Cleveland Sports Forum

Is A.J. Burnett on the radar?
By Andrew Zajac
February 14, 2012

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Cleveland Indians have inquired about A.J. Burnett. The teams have reportedly discussed about trading Travis Hafner to the Yankees, who is under contract for $13 million this season with a $2.75 million buyout following this season, which makes perfect sense for filling the DH role in New York. However, the Yankees would have to be willing to take on a significant chunk of Burnett's remaining $33 million left on his contract in order for the Indians to bite. No deal is imminent and the Pittsburgh Pirates remain the odds on favorite to land Burnett's services.

[Bad deal for both sides]

iF all that Antonetti is hoping for out of Grady is 120 games, that suggests he's not likely to play that much and sure makes me wonder why they threw all that money at him.

In fact that makes the signing really stupid.


Contract Details:

2012: $5 million plus $4 million in possible incentives

Indians re-signed OF Grady Sizemore to a one-year, $5 million contract.

As expected. Sizemore could earn an additional $4 million with incentives, which kicks in if he reaches 450 plate appearances. According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the oft-injured 29-year-old could make a $500,000 bonus if he wins the Comeback Player of the Year Award. It's unlikely the Indians would be able to afford to re-sign him if he has a huge bounceback season in 2012, but they could dangle him in trade talks if they fall out of playoff contention.

Incentives: $4 million Comeback Player of the Year: $500k
$0.5M each for 500, 525, 550, 575, 600, 625, 650 PAs

5 million on a one year contract is nothing.

White Sox signed Fukedome for $1M. Probably wanted 2-3M to sign with the Indians.

Who would you take.....Sizemore for $5M, maybe a lot more with easy incentives, or Fukedome for $1M?

That question is too easy. Try something tougher.

Sea, Indians could not sign Fukodome for less then 80% of his 2011 salary. (About 12 to 13 million in 2011)

At the same dollar I take Sizemore every time.

I thought that 80% rule was just for players under your control. Once you file for free agency, anything goes.

Nick Camino of WTAM 1100 in Cleveland reports that there are no current talks between the Yankees and Indians about a possible A.J. Burnett-for-Travis Hafner swap.
It's obvious to see why the Yankees would be interested, as a healthy Hafner is better than Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui, but the motivation was less clear on Cleveland's side. Burnett won't waive his no-trade clause to go to the Angels, so the Pirates still look like the obvious fit.

Related: Angels, Indians, Pirates, Travis Hafner
Source: Nick Camino on Twitter Feb 14 - 2:57 PM

civ ollilavad wrote:As for Hafner, he's played more than 94 games only 1 of the past 4 seasons and then, in 2010, he managed to appear in 118. What an incredible drag he is on the team. Since he seems to usually play 94 games (that's the total in 2 of the past 4 seasons) maybe we get to see him half the time again this year. But I am guessing 57 games for him.

Is this finally the last year of his contract?

I'm interested to see just how the Phillies expect to use Thome this year. Apparently he can't play in the field, and how many times can he PH? Even if he does that every game, they will be paying him 1.25 mil for 162 plate appearances.

Yet the Phillies are hoping that Thome can play first base once or twice a week as an increase in action from his primary duties as a pinch hitter, and Thome is doing what he can to prepare for it. For a 41 year-old who has experienced many back problems over the course of his career, that means a lot of low-impact exercises designed to strengthen his core muscles, i.e. yoga, pilates, and swimming.

Jim Thome, 41, has implemented pilates and yoga into his offseason workout routine and concentrated more on stretching, flexibility and running to put him in better position to play.

I thought Thome's main position was to sit with Charlie in the dugout and go out to dinner with him when they are on the road.

He may play a few games, before injuring himself and missing weeks or months.

When and if he rejoins the Indians, he'll be known as Roberto Hernandez.

Isn't that fitting. Remember the closer, Roberto Hernandez? He was about as dumb as they come. Fitting that our dope of a pitcher will be known as that from now on too.

The real irony is that Carmona's (now Roberto Hernandez) best season came when Roberto Hernandez (the old one) was on the roster and if IIRC alot credit was given to Oldberto for the season Carmona had.

That's right, TDU. Great memory!

Here's a post from Tony before he went subscription bases:

ribe Happenings: Chisenhall may start season in minors
By Tony Lastoria
February 12, 2012

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Chisenhall’s no sure thing

I’ve heard a lot of discussion that one of the position battles that bears watching this spring is at third base between Lonnie Chisenhall and Jack Hannahan. While it is technically true that the third base starter has yet to be determined, the position battle Chisenhall is involved with is not with Hannahan, but with several bullpen arms and right-handed hitting bench options.

Barring an injury this spring Hannahan is a lock to be on the Indians opening day 25-man roster. In addition to the guaranteed $1.1 million he is scheduled to make this season, he also is an exceptional defender, a key component in the makeup of the team, and has some versatility to play a few other positions. So there is no doubt he is on the team.

Chisenhall has a chance to make the opening day 25-man roster, but unless the Indians suddenly change their philosophy with the makeup of the roster or someone gets hurt, it looks like he is ticketed to open the 2012 season at Triple-A Columbus. He is no doubt the Indians’ third baseman of the future, and that future may be now, but there are several reasons as to why he may have to open the season at Columbus.

The Indians will be sporting a regular starting lineup that features an all left-handed hitting lineup (7 lefties, 2 switch hitters). Since both Chisenhall and Hannahan hit left-handed they are probably unable to keep both players since they need to have an all right-handed hitting bench in order to best complement their left-handed heavy starting lineup.

If the Indians stick with their four man bench setup like in years past (12 pitchers, 13 position players), then barring injury the bench looks close to being set right now with catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald, outfielder/first baseman Shelley Duncan all but guaranteed spots. The fourth and final spot could be filled with Hannahan or Chisenhall so the Indians can carry both players, but the Indians will probably need that final spot on the bench for another right-handed bat like Aaron Cunningham, Ryan Spilborghs, or maybe even Jose Lopez.

So the true battle that involves Chisenhall this spring comes down to the Indians making the best decision on what to do with the 25th spot on the roster. Do they just do what they have in the past and stay with the 12-man pitching staff and just option Chisenhall to Columbus? This looks like the most ideal scenario. The only chance he may have to make the team is if they decide to have more flexibility with the lineup and only have 11 pitchers, thus creating another bench opening for someone like Hannahan since Chisenhall would be the regular third baseman if he is with the team.

You hate to send Chisenhall to the minors to open the season, but it may be what is best for the team in the short term. The pitching staff really trusts Hannahan over at third base, and Chisenhall is still adjusting to the big leagues. His defense and hitting both could use a little more polish in the minors, and he still does have all three of his options left.

The Indians were able to afford the lumps they took with Chisenhall starting at third base for them last season because they were desperate for a spark, but they may not have that luxury to start this season since it is important that they get off to a good start. With another young player in Jason Kipnis manning second base to start the season, from a consistency perspective it may make more sense to go with the more sure thing in Hannahan at third base in the short term.

Chisenhall’s situation will play itself out over the course of spring training with his performance, the performance of others, and most importantly injuries to him and others. All that being said, if both Hannahan and Chisenhall are healthy it really looks like Chisenhall is going to start the season in Columbus.

Increased bench values

Speaking of the Indians’ bench, it will be more important than ever to have a deeper, stronger bench because of how manager Manny Acta will need to be able to use his bench almost every game for late game matchups. With an all left-handed starting lineup teams are going to match up late in games with left-handers from the bullpen so Acta needs suitable options to turn to in key spots. He also needs to have players that have the capability to start on a regular basis when they face a left-handed starter.

At this point the prohibitive favorites to make the bench are catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald, and first baseman/outfielder Shelley Duncan. If all three of those players are healthy they are expected to man three of the four bench spots, or five bench spots if Acta decides to roll with 11 pitchers.

That final bench spot is the only one up for grabs. The Indians at this point could conceivably go in any direction with that fourth spot on the bench. They could use it for Hannahan if they feel Chisenhall should be the everyday third baseman. They could use it for Cunningham if they feel Donald and Duncan do not provide enough versatility for the outfield. They could use it on Spilborghs or Lopez to have more experience and versatility.

The makeup of the Indians’ bench is going to be very important to the success of the team. Acta is going to need options that can play a lot against lefties and in late game pinch hitting situations. The Indians appear to have those options with Marson, Donald and Duncan, but the only question that remains is who the last person will be in that group.