Cleveland Sports Forum

I got to see Logan pitch quite a few ball games when he was with the White Sox. Logan must have come a looooong way since then. He was not a very good pitcher at that time but then again it was his first few years in the majors.

Kelvin is intriguing.

Chris Antonetti never thought Cleveland Indians could afford Edwin Encarnacion, Boone Logan

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

on February 07, 2017 at 7:25 PM, updated February 08, 2017 at 6:25 AM


CLEVELAND, Ohio - When the off-season finally began for the Indians, Chris Antonetti, trying to numb the pain of a Game 7 loss to the Cubs in the World Series, had another problem.

Antonetti and his front office looked at the list of available free agents and knew who their "in a perfect world' selections would be - first baseman Edwin Encarnacion and left-hander Boone Logan.

He also knew that the odds of it happening were about as slim as President Donald Trump deactivating his Twitter account.

"At the start of the off-season, I didn't think we had any chance to sign Edwin and Boone," said Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations, "based on how well they'd performed and the price range they'd be in."

Not to mention the Dolan family's longstanding reluctance to overspend in the free agent market. But these are different times for the Indians. The opportunity is ripe to do great things in 2017 and beyond.

In December, the Indians signed Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million deal with a club option for a fourth year. It is the biggest free agent contract the Indians have ever given a player.

Last week the Indians reached agreement with Logan on a one-year, $5.5 million deal with a $7 million club option for 2018 and a $1 million buyout. The team officially announced the deal Tuesday after Logan passed his physical.

"It demonstrates ownership's continued support and faith in our ballclub," said Antonetti.

The Indians have committed a franchise-record $108,108 million to 18 players for 2017. If they fill the seven remaining spots on the 25-man roster with players paid at or just above the major league minimum of $535,000, plus the $9 million they still owe the depated Chris Johnson, the payroll would be an estimated $120 million.

Logan makes a strong bullpen even stronger. The Indians needed a second left-hander to pair with Andrew Miller. While Miller can be used at any point in a game against righties or lefties, Logan has proven to be excellent against left-handed hitters.

"One of the things we sought to do this off-season was to find some balance for our bullpen - especially from the left side," said Antonetti. "We wanted to provide Tito (manager Terry Francona) with another option to match up with some tough left-handed hitters late in the game.

"We were trying to find the right guy to complement our bullpen. We feel Boone is that guy."

Logan spent his last three years with the Colorado Rockies. Last year lefties hit .142 (15-for-106) against him with 40 strikeouts and 15 walks. Overall, he went 2-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 66 games. He struck out 57 in 46 1/3 innings.

Austin Adams was designated for assignment to make room for Logan on the 40-man roster.

The Tribe's bullpen headed into spring training looks like this: closer Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Miller, Boone, Dan Otero and Zach McAllister. Depending on how many relievers Francona wants to carry, that leaves at least one spot open and perhaps two if he goes with eight pitchers.

Last year the bullpen tied for second in the AL in ERA at 3.45 with Kansas City. Baltimore was first at 3.40.

Indians pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Goodyear, Ariz., on Sunday. Position players report on Feb. 16.

Finally: Antonetti said outfielder Michael Brantley is nearing the end of his tee work as he tries to regain his swing following August surgery on his right shoulder. Brantley will progress to soft toss and batting practice. "He's increased the volume and intensity of his work," said Antonetti. ... On Monday, the Indians made it official that Willy Mo Pena, 35, will come to camp in March with the minor leaguers. Encarnacion asked the Indians to scout Pena, his friend, in the Dominican Republic this winter. Pena has not played in the big leagues since 2011. While scouting Pena and other players Encarnacion worked out with, the Indians signed a left-handed reliever, who will come to camp with the minor leaguers. Antonetti said the left-hander has pitched in the big leagues, but would not give the player's name.

Chris Antonetti never thought Cleveland Indians could afford Edwin Encarnacion, Boone Logan

I hope this wasn't the same reasoning these guys had in past seasons and never made the inquiries.

Sure it was. They were just sitting around asking themselves, "What would Joe Z do ?"

While scouting Pena and other players Encarnacion worked out with, the Indians signed a left-handed reliever, who will come to camp with the minor leaguers. Antonetti said the left-hander has pitched in the big leagues, but would not give the player's name.

No truth to the rumor it's Paul Assenmacher, Ricardo Rincon or gulp!... John Rocker

Craig Breslow ?

Cleveland Indians will send 11 players to the World Baseball Classic

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Like it or not, the World Baseball Classic is coming and the Indians are going to be well represented.

MLB announced the rosters Wednesday night of the 16 teams competing in the tournament that is played every four years. The Indians have 11 players scheduled to play.

Super reliever Andrew Miller will pitch for Team USA, managed by Jim Leyland. All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, catcher Roberto Perez and right-hander Joe Colon are on Puerto Rico's roster. First baseman-DH Carlos Santana will play for the Dominican Republic, the defending champion. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela is on Columbia's roster. First baseman Chris Colabello, a minor league invitee, will play for Italy along with minor league lefty Luis Lugo. Infielder Tyler Krieger, a fourth round pick in 2015, is on Israel's roster.

Right-handers Ping-Hsueh Chen and Shao-Ching Chiang will pitch for Chinese Taipei. Former Tribe lefty Bruce Chen, the team's director of cultural development, is on China's roster.

The WBC starts on March 6 with Israel playing South Korea in Seoul. The championship game will be played March 22 at Dodger Stadium.

Lindor is excited about representing his country in the WBC.

"It's an honor, a blessing," said Lindor at TribeFest. "I can't wait to wear my Puerto Rican jersey. I'm proud of my country. I want to represent it everywhere I go. That's the reason I pay - for Puerto Rico, for Cleveland for my family."

Puerto Rico has three big-league shortstops on its roster - Lindor, Houston's Carlos Correa and Javier Baez, who played second base for the Cubs last year. Lindor just smiled when asked who would play shortstop.
Carlos Santana to play in WBC

Perez will back up Yadier Molina, one of the best catchers in the big leagues. He's been working out with Molina this winter.

"It's an honor to be play for Puerto Rico and get to play with one of the best catchers in baseball," said Perez. "We have a lot of great catchers in Puerto Rico so to get selected to play is exciting."

Miller made 80 appearances and pitched a combined 83 2/3 innings last year in the regular and postseason. So the WBC presents an injury concern for the Indians because pitchers will be pitching in stressful situations earlier than usual.

Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations, said steps have been taken to "ramp up' Miller and the other WBC participants earlier than normal so they're ready for the tournament.

WBC rules, with an eye toward protecting pitchers, allow each team to carry a designated pool of 10 pitchers. Two of those pitchers must be active for each round. Colon, who pitched for the Indians last year, is a designated pitcher for Puerto Rico. Those two pitchers can be replaced if a team advances to the next round.


Team USA starts pool play on March 9 at Marlins Park in Miami. Canada, the Dominican Republic and Colombia are in their pool. The Dominican, which won the WBC in 2013, returns nine players from that team including Santana. Last year he set career highs in homers and RBI.

Former Tribe catcher Tony Pena will manage the Dominican. Omar Vizquel, another former Indians player, will manage Venezuela. Edwin Rodriguez, the Tribe's Class A Mahoning Valley manager last season, will manage Puerto Rico.

Secret LHder on a minor league contract, I predict, Raphael Perez.

Perez is a good guess.

is he still around?

Cleveland Indians trade RHP Austin Adams, sign LHP Luis Perez to minor league deal

on February 10, 2017 at 2:51 PM, updated February 10, 2017 at 2:52 PM
Cleveland Indians 2017



CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Indians have traded right-hander Austin Adams and signed left-hander Luis Perez, who pitched in Japan last year.

Adams was sent to the Angels for cash. The Tribe's fifth round pick in 2009 was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Indians officially came to terms with left-hander Boone Logan.

The hard-throwing Adams, in parts of three seasons with the Indians, went 2-0 with a 6.28 ERA and one save in 53 appearances. He struck out 44 and walked 21, while the opposition hit .299 against him. Adams appeared in 19 games for the Tribe last year.

In the Tribe's minor league system, Adams went 32-26 with a 3.33 ERA and 23 saves. He made 203 appearances, including 46 starts. He has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen, in the minors and big leagues, since 2013.

Last year Perez, 32, made 19 appearances for the Yakult Swallows in Japan. He spent parts of three years with Toronto from 2011 through 2013.

Edwin Encarnacion asked the Indians to go to the Dominican Republic and take a look at Perez and Wily Mo Pena. Encarnacion, who signed a three-year $60 million deal with the Indians in December, works out with Pere and Pena.

The Indians signed Perez and Pena to minor league contracts. The two veterans will report to Goodyear, Ariz. with the Tribe's minor leaguers in March.

eocmcdoc wrote:Secret LHder on a minor league contract, I predict, Raphael Perez.

It's Perez, but not that one.

Sounds like Encarnacion is serving two functions with Cleveland.......player and part time general manager. I wonder what other kind of back door agreements might have been made

Phillips traded to Atlanta.