Cleveland Sports Forum

Cleveland Indians GM Chris Antonetti works on making that first decision
Published: Friday, January 13, 2012, 10:54 PM Updated: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 9:36 AM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Up one blind alley, down the next. GM Chris Antonetti is still trying to improve the Indians' offense.

He didn't come out and say it Friday in a meeting with reporters, but it's clear he's still trying to acquire a first baseman. He met with owners Larry and Paul Dolan this week to see if Carlos Pena could be squeezed onto the roster. Casey Kotchman is another free-agent possibility.

Pena and Kotchman are left-handed hitters. Derrek Lee, a right-handed hitting first baseman, is still unsigned, but apparently doesn't want to play for the Tribe.

The one first baseman that could cure a lot of the Indians' ills, Prince Fielder, is strictly a look but don't touch trinket. He's going to cost way too much money, but he has definitely brought the first-base market to a standstill.

"At some point, some of these other guys are going to make a decision," Antonetti said. "Are they going to continue to wait or do they want to find a spot right now?"

If free agency doesn't offer a solution, Antonetti said there are trade possibilities.

"There are still a handful of free-agent alternatives and another handful of trade alternatives," Antonetti said. "It's not 20 guys deep, but it's more than just a couple."

The Angels, with first base reserved for Albert Pujols, have two first basemen who might be available for trade -- Mark Trumbo and Kendrys Morales. Trumbo hit .254 (137-for-539) with 29 homers and 87 RBI last year as a rookie. Morales, a switch hitter, is still recovering from a broken left leg that prohibited him from playing last year.

Matt LaPorta is the Tribe's incumbent. Indians hitting coach Bruce Fields spent four days with LaPorta last week in Florida working on his swing.

Antonetti said Fields was excited about what he saw, but will that be enough to save LaPorta's job?
Pena made $10 million last year with the Cubs.

He's looking for a multiyear deal and it's probably going to be a tough to get him onto the Tribe's roster.

"We have some flexibility to improve the team," Antonetti said. "Whether or not that flexibility and the player's desire align on value and fit, we don't know yet."

When the Indians came close to signing Carlos Beltran to a two-year, $24 million deal in December, it was understood that they'd have to make some trades to take on his salary. It would likely be the same with Pena.

No Manny: Manny Ramirez, third on the Indians' all-time home run list with 236, is trying to make a comeback after sitting out last year because of a second steroid suspension. He will not make it in Cleveland.

"It's not the best position [player] fit for us," Antonetti said. "Manny's contributions will be more in the batter's box and we already have a DH."

Assistant to the assistant understudy Kenm concurred: "We don't need Manny."

Ubaldo update: After Ubaldo Jimenez made one start in winter ball, he caught the flu and decided not to pitch again. He has worked on his conditioning, concentrating on his core and legs.

Strength coach Nelson Perez, who has spent the winter working with Jimenez, Carlos Santana and Fausto Carmona in the Dominican Republic, is happy with Jimenez.

"He had a groin injury last year coming out of spring training and that had an impact on his delivery," Antonetti said. "He wasn't able to execute his delivery and that led to some inconsistencies."

Up for grabs: Antonetti said Lonnie Chisenhall and Jack Hannahan will compete for third base in spring training. Jason Kipnis has a leg up on the competition at second.

More invitees: The Indians have invited right-handers Hector Ambriz, Austin Adams, Chen-Chang Lee, Tyler Sturdevant, catcher Chun Chen and outfielder Chad Huffman to big-league spring training next month in Goodyear, Ariz. To date the Indians have 15 nonroster players coming to camp.

Welcome aboard: Adam Everett, who started last season as a utility infielder for the Indians, has been hired as a special assistant to baseball operations. He'll be in spring training working with the infielders.

Arbitration time: The Indians had seven players eligible for salary arbitration, and they all filed Friday to take part in the process. Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Chris Perez, Rafael Perez, Justin Masterson, Hannahan and Joe Smith will exchange 2012 salary figures Tuesday with the Indians.
Throughout the big leagues, 142 players filed for arbitration.

Finally: Infielders Chin-Lung Hu, Argenis Reyes and right-hander Willy Lebron signed minor-league deals with the Tribe. They will report to minor-league camp in late February. Hu played 22 games with the Mets last year. This is Reyes' second engagement with the Tribe. Lebron pitched in the Royals system last year.

Manny can be Manny, but just not in Cleveland: Bud Shaw's Sunday Sports Spin

Published: Sunday, January 15, 2012, 2:10 AM Updated: Sunday, January 15, 2012, 2:13 AM
Assisted by kenm, The Daily Whiner

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If he wants to prove he's changed, he could start by talking about himself in the first person...

Manny Ramirez wants Manny Ramirez to make a comeback.

"I want to show people that Manny can change, that he can do the right thing..." Ramirez told ESPN. Manny's always had an out-of-body appreciation for his work and an out-of-this-world capacity to forgive himself. He didn't use steroids. The other Manny must've done it behind his back.

But even he must know he's a hard sell, and not just because he must sit out the first 50 games of the season. He had nine home runs and 42 RBI in 2010. Last year he played five games before retiring to dodge a suspension after testing positive for performance enhancers. What does he have left to offer?

"Hitting is about repetition," Ramirez said. Yep. The Clear. The Cream. Rinse and repeat.

A suddenly contrite Ramirez is an improvement over the fool who walked away from baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays in early April, saying he was at "ease" in part because "God knows what's best [for me]."
Now he's basically saying he got some bad, if divine, advice? That's his story and he can bend it any way that suits him. More intriguing is why anybody would bite. You mean there's a hitter available who will turn 40 in May and won't enjoy the benefit of PEDs? How could any team turn its back on such a prize?

Indians' General Manager Chris Antonetti told a media gathering Friday the Indians won't pursue Ramirez.
"With where we are, it's probably not the best positional fit for us," Antonetti said. "Manny, his contributions would be more in the batter's box, and we already have a DH."

Hopefully, Antonetti was just being polite. Hopefully, the real reason the Indians aren't interested is that bringing a habitual cheater and quitter into the clubhouse -- even if he were still productive -- would be sending the worst message possible.

Ramirez says he wants to be a "role model" now. Nothing is as simple as Ramirez has always tried to make it sound, least of all a transformation to good example for boys and girls everywhere.

"I don't want to leave the game like I did," Ramirez told ESPN's Pedro Gomez. "I also want to show my kids that if you make a mistake, don't quit. Just go back and fix it. And if you're going to leave, leave the right way."

Wonder if he feels the same way about coming back? There is a right way to do it, after all. In fact, any semi-interested GM should deem it absolutely necessary. Full disclosure. When did he start using PEDs? For how long? Why did he keep using long after a policy went into effect?

A tryout can only tell so much. Teams should want to know the extent of his PED use before they could judge what kind of hitter they'd be getting.

Besides, you'd expect nothing less from a "role model."

heh heh JR I caught that.

Terry Pluto - About the Tribe ...

1. The Indians' fan base is desperate for any news about their team, though some fans get mad whenever another veteran minor-leaguer is signed. Adding those guys never bothers me. It's how they found Jack Hannahan last year, Shelley Duncan in 2010 and Casey Blake several seasons ago. Most of the time, little trades and small signings mean nothing.

2. Fans got a taste of contention in 2011 and loved it. That's why they want their team to do something, and the Indians obviously need a bat. But not one belonging to Manny Ramirez. It's easy to lose sight of what has happened to him. He has been bouncing from team to team. He was 1-for-17 with Tampa Bay to start last season before he "retired" after flunking a drug test. He played in 90 games in 2010 -- 66 with the Dodgers and 24 with the White Sox in Chicago, where he ended the season. In 196 at-bats with the Dodgers, Ramirez hit .311 with eight home runs and 40 RBI. He had 69 at-bats with the White Sox and hit .269 with one home run.

3. The New York Times reported Ramirez first flunked a drug test in 2003. He flunked again in 2009 and in 2011. If he comes back, he is suspended for the first 50 games of this season. "Manny being Manny" apparently means not learning from flunking drug tests. He will turn 40 in May and his skills have been declining.

4. The Indians have to find a guy who can help them from Day 1. Fans saw what a fast start meant a year ago. I have a feeling Carlos Pena will be too expensive, and they may settle on Casey Kotchman. I have been writing about these two guys for weeks -- and like most fans, I'm not especially excited by either one. I do see how the Indians can add a lefty bat at first base because he can sit against left-handed pitchers. Carlos Santana can move to first in those games, with Lou Marson catching.

5. The Indians are considering what to make of Duncan suddenly hitting right-handed pitching better than lefties. Last season, he had a .918 OPS against righties, .679 against lefties. For most of his career, he struggled against righties. But last year, he hit 10 homers in 121 at-bats against righties, 1 in 102 at-bats against lefties. He hit two homers off Justin Verlander, one of the game's best right-handers.

6. As the Indians consider different options at first, they ask, "Is this guy better than Matt LaPorta?" While they report that hitting coaching Bruce Fields spent four days with LaPorta and came back encouraged, they aren't counting on him. They also want a good glove at first, and consider Kotchman perhaps the best in the majors at digging throws out of the dirt. Kotchman has 11 errors in his career -- the Indians had 12 at first base last season.

7. The problem is Kotchman has little power. His best season was last year -- .306 (.800 OPS) but he had only 10 homers and 48 RBI in 563 plate appearances. He batted .217 in 2010, but had off-season eye surgery which he says helped him in 2011. He's only 28 -- he turns 29 in February -- and has been in the majors since 2004. He's a guy who will hit about .270 with 10 homers. His glove will mean a lot to an infield that will be tested with a lot of groundball pitchers, but can he help the offense?

Maybe a gold glove 1B is the best for the team, since we rely on all those ground ball pitchers. Kipnis and Choo should be the major additions to the offense for 2012 assume both play all year at their full ability. Doesn't add up to a team able to challenge the Tigers. And with no offense in the pipeline except for a lot of 20-year=-olds and under the offense will remain of limited quality for years to come. [In their projection of Tribe lineup in 2015, Baseball America had no choices but to list Brantley-Sizemore-Choo as the 2015 OF and LaPorta as the 1st baseman. They put Lindor at ss, Cabrera at 2nd and stuck Kipnis as DH. Otherwise all the same as we have now and we had last year.]

Cleveland Indians likely facing some arbitration challenges

Published: Monday, January 16, 2012, 7:37 PM Updated: Monday, January 16, 2012, 7:37 PM

By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mike Chernoff is starting his second year as assistant general manager to Indians GM Chris Antonetti, and his plate is full. The team has seven players eligible for arbitration and it's his job to get them signed.

Players and teams must exchange salary figures by noon Tuesday. If a deal can't be reached, the two parties will go to binding arbitration. This year the hearings will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla., from Feb. 1-21.

It's been 21 years since the Indians had a player go the distance in arbitration. Greg Swindell and Jerry Browne went in 1991, Swindell won and Browne lost.

On Friday, 142 players filed for arbitration. The Padres led the way with 11 players followed by Boston with eight. The Indians are in a five-way tie for third with the Cubs, Royals, Giants and Rangers with seven each.

The seven eligible Indians are: closer Chris Perez, left-hander Rafael Perez, right-hander Joe Smith, right-hander Justin Masterson, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo and third baseman Jack Hannahan. Several teams have already reached agreement with arbitration eligible players. There have been no announcements by the Indians, who usually like to announce such signings in bulk.

To be eligible for arbitration, a player must be unsigned and have at least three, but fewer than six, full seasons in the big leagues. A player is also eligible if he is in the upper 17 percent of service time for players who have more than two, but fewer than three years in the big leagues. That classification is called Super Two. Under the new basic agreement, the Super Two classification expands to 22 percent next year.

The Web site MajorLeagueTradeRumors.com has created a formula to determine what each player eligible for arbitration will earn this year. It projects the total cost for the Indians at $21.7 million, if all seven players sign one-year deals.

Here's the player by player breakdown: Their 2011 salary is in parenthesis:

1. Cabrera $4.8 million, ($2.025 m), 2. Choo $4.3 million, ($3.975 m). 3. Chris Perez $4.2 million, ($2.225 m), 4. Masterson $3.6 million, ($468,400). 5. Rafael Perez $1.9 million, ($1.33 m). 6. Smith $1.6 million, ($850,000). 7. Hannahan $1.3 million ($500,000).

Antonetti on Friday said the Indians are willing to discuss multiyear deals with some players. The last arbitration-eligible Indian to sign a multiyear deal was Fausto Carmona in July of 2008. He signed a four-year deal with club options in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Indians exercised Carmona's $7 million option for 2012 after last season.

They have attempted to extend Choo's contract in the past with no luck. Choo, Cabrera and Rafael Perez are entering their fifth big-league season. A player can be a free agent after six seasons, so the team would probably have to overwhelm them at this point to get them to bite on a multiyear deal.

Masterson or Chris Perez are probably more favorable targets. Masterson is entering his fourth season and eligible for arbitration for the first time. Chris Perez, who qualified as a Super Two player last year, is also entering his fourth season.

Seven still to sign

Here are the seven Indians eligible for arbitration this year:

1. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera
2011 stats: Set career highs with 25 homers, 92 RBI and 87 runs.
Comment: He could more than double his $2.025 million salary.

2. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo
2011 stats: Hit .259 with eight homers and 36 RBI in 85 games.
Comment: Can he return to .300, 20 HR, 20 stolen base form of 2009-2010?

3. Closer Chris Perez
2011 stats: 4-7, 3.32 ERA, 36-for-40 in save chances.
Comment: Good candidate for a multiyear offer.

4. Right-handed starter Justin Masterson
2011 stats: 12-10, 3.21 ERA, 33 starts, 216 innings.
Comment: Another good candidate for a multiyear offer.

5. Left-hander Rafael Perez
2011 stats: He had a 1.91 ERA in the first half, 4.62 in the second.
Comment: He’s made 70-plus appearances in three of the last four years.

6. Right-hander Joe Smith
2011 stats: 3-3, 2.01 ERA, .217 batting average against.
Comment: Smith and Rafael Perez tied for second in AL with 71 appearances.

7. Third baseman Jack Hannahan
2011 stats: Led AL third baseman with a .983 fielding percentage, but played only 104 games.
Comment: He’ll compete with Lonnie Chisenhall this spring for the third-base job.

Tribe inks Hannahan, Smith to avoid arbitration

Third baseman and reliever signed to one-year deals

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 01/17/12 12:50 PM EST

CLEVELAND -- The Indians have avoided arbitration with third baseman Jack Hannahan and reliever Joe Smith, signing the pair to one-year contracts prior to Tuesday's deadline for exchanging salary figures with arbitration-eligible players.

The financial terms of the two deals were not immediately known.

Hannahan, who will turn 32 years old in March, will compete against Lonnie Chisenhall during Spring Training for Cleveland's starting third-base job. Hannahan was the Tribe's Opening Day third baseman last season after initially being brought into the fold on a Minor League contract.

Last year, Hannahan hit .250 with eight home runs and 40 RBIs in 110 games for the Indians, while providing stellar defense at third base. If he does not win the regular third-base role, Hannahan will likely serve as a utility man off the bench, providing depth at multiple infield spots.

Smith is coming off a stellar season in which he compiled a 2.01 ERA in 71 appearances out of the Tribe's bullpen. The sidearmer struck out 45 and walked 21 across 67 innings of work. Smith will remain a key part of Cleveland's 'pen in 2012.

The Indians have five more players eligible for arbitration this offseason. The list includes All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, All-Star closer Chris Perez, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, starter Justin Masterson and reliever Rafael Perez.

Choo among five avoiding arbitration with Tribe
All-Star shortstop Cabrera, lefty reliever Perez unsigned

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 01/17/12 2:45 PM EST

CLEVELAND -- It has been more than two decades since the Indians went to an arbitration hearing. Cleveland now sits two signatures away from maintaining that negotiation streak for another offseason.

On Tuesday, the Indians agreed to terms on one-year contracts with right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, starter Justin Masterson, closer Chris Perez, reliever Joe Smith and third baseman Jack Hannahan. Only All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and lefty reliever Rafael Perez remain unsigned.

Cabrera and Rafael Perez exchanged salary proposals with the Indians on Tuesday, when a 1 p.m. ET deadline was set by Major League Baseball for that step in the arbitration process. The details of the exchanged figures were not immediately known.

Coming off a career season, Cabrera could be a candidate for a multi-year deal.

"We're still willing to do them," said Indians general manager Chris Antonetti, referring to long-term contracts during a discussion with reporters last week. "In the end, both parties have to be interested in doing it, and you have to align on the value. But certainly, we're open minded to that."

The 26-year-old Cabrera, who started for the American League in the All-Star Game in July, hit .273 with 25 home runs and 92 RBIs in 151 games for the Tribe last season. He set a franchise record for homers by a shortstop and was awarded an American League Silver Slugger Award for his impressive effort.

Cabrera earned $2.025 million last season in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

If Cabrera or Rafael Perez, who earned $1.33 million last year, do not sign before their respective hearing dates, an arbitration panel will decide between the salary figure turned in by their camp and the one proposed by Cleveland. This year's hearings are scheduled to be held from Feb. 1-21 in St. Petersburg.

The Indians have not gone to a hearing since doing so with Greg Swindell and Jerry Browne in 1991.

Choo, who was eligible for arbitration for the second time, will make $4.9 million in 2012 after laboring through a rough showing last season. The right fielder was limited to 85 games due to injuries and ended the year hitting .259 with eight homers and 36 RBIs. The Indians are hoping he can return to his 2009-10 form, when he was a threat to hit .300 with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.

Last season, Choo made $3.975 million with the Tribe in a season that was not only marred by injury. In May, Choo was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, casting a cloud over the rest of his season. The Indians are hoping the on- and off-field issues will be distant memories for Choo this year.

Choo will remain Cleveland's starting right fielder as well as an integral piece within the club's offense.

Masterson -- a first-year arbitration candidate -- will earn $3.825 million in 2012 after making just $468,400 last season. The big sinkerballer had a breakout campaign, going 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA over 34 outings. Masterson, who appears to be in line to start on Opening Day, logged a team-high 216 innings for the Tribe.

Chris Perez is slated to make $4.5 million in 2012 after saving 36 games for Cleveland last season. Perez, who earned $2.225 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility in 2011, posted a 3.32 ERA over 64 games. Perez struck out 39, walked 26 and earned a spot on the AL All-Star team last season.

Smith is coming off a career season during which he compiled a 2.01 ERA over 71 games out of Cleveland's bullpen. The right-handed sidearmer is scheduled to earn $1.75 million next season after making $870,000 in 2011.

Last winter, the Indians signed Hannahan to a Minor League contract before he worked his way into the mix as the team's Opening Day third baseman. Hannahan -- best known for his stellar defense at third base -- will compete with Lonnie Chisenhall during Spring Training for the same job this year.

Hannahan reached an agreement with the Tribe on a 2012 contract worth $1.135 million after earning $500,000 a year ago. In 110 games with the Indians last season, the lefty-hitting third baseman posted a .250 average with eight homers and 40 RBIs, while offering Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Rafael Perez, who is eligible for arbitration for the third offseason in a row, appeared in 71 games for the Indians last season. The lanky lefty had a 3.01 ERA over 63 innings, during which he struck out 33 and walked 19.

VT'er wrote:heh heh JR I caught that.

Darn, I had to go back a couple of times to catch. LOL!



"Hitting is about repetition," Ramirez said. Yep. The Clear. The Cream. Rinse and repeat.

Not what I was referring to! But perhaps you knew that?

Manny Acta: Five Scouting Reports
by David Laurila - January 18, 2012

The Indians lack depth, but there’s no disputing that Cleveland has a promising core group of young position players. The foursome of Asdrubal Cabrera, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana range in age from 23 to 26, and each has the potential to become a perennial All-Star. Indians skipper Manny Acta shared his thoughts on each of them, as well as on 29-year-old Shin-Soo Choo.

——

Acta on second baseman Jason Kipnis: “This guy is just a full package of energy. He’s a really competitive kid that can swing the bat and is not intimidated at all. Everybody knew that whenever he got up to the big leagues he was going to be able to compete offensively, and he showed that.

“He sees pitches and knows the strike zone very well. Left-handed pitchers don’t bother him; he hangs in there very well against them. He’s not afraid to bunt or to run. He’s aggressive on the bases.

“I actually labeled him last year as being between Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley. I don’t want this to get misinterpreted — he reminds me of those guys. On the offensive side, as a left-handed hitter, I look at what Utley has done. The defense that Pedroia brings — he’s still not there, because he hasn’t had the time and the experience to be at that level. But I think he’s between those guys with what he’s probably going to be able to accomplish. He’s going to be in double digits for home runs and he’s going able to hit a ton of doubles and score a ton of runs. He’s just gritty and gutsy, playing the game all around like those two guys are.”

“We know that he’s a work-in-progress, defensively. He does show tremendous range. He’s a very good athlete. I can see this guy being an above-average second baseman someday.

“[Making him a better defensive player] is part of our challenge. He’s such an important part of our team. He’s in the same boat as Lonnie [Chisenhall] in that he has to come to spring training and earn that job. But this is a guy who just gets it done. He won’t take no for an answer. He works his butt off and in spring training, and he’s going to work as hard as he can to put the “work-in-progress” label behind him when it comes to his [defense] at second base.

“If you’ve worked with infielders, you can probably see that he’s rough around the edges doing some things, but he also made some plays for us that we felt that a lot of everyday second basemen in the big leagues don’t make. We’ve seen him make a lot of progress.”

On shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera: “I think Asdrubal is going to be huge for [Kipnis] as a calming influence. He’s been around and everybody looks up to him now because of the maturity level he has shown. He also played a lot of second base before going to shortstop. I think they developed a good rapport last year when they were together the last couple of months. I feel that he’s going to be able to help [Kipnis] a lot.

“It’s tough to point out exactly why, but [the reason for Cabrera’s breakout season] started in spring training. He does have some raw power and Orlando [Cabrera] was a big influence on him — in spring training — about not being so conscious about the batting average. He got him to try to be more of a run producer. Orlando sold him on that. He kind of told him, ‘Hey, you don’t have to sacrifice that much batting average. You’re talented enough to do both.’ It’s about the approach and the situation, and Asdrubal kind of started that in spring training. You could see him picking his spots — like when he was ahead in the count, or sometimes on the first pitch in certain situations. He would take those swings when he was looking for [a pitch].

“At the end of the day, he might feel like he is a .300 hitter — he’s done that in the big leagues already — but I think he was satisfied with trading some of those singles in front of the left fielder for the amount of doubles, home runs and RBIs that he had.

“I still think — and he knows, because we’ve talked about it — that he should walk more. He’s a guy who is still maturing as a hitter and I think he should walk at least 30 more times than last year. That would improve not only his on-base percentage, but everything else about his game.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that he’s going to pop 25 and drive in 90 every year. Not since Lou Boudreau has any shortstop playing for the Indians been capable of doing that. But I see this guy being a pretty good, consistent hitter at the major-league level with the ability to stay in double digits in home runs for years.

“Defensively, I know that a lot of the metrics — he never ranks really high with you guys — but you have to see him on an everyday basis to really appreciate him as a shortstop. I really love guys who can make the routine plays and this guy is very consistent making the routine plays. He’s got a lot of street savvy that doesn’t show in the stat sheet, or in the metrics.

“I have no complaints with [Cabrera‘s defense]. I think that everyone in baseball kind of knows which guys can really impress you with their range, left and right. But he’s a guy I have no complaints with, regardless of how high, or how low, he grades in the metrics.”

On third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall: “Lonnie is going to probably be the most important piece of the puzzle in our infield. With the amount of sinkerballers that we have on our staff, the left side of our infield is very, very important. He needs to be proficient. At third base, he doesn’t have the benefit of being able to boot the ball and still throw the guy out like a guy like Kipnis, who is closer to first base.

“He worked very hard and made a lot of progress last year, and I just hope that he can come into spring training and continue to work on his defense. I want him to concentrate on winning the job. A lot of times, that’s tough to ask of some of these guys, but we just don’t feel, at this point, that the job should be handed to him. We know that down the road he’s a fixture in our franchise, but we can’t just hand him the job right now based on potential. He needs to earn it.

“We feel that this guy is going to be a good third baseman. He’s a former shortstop and he showed some flashes last year. Once he played more and started to feel comfortable at the big-league level, he did some good things.

“Some of the doubts that people had with him facing left-handed pitching — if you look at the numbers, he did better against lefthanders at the big-league level. He hit seven home runs, and five of them came off lefties. He hit over .260 against lefthanders.

“I see him as a guy who can pop 20 to 25. It’s a maturity issue. He’s going to learn, with time, that on the first pitch of the at bat, if the guy is going low and away, flaring the ball to left field might not be the best idea. And that comes with time. It didn’t happen overnight with Asdrubal. He’s going to be able to pick counts and situations. I’m telling you, it’s in there. He’s a line-drive hitter, but he’s got enough power — especially in our ballpark — to be a 20 to 25 guy down the road.”

On catcher Carlos Santana: “I think that [Shin-Soo] Choo probably has the most raw power on our team, but Carlos is right up there. And he had a very good season. If you take away that batting average that so many people pay attention to — if you walk the way he walks, then the batting average isn’t such a concern to me.

“He was one of only four guys in the game to drive in over 75 runs, walk 97 times, hit over 25 home runs and hit over 35 doubles. And it was in his first full season in the big leagues. That puts him in the company of Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Joey Votto. A lot of people just see the .239 he hit, but what he did was remarkable. This kid is going to get better. He’s a force in the making.

“There is also the fact that he was able to play so many games after a knee injury. That tells you how good this kid was, how hard he worked and how mentally tough he was. If you take a look at his splits, the second half of his season was even better than his first.

“On the defensive end, we asked a lot out of him. Bouncing [between] first base and behind the plate obviously didn’t help him. He ended up playing a lot of first base in the second half of the season — and not getting as much catching time — but we had to do what we had to do. We had to put the best team on the field.

“We feel that he’s on the right track. He caught for the two pitchers who had the best seasons for us: Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin. He was obviously doing some good things back there. I also feel that if he spends enough time at first base, he’s going to be a good one over there. He has soft hands and he’s very athletic.

“He had a lot on his plate last year. For most of the season, we were depending on Asdrubal and this kid, Carlos, because of all the injuries around them. I think he’s going to be fine defensively. The offensive side of him — and being able to catch and handle the whole pitching staff, as well as play first base — was a lot. I think he handled it very well.”

On right fielder Shin-Soo Choo: “A lot has been said about it and I just think that, more than anything, the injuries are what stopped this guy from having his normal year. If you look at his numbers in the second half of his season, once he came back, he was playing [well]. If you gave him 250 more at bats, the numbers were going to be there. He’s a big part of our lineup and if he stays healthy, watch out. He’s going to be the player that really got our lineup going the last two years.

“He’s an above-average defender, obviously. He’s a guy that, over the course of the season, cuts down the base running of the other clubs. The third base coaches around the league are aware of him. There are a bunch of times where they’ll hold a guy at third base and we end up making a good pitch on the next guy and get out of the inning. Everybody respects him for the assist factor, along with his ability to stop guys from turning a single into a double.

“He’s an all-around player. It’s easy to throw around that five-tool-player label, but he is a legit five-tool player.”

On the 2012 Cleveland Indians: “We understand that injuries are a part of the game, but I think we have a very exciting group. If you look at what they were able to do last year for four-and-a-half months, despite not having [Travis] Hafner, Grady [Sizemore] and Choo, and some of the guys not having the years they were supposed to have — if you get all of those guys together, we could have a pretty exciting lineup. They’re young, they’re energetic and we have a lot of good athletes that can do things not only offensively, but defensively. I think we have a chance to be pretty good.”

VT'er wrote:Not what I was referring to! But perhaps you knew that?

OK....now I catch the assistant writer reference......

I originally thought JR must have added those words.

Carmona revelation far from unprecedented

By Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com Columnist | Archive

01/20/12 12:09 AM EST


So Khloe reportedly isn't really a Kardashian, Mitt Romney reportedly isn't really the Iowa caucus winner and Fausto Carmona reportedly isn't really Fausto Carmona.

Talk about a jarring news cycle.

I've known The Pitcher Formerly Known as Carmona, who was arrested in the Dominican Republic for falsifying his identity, since he was 22 years old.



No, wait, scratch that. I've known him since he was 25 years old, if Thursday's Associated Press report about his age actually being 31, not 28, is accurate.

Either way, the news that "Carmona," whose real name is reportedly Roberto Hernandez Heredia, might have been duping us and the Indians all this time is both surprising and, well, not.

Latin America has long been a "buyer beware" environment, a place where things are not always as they appear. It is not at all uncommon for players to assume a new identity and age in order to increase their attractiveness to Major League clubs, and Carmona, like "Leo Nunez" before him, will stand as an extreme example of one of the game's more troubling trends.

Three years ago, the Indians learned "Jose Ozoria," the 16-year-old Dominican shortstop they had signed to a $570,000 bonus, was actually a 19-year-old named Wally Bryan. They decided to keep him in the organization, but his actual age greatly diminished his prospect potential, and he was out of professional ball by year's end. Burned by the Bryan case, the club instituted a policy of subjecting its targets in foreign markets to DNA testing to confirm their identities.

Of course, that policy was put in place long after Carmona came aboard.

When the Tribe found Carmona in 2000, he was a dirt-poor prospect from the village of Naranjo Atta Viejo Yamasa, the son of a farmer who taught him the value of hard work. His teeth were so bad that the Indians feared he wouldn't be able to properly nourish himself, so they doled out the dollars for his dental work. He ascended to the big leagues by 2006 and had a stint in the closer's role that season that was as brief as it was disastrous, but he was so unflustered by the experience that he turned in 19 victories the following year, his first full season as a starter.

A picture of Carmona peering in for the sign, not at all fazed by the swarm of midges flying around his head, during a masterful performance against the Yankees in the '07 American League Division Series hangs in a hallway in the Indians' Player Development Complex -- an example to all the Minor Leaguers who pass by of the mental toughness it takes to succeed at the game's highest level.

And when Carmona had completed that rise from rags, the riches rolled in. The Indians signed him to a contract extension at the start of the '08 season that guaranteed him $15 million over four years.

His first order of business was to build his parents a home.

Now, we could spend paragraph after paragraph explaining and evaluating all that's happened since. Carmona's humbling demotion to the lowest level of the Minors to sort out the mental and mechanical issues that turned him into a walk-prone washout. The incredible inconsistency that has made him a source of wonder to the club's coaching staff and fans the last couple of years.

But when you think of Carmona -- or whatever his name is -- in the wake of this news, remember how desperate he must have felt a dozen years ago. He could spend his life in poverty, working on the family farm, or he could explore the value of his blessed right arm.

And what if, in order to get the maximum value out of that arm, his best option was to tell a lie?

A lie that he's allegedly carried with him all this time.

I wonder now what it must be like to live a lie like that. "I'm very proud of what I've accomplished," Carmona told me the day he signed that extension, and pride is precisely what prompted him to respond to any inquiry about a poor performance with a shake of the head and a proclamation that he had made "a good pitch" that the opposition happened to hit. Pride is the reason Carmona has always wanted to handle his own interviews with the American media, even though his English is dreadful.

If these allegations and reports are true, Carmona, of course, has nothing to be proud of with regard to the way he deceived his employers all this time. But if he did tell this lie, he did it feeling it was the right thing to do for his family. And once you make a decision like that, there's simply no going back.

Not until the Dominican police intervene, anyway.

Of more concern to the Indians than the past (no matter the pitcher's age, they've gotten decent bang for their buck out of him) is the future. With the rotation battered by the Tommy John surgery that removed Carlos Carrasco from the picture, the Tribe rightly exercised Carmona's $7 million 2012 option last fall.

Now, much like the Marlins placed Nunez, whose identity was revealed to be that of Juan Carlos Oviedo, on the restricted list, the Indians can halt any payments to Carmona until his legal situation is settled back home. Oviedo agreed to a $6 million contract with the Fish on Tuesday, but that money is contingent on his ability to return to the U.S. His legal battle began in September and is still ongoing, so it remains to be seen how long Carmona's case will drag on. We can't rule out the possibility that we've not only seen the last of Carmona but might never see the first of Heredia.

All of which is to say the Indians are in a bind here. Because as jarring as the deception might be and as much as the actual age of Carmona/Heredia obviously impacts his perceived value, the ugly truth is that the Indians' depth rotation options -- David Huff, Jeanmar Gomez, Scott Barnes, Zach McAllister and Corey Kluber -- are large in number but thin in upside. Perhaps this will prompt the club to consider outside rotation options.

What I would doubt, knowing how the Indians operate, is a clean cut with Carmona, no matter how much that $7 million might help them fill their glaring need for a bat at first base. But I've been wrong before.

If Carmona/Heredia is guilty, was he wrong to tell this lie?

Well, from our first cognizant moments, we're all taught not to lie. But having bettered his own life and the lives of his loved ones, I doubt this lie -- a lie told by countless players in his position -- is one he'd regret, if he did indeed tell it.

What he'd regret, I'm sure, is getting caught.

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

Indians Likely To Sign Ryan Spilborghs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 20 at 8:01am CST]

Free agent outfielder Ryan Spilborghs is likely to sign with the Indians, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. The Boras Corporation represents the outfielder, who was non-tendered in December.

Spilborghs posted a .210/.283/.305 line in 223 plate appearances for the Rockies in 2011, appearing at all three outfield positions. The 32-year-old has a career .273/.357/.443 line against left-handed pitching and could add balance to Cleveland's lefty-heavy lineup. The Rangers also have some interest in Spilborghs, who has an overall career line of .272/.345/.423.

rusty2 wrote:Indians Likely To Sign Ryan Spilborghs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 20 at 8:01am CST]

Free agent outfielder Ryan Spilborghs is likely to sign with the Indians, Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets. The Boras Corporation represents the outfielder, who was non-tendered in December.

Spilborghs posted a .210/.283/.305 line in 223 plate appearances for the Rockies in 2011, appearing at all three outfield positions. The 32-year-old has a career .273/.357/.443 line against left-handed pitching and could add balance to Cleveland's lefty-heavy lineup. The Rangers also have some interest in Spilborghs, who has an overall career line of .272/.345/.423.

Well that is it with Herredia and this spilborhgs character we are going to the Series. At least with Manny we assume is manny.