Cleveland Sports Forum

All three of his MLB homers came from right side.

I guess that's the main reason I don't hate this deal. Been wanting some right handed power.

In Syracuse he was equally adept:

vs lefties avg 339 obp 383 slg 589 5 doubles 3 homers in 56 AB (that's a not of looks vs lefties for some reason)
vs righty avg 287 obp 350 slg 613 more of his power here 13 2b, 5 3b, 12 hr in 181 AB (xb hit in every 6 ab!)

Who takes the open position with the Tribe?

Walters will be added to replace Cabrera. Masterson wasn't even on the 25 man roster. Beyond the Young Three, there are McAllister and take your pick between Tomlin and House.

Year Team AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS

2014 Minors .300 60 237 38 71 18 5 15 48 144 20 62 0 2 .358 .608 .965

It's not difficult to see what they like about this kid. Infielders who have a .608 slugging and .965 .OPS are not a common thing, to say the least. Those are crazy numbers, powerwise. Obviously at AAA.

To add to that, I'll again list Santana, Kluber, Brantley, even Gomes as minor league unknowns they traded for who they nailed. They seem to know their minor leaguers. We'll see but Asdrubal has been nothing but disappointing the last couple year

PS - kudos to Dolan for chipping in 3+ million for a guy Antonetti must have liked a lot.

I don't think I ever saw an answer to my question about who had the longest tenure on the Tribe, but since my guess was Asdrubal that is now moot and I will ask the question again withOUT hazarding a guess:

Who currently on the 25 has was the first onto the 25 with the Tribe?

I think Scott Atchison came over in the Shoeless Joe Jackson trade, so he would be my guess.

(Indians players would be proud of me for that joke. They have been razzing him non stop on Twitter lately about his age)

Tony Lastoria ‏@TonyIBI · 2h
Austin Adams is being recalled to take Cabrera's spot on roster. Another move will need to happen tomorrow to add starter (likely House).

Sometimes we forget these millionaires are people too.

From the Nats site, after last season.

Roster review: Zach Walters

Chase Hughes

Nov 20, 2013, 12:04 PM EDT

Age on Opening Day 2014: 24

How acquired: Trade with Diamondbacks, July 2011

MLB service time: 27 days

2013 salary+bonuses: $495,900

Contract status: Arbitration-eligible in 2017, free agent in 2020

2013 Stats: 8 G, 9 PA, 8 AB, 2 R, 3 H, RBI, BB, .375 BA, 1.069 OPS, 191 OPS+, 0.2 WAR

2013 analysis: Most of Zach Walters’ 2013 season took place at Triple-A Syracuse where he made a drastic improvement in his power numbers. After hitting 25 home runs combined through his first three years in the minor leagues, Walters exploded for 29 last season to tie the International League high for 2013. The power surge raised his big league stock pretty quickly and earned him a September call-up to Washington. Davey Johnson framed it at the time as a reward for his season with the Chiefs, but Walters surely wants more.

Walters, 24, appeared in only eight games with the Nats and started just one, the team’s final outing of the year. In the short window he had, however, Walters experienced relative success. He got a hit in his first at-bat, breaking up rookie Jose Fernandez’ no-hit bid in the sixth inning on Sept. 6. He only saw eight more plate appearances and added a pair of hits including one triple.

2014 outlook: Walters wasn’t afforded enough time in the majors last year to produce a sample size to draw from, which could work against his chances to make the team out of spring training next year. The Nats were burned by an inexperienced bench and Walters only has minor league accolades to draw from. He’s certainly got the talent to justify a roster spot, especially given he bats switch, but it could be bad timing.

The Nats will likely see if he can recreate his 2013 season in the early goings at Triple-A this year and go from there. If he comes out putting up similar power numbers, he could really be an asset. (HE DID THAT AND MORE)

The Nats could bring him up to boost their bench, use him as a trade chip (maybe even before the season starts) or line him up for a starting job in the future.

With Adam LaRoche’s contract set to expire after 2014, and Anthony Rendon’s apparent position flexibility, the Nats’ infield could be in flux this time next year. Walters could find his way into that mix if the Nats decide to promote from within.

What strikes me is that both deals involved guys who are further along, closer to the bigs, than often happened in the past.

As for Asdrubal and Masterson, both of those guys were essentially useless this year for any wildcard push. In my book the playoff push is not affected negatively OR positively. It's a wash - with 2 possible near future assets.

This is cool, a video of Zach Walters' first major league homer this past April. Note the nice, short swing and considerable opposite field power on this one:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.js ... y_32101257

Any other team would have immediately put Walters on the roster, to see what he can do and as noted above to play vs LH pitchers.

But not Tito's Indians. He needs his 10 man bullpen even if the guy he adds was completely ineffective in his first try with the Indians.

So who's on the bench now? If Aviles is the SS, that makes Ramirez the Utility IF. Perez is the backup C. Raburn splits RF with Murphy. Is that it?

I honestly think Francona's 10 or even 9 man bullpen is stupid. Yes, he needs flexibility in pitching matchups but he eliminates the flexibility he needs for managing the offense.