Are we ready yet?

Lol, we headed out to Goodyear today (staying in Mesa) for a look at the spring training site and to hike at nearby Estrella Park. Wish it were March!
PS - this is the first spring training site I've seen where the actual ballpark (pictured) is separate from the practice fields and training facility. The fields for the Tribe and Reds are a good 1/4 mile down the road. They must take a shuttle or something to the actual ballpark?

Bring your hats and coats. Been cold as hell out here the last few days.

Nothing stops us Seagull! And the sun is quite the bonus!

Tribe gets Kevin Plawicki, catcher, from Mets. Don't know anything about him.

Cleveland Indians trade for New York Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki
Updated 3:07 PM; Posted 2:57 PM
Staff

By Joe Noga, cleveland.com jnoga@cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Looking to add depth behind the plate after dealing Yan Gomes in November, the Cleveland Indians on Sunday completed a trade with the New York Mets to acquire catcher Kevin Plawecki in exchange for relief pitcher Walker Lockett and infielder Sam Haggerty.

Plawecki, 27, appeared in 79 games for the Mets last season batting .210 with a .685 OPS including seven home runs and 30 RBI. He is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility, and is under team control through 2022.

Plawecki is a .218 career hitter in four big-league seasons with New York. He is projected to hit around .226 with nine home runs and 37 RBI according to analysis provided by BaseballReference.com.

Lockett, 24, made three starts for San Diego as a rookie last season. He was traded to Cleveland on Nov. 20 to clear a spot on the Padres' 40-man roster. The righty allowed 16 runs while striking out 12 over 15 innings.

Haggerty, 24, played in 87 games for Class AA Akron at third base. Haggerty hit .239 with a .735 OPS including four home runs and 39 RBI for the Rubberducks.

The Indians traded Gomes, who played in 112 games and was selected to his first All-Star game, to the Nationals on Nov. 30.

Now we're set for the season.

Plawecki - He is 27 years old and therefore may not have much potential left in the tank but it is worth remembering that he was a good hitter throughout his minor league career. He slashed .296/.364/.451 in 432 minor league games and was ranked on top prospect lists for a few years.

7. Oscar Mercado (OF)
Highest Level: Rookie ETA: 2019 Fantasy Ceiling: Top 45 OF

I have fallen very hard for Oscar Mercado. Perhaps I’m looking through rose-coloured glasses, but I see an athletic outfielder who can play all three position, has double-plus speed, a little bit of pop and enough contactability to hit at the top of a lineup. Yet, nobody talks about him.

Granted, he turns 24 in December and has been in the minor leagues for six years, but if he gets a chance, I think he can become a full-time regular. Could that chance come next season? I think it does.

Jon Morosi @jonmorosi
Sources: In Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer trade talks, #Indians have yet to move off their insistence on a Chris Sale-level return in order to move one of them. Discussions with #Dodgers have been serious, but no sign of recent progress. @MLB @MLBNetwork

to refresh minds on the Sale trade:

In adding infielder Yoan Moncada, right-handers Michael Kopech and Victor Diaz, and outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe, the White Sox rebuild began in full force. Moncada, MLBPipeline's No. 1 overall prospect, was the centerpiece of the deal. Kopech, with his 100-mph fastball, is ranked No. 30, and the two take over at the top of the White Sox prospect list. All four players acquired were listed among the Red Sox Top 30.

Sale was younger with the better contract. Right there, they won't get that kind of return.

-Kip - Klub = +$32M. Take that plus prospects.

Taking on $32,000,000, taking on a 2nd baseman they probably don't want, and getting a perpetual Cy Young contract probably won't net two top 50 prospects like Sale produced.

Exactly. Even just Kluber alone (no Kipnis) doesn't have the same worth at his salary as the younger and cheaper Sale did. I'm not talking about ability - age and contract are huge in MLB.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/boston-red- ... sale-7278/

Take a look at what they paid Sale the last 2 seasons, and this year. And Sale is STILL only 29 years old.

So just as an example, if we KNEW Verdugo was going to be a really good outfielder...let's say Brantley level just for giggles. (Which we don't of course, and also he could be better with more power)

A young, cheap Brantley level outfielder is worth Kluber straight up. If the Dodgers toss in a good reliever the Indians do that in a heartbeat because they have the other rotation pieces to still get it done.