos Carrasco's kids. And as the two became friendly, Will felt comfortable offering a word of wisdom to his new buddy.

"Use more of your breaking ball," Will told Carrasco last year.

Turns out, this Will guy was on to something.

Though it might have been a bit overlooked, considering his team didn't reach the postseason and his rotation mate, Corey Kluber, won the American League Cy Young Award, Carrasco was one of the Majors' most dominant starters down the stretch in 2014. In 10 starts after escaping bullpen purgatory, Carrasco had a 1.30 ERA with 78 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 69 innings. Opponents hit .179 off him in that span.

Carrasco had the increased usage of his slider to thank. And for all we know, Carrasco's newfound trust in the pitch could propel him to Cy Young status of his own. At worst, it makes him a captivating figure in what projects to be a fascinating Tribe rotation in '15.

"He was a different pitcher out there [in the second half]," Kluber said. "You could see he had more belief in himself."

It took a considerable amount of time, but, with apologies to Justin Smoak, Phillippe Aumont, Jason Knapp, Tyson Gillies and the rest, Carrasco has finally established himself as the most valuable of the many young players dealt for Cliff Lee over the years. He arrived to the Indians' organization in the July 2009 swap that first sent Lee to Philadelphia, and he was touted for his live arm and strikeout stuff. But at that stage in his career, the slider was a fairly new pitch for the then-22-year-old.

Not until midseason 2011 did Carrasco begin to turn his stellar stuff into stellar stats, albeit briefly. He had a five-start stretch that summer in which he posted a 0.98 ERA and .172 average against, and this period was marked by increased trust of that now-developed slider. But the tender elbow that had bothered Carrasco on and off throughout his professional career (and prompted two DL stints earlier that season) began to ache again. Soon enough, Tommy John surgery put a major pause on his progress.

There were other issues beyond the elbow. Carrasco developed a reputation for being something of a mental mess on the mound, unsure of himself and his selection. And he clearly lost his cool in two intentional plunkings that earned him a pair of suspensions -- one in '11 and another in '13.

"I think I worried too much about everything in the past," Carrasco said. "If I didn't do a good job one day, I'd say, 'Oh, my gosh, are they going to send me down?'"

They did. Multiple times. Carrasco only received a rotation spot at the outset of '14 because he was out of Minor League options. And it took him all of four starts -- starts marked mainly by his struggles the second time through the opponents' order -- to lose that job and be banished to the bullpen.

That's when a funny thing happened. Where one might figure the relief role would compel Carrasco to rely primarily on his four-seam fastball, instead the slider -- the pitch advocated both by well-regarded pitching coach Mickey Callaway and, yes, some guy named Will -- re-emerged. Carrasco had thrown it just 12.7 percent of the time in April, per BrooksBaseball.net, but the usage rose from there -- 19.8 percent in May, 25 percent in June, 17.6 percent in July and, most notably, 21.2 percent in August and 29.4 percent in September, when he was brought back into the rotation's good graces.

"When he came back from surgery [in '13], the slider wasn't quite the same as it was before, so he stayed away from it more than he had in the past," Callaway said. "Last year, he really found that slider again -- that power slider where he really trusted that it was going to get down and away."

Trust in one's stuff is a powerful separator in this sport. Carrasco is proof.

"There's not an ounce of difference in his stuff," manager Terry Francona said. "But it's amazing what confidence [can do]. That's why you have to be patient. You just don't know when it's going to click, and you don't want to be the team that gave up on somebody."

The Indians know better than most the value of patience with pitchers.

Kluber basically reinvented his repertoire shortly before graduating to the big leagues and used his relatively new cutter and sinker to ascend to the top of his profession. Trevor Bauer's constant mechanical tinkering and unique routine quickly wore out his welcome in the D-backs' organization, but the Indians have given him the leeway to be himself, with some encouraging, if inconsistent, results in '14. Because of injury and performance issues, Danny Salazar took three seasons just to get from A-ball to High-A, and the Indians are hopeful his reimagined winter routine will put him in better position to capitalize on the raw stuff that earned him a postseason start in '13.

Because we're talking about a sports team from Cleveland (home of the Cory Snyder/Joe Carter "Indian Uprising" Sports Illustrated cover, among many other unmet expectations), it's probably best we don't read too much into the projections associated with this rotation. FanGraphs.com, for example, ranks the Tribe rotation mix, which also includes veteran Gavin Floyd and young lefty T.J. House, second in the AL in expected WAR for '15, but that's more of a bet on upside than track record.

"We don't have a lot of age on that staff," Francona said. "We have some guys that are learning how to pitch at a pretty high level early in their career, and in our industry -- not just with the Indians, but in the industry -- that's really valued. The flip side of that is we need to see these guys do it year after year after year. The only reason they haven't is they haven't been exposed to that yet."

What we do know, at the very least, is that the Kluber-Carrasco one-two punch has major potential. In his sit down with the higher ups at the start of this Spring Training camp, Carrasco relayed to the Indians how much he benefited from directly following Kluber in the rotation last year, picking up pieces of the Cy winner's plan of attack against particular opponents. The Indians will take that into consideration when they map out their '15 alignment.

Personally, Carrasco is beyond taking his friend Will's advice about the slider into consideration. He's firmly put it into practice.

"He's just a fan," Carrasco said, "but he's right."

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Hope that fan giving Carrasco advice isn't named Frank.

....I thought it was you....

Cubs hire Manny Ramirez as a hitting consultant

.

Mike Oz
By Mike Oz
5 hours ago

Big League Stew

(AP)It seems like, for now at least, Manny Ramirez is ready to put aside his dreams of playing in the big leagues again and slide into coaching.

Ramirez, who spent part of 2014 as a Triple-A player/coach in the Chicago Cubs organization, has been hired by the Cubs as a hitting consultant. It's a "significant" role, says Cubs president Theo Epstein.

Ramirez got rave reviews last year in his Triple-A role. The Cubs wanted his at-the-plate know-how, and let him indulge in playing some too. Now, there's no part-time playing. Just teaching the young Cubs hitters. It's worth a mention, however, that Ramirez hasn't officially announced his retirement as a player.

From Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune:

seagull wrote:Cubs hire Manny Ramirez as a hitting consultant

.

Mike Oz
By Mike Oz
5 hours ago

Big League Stew

(AP)It seems like, for now at least, Manny Ramirez is ready to put aside his dreams of playing in the big leagues again and slide into coaching.

Ramirez, who spent part of 2014 as a Triple-A player/coach in the Chicago Cubs organization, has been hired by the Cubs as a hitting consultant. It's a "significant" role, says Cubs president Theo Epstein.

Ramirez got rave reviews last year in his Triple-A role. The Cubs wanted his at-the-plate know-how, and let him indulge in playing some too. Now, there's no part-time playing. Just teaching the young Cubs hitters. It's worth a mention, however, that Ramirez hasn't officially announced his retirement as a player.

From Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune:

Of course we never have a spot for manny

Apparently no one else has a spot for Manny either, or he wouldn't be specially assisting.

Cleveland Indians' Corey Kluber is a good bet and a better bargain -- Bud Shaw


GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Corey Kluber is the best bargain in baseball, a fact even harder to dismiss when he's breaking off a slider at Michael Bourn's shoe tops.

"I wasn't ready for that one," Bourn said, jumping back a safe distance during Sunday's live batting practice, or what manager Terry Francona calls "pitcher's practice."

Some hitters don't swing during live BP this early in camp, especially against pitchers like Kluber. Often when they do, they wish they hadn't.

Kluber was on the mound for the first time since winning the Cy Young Award last season. He faced Nick Swisher, Bourn, Michael Brantley and Tyler Holt, drawing a litany of "Attaboys" from catcher Roberto Perez.

"His two-seamer...I can't even explain how good it is, " Perez said. "I have never had to hit against him. Thank God."

The latest definition of misplaced optimism in Cleveland: asking Kluber about possible contract negotiations this spring and expecting anything other than the Klubot stare and an economy of words that would make Bill Belichick proud.

"It's not for me to think about," Kluber said Sunday. "I'd rather just talk about pitching and not talk about contract stuff."

Kluber's bonus for winning the Cy Young was standard for a Indians' pitcher under organizational control: a whopping $10,000.

He turns 29 in April. C.C. Sabathia was 27 when he won his Cy Young in 2007. Cliff Lee turned 30 in August 2008 when he matched Sabathia. Both were traded the next season.

That Kluber is a late bloomer and can't go anywhere isn't nearly as good a story as Kluber not needing to go anywhere would be. An organization still getting criticized for trading back-to-back Cy Young winners could blunt that by tying up Kluber long-term.

The Indians may want to see him stack another dominant year on top of 2014. Nobody doubts he can, barring injury.

"He's confident now," said Swisher. "That's a crucial thing, when you have confidence. It's the same stuff that he had back when I was facing him in 2012. (Now) He knows he's the man. That's a good thing to have.

"With a No. 1 starter you have to have something everybody else doesn't have. With him, the thing that sticks out for me is his work ethic. (And) he's strong. He's a big dude. You don't really appreciate how big until you stand next to him."

Kluber was 2-5 with a 5.14 ERA as a late call up in 2012, so if he had the same stuff he has now, as Swisher contends, it certainly wasn't translating. He didn't even make the rotation out of spring training in 2013.


Corey Kluber Indians' pitcher Corey Kluber throws live batting practice Sunday in his first appearance on the mound at Indians' spring training.

Getting called up had more to do with Brett Myers' flameout but that season was a hint at what was to come: 11-5 with double digit strikeout games against Boston and Detroit in the first half of the season.

His 18 wins a year ago tied for the league lead. Even before he joined a rather illustrious crowd in New York last month for his Cy Young presentation, he'd taken his place with Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez by winning that many games with more than 260 Ks (269) and an ERA of under .250 (2.44).

Will that be tough to match? Sure? But Kluber isn't deflecting expectations.

"I probably hold myself to a higher standard than anyone else does," said Kluber, who is 29-14 over two seasons.

All those dominating performances in 2014 have led to two superlatives in particular:

Best pitcher in the league last year. And, until further notice, the best bargain.

Of course we never have a spot for manny

LOL, the ultimate dead horse!!

Next we'll want Thome dragged out of retirement! And John Hart flogged for not trading Jaret Wright for Pedro!

Kluber's bonus for winning the Cy Young was standard for a Indians' pitcher under organizational control: a whopping $10,000.

Would it be legal under collective bargaining agreement for the team to reward him with something more significant? It would be the "nice thing" to do.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Gavin Floyd's Cactus League debut scheduled for Sunday has been pushed back because of what he and manager Terry Francona called "general soreness."

Floyd has undergone two serious surgeries on his right elbow over the last two years. He had Tommy John surgery in 2013 with the White Sox and fractured the elbow last year with the Braves.

When asked if "general soreness' means Floyd is having elbow problems, Francona said, "I want to be a little careful. It's not really where he had the issue. General soreness is probably the best way to say it.

"Because of what he's been through, giving him a few days to let the trainers do their thing, I think really sets him up so he doesn't have the bumps in the road when he starts moving along."

The Indians signed Floyd to a one-year $4 million free agent deal in December. The contract includes $6 million in incentives. At the time the deal was announced, GM Chris Antonetti said Floyd would be one of the Indians top four starters if he was healthy.

"The process has progressed really well," said Floyd. "I've been trying to be pretty open with everybody. It was just some general soreness I've been feeling. This will just give me some time."

we have some starting depth and if we wind up with Salazar and House at the back of the rotation that's not so bad. If Floyd is not healthy until May or June [or never] we can get by. Think of him as a "depth starter" and we wont' worry a lot about his delayed rehab.