Cleveland Sports Forum

Cleveland Indians' offense needs help and they need it as soon as possible


By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

phoynes@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians limped home Wednesday evening from a disappointing six-game West Coast trip with a half-game lead in the AL Central and a desire to improve their offense.

At the start of the trip the Indians talked about the difficult position they were in regarding injuries to right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall and second baseman Jason Kipnis. Both are out for a few weeks with a strained right calf and right hamstring, respectively, but they are expected to return.

Do the Indians keep the status quo and wait for them? Or do they try to make a deal now to help a flagging offense and sort things out when Chisenhall and Kipnis return?

It would seem they've taken the later course of action. Right now the Indians are looking for offensive help plain and simple. It doesn't matter where they can find it - catcher, third base, second base first base or the outfield. The versatility of their best offensive player, Jose Ramirez, allows them to seek help at several positions.

It was reported that the Indians came close to getting right fielder J.D. Martinez from the Tigers before he was shipped to Arizona. The prospect packages that the Diamondbacks and the Indians offered were similar.

That would seem to indicate that the Indians aren't keeping a candle burning in the window for Chisenhall's return because he plays the same position as Martinez. Chisenhall, who still leads the team with 51 RBI despite missing the last trip, has played center field, third base and first base as well.

Before the injuries to Chisenhall and Kipnis, and the West Coast tank job by the offense, the Indians were concentrating on adding pitching and upgrading the utility man spot. They still might, but based on the solid contributions of Mike Clevinger in the middle of the rotation and the return of Danny Salazar - questions and all - on Saturday, offense is the more pressing need.

An experienced utility man could certainly help in that regard. The Indians love what Erik Gonzalez has done, but he's too young and talented to be in that role. Maybe he's here for a showcase, who knows, but he should be playing every day for his own development.
Terry Francona on Tribe's offensive problems

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that the Indians are scouting San Francisco 's Eduardo Nunez. The Indians are familiar with him from his days with the Yankees and Twins and he could help in a number of ways.

Nunez, a right-handed hitter, is batting .297 (82-for-276) with four homers and 26 RBI in 70 games with the Giants. He's played third base, left field, shortstop and right field this year. Nunez, 30, has scored 35 runs, stolen 17 bases in 21 attempts and can hit anywhere in the lineup.

He'll be a free agent at the end of the year and if the Indians were scouting him during their last series, he showed well. Tuesday night, in the 10th inning, Nunez hit a walk-off single in San Francisco's 2-1 victory.

There were rumblings that the Indians, with a franchise record payroll of $124 million, might not be able to add a player at the July 31st deadline with a big contract like they did last year with Andrew Miller. But MLB sources indicate that is not the case.

Martinez, for example, is making $6.75 million this year and $11.75 million in 2018.

In Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Giants, left-hander Boone Logan suffered a strained left lat muscle while pitching. He's expected to be placed on the disabled list on Friday, but the Indians have no immediate plans to go out and trying to acquire another lefty to replace him.

Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff's focus is on improving an offense that walks a lot, doesn't strike out much and needs to score more runs. Antonetti, president of baseball operations, and Chernoff, the general manager, aren't going to be pushed into a reckless trade because of one bad West Coast trip. Especially when they play in a division where two teams are already in full-blown rebuild mode.

But they've seen this offense play 93 games and no matter how good they think it is on paper, or what it's potential is, they have to know it needs help.

Twins to acquire Jaime Garcia from Braves

By Jon Heyman
Posted on Jul 20, 2017


The Minnesota Twins are close to acquiring left-hander Jaime Garcia from the Atlanta Braves, sources told FanRag Sports on Thursday. The teams have yet to announce the deal as medical records were still being finalized.

Garcia was scheduled to pitch Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers but right-hander Aaron Blair was scratched from his start with Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday to potentially fill that spot in the rotation.

The 31-year-old left-hander is in the final year of a four-year $27.5 million deal originally signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and will be a free agent this offseason.

The Twins entered Thursday a half-game back of the Cleveland Indians for first place in the American League Central and a half-game back of the New York Yankees for the second American League Wild Card. Though they’ve been able to hover atop the standings, the Twins’ 4.80 ERA as a pitching staff ranked 27th in the majors. Their 4.91 ERA from their starters also ranked 24th in the majors.

Garcia is 3-7 with a 4.33 ERA through 17 starts this season. He becomes the second Braves pitcher to be acquired by the Twins recently after they signed Bartolo Colon to a minor-league deal following his release from the Braves. Garcia joins a Twins rotation that currently consists of Ervin Santana, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Adalberto Mejia and Colon.

The Braves acquired Garcia from the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason for a trio of minor leaguers. Garcia had spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Cardinals after making his major league debut with them in 2008. In his time with St. Louis, Garcia was 62-45 with a 3.57 ERA in 158 appearances.

The Cleveland Indians' 2017 trade deadline options: Choose Your Own Adventure

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

Cleveland Indians can't waste a chance to keep fans engaged -- Terry Pluto


terrypluto2003@yahoo.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northeast Ohio is waiting to fall back in love with baseball.

I'm not talking about the hardcore Indians fans. The are a loyal Tribe, celebrating and agonizing with their favorite team for 162 games.

I'm talking about the casual sports fan ... or perhaps, the fan who gave up on the Indians during the grim days of trading Cy Young Award winners and slashing payroll.

Some of those fans are coming back.

It took a trip to the World Series for that to happen, but hearts have been softened. Attention is being paid.

Far more fans care about the Tribe now than even a few years ago.

That's why this season has been so frustrating, especially this 1-5 trip to Oakland and San Francisco.

The Indians are close to a sellout for Friday's game with Toronto. Saturday's game is a sellout. Sunday's crowd could reach 30,000.

Heading into the weekend, the Indians are averaging 23,230 fans ... up from 19,021 at this point a year ago.

The only teams with a higher attendance jump than the Tribe's 4,028 per game are Colorado (4,487) and Atlanta (8,938).

Granted, the Tribe ranks No. 26 in attendance. But that will go up. Big crowds are expected for most summer weekend games.

They are expected to draw at least 2 million fans for the first time since 2008.

And if the Indians can get hot ... finally ... ticket sales could soar.

OWNERSHIP STEPPED UP

That was something we heard over and over from the front office and others with the Tribe.

The Paul Dolan ownership team signed Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million deal. They even signed situational lefty reliever Boone Logan to a $5.5 million contract for this season.

My favorite source of payroll information is Cots Contracts with Baseball Prospectus.

Here is how the Tribe payroll has been since 2010:

2010: $61 million.
2011: $49 million.
2012: $65 million.
2013: $81 million.
2014: $85 million.
2015: $88 million.
2016: $96 million.
2017: $124 million.

So after losing to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, the Indians increased their payroll by $28 million.

The website says the Tribe ranks 17th out of 30 teams in payroll.

A year ago, it was 22nd.

No one is confusing the Indians with the free-spending, large-market New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

But ownership has made a significant investment to keep the team winning. The Dolans didn't simply look at last season and marginally improve the payroll.

They green-lighted moves to help the team make another World Series run.

BUT ON THE FIELD

The Indians are being saved by one thing -- being in the AL Central Division.

The Tribe still has a 1/2-game lead over the Minnesota Twins (48-46). The Kansas City Royals (46-47) are 2.0 games behind. Even the Detroit Tigers (43-50) are only 5.0 games back.

The Tribe's 48-45 record is the worst of any first-place team in baseball's six divisions. The next lowest is the Milwaukee Brewers with a 52-45 record in the National League Central.

The Indians have had some players hurt: Jason Kipnis (hamstring), Danny Salazar (arm) and Lonnie Chisenhall (calf).

But they have not been decimated by injuries wiping out several key players for months.

They are a team that was 94-68 a year ago with most of the core players returning. They are a team that has underachieved, period.

Even more discouraging, they are doing it in a season where fans have begun to embrace them.

The saving grace for the Tribe is they can still win the Central Division. There are 69 games left in the 162-game schedule. They are talented enough to return to the playoffs and deliver another fun October of baseball.

Time is on their side. So are the fans. It's up to them to take advantage of it.

You'd think the big crowds would motivate the players, but they seem more concerned with setting the record in futility with RISP.

Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall making progress to rejoin Cleveland Indians
Updated July 24, 2017


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall took batting practice on the field Monday as they continued to work toward rejoining the Indians' 25-man roster.

"We hit in the cage for tonight's game, but those two hit on the field," said manager Terry Francona on Monday. "They're graduating to baseball activities. They'll be moving left to right, take some left-hand turns.

"They graduating into the next set of volume and intensity before they do it on the field."

Kipnis has been on the disabled list since July 8 with a strained right hamstring. Chisenhall injured his right calf on July 9, the last game before the All-Star break, and was placed on the disabled list on July 14.

"I'm feeling better," said Chisenhall, "but there are still a lot of boxes to check off."

Kipnis said he was feeling better as well. He fielded several ground balls at shortstop before Monday's makeup game against the Reds.


Catcher Yan Gomes has supplied the Indians with strong defense this season, but if they wanted to make a trade to help the offense, adding an offensive-minded catcher would probably be the easiest fit.


The Indians are still looking for hitters. They have scouts on the road looking for ways to improve the offense, but finding a player to fit into the lineup is not that easy.

The easiest fit would be for the Indians to acquire an offensive-minded catcher. They tried to do that last year with a trade for Jonathan Lucroy. It didn't work because Lucroy exercised his no-trade rights.

The problem is there isn't that many good-hitting catchers in the big leagues. And the catchers that can hit would reacquire a hefty return.

Tribe catchers Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez are strong defensively, but haven't provided much offense. Gomes is hitting .219 (46-for-210) with six homers and 23 RBI. Perez is hitting .179 (21-for-117) with one homer and 17 RBI.

Perez has three options left so if the Indians acquired a catcher, he could be sent to the minors.

Austin Jackson is hitting .304 (31-for-102) with nine doubles, three homers and 15 RBI for the Indians this season.
Tribe will activate Austin Jackson on Tuesday

Francona said outfielder Austin Jackson will be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday before the Indians open a three-game series against the Angels at Progressive Field. Jackson has been on the disabled list since June 27 with a strained left quadriceps muscle.

"When he came back from the DL the last time he was hitting the ball to right center field with authority," said Francona. "It kind of gave us [what we've been looking for].

"He's never been a big split guy when it comes to hitting lefties or righties. So with Lonnie (Chisenhall) out, that can really help. We've just got to get through the game tonight and then figure out the best way to get him on the roster."

Jackson, who went on the disabled list earlier in the year with a hyper-extended big left toe, hit .294 (5-for-17) with two RBI in five rehab games at Class AAA Columbus.

When healthy, Jackson has platooned with rookie Bradley Zimmer in center. He's made 22 starts in center, five in left and six in right.

Jackson's return could give Zimmer a break. After hitting .282 (22-for-78) in June, he's hitting .212 (14-for-66) in July.

"For the most part Zim has done a really good job," said Francona. "I think we all felt like that there was no way he was going to go 200 to 300 at-bats without having some [slumps], just like all guys do.

"Especially a guy with some longer levers. But his center field play has been amazingly consistent and at a really high level. For a young hitter, with long levers, he's done a really good job of working counts. It hasn't always translated into getting hits and production, but those type of characteristics will certainly help him as he gains experience."

Another opinion for Boone Logan

Left-hander Boone Logan and members of the Indians' medical staff will leave for Chicago on Wednesday to get a second opinion on his torn left lat muscle.

Logan suffered the injury on Wednesday in San Francisco while throwing a pitch to the Giants' Brandon Belt. He's on the disabled list and could be facing surgery.

The Indians signed Logan in Frebuary to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million. He's making a base salary of $5.5 this year with a club option worth $7 million in 2018. The club option includes a $1 million buyout.

Lefty Tyler Olson was recalled from Columbus to take Logan's spot in the bullpen.

"We liked [Olson] in spring training," said Francona. "His ball moves everywhere. And I mean everywhere. If he can harness it enough, so he can stay out of the middle of the plate, he's really interesting.

"I think he's going to be tough on lefties with his breaking ball and deception. And he's a guy who can pitch a full inning (facing lefties and righties) because of the movement on his fastball."
Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

Tribe's six-man rotation alive and kicking -- for now

The six-man rotation is going to stick around for a while longer.

Francona said the Indians are going to stay with six starters at least until Corey Kluber makes his next start, which should be Saturday against the White Sox in Chicago.

"We've got six starters, and we know that's not going to last forever, but we want to get through Kluber's next start," said Francona. "He's get an extra day's rest because we have six starters. Then we'll reserve the right to change it if need be.

"When you have an extra starter, that means there is one less guy in the bullpen. If we ever get to the point where that is getting in the way, we may have to change it."

The six starters are Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger and Josh Tomlin. When the Indians go back to five starters, it means the extra starter will be sent down, move to the bullpen or possibly be traded.

Indians DH Edwin Encarnacion went 4-for-10 with one homer and five RBI over the weekend in a three-game sweep of Toronto at Progressive Field.

Statistically speaking

Five stats to contemplate on Monday:

No.1. The Indians entered Monday's makeup game against the Reds with a 4-13 (.235) record in interleague play. It's the second lowest winning percentage in the big leagues next to Oakland at 3-10 (.231).

No. 2. Edwin Encarnacion, since 2010, leads the big leagues with 46 homers in interleague play. Encarnacion ranks third in interleague RBI with 101 over that span as well.

No.3. The Indians entered Monday with a 24-24 home record. It's the first time they've been at breakeven at Progressive Field since May 15 when they were 8-8. They have won nine of their last 13 home games.

No. 4. The Reds are coming off a 2-8 homestand against the Nationals, Diamondbacks and Marlins in which they allowed 23 homers and 72 runs, franchise records for a homestand of 10 or fewer games.

No. 5. Michael Brantley and Bradley Zimmer are tied for second among AL outfielders with seven assists each. They are tied with four other players.

While I was away Irving demanded to be traded. Would he accept a deal to the Indians? He could bring some speed, agility and he is a fine closer

Some sort of assessment of teams that make the best July and august trades over the past decade. We finish First.

Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's fate. Maybe it's just good trading.

Whatever it is, recent history says other teams should be wary about dealing with the Cleveland Indians.

Cleveland took three of 10 spots in the B/R MLB Metrics 101 countdown of the top robberies of the 2000s. Doing the deed was their July 2006 trade for Shin-Soo Choo, their July 2008 deal for Carlos Santana and their end of a July 2010 three-team deal with the Cardinals and San Diego Padres: Corey Kluber.

These deals alone would be enough to push the Tribe's trading track record into the spotlight. But there are enough hits elsewhere to deserve bullet-point treatment:
•July 2002: Indians turn Chuck Finley into Coco Crisp
•July 2008: Indians turn CC Sabathia into Michael Brantley
•July 2009: Indians turn Victor Martinez into Justin Masterson
•July 2009: Indians turn Cliff Lee into Carlos Carrasco
•July 2010: Indians turn Austin Kearns into Zach McAllister

For the record, there are also some solid buys in Cleveland's recent history. Included within are Milton Bradley, David Segui and, in the end, even Ubaldo Jimenez.

And if the Cubs can get a shoutout for Chapman and Montgomery, the Indians can get a shoutout for Andrew Miller. If they didn't pay the price for him last July, they wouldn't have come within a win of a championship.

All told? Not bad. Not bad at all.

What month was Colon traded?

by us? June 27, 2002. A mere 15 years, 1 month, and 1 week before his most recent complete game victory

Abraham Almonte on his right-field miscue: 'That should be caught'
Updated on August 7, 2017 at 1:40 PM Posted on August 6, 2017 at 6:00 PM


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Abraham Almonte sat in the black, leather chair at his locker. To his left sat Brad Mills, pointing at an iPad and offering instruction.

Minutes after the Indians' 8-1 loss to the Yankees on Sunday, player and coach were analyzing the game's turning point. Almonte couldn't snag Jacoby Ellsbury's fly ball to the warning track in right field in the sixth inning, which sent a trio of Yankees runners to home plate.

It broke the tie. It opened the floodgates. It sealed the Indians' fate and secured the Yankees a series split.

"This is a ball that should be caught," Almonte said, "and I was not able to make the play. I thought it was not an easy fly ball, but it should be caught."

Almonte drifted back toward the wall, but as he reached the warning track, he appeared to jump a bit early and then crouch down and shield himself. The ball caromed off the base of the wall and trickled back to the outfield grass. Bradley Zimmer corralled the baseball and tossed it back toward the infield.

Almonte said the sun affected him "maybe a little bit."

"I made a run and saw it almost at the last second," he said, "but it is a fly ball that should be caught."
Abraham Almonte: "It's a ball that should be caught"

The Yankees took a 4-1 lead, which would balloon into an 8-1 advantage by the seventh inning.

"When he went back," said manager Terry Francona, "instead of trying to put your head down and get behind the ball, he stayed with it the whole time. His steps were shorter and choppier than if you put your head down and go to the spot, maybe try to get behind it.

"Then, as he closed in on the warning track, you could see he didn't quite know where he was. I'm not sure he knew where the ball was, either. Pivotal play, to say the least."

The Indians entered the sixth with a 1-0 lead. Carrasco intentionally walked Aaron Judge to load the bases with one out. After Chase Headley tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center, Carrasco walked Todd Frazier.

Ellsbury then struck a first-pitch fastball on the inner part of the plate.

" lost the ball trying to time [it] a little bit," Almonte said. " kept going to where it should be to see if I saw it. I'm supposed to just run to the wall and try to see if I can find it over there.

"It was hard. Every time we go out to that field, we just want to win. No matter how, we just want to do it and I was not able to make a play [and] that changed the game."

Tito's relationship with players pretty much guaranteed that he would not react to Almonte's messup by demoting him and recalling Naquin or Robertson. They might do so in a few days but he does not issue immediate punishments.

Why would they have brought up Almonte instead of Naquin in the first place? Do they prefer him as a switch hitter? They don't need another CF with Zimmer and Jackson already on the roster.

Because they wanted to?

Vs a good hitting team like the Yankees I would have played Jackson in RF instead of Almonte. When Chiz comes back I assume they will alternate him and Jackson anyway, or spell Zimmer with Jackson, don't really see a need for Almonte then. Of course Jackson may have been nursing something from a previous game.

The Cleveland Indians had no choice but to acquire Jay Bruce from New York Mets

phoynes@cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The waiting game is over for the Indians. Enter Jay Bruce, who until Wednesday night was the property of the New York Mets.

The Indians were reluctant to make a big trade for a hitter before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline because they felt injured right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall and second baseman Jason Kipnis would be back by late July or early August.

They were half right as Kipnis was activated Sunday, but Chisenhall is still dealing with a strained right calf muscle. When he's ready to play, he'll still have to play several rehab games before he joins the big league club.

The Indians still might not have acquired Bruce if Michael Brantley didn't take a seat in left field in the fifth inning Tuesday night after re-spraining his right ankle. When Brantley was placed on the disabled list Wednesday morning, Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations, was already far down the road in acquiring Bruce. He had no choice.

Indians ownership supported the move by picking up the remaining $3.7 million of Bruce's $13 million salary this season. Bruce, 30, is a free agent after this year.

Besides money, the Indians parted with Class A right-hander Ryder Ryan, a 30th-round pick in 2016.

"The combination of the two (injuries) provided the opportunity to bring someone in like Jay and get him at-bats," said Antonetti, in a late-night conference call. "Obviously, if Michael and Lonnie are healthy and unrestricted to this point, we wouldn't have the opportunity to get a player like Jay.

"With Lonnie still a little ways off to get out on a rehab assignment and Michael sustaining the injury on Tuesday, we felt that bringing in Jay will help us while those guys are out."

The Indians' offense needs help. Bruce should supply it.

They held a 31/2-game lead over Kansas City in the AL Central after Wednesday's discouraging 3-2 loss to the Rockies in 12 innings. Bruce is expected to join them Thursday night at Tropicana Field, when the Indians open an 11-game, four-city trip against the Rays.

He will find an inconsistent offense that looks better on paper than it does on the field. Perhaps the left-handed hitting Bruce will give his former Cincinnati teammate Edwin Encarnacion better protection in the middle of the lineup than Carlos Santana. The Indians are desperate to get Encarnacion started. He's had one good month - June - and continues to strand runners in scoring position at an alarming rate.

Bruce should ease some of the pressure on him and Jose Ramirez. He is in the midst of one of his best offensive seasons. When Bruce joins the Indians, he'll immediately become the team leader in homers and RBI. He was hitting .258 (104-for-409) with 29 homers, 75 RBI and an .847 OPS with the Mets.

As for what happens when Chisenhall and Brantley return, that will be manager Terry Francona's problem. No one can juggle a roster, while keeping everyone reasonably happy, better than Francona.

But right now the Indians need offense and wins. The starting rotation, led by 10-game winners Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco, has found its groove. The bullpen, a rock all season, lately has shown some wear and tear. Andrew Miller is on the DL and Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen have struggled, but if Miller can make a healthy return and Tyler Olson continues to impress as the second left-hander, the pitching should be all right.

Offensively, it's time for the Indians to make their mark. They'll miss Brantley and they've missed Chisenhall, but Bruce will help fill the void.

Not only is it a trade that will be well received in the clubhouse, it's a trade they had to make.