Cleveland Sports Forum

If I read it correctly elsewhere, Yates allowed 10 homers in 21 innings.

4 games in April, 4 1/3 innings, 1 homer
4 games in June, 3 innings, 2 homes
3 games in August, 3 2/3 innings, 4 homers
9 games in September, 9 1/3 innings, 3 homers

He's very very bad against right handed batters: OPS 840 and 5 homers to 55 hitters. And phenomenally awful against lefties: 1254 OPS and 5 homers to 37 hitters.

Could be a real big help to the middle relief corps for the Clippers. Was far more impressive in AAA in 2015 with an ERA of merely 5.33 and only 5 homers surrendered in 25 1/3 innings.

Talent like this does not grow on trees.

and he is 5'10" 230 lb

Get the Colon Bike out.

tells you how little Michael Choice is now valued. Used to be a top 20 prospect.

OK so apparently Yates does have something to show for himself: In his AAA career he's fanned 163 in 112 innings.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Thanksgiving has come and gone and the Indians still need outfielders.

The good news is there are still more than four months to shop until opening day. The bad news is the Indians are still shopping in the same aisle.

The Indians were never in play for the upper crust of free agent outfielders – Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Yoenis Cespedes. The second tier of outfielders, players such as Austin Jackson, Rajai Davis, Gerardo Parra, Denard Span, Dexter Fowler and Alex Rios are most likely beyond their reach as well because of monetary or draft pick compensation issues.

Which brings the conversation to Shane Victorino and others just like him. The Indians, before they signed Nick Swisher to a four-year $56 million deal in December of 2012, made a four-year $44 million offer to Victorino. When Victorino turned them down to sign a three-year $39 million deal with Boston, the Indians turned their attention to Swisher.

The Indians got one decent year out of Swisher before he was hobbled by knee injuries and shipped to Atlanta along with Michael Bourn in August.

The Red Sox received one good year from Victorino in 2013 when he hit .294 (140-for-477) with 15 homers, 61 RBI and won a Gold Glove for his play in right field. Boston won the World Series that year, while the Indians were eliminated in the wild card game. After that Victorino was limited to 30 games in 2014 and 71 games this year because of injuries.

In July the Red Sox traded him to the Angels.

Victorino, 35 on Monday, is a free agent this winter and is one of the many outfielders the Indians have contacted. He had back surgery in 2014 and was beset by calf and hamstring injuries this season as he hit .230 (41-for-178) with one homer and seven RBI for the Red Sox and Angels.

At one time Victorino was a Gold Glove center fielder for the Phillies. At this point in his career, Victorino would probably just be a piece to the puzzle if the Indians signed him. He can play all three outfield positions and has once again started switch-hitting. Victorino stopped hitting left-handed during the 2013 season.

The Indians, outside of injured Michael Brantley, don't have an everyday big-league outfielder on the roster or in the system. Unless they can acquire a starting outfielder in a trade, they might be forced to improvise with players such as Victorino until Brantley is ready to play sometime in April or May.

The upside is players in Victorino's position most likely are looking for a one-year deal which would allow them to get back in the free agent market for a bigger payday in 2017. Their addition would mean outfield prospects Tyler Naquin, James Ramsey, Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier wouldn't be rushed to the big leagues before they were ready. The downside is their impact on a needy offense could be minimal.

Minority owner: The Indians search for a minority owner continues. Late last season it was reported that a deal could be reached before the end of 2015. At the moment that appears doubtful.

There has been a lot of interest in the Indians, but the interested parties want to buy the team. Owner Paul Dolan has no intention of selling his majority share.

Draft order: Here are the teams that have the top 10 picks in the June draft: 1. Phillies. 2. Reds. 3. Braves. 4. Rockies. 5. Brewers. 6. A's. 7. Marlins. 8. Padres. 9. Tigers. 10. White Sox.

The Indians have the 16th overall pick. After the second round, the Indians will have the second of six picks before the starts of the third round thanks to the competitive balance lottery. The order of the first round can change because of free agent signings and compensation picks.

Touch of home: Seattle's new front office and coaching staff has a Cleveland flavor. GM Jerry Dipoto pitched for the Indians, while manager Scott Servais interviewed to be the Tribe's manager following the firing of Eric Wedge. First base coach Casey Candaele played for the Tribe, while third base coach Manny Acta managed the Indians for almost three seasons. Bench coach Tim Bogar managed in the Indians minor league system.

Finally: Baseball America ranked Frazier, 21, as the eighth best prospect in the just completed Arizona Fall League. Frazier, the Indians No.1 pick in 2013, hit .281 (25-for-89) with three homers and eight RBI. He struck out 27 times, drew seven walks and posted a .785 OPS . . .Jesus Aguilar is having another big winter-ball season for Caracas in Venezuela. He's hitting .282 (20-for-71) with five homers and 12 RBI. Aguilar has one minor league option left with the Indians . . .Former Tribe right-hander C.C. Lee, sold last week to the Seibu Lions, signed a one-year deal with the Japanese team Friday. Lee will make $750,000 in 2016 with a club option for 2017

The Indians are receiving incessant interest in their starting pitchers

Hayden Grove

Boasting a bevy of coveted starting pitchers, the Indians may be amongst the most contacted teams at the 2015 Winter Meetings.

NASHVILLE— The buzz surrounding the Tribe at the Winter Meetings might not be blaring, but that’s not to say the Indians aren't a bunch of busy bees.

With so much coveted starting pitching on the team’s roster, the Indians have fetched plenty of interest from a large majority of the teams around the league, according to Indians President of Baseball Operations, Chris Antonetti.

“Since we’ve been here, we’ve probably talked to 22 teams, 23 teams maybe,” Antonetti said. “Every day, it’s literally hundreds of exchanges, whether it’s meetings or phone calls or text messages.”

Those messages start at sunrise and cease to stop for anything— even the daily meeting with the media.

“This morning it started at 7:15, 7:20 or so, and it's been going [still],” Antonetti said. “I just got a text while you guys were sitting here. Actually, I lied, I got three texts while we've been sitting here.”

Antonetti feels that the incessant interest in the Indians pitching is a product of the numbers associated with the position and that the talent at the top of the Tribe’s rotation certainly helps.

“Starting pitching is a little bit different than any other position. Teams only have one third baseman or one shortstop or two catchers, but starting pitchers, there are five spots,” Antonetti said.“I would imagine if you surveyed the landscape around baseball there isn’t any team where (Carlos) Carrasco or Danny (Salazar) or some of our other guys wouldn’t be better than at least one of their five guys. That type of pitcher, especially a starting pitcher, opens up interest to almost any team.”

Though Tribe’s starting pitchers may be the focal point of said interest, they aren't the only players the Indians are discussing in potential deals.

“(We) have probably had 20 of our players being discussed in earnest, ranging from Minor League players to Major League players,” Antonetti said. “Maybe even more than that, maybe 25 players.”

With so many inquiries to handle amidst this three-day stretch, has the interest been hard for the Indians to handle?

“It’s not always easy to do, but we try to remind ourselves to maintain that same approach and discipline," Antonetti said. “We actually joke about that a lot. We try to make sure that we don’t alter our decision-making process, just because of the fact that we’re sitting in a hotel room in Nashville."

The difficulties associated with maintaining discipline at the Winter Meetings setting may be exactly why Antonetti has made it a point to remind reporters that the Tribe isn’t taking it upon themselves to move a starting pitcher.

“We're not looking to trade any of these guys at all,” Antonetti said. “That’s not something that we're motivated to do.”

That’s not to say, however, that the Indians won’t make a deal— it would just need to be a move that makes the team immediately and obviously better.

“For any player, there’s a right value where it would make sense,” Antonetti said. “So our criteria would be, ‘Does it make us a better team in 2016 and beyond?’

“Any trade would have to meet a pretty high criteria to make it,” Antonetti said. “Butor any player, there's a right value where it would make sense. So, our criteria would be, 'Does it make us a better team in 2016 and beyond?’… Any trade would have to meet a pretty high criteria to make it.”

Will Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds make deal for third baseman Todd Frazier?

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
on December 09, 2015 at 8:40 PM, updated December 09, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Could third baseman Todd Frazier be coming to the Indians?

Maybe, yes. Maybe, no.

It was reported Wednesday by Bob Nightengale of USA Today that the Indians met with the Cincinnati Reds about Frazier, who hit 35 homers last season and won the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game. The Reds are rebuilding and looking for young players. The Indians do have prospects who might interest them.

They have outfielders Tyler Naquin, James Ramsey, Brad Zimmer and Clint Frazier in the pipeline. Naquin and Ramsey are on the 40-man roster. All four are No. 1 picks.

The Indians have pitching in the minors as well. They are getting a lot of inquiries on Mike Clevinger, Shawn Armstrong and Rob Kaminsky, the former No.1 pick they received from St. Louis for Brandon Moss.

The thing is this isn't the first time the Indians and Reds have talked. The conversations haven't strictly centered on Frazier, 30, either. The Reds are shopping right fielder Jay Bruce as well.

If the Reds are expecting to get Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar in return for Frazier, they've probably set the bar too high. Here's the Indians' mindset when it comes to their starting pitching – they can't afford to go out and buy the type of starting pitching they have right now. So if they trade a Corey Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar or Trevor Bauer, they have to get exactly what they want.

Right now the Indians believe one hitter isn't going to make that much of a difference. As manager Terry Francona said, "we have some holes to fill."

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Those holes would be at DH or first base, third base and all three outfield positions. So if they trade a starting pitcher, they have to bring back more than one big-league-ready player.

Frazier can be a free agent after 2017. So the Indians would get two years out of him. Salazar and Bauer are under the Tribe's control for five more years. Carrasco is signed for three more years with two club options.

It would not be good business for the Indians to trade that many years of control for two years of Frazier, no matter how good he would look hitting in the middle of the Tribe's lineup.

Still, GM Mike Chernoff said it is easier for teams to make a trade when they're coming from different ends of the MLB spectrum such as rebuilding Reds and trying-to-win-now Indians.

"In any type of trade discussion, when the time frame is different for one team or another, it can make it easier to align just because you value one thing and the other team values another thing," said Chernoff. "It can be much easier to find a fit in those cases.

"When a team is looking to impact their major-league team, and just balance it out somewhere else, it's much harder to find that fit because you're usually going to value your own players more than any other team would."

Frazier hit .255 (158-for-619) with 89 RBI in 157 games last season. He hit .284 (97-for-342) with 25 homers and 57 RBI in the first half. In the second half, Frazier hit just .220 (61-for-277) with 10 homers and 32 RBI.

What happened? Before Arizona acquired Shelby Miller from Atlanta on Tuesday, the Diamondbacks and Indians were in negotiations.

The Indians wanted center fielder A.J. Pollock, but it was unclear exactly who the Diamondbacks wanted. GM Dave Stewart was pushing for Salazar, who the Indians were willing to talk about.

Tony La Russa, Arizona's chief baseball officer, was leaning toward another group of players. Eventually talks stalled and the Diamondbacks turned their attention to the Braves and Miller.

Arizona sent big-league outfielder Ender Inciarte and prospects Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair to the Braves. Swanson, a shortstop, was the No.1 pick in the 2015 draft.

The rebuilding Braves need prospects, but the Indians were seeking big-league ready players from the Diamondbacks, starting with Pollock.

When asked if the rebuilding Braves were in a better position to make a deal with Arizona than the Indians, Chernoff said, "I think it just shows you the high value of major-league controllable starters. Whether it's on the free-agent market, and you're seeing what guys are getting in terms of dollars, or on the trade market where you're seeing what teams will give up for controllable starters.

"I think it just reaffirms the value of (our) guys, whether it's to us as we keep them or as other teams come at us and we explore other options."

No go: When the Pirates non-tendered Pedro Alvarez last week, the Indians expressed interest in the power-hitting first baseman. The interest seems to have waned.

Alvarez hit .243 (106-for-437) with 27 homers and 77 RBI last season for the Pirates. He struck out 131 times and committed 23 errors.

Checking in: The Indians have talked to the agent for Steve Pearce. Last season the right-handed Pearce hit .218 (64-for-294) with 15 homers and 40 RBI in 92 games for Baltimore. He played 41 games in left field, 28 at first base, 18 at second and eight in right field. Pearce hit .293 (99-for-102) with 21 homers and 49 RBI in 2014.

Pearce, 33, has played parts of nine years in the big leagues with the Pirates, Orioles, Houston and Yankees. Thirty-six of his career 53 homers have come in the last two seasons.

If the Reds are expecting to get Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar in return for Frazier, they've probably set the bar too high. Here's the Indians' mindset when it comes to their starting pitching – they can't afford to go out and buy the type of starting pitching they have right now. So if they trade a Corey Kluber, Carrasco, Salazar or Trevor Bauer, they have to get exactly what they want.
Even though pitching can vary from year to year, that is a very good point. And now that the steroid era is over (or at least greatly curtailed,) it would be difficult to get enough hitting to overcome mediocre pitching.

Even though pitching can vary from year to year, that is a very good point. And now that the steroid era is over (or at least greatly curtailed,) it would be difficult to get enough hitting to overcome mediocre pitching.

Clearly we need enough hitting to hit mediocre pitching. Good pitching nearly always beats good hitting but there's enough mediocre pitching around that good hitting can pound.

One hitter isn't going to solve the Tribe's problem. Frazier would be a good start but don't stop there.

Terry Pluto:

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ss ... iver_index

Baseball certainly would be a lot more fun if there were steroids.

More fun because Manny and Thome would not be cheaters !

Giovanny Urshela
Is he a stop-gap at 3B? Where do you see him in three years?


John Sickels
 I think he will turn out to be a fair hitter eventually. The glove will keep him employed long enough for the bat to come around, I think.
by John Sickels on Nov 30, 2015 | 2:14 PM ⬆up ↩reply