Me too.

Kipnis' salary makes him hard to trade.

With Brantley's return unlikely I'll keep Jason. Of course if he can be traded with some other pieces for a solid LF so much the better.

civ ollilavad wrote:With Brantley's return unlikely I'll keep Jason. Of course if he can be traded with some other pieces for a solid LF so much the better.

A solid LF, or bullpen piece to replace Shaw.

Then you can shop for whatever his trade doesn't fill

Former Tigers Jack Morris and Alan Trammell voted into Hall of Fame by Modern Era committee

civ ollilavad wrote:With Brantley's return unlikely I'll keep Jason. Of course if he can be traded with some other pieces for a solid LF so much the better.

The Indians picked up Brantley's option last month.

Yes, and the possibility of him moving to 1B makes Kipnis for a LF an option for the team to explore. Or Kipnis for Shaw replacement.

Or....

Bryan Shaw in pipeline as relievers start to sign; Is Jason Kipnis being shopped?


By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

phoynes@cleveland.com

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Free agent relievers are starting to fly off the shelf. Could iron man Bryan Shaw be next?

Shaw, who spent the last five seasons with the Indians, made more appearances over that period than any reliever in the big leagues. If a player is going to dive into the quirky waters of free agency, that is a good thing to take with him.

Jason Kipnis is not a free agent, but he has been a teammate of Shaw's in Cleveland. The signs are growing stronger that the Indians are willing to trade Kipnis if they can find the right deal.

The Cubs reportedly agreed to terms with Brandon Morrow on a two-year deal on Sunday, the first day of the winter meetings. The Cardinals, right after that, reached agreement with Luke Gregerson to a two-year deal worth $11 million with a club option for 2020.


Last week Texas signed left-hander Mike Minor to a three-year $28 million deal. They plan to make him a starter.

Morrow went 6-0 with a 2.06 ERA in 45 appearances for the Dodgers last season. It was his second year in relief after spending the previous six seasons as a starter.

Gregerson spent the last three years with Houston. This year he went 2-3 with a 4.57 ERA and one save. He struck out 70 and walked 20 in 61 innings.

Shaw, who appears to be out of the Tribe's price range, has received at least two three-year offers since becoming a free agent. It's unclear if the Mets made one of them, but make no doubt they are interested.

Mickey Callaway, former Tribe pitching coach, is their new manager and he's seen what Shaw can do. The Mets feel Shaw would be complement to a bullpen that already includes lefty Jerry Blevins (6-0, 2.94, 76 games), right-hander Jeurys Familia (2-2, 4.38, six saves, 26 games) and right-hander Hansel Robles (7-5, 4.92, 46 games).

Last season Shaw went 4-6 with a 3.52 ERA. He tied Kansas City's Peter Moylan for the AL lead with 79 appearances. Shaw started his career with Arizona so he is not a stranger to the NL.

Kipnis is currently a man without a position. He ended the year playing center field in the AL Division Series for injured Bradley Zimmer, but has spent almost his entire career at second base, going to the All-Star Game in 2013 and 2015.

The Mets have been one of the teams linked to Kipnis. The Angels and Toronto are looking for a second baseman as well. The Blue Jays are run by former Tribe executives Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins.

Kipnis made three trips to the disabled list last season with a strained right rotator cuff and right hamstring. He has two years left on the six year $52.5 million deal he signed in 2014 (Check). He'll make $13.5 million in 2018 and $14.3 million in 2019. The club option for 2020 is worth $16.5 million with a $2.5 million buyout.

While Kipnis dealt with injuries last season, Jose Ramirez moved from third to second base and played well there. When Kipnis was healthy, manager Terry Francona elected to move him to center field rather than move Ramirez back to third because he liked the way the infield of third basemen Giovanny Urshela or Yandy Diaz, shortstop Francisco Lindor, Ramirez and first baseman Carlos Santana played together.

aware that Brantley is under contract for 2018. I doubt he is physically able to perform, although I hope so. I am afraid he's becoming an MLB equivalent of Derek Rose.

I am skeptical as well, but HB and others assure me that he will be OK.

Let's see what happens at the Winter Meetings.

I have this feeling they will be resting on their laurels rather than aggressively trying to improve their offense.

Last season was a waltz to winning 102 games but their flaws showed up against the Skanks.

I expect a trade, or two, before spring training. They haven't been resting in the off season or in season deal-making time periods in recent years and they seem pretty willing to act again. I hope they don't trade Clevinger or Bauer. Of course they are worth more than a talented but erratic and injury-prone Salazar.

Michael Brantley - OF - Indians

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Monday that Michael Brantley "had a good report" on his surgically-repaired right ankle a couple weeks ago.

Brantley met with Indians head athletic trainer James Quinlan to check on his progress from October's ankle surgery and things appear to be on track. "We'll know more when he starts ground-based activities, starts running and cutting, things like that," Antonetti added. "But so far, it's gone really well."

Even if things continue to progress well for Brantley, he doesn't appear to be a given to be ready for Opening Day.

Jon Heyman‏ @JonHeyman 12 minutes ago
Source: marlins are working to trade ozuna and tazawa to get to $85-90M payroll first. Can’t rule out continuing firesale after that but the first thing is to get payroll in order.

Jordan Bastian‏ @MLBastian 15 minutes ago
Indians have had interest in Ozuna past couple years. Would make sense for them to check in on him now, too.

.

Where are the praying hands emoji when you need it?

Empty out the farm system for Ozuna. Throw in a major league pitcher and one of our catchers.

Have to be very aggressive.

Mucho teams will bid for Ozuna.

Then again, in the bargain bin:

Carlos Gonzalez - OF - Rockies

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Giants, Royals, Athletics, Rays, and Blue Jays are among the teams believed to be keeping an eye on free agent outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

There hasn't been much chatter about Gonzalez, but teams could look at him as a reasonable buy-low possibility. The thought is that he'll sign a short-term deal in hopes of reestablishing his value.

The 32-year-old batted just .262/.339/.423 with 14 homers over 534 plate appearances in 2017.