Cleveland Sports Forum

That makes a lot of sense if he can do it. Would possibly free up a spot for a guy with a little more pop for DH, back up first base, or whatever.

Carlos Santana Expects To Play Third For Indians
By Jeff Todd [January 17 at 10:14pm CST]
Carlos Santana has served as the club's primary backstop for the last three seasons, but says he is preparing to play at the hot corner in 2014, according to ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas (Spanish language link). Though Santana was known to be trying his hand at a return to third -- where he spent some time early in his professional career -- this report indicates a much more serious likelihood of a position shift.

As Santana explains (all translation errors mine), he is only preparing to play third at this point in time. "Those are the plans of the team at this moment," Santana said. Indicating that the club asked him to give third a try, Santana said he "took a month thinking about it before accepting."

Santana seemed destined to spend less time at the catcher position anyway next season, for several reasons. To begin with, the 27-year-old's bat is good enough to play anywhere on the diamond. Last year, he posted a .268/.377/.455 triple-slash, including twenty home runs, in 642 plate appearances. That was good for a 137 OPS+, a particularly impressive mark given that Santana labored behind the dish for 84 games.

And while any player can theoretically be more valuable while playing a defense-first position like catcher, Santana had increasingly struggled at the spot. Defensive Runs Saved panned Santana's work in 2013, and recent pitch framing metrics (e.g., here and here) have viewed him as a poor framer. There were good reasons for Cleveland to limit Santana's defensive impact, though of course third is hardly the easiest position. (And UZR has not looked kindly on Santana's 942 2/3 career innings at first, though he told Rojas that he never felt comfortable there.)

Most importantly, perhaps, is the emergence of Yan Gomes, who was picked up from the Blue Jays in a deal that has strongly favored the Indians to date. The 26-year-old's emergence last year played a big role in fueling the club's Wild Card run. He hit .294/.345/.481 in 322 plate appearances, splitting time at catcher with Santana. In just 88 games, Gomes was worth 3.7 fWAR and 4.0 rWAR, drawing positive reviews for his defensive work.

The news on Santana could have hot stove implications. For one, it may explain why the club has seemingly not acted to add a right-handed hitting third baseman to push or pair with Lonnie Chisenhall. For what it is worth, Santana is a better hitter from the right side (.855 OPS vs. .794 OPS hitting lefty), though he'd surely find his bat at another position in the lineup if he were to platoon at third.

Of course, if Cleveland no longer plans to give Chisenhall regular at-bats, it raises the question why the team was so hesitant to part with him in a prospective Matt Garza trade deadline deal. And if Santana were to spend significant time at third, it could make the 25-year-old a candidate to be dealt. He was once a top-25 prospect, and his career .694 OPS has come in only 682 plate appearances over three MLB seasons.

If Santana is able to play a passable third, moreover, it could impact the fate of both he and Gomes. Spending less energy behind the dish, and more time in the lineup, could lead to bigger offensive numbers for Santana. He would make for quite an interesting multi-position player, given his outstanding bat, and would increase his stock as a trade piece or eventual free agent. (He is signed through 2016, plus the Indians hold an option for the following season.)

As for Gomes, the shifting of the club's prized young catcher off of the catching position would open up a world of opportunity. Gomes would presumably be looked upon as the catcher of the future in Cleveland. Steamer and Oliver (via Fangraphs) both project him to keep hitting at better than league average, and view him as a three or four win player in a full-time role. Eligible for arbitration after the 2015 season, Gomes would have a chance to build real value through arbitration or as an extension candidate.

Great article, thanks rusty.

Obviously it would be awesome if it is doable. Santana at 3B is a large upgrade to the offense, without even adding anyone from the outside.

And clearly the key question would be if he could play decent enough defense there to justify putting his bat there.

By the way, this could also be pointing to the fact that the team is thinking Swisher at 1B this coming season - also explaining the pickup of David Murphy.

Pretty sure that Swisher is done playing the OF other then an emergency.

Defensively, the Santana experiment at third base for the Leones has been anything than spectacular.

Santana has committed 5 errors in the round robin tournament so far. Carlos picked up his 5th error in 18 round robin games last night. On the surface, that's not such a bad number. Truth is, and incredibly so, there have been games where he did not even touch the ball for an entire ball game. There have been others where he's had only one or two chances a game which magnifies those 5 errors.

There have been other occasions where some batters were given base hits on balls directed at Carlos.

Offensively, plain and simple, Santana has struggled to say the least in the post season. In the 18 round robin games, he's only batting (.237).
They don't post defensive stats, but Santana's fielding percentage can't be good.

The Leones removed Santana from third base for three games during this tournament moving him to first base and dh. For some reason, he's back at third. I can't tell if the Indians made the call or not. (Either play him at third or send him home scenario). If they did, it's obvious that the Leones value Carlos' bat in the lineup more than his defense on the field.

Just my opinion from the winter ball experience. I champion the idea of Santana playing third this season. This would result in a significant upgrade for the offense if it works out.

I guess all eyes will be staring at spring training 2014.

Three players signed by Indians to minor league deals

By Tony Lastoria

January 18, 2014

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The Indians have officially signed right-handed pitcher Danny Carela, shortstop Audy Ciriaco and shortstop Miguel Eladio to minor league deals. None of the deals carry a major league invite.

Carela, 26, is a big, physical right-hander who has bounced around in the minors the last five years pitching with the Mets, Dodgers, Phillies and even Joliet from the independant Frontier League. He has never pitched above High-A, and in 113 career minor league appearances owns a 4.04 ERA with a 6.3 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9. He was released by the Phillies last July and the Indians brought him in over Instructional League to check him out and liked enough to give him a minor league deal and see more of him this spring and potentially this season.

Ciriaco, 26, is a 6-foot-3, 195 pound shortstop who spent eight seasons in the Tigers organization from 2005-2012 and played all of 2012 at Triple-A Toledo (.224 AVG, 12 HR, 35 RBI, .636 OPS). He signed with the Marlins last season and played 88 games between Double-A and Triple-A and hit .227 with 6 HR, 29 RBI and .630 OPS. In nine seasons in the minors he is a career .238 hitter with 63 HR, 347 RBI, 84 stolen bases and .636 OPS.

Eladio is an unknown and may be a recent young signing out of Latin America who has yet to play professionally.

Neither of the three players will factor into things in Cleveland next season. Carela is a project and shot in the dark kind of pickup because of his fastball and ability to get a strikeout, but he comes with serious command issues. Ciriaco is middle infield depth for Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. And from the sounds of it, Eladio is a newcomer who will be in the Dominican all year.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.

Texas signs veteran lefty Perez, offers invite to camp

Rangers take chance on 31-year-old, who last pitched in big leagues in 2012

By Joey Nowak / MLB.com | 1/18/2014 3:40 P.M. ET

The Rangers signed lefty reliever Rafael Perez to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Perez, 31, last appeared in the Majors with the Indians in 2012. He pitched for Minnesota and Boston affiliates last season, going a combined 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA and six saves over 29 relief appearances between Triple-A Rochester and Double-A Portland.

He pitched 16 innings this winter for the Gigantes in the Dominican Winter League, allowing just three runs over 21 regular-season outings. He's made eight appearances in the Dominican playoffs, allowing three earned runs in 11 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and no unintentional walks.

Perez is 21-12 with three saves and a 3.64 ERA over 338 big league appearances, all in relief with the Indians from 2006-12.

Perez was pitching very well in the Dominican this winter. I think Perez is a nice addition to the Texas staff. I think he'll stick with the team. His pitches were working well.

Time to sign this guy to a one year deal, a la Juan Gonzalez? The similarites are striking, lol.


Nelson Cruz - OF - Rangers

A National League general manager told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that clubs are "staying away" from Nelson Cruz because his "salary demands still haven’t come down quite enough."

It was reported earlier this winter that Cruz was seeking a four-year, $75 million deal, and it sounds like he hasn't come down much, if any at all, from that asking price. Cafardo thinks the outfielder may have to settle for a one-year "pillow" contract in order to re-establish his value following his PED suspension.

Francona currently on WKNR talking about Fanfest and Carlos Santana.

Cleveland Indians
Santana experiment at third to continue, likely cleanup hitter
By Stephanie Storm Published: January 23, 2014

The Indians’ experiment with former catcher Carlos Santana transitioning to third base has continued into the New Year, with Santana still playing third in the Dominican Republic Winter League. Manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that a decision has not been made yet, but that he expects Santana to continue his hand at the hot corner through spring training.

“It sounds like he's improving,” Francona said of what he’s read of Santana, who last manned third base regularly eight years ago as a young Los Angeles Dodgers farm hand. “But we don't need to make any kind of decisions today, nor will we at the beginning of Spring Training. If he can handle playing third - some, a lot, little - we'll see. That's all part of Spring Training. If he can handle it, it gives us another option with our middle-of-the-order bat.”

However, with Santana’s everyday catching duties behind him as Yan Gomes has been installed behind the plate full time, Francona is leaning toward making the switch-hitter the primary candidate to be the Tribe’s cleanup hitter.

Last season, Santana hit .268 while catching. His average jumped 20 points to .288 when he played first base or served as the team’s designated hitter.

“Early on, because we had spoken so much about his catching being a priority, I thought it was a little unfair to hit him cleanup,” Francona said. “So we hit him down in the order. But, when he wasn't catching, yeah, he looked pretty good in that spot. He hits from both sides of the plate, he takes a walk, and he hits good pitching. There's not a lot not to like.”

For those not familiar with Aardsma, he has always had a VERY live arm. Even last year he struck out 36 in 39 innings for the Mets.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/playe ... da01.shtml


Sure, he's a flier, but at least he did pitch last year. Also, the landscape is littered with pitchers who do find something (especially in the bullpen) to gain effectiveness during their career.