Cleveland Sports Forum

One thing I would add to the flowery article:

At least 2/3 of major league pitchers are right handed. So really Guyer is more like 1/3 an outfielder.

if any of our No. 1 draft choice Left Handed hitters could stay healthy they'd match up nicely with Guyer. But they can't.

Meisel’s Musings: The Indians’ outfield, the trade-deadline approach and fun with strikeouts

Zack Meisel 3h ago 3
DETROIT​ — It’s​ almost as​ if Rajai Davis and​ Melky Cabrera dialed Chris​ Antonetti’s number Sunday​ afternoon​ and told​ him to​​ pump the brakes.

Antonetti, though, was watching Jim Thome’s Hall of Fame induction speech in Cooperstown, New York, a mere 600 miles from Comerica Park. And Antonetti struggled to find cellphone service all weekend. Terry Francona attempted to call the Indians president of baseball operations Saturday, to no avail.

The Indians would love to address their outfield prior to Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline (or, at worst, at some point in August, assuming some of the available commodities pass through waivers). They certainly appreciate that Davis and Cabrera each collected three hits to fuel a victory Sunday afternoon. One game won’t change their approach to trade season, though.

Tyler Naquin, suffering from a stress reaction in his right hip, is the latest wounded outfielder. That leaves Michael Brantley, Davis, Greg Allen, Cabrera and Brandon Guyer as Francona’s options. That’s the definition of a glaring weakness.

Cabrera has tallied 11 hits in 27 at-bats (.407 average) since returning to the roster after the All-Star break, but that’s a small sample size. Francona does treasure the fact he’s a switch-hitter.

Guyer has resumed his preying on left-handed pitching, boosting his slash line against southpaws to .274/.391/.562. But he needs a capable platoon partner.

Davis has hit .321 (18 for 56) over the last three weeks, but that’s an admittedly arbitrary endpoint. Sunday, he became the Indians’ first No. 9 hitter to notch three extra-base hits in a game since Drew Stubbs accomplished the feat in 2013.

Center field seems like the position most in need of an upgrade. Maybe Cabrera and Guyer can handle right. Francona didn’t rule out the possibility of shifting Jason Kipnis to center field, should the club instead add to its infield. (From the Department of Broken Records: Yandy Díaz remains a possibility at third base in such an equation.)

Antonetti figures to chew up his cellphone battery over the next couple of days as the Indians attempt to find a fix. The club still prefers long-term answers — guys under team control beyond this season — but, as the front office found last year at this time, that isn’t always an available option. And the Indians are stuck with what’s available, because they desperately need some outfield help.

Here are a handful of thoughts and observations on the Tribe.

1. Trade secrets: Francona is involved in the daily trade discussions. He’ll chime in from time to time.

“Maybe sometimes more than they would like,” he said, laughing. “No, collaboration is a big word, but I think they live by it. Chris set a tone when I first got here — everybody is allowed their opinion and you don’t feel like you’re getting laughed at when you (say something), because that’s a bad feeling. So, what it does is it generates (an environment where) people aren’t afraid to give an opinion. Chris takes it and digests it and we talk through it together.”

That leads to plenty of debate, which can be healthy.

“We disagree — I don’t want to say all the time, but I don’t think you can go through all of the decisions or all of the players and everybody’s going to fall in line,” Francona said. “There’s always going to be a high guy or a low guy.”

Francona would never publicly admit he doesn’t have enough talent with which to work. He isn’t going to criticize the front office for the club’s lack of outfield production. And, really, there isn’t a flawless roster out there. So, he won’t publicly campaign for particular trades or for certain areas of the roster to be enhanced.

“I see how hard they’re trying,” Francona said. “I get the emails and I have the conversations. I also know they have to protect the health of the organization. So, if we make a trade, good. If we don’t make a trade, good. That’s how I feel. I feel like they’ve already helped us immensely. At some point, it falls on us in the uniform to get the job done. And, regardless of who’s in our outfield, we’re supposed to win. That’s what we’ll do.”


Michael Brantley has somehow been the iron man of the Indians’ outfield this year. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
2. Mr. 1,000: Brantley appeared in his 1,000th game with the Indians on Saturday evening, the 30th player in franchise history to reach that milestone. Jason Kipnis stands at 949 games; he could reach the mark by the end of the season. (In case you were wondering, Terry Turner holds the club record, with 1,619 games, five more than Nap Lajoie.)

Brantley’s pace, of course, was stunted by a series of injuries and setbacks over the last couple of years. He played in only 11 games in 2016 and 90 in 2017. He has already played in 93 this season.

In a league full of boom-or-bust hitters, Brantley owns the sport’s second-best strikeout rate (8.5 percent of plate appearances), even after he recorded his sixth multi-strikeout game of the season Sunday. Brantley has racked up 35 strikeouts in 410 trips to the plate.

For Brantley to match the strikeout rate of Joey Gallo, who has a league-worst rate of 35.4 percent, he would have to strike out in each of his next 171 plate appearances.

3. Power trip: As José Ramírez twisted his cleats into the dirt in the batter’s box for the first time Friday night, a familiar refrain echoed throughout a few sections at Comerica Park.

Joseee José José Joseeeeeee

Plenty of Indians fans trekked to Detroit for the weekend series, and they greeted the All-Star third baseman with the same chants that spread throughout Progressive Field on many a summer night.

Ramírez and Francisco Lindor have nearly matched their home run total from last season. They combined for 62 of them in 2017. Lindor’s two long balls Friday night pushed the duo’s total to 57 for this season.

Most HR by two teammates:

José Ramírez & Francisco Lindor: 57
J.D. Martínez & Mookie Betts: 57
Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton: 50
Mike Trout & Justin Upton: 50
Khris Davis & Matt Olson: 49

Of course, add Edwin Encarnacion to the equation and things get a bit more interesting.

José Ramírez & Edwin Encarnacion: 54
Francisco Lindor & Edwin Encarnacion: 51

Encarnacion paused a few steps before first base before he initiated his 24th trot around the bases Sunday afternoon, as he appeared to think Tigers left fielder Victor Reyes denied him of a homer.


4. Sick bay: Mike Clevinger woke up at 3:45 a.m. Saturday for the first round of his daylong bout with a flu bug that prompted him to constantly sweat and vomit. He called head athletic trainer James Quinlan and, when he arrived at the ballpark, he received a pair of IVs and some antibiotics. Clevinger gutted his way through five innings while he felt “like pudding.”

The Indians were hopeful Clevinger would make his start, but they mapped out a contingency plan just in case. Carl Willis informed Dan Otero that he would start if Clevinger couldn’t go. He would have warmed up during the top of the first and then jogged in from the bullpen.

“I was planning on going six,” Otero said.

The club added Adam Plutko to the roster for some pitching depth in the event they had to hold a spontaneous bullpen day. Plutko arrived at the ballpark about an hour after first pitch. He handled the ninth inning in the series finale Sunday, and he’ll likely return to Class AAA Columbus on Monday to make room on the roster for Allen, who will replace Naquin.

Foul tips

• Francona, on reliever Adam Cimber, the lesser-hyped addition from the trade with the Padres: “I love him. He’s a keeper. He’s going to help us for years to come. He’s a kid that has made himself into a good pitcher and he’s going to get better. Great attitude. Grows on you quickly.” Cimber has made four scoreless appearances for Cleveland since the trade.

(For more on Cimber, he explained each step of his funky delivery and how he learned he was traded in this piece from late last week.)

• Minutes after the Indians’ win Sunday, many players sat at their lockers and stared up at one of the handful of TVs in the visitors clubhouse as Thome delivered his Hall of Fame induction speech.

• Does completing a significant trade give a jolt to those in the clubhouse?

“Oh yeah, sure it does,” Francona said. “I mean, when we got Andrew (Miller), and then when we got Cimber and (Brad) Hand, we weren’t the only team that was trying to get those guys. We’re going up against teams with more resources and Chris and (Mike Chernoff) found a way for us to get them. Shit, man, not that I’m going to run balls out, but I’ve got more energy. It’s barely above comatose, but it’s still more energy.”

Whatever happened to "chain of command"?

Tito talks directly to Antonetti and skips his GM Chernoff?

Never hear anything about Chernoff. Is he just a paper pusher?

I think he does the grunt work.

But that could include laying all the groundwork for trades - then Tito and Chris review with him.

Today's front offices are so huge with so much to do that it takes a lot of staff.

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was not a blockbuster move that stole the spotlight on a hectic Tuesday around the Majors, but it was a trade that made a lot of sense for the Indians.

Prior to Tuesday's 4 p.m. non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Tribe reeled in center fielder Leonys Martin from the Tigers in exchange for shortstop prospect Willi Castro. Detroit also sent Double-A starter Kyle Dowdy to Cleveland as part of the deal, which was the second move made by the Tribe this trade season.

The Indians have been trying to patch together an outfield riddled with injuries, and Martin brings plus defense in center and a bat to help against right-handed pitching. On Monday night, rumors flew that the Indians had inquired with the Nationals about the availability of superstar Bryce Harper. Washington elected to stand pat, so Cleveland's talks veered down a more realistic path.

All-Star Michael Brantley has provided the only source of stability in the Indians' outfield, manning left while center field and right field have lost players left and right. Center fielder Bradley Zimmer (right shoulder) is out for eight to 12 months. Right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall (right calf) could be down for the year. Outfielder Tyler Naquin (stress reaction in his right hip) is on the 10-day DL and will see a specialist later this week.

Martin can take over the bulk of the innings in center, splitting time with veteran Rajai Davis, who can get starts against lefties and offer speed off the bench. In 638 1/3 innings in center this season, the 30-year-old Martin had recorded three Defensive Runs Saved. His 13.4 UZR/150 ranks second among qualified MLB center fielders, as do the 8.2 fielding runs above average logged this year.

Offensively, Martin can slot into the lower third of the lineup and potentially provide an uptick in production for Cleveland's very top-heavy order. Martin has a .251/.321/.409 slash line with nine homers and 27 extra-base hits in 78 games this season. He has hit .275 with a .783 OPS and 113 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, meaning he has been 13 percent above league average in that regard.

The Indians always prefer to target players with multiple years of control in trades and Martin fits that description, too. The center fielder is under contract this season for $1.75 million and has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining. That offers Cleveland a layer of protection in the outfield, given that Zimmer could miss the first half next season and Chisenhall is hitting free agency this winter.

Before landing Martin, the Indians were also linked to outfielders Adam Jones, Adam Duvall, Derek Dietrich, Joey Gallo and Cameron Maybin, among others, in various reports and rumors.

In right field, the Indians will continue to feature a platoon-type scenario with Brandon Guyer facing lefties and switch-hitter Melky Cabrera handling right-handers. Cleveland will also continue to monitor the trade market through the August waiver period, when players can be dealt either by being claimed or after clearing waivers. Last year, for example, the Tribe acquired right fielder Jay Bruce in an August deal with the Mets.

Dowdy, 25, was a 12th-round selection by Detroit in the 2015 MLB Draft and offers a layer of rotation depth for the Tribe's farm system. Between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this year, the right-hander was 8-8 with a 4.74 ERA, 92 strikeouts and 32 walks in 95 innings.

The 21-year-old Castro -- ranked eighth overall on the Indians' Top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline -- has been heralded for his defensive play throughout the Minors. This past winter, Cleveland even added the young infielder to its 40-man roster to protect him from possible selection in the Rule 5 Draft in December. The presence of Francisco Lindor made a prospect like Castro (currently at Double-A) expendable.

The Martin deal helps Cleveland's need for improvement in the outfield and comes on the heels of the Tribe addressing its need for bullpen reinforcements. On July 19, the Indians shipped their former top prospect, catcher Francisco Mejia, to the Padres in order to land All-Star closer Brad Hand and sidearmer Adam Cimber.

MLB PROSPECTS & MINOR LEAGUES 2018

PROSPECT TRADE ANALYSIS
Tigers trade Leonys Martin and prospect Kyle Dowdy to Indians for prospect Willi Castro
Let’s look at the minor leaguers in this deal
By John Sickels@MinorLeagueBall Jul 31, 2018, 2:59pm EDT
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Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Today the Detroit Tigers traded outfielder Leonys Martin and right-handed pitcher Kyle Dowdy to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Willi Castro. Here’s a quick look at the two minor league prospects in the deal.

Willi Castro, INF: Signed by the Indians out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, Castro emerged as an intriguing prospect in 2017, hitting .290/.337/.424 in High-A at age 20 with 19 steals. His transition to Double-A this season has had some rough patches, with struggles in April (.205) and July (.193) but stronger hitting in May (.295) and June (.270). Overall this year he’s at .245/.303/.350 with 20 doubles, five homers, 28 walks, 84 strikeouts and 13 steals across 371 at-bats.

Castro is 21 years old, a switch-hitter listed at 6-1, 165. I was quite high on him entering 2018, giving him a Grade B/B+ pre-season. He hasn’t met those expectations yet but he’s still young, athletic, and has improved his defense this year. He could stand to sharpen his plate discipline but I still think he has the potential to become a regular eventually.

Kyle Dowdy, RHP: The Tigers selected in the 12th round in 2015 from the University of Houston. He showed good control in the High-A Florida State League in 2017, posting a 121/28 K/BB in 134 innings with a 3.83 ERA. He’s split 2018 between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, combining for a 4.74 ERA in 95 innings with a 92/32 K/BB and 104 hits allowed.

Dowdy is listed at 6-1, 195, age 25. He features a 90-93 MPH with some sink, mixed with a fringy slider and change-up. He’s been an okay minor league starter but his talents may play up if shifted to the bullpen.

that reminded me of the one thing I haven't liked about Willi: he doesn't walk much at all. His defense always was considered solid so if its better this year that means it's very good. Always been young at his level. Should be a good big leaguer. Fortunately we are very deep and talented at shortstop; one of the most in-demand talents.

Especially lower levels now. Have a bunch of middle infielders that look to have promise. Which works out great, cause one of them should rise to top and be ready by time we need one. The guys that are at higher level now just aren't needed. Besides trade bait.

I'm hoping and assuming that some of those shortstops are convertible to 2nd base or to the outfield. Our minor league depth in the OF is still limited.

We keep drafting OFs first and they keep out failing for one reason or another; in recent years

Chisenhall, although he started in the infield
Naquin
Frazier, traded of course for quality arm, but like any good Indian top pick he can't overcome injury; he's really having trouble getting over a preseason concussion
Zimmer
Benson
Holmes

That's why I said middle infielders. I'm sure 1 or 2 of those SS's will move to 2nd base eventually. Of course 3rd or OF is a possibility as well.

We have Tena hitting .323 in Dominican.
Rocchio hitting .322 and Marcos Gonzalez hitting .356 in Arizona.
Palacios was tearing up Arizona, then sent up to Mahoning Valley where he is hitting even better. .411 ... And Tyler Freeman hitting .366 there too.
And Ernie Clement hitting .294 between Lake County and Lynchburg this year.

Pretty crazy really. A ton of talent at SS in our lower levels.

BA does this annually: Ranking the prospects traded in the deadline deals:

1. Francisco Mejia, C, Padres

(Acquired in trade that sent RHP Brad Hand and RHP Adam Cimber to Indians)

Mejia is the only Top 25 prospect to be traded so far (he ranked 24th on the current Top 100). There are scouts who worry about his over-aggressive approach at the plate and Mejia still has to improve his receiving to prove he can be a full-time catcher. But he’s a 22-year-old catcher in Triple-A with a track record of hitting, which gives him a very high upside if he can improve his defense and his selectivity and pitch recognition.

They rank 45 in total, and Mercado isn't among them.

Tito & Antonetti Jordan Bastian

Prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline, the Indians acquired outfielder Leonys Martin (along with Minor League pitcher Kyle Dowdy) from the Tigers in exchange for shortstop prospect Willi Castro.

Cleveland also reeled in outfield prospect Oscar Mercado from the Cardinals for prospects Conner Capel and Jhon Torres. Back on July 19, the Indians also shipped top prospect Francisco Mejia to the Padres to add All-Star closer Brad Hand and righty Adam Cimber to the MLB bullpen.

Both Indians manager Terry Francona and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti discussed the moves, among other topics, with reporters. Here are the highlights of those media sessions.

Q&A with Indians manager Terry Francona

Q: When is Leonys Martin expected to join the team?

Francona: “Late tonight. His flight gets in like nine. He’ll be activated for tomorrow’s game.”

Q: What do you think Martin can add to this roster?

Francona: “You know what? Obviously, there’s a lot of things that are going on by the Trade Deadline. But, we lost Zimmer, we lost Chiz, we lost Naquin. So, when it was all said and done, you’re like, ‘OK, what can really impact us?’ A center fielder that complements Raj. I think sometimes people lose track of like, OK, what’s your roster? And what complements what? Kind of like I’ve been saying lately with Guyer. Because Melky’s here, we’re able to use Guyer against the guys we want to. [Martin has] been really good against right-hand pitching and he’s a good center fielder. He’s supposed to be a great kid. So, again, I want to talk to him before I start proclaiming who he’s playing against and who he isn’t, because I think that’s respectful to him. But, I think we got kind of a sleeper. I think his OPS against righties is .780 or something and he can go play center field, so we’re pretty excited about that.”

Q: If you can’t go out and get a sure-fire, everyday player, how important is it to find a way to maximize the production of your roster with multiple players?

Francona: “Well, again, this guy can play everyday, because he has. I do think maximizing our roster helps us, especially in Raj’s case. Like, Guyer is a good example. There’s not a lot of guys that can be so impactful when they’re playing maybe against lefties. Guyer and Raj are two of them. And I’ll tell the guys, it’s not an indictment on the guys — that they can’t do something. It’s just, when guys complement each other, we’re a better team.”

Q: This is the trade we get to see and hear about at the finish line. You obviously saw a lot more trade dialogue behind the scenes. What did you think of how the front office approached this Deadline?

Francona: “I’m always proud to work here, because I love it here and I love the people here. But, I was proud as can be of their efforts. And I think they know that. I mean, they afford me my opinion, probably to a point some time today where they’re like, ‘We shouldn’t have called him.’ And I told them that, too. But, they did a really good job. I mean, it’s not easy. We have some parameters, which we know are in place. We’re not going to be the Dodgers or the Red Sox. But, we don’t want that to get in the way of us winning. And I think they’ve done an unbelievable job of making us better.”

Q: A couple weeks back, Chris spoke with Jason Kipnis about the possibility of moving to the outfield, because it wasn’t known at that point how the Trade Deadline would impact the roster. What’d you think of Kipnis’ willingness and are you happy to be able to keep him at second?

Francona: “I think in the end we really did want to keep him where he was. There’s obviously a lot of ways to go, but I think we felt like we’re a better team keeping him where he is. And I also think part of maybe Kip’s willingness is Chris’ honesty with him. I don’t know if you see to many front office’s guys that are willing to sit down in the food room and talk to a guy. And I think that goes a long way in guys’ willingness, because it’s kind of hard not to when you’ve got a guy telling you the truth.”

Q: What was the feedback on Andrew Miller’s rehab appearance with Triple-A Columbus on Monday?

Francona: “Very good. And he’s going to pitch again tonight. And then when we get back home, we’ll reconvene and see what the next step is.”

Q: And how did Josh Tomlin’s simulated game go today?

Francona: “Good. He had two 15-pitch innings, and he’s going to go out and pitch Friday at Columbus. He’ll throw two innings in Columbus.”

Q: You guys are kind of in a unique situation with how the AL Central has played out this year. When you have such a large division lead, do you ever worry about a lack of urgency among the players, given the cushion you have to play with?

Francona: “You know what, though? One, that can change in a week. It’s very fluid. You’re record’s always fluid. You know that. You know what? If I did, I’d say something. So, no. When we’re playing a game, we try to win every game. Like, I know how much last night hurt. So, no, I really don’t. If you ask me if I’d rather have a lead or not, I’d rather have a lead. And I think there’s a right way to play and a wrong way to play. I think, for the most part, our guys do a pretty good job. And we may visit tomorrow for a few minutes, just because we’ve got some new guys here. When it kind of looks like it’s going to be our team the rest of the way. We might actually visit for a few minutes just to talk about those things.”

Q: Has the large division lead impacted your managing?

Francona: “I really believe that, maybe that’s one good thing about experience, is I’d like to think you’d do what you think is the right thing regardless. Like, I’ve never told a player this year, ‘If we win tonight, you’ve got tomorrow off.’ If I think they need tomorrow off, they’re going to have it off. I think you can make mistakes like that.”

Q: In Monday’s loss, you went to Neil Ramirez in the ninth. Why’d you go that route instead of using Hand or Cimber?

Francona: “We were going to try to get outs, then go to Hand at the top of the order, because I thought that gave us a chance for him to go an inning-plus. If we go to Hand for right, left, right, and if he gets them out, then coming through the heart of the order — where a lot of them are left-handed — we had already used Oliver.”

Q: Do you know much about the Mercado kid you guys got from the Cardinals?

Francona: “I know enough to think we should be pretty excited. Supposedly, he’s an unbelievable kid to start with. He can run and he’s a shortstop that moved to the outfield. He’s athletic as all get-out. I think a little bit like Greg [Allen], he’s still developing as far as hitting goes. But, just because he’s not here doesn’t mean we’re not excited. When we got him, I was excited just about as much as anybody else.”

Q: Does that type of move show how the front office is not only focused on winning now, but planning for the future?

Francona: “Always. Always. That’s why, again, I thought getting the two relievers was so big, because everybody wants to win now. Nobody more than me. But, for the health of our organization, having some relievers that you think you can count on for years to come, going into the winter, that’s going to make the winter a lot better. Because, we’re going to have some big decisions to make and holes to fill. We know that. But, having two guys that you think are going to pitch at the back-end is big.”

Q&A with Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations

[Opening remarks on conference call]

Antonetti: “I think maybe just starting more generally, after the trade with the Padres and acquiring Hand and Cimber, we really focused our attention on trying to improve our outfield situation. It’s been a position that’s been a little bit in flux for us for the balance of this season, so we explored a lot of alternatives to try to address and improve our outfield options. And we were really pleased to be able to acquire Leonys Martin. We think he’s a great complement to our roster. He provides us with a very good defender in center field who’s a good baserunner. Capable of playing both center and right and he’s also a very good offensive player against right-handed pitching. So, his skill-set complements our current roster really well and that’s why we made the move to get him.

“We also … acquired a right-handed hitter, Oscar Mercado from the St. Louis Cardinals for Conner Capel and Jhon Torres. Oscar’s a right-handed hitting outfielder that is on the roster. He’s currently at Triple-A. He’s a very athletic player. He transitioned from shortstop to center field a couple of years ago and has really made that transition well. We think he’s an above-average defender with above-average speed that adds a very good option for us in the near-term at the Major League level in the outfield.”

Q: Martin has dealt with hamstring issues this season. How confident are you that it won’t be much of an issue going forward, given the background work you did on him before the trade?

Antonetti: “We spent a lot of time on that, working through that, and talking through both with the Tigers medical personnel and then also we had the ability to see him play over the last handful of games to watch and make sure he’s healthy. We think he’s working his way back to full strength and top speed, but he’s getting pretty close to that level.”

Q: With Bradley Zimmer potentially out part of next season, how important was the fact that Martin is under control through next year, too?

Antonetti: “That was an important element for us. With Leonys, he is under team control next year, so that gives us another option for our outfield as we seek to build our team for 2019 as well.”

Q: What do you think of Martin as a hitter?

Antonetti: “He’s made a lot of strides this year, especially against right-handed pitching. I think we had a chance to see that first-hand, that he can put together quality at-bats and contribute offensively, while at the same time providing very good defense in center field as well as very good baserunning.”

Q: There were a lot of names linked to you guys over the past few weeks. There was even a report that you inquired about Bryce Harper. Can you shed some light on how exhaustive your search was for outfield help?

Antonetti: “Over the last month-plus, we spent a lot of time examining alternatives to improve the team. While our initial focus was improving our bullpen options, we were focused on trying to improve our outfield situation. That market took a little bit longer of a time to develop and really came together here over the last few days. Throughout that process, we examined a lot of different alternatives and are really pleased that we ended up with Leonys.”

Q: Were there any deals that were close that broke down, like a player blocking the trade or a team backing out at the last second?

Antonetti: “That happens every Deadline, so yes, that certainly happened over the last couple weeks. Nothing on a player level. We never got to the point of presenting something to a player that he didn’t approve. But, there were hundreds of different concepts that we talked about over the last few weeks. We were able to get a couple of them done, but that’s par for the course as you explore trades.”

Q: How much will you continue to look to add during the August waiver period?

Antonetti: “I think we’ll always do that. It’s another opportunity for us to improve the options. That said, I feel really good about the team we have entering the second half of the season now.”

Q: How seriously were you guys considering a scenario where Kipnis would move to the outfield like last season?

Antonetti: “A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to talk with Kip and talk through alternatives and options and different things that might develop over the next few weeks as we approach the Trade Deadline. To Kip’s credit, he was incredible with it. He said, ‘Hey, I care most about being part of a winning team that wins the World Series. And whatever I can do to help that, whether that’s play second base or play the outfield, I’d be willing to do. So, if you can get a player who helps us, I’ll play wherever I can contribute and help the team.’ That allowed us to explore a lot of options. In the end, none of those options came to fruition, so Kip is going to continue to play second base for us and we’re really happy about that.”

Q: Can you tell us a little about the pitcher you got from the Tigers?

Antonetti: “Kyle Dowdy, a right-handed starter who spent some time in Double-A and Triple-A this year. He has a four-pitch mix and he’ll go in and slide into our Akron rotation.”

Q: Could an August trade be realistic for you guys?

Antonetti: “I’m not sure it’s realistic, but any of those guys who didn’t get traded could be options for us in the August waiver period. Now, it gets a lot more complicated to be able to execute a trade during that time period.”

Q: Will you be able to get some sleep now?

Antonetti: “I can get some sleep. It’s been an eventful few days. After a weekend in Cooperstown and driving back and a late night last night.”

Q: How was the cell reception in Cooperstown?

Antonetti: (laughing) “At times, the reception was OK, but I’ve learned when 53,000 people are trying to connect to the same cell tower, you don’t get great reception or connectivity.”

— JB

Q&A: Jason Kipnis opens up about his trying season, his future, the Indians’ future and his talks with the front office

Zack Meisel 32m ago 2

MINNEAPOLIS​ — In​ past years,​ Jason Kipnis has assessed​ the state of​ the Indians as​ one​ of its​ core members,​​ a building block and leader who had the pulse of the clubhouse.

As he sat on the corner of a couch in the center of the visitor’s clubhouse at Target Field on Tuesday afternoon, minutes after the non-waiver trade deadline had passed, Kipnis shared his perspective on a handful of topics. But the conversation carried a different tone. No longer is he an anchor of the lineup or a player locked up for the long haul. Kipnis has been on a season-long hunt for solutions at the plate, as evidenced by his .221/.304/.358 slash line and 80 wRC+. (It’s worth noting that his OPS in the past two months is better than .800.)

So when Chris Antonetti approached him a few weeks ago and mentioned the potential of a trade forcing Kipnis to the outfield, the 31-year-old assured the team president that he’d gladly accept any sort of assignment (especially if the transaction included Manny Machado).

“That allowed us to explore a lot of options,” Antonetti said.

Ultimately, the addition of Leonys Martín solidified Kipnis’ standing at second base.

“I think, in the end, we really did want to keep him where he was,” Terry Francona said. “I also think part of Kip’s willingness is Chris’ honesty with him. I don’t know if you see too many front office guys that are willing to sit down in the food room and talk to a guy. And I think that goes a long way in guys’ willingness, because it’s kind of hard not to when you’ve got a guy telling you the truth.”

Kipnis has no trouble being candid, either. He knows he’s struggling at the plate. He knows he hasn’t wielded the smoothest glove. He knows his days in Cleveland are likely limited to 2018 and ’19, at most. (He’s owed $14.7 million for next year, plus a $2.5 million buyout or a $16.5 million club option for 2020.) That’s why he joked that he wanted to see the front office strip the farm system of his talent and acquire the headline-grabbing names on the trade market.

“I don’t care how they are in four years,” he joked. “I won’t be here!”

In reality, Kipnis believes the Indians are poised to contend for years to come. He believes the Indians have yet to play to their potential in 2018. He believes he has better days ahead, too.

He spoke about those topics and more with a couple of reporters, including The Athletic, on Tuesday afternoon.

Antonetti said he spoke to you a couple of weeks ago and you expressed a willingness to go to center field, if necessary. What was your mindset over these last couple of weeks, with the uncertainty about what they were going to do or where you were going to play?

When you’ve been here for a while and you know your so-called window and you know you have a playoff team, you want to be part of it in any way possible. And you want the best team they can get, so if the front office is going out and getting the best players to help us, be it a second baseman, be it a bullpen guy, whatever, we’ll accommodate. We’ve seen a lot of guys move around, whether it’s Cody and Miller, all those guys, or I did it last year. I would do it again if I thought that a guy was coming in to make us a better team.

Did you pay particularly close attention to rumors because you might be affected?

A little bit. I’ve heard them. It’s hard not to see it. And before people think that I’m searching my name on Twitter or anything like that, you come into a big-league clubhouse with MLB Network on all day, or when we follow you guys on Twitter — even without looking for it, it’s in our face. So, I’ve seen ‘em. I knew, whether it was Dozier, Cabby, all of these. I saw them all come up. We didn’t talk about those. (Laughs) But at the same time, I didn’t think Chris had to ask me. I think he knew that I’ve always been about wanting to win here. We’ll make it work any way we can.

Did he come to you?

He came to me earlier, when I think Machado was still in play. And he said, ‘We have no tires spinning yet, but I just wanted to run it by you, if that were to happen, maybe moving back to center.’ I said, ‘If you get Machado, yeah, I’ll fuckin’ play center.’ That’s been the culture here in a while, guys doing anything that it takes to win.

You’ve been known to look at social media, but earlier this season, did you avoid it?

Oh, God, yeah. I had to get away from that. I think I just tweeted about how I’ve been here for seven years and I’ve learned how to deal from adversity and I’ve learned how to deal with whiny adults on social media. They’re fans. They’re passionate. They want what’s best for the team. They want their team to win. If you’re not helping their team win, they’ll let you know. And if you are, they’ll also let you know and make you feel better about it. You have to give ‘em a reason to cheer. There’s not much good for athletes to be on social media anymore, really, from the standpoint of, there’s no way for us to win any argument or anything like that without stepping on some toes. It’s just not even worth the energy to go through it or try to respond.

When the front office makes a splash, it’s for a guy signed for a while.

They’re very conscientious of being a small-market team. They do their due diligence. You can tell that they’re a smart bunch up there. You see guys in the front office with the Indians go on to be front office people at higher positions with other organizations. They do good work here. They might not always bring in the sexy move or anything like that that the fans can rejoice about, but they’re going to bring in a good move. I think fans need to realize it’s not fantasy baseball they’re playing. There are actually constrictions and money and everything else that’s involved. They can’t just go ahead and make their superstar lineup like everybody wants.

For younger guys who will be here for a while, it seems like they can feel comfortable about this team winning for the foreseeable future.

The foreseeable future, absolutely. Early on, it wasn’t a problem, just because we weren’t winning that much in ’11 and ’12. When it came to it to see if the front office was on our side and if they would be all in, when the time is right, they’ve done nothing but prove they’re all in. They’ve wanted to capitalize on this window. The Indians are going to be winning for a while. They have a lot of guys still signed. That’s why I want them to trade the farm. I’m not going to be here for much longer, so I don’t know how they’re going to do it in years to come. That’s why I want them to give up the whole house to give up everybody. I want to win now. I don’t care how they are in four years. I won’t be here!

So were you tweeting from your burner account last night begging them to get Harper?

Yeah! Why do we not have Harper and Machado? We don’t need this prospect. Let’s go! It won’t affect me!

“To get caught up in who’s closing and who is not is kind of silly.” Q&A with Cody Allen

Cody Allen sat down with Indians manager Terry Francona recently to discuss the best way to get the closer back on track. That meant checking the ego at the manager’s door, though that’s never been an issue for Allen.

Allen is the all-time saves leader in Indians history, but he is just as willing to take the ball in the seventh and eighth as he is for the ninth. Once back in 2015, Allen even took the mound in the fifth inning after a rain delay to escape a bases-loaded jam against the Cubs.

“I love that kid,” Francona said on Saturday. “Rather than run away from him, we kind of put our heads together and it’s like, ‘How do we make this better?’ Because, we need him.”

Allen has labored some of late — he’s allowed nine runs in his past seven appearances combined — but this has been a season-long struggle for the closer. Dating back to April 27, Allen has a 6.32 ERA. Recently, the righty has been sorting through some mechanical changes.

With lefty Brad Hand now in the fold, Francona is looking more and more at matchups. If it makes sense to use Hand in the ninth, the manager will not hesitate. If there is an opportunity to leverage Allen late, or even get him some work in a low-stress situation, Francona will do that, too.

On Friday night, Allen was called upon in the seventh inning with a runner on first, one out and the game caught in a 3–3 tie at the time. Allen escaped with an inning-ending double play and then recorded two more outs in the eighth before Adam Cimber and Dan Otero finished off the 8–3 victory.

In the hours leading up to Saturday’s game in Detroit, Allen discussed the current bullpen dynamic with local reporters. Here is the Q&A.

Q: Do you see this as a new role, the way you’re being used now?

Allen: “No. I don’t know. Tito and I have talked in the past — the last few times —about just trying to get me moving in the right direction. Sometimes, the best way to do that is to bring me in with guys on base. Last night was a good spot to try to do that. I feel like it helps me go out there and compete instead of thinking about different things. The last couple times I’ve done it, I feel like it’s benefited me.”

Q: What, mechanically, have you prioritized lately?

Allen: “I’m just trying to be less rotational and more aggressive through the plate. I’ve always been a guy who — my fastball has driven through the zone, had that good ride through the zone. When I can get a little rotational, that takes away from it and also neutralizes my breaking ball. That’s a pitch that’s been kind of a grind for me. So, that probably explains a lot, just getting a little too rotational and just spinning off at the last second.”

Q: How important is it to be willing to say, “I’ll go in in the seventh and work on what I need to work on,” rather than be only concerned with getting a save?

Allen: “Yeah, we would all like to pitch at the back end of the game or close games out. But, more importantly, we want to go out there and pitch well and help our team win games. So, whenever Tito feels like I’m most valuable to this team is when I’m going to pitch, and I’m perfectly fine with doing that.”

Q: Do you and the other relievers talk about your roles, or is it out of your control to the point that you can’t worry too much about it?

Allen: “We haven’t really talked about it. I know Tito has talked to Brad and me and when [Andrew] Miller gets back, he’ll talk to us. Like, the game the other day against Pittsburgh, it’d be silly to have Brad sit down there. You had three lefties and a switch-hitter coming up. I was ready for the righties behind him, but it’d be kind of silly to have a guy like that not face those hitters.”

Q: Is it fun to think about the potential mixing and matching with you and Miller and Hand?

Allen: “Yeah, especially when Andrew comes back. We’re going to have a lot of ways to finish a game, not only the last three innings, but after the fifth, which is exciting. You look at what we did it a few years ago out of the ‘pen — this bullpen definitely has the opportunity to do that.”

Q: This isn’t the first time that you’ve expressed to Francona that you’re willing to handle any role…

Allen: “Ever since Andrew has gotten here, it’s been that way. There were quite a few times in 2016 when Andrew closed out a game. There were a few times last year when Andrew closed out a game. The save stat is very arbitrary. There’s a lot of value and there are a lot of guys who pitch before the ninth inning who are extremely valuable to a ballclub. To get caught up in who’s closing and who is not is kind of silly. We’re all just looking to pitch well whenever they tell us.”

Q: Do you think that’s a common sentiment now? Has that changed over time?

Allen: “I think it’s changed a little bit. I will say this: Closing games out is a lot of fun. There’s a lot of pride in that position, to be able to shake a catcher’s hand. I’ll never forget closing out Game 3 of the World Series, pitching the ninth inning and getting the last out. I believe that’s a skill in itself. But, there are a lot of guys in our bullpen who can do that. If there are certain guys and you’re at a certain part of the order and that guy is a better fit for it, by all means, do it. Ultimately, you want to win the game.”

Q: The save stat has made a lot of pitchers a lot of money…

Allen: “Myself included.”

Q: But, as view of that stat has started to change, has that dynamic changed where you don’t feel like you’re going to cost yourself money in arbitration or free agency, because there’s more knowledge about relieving?

Allen: “I don’t think it’s wrong for guys to want to close games out. Even if guys aren’t super thrilled with moving back, that’s perfectly normal. Wade Davis is the perfect example. He’s closed the last couple of years. But, when he was in Kansas City setting up ballgames, if he would’ve been a free-agent coming out of that 2014 season, I don’t think anybody would have hesitated giving him a ninth-inning contract, just because of how good he was. You can’t deny how good that guy is, regardless of what inning he’s pitching. So, in terms of personal value, yeah, through arbitration, it can hurt a little bit. Actually, it can hurt a lot. But, at the end of the day, if you pitch well… There’s no denying how well a guy pitches, regardless of what inning it is.”

Q: How much does any of this come into play for you, given that you’ll be hitting free agency after this season?

Allen: “No. Free agency will get here when free agency gets here. Until then, I’m a Cleveland Indian and we’re focused on winning today, beating the Detroit Tigers. If I pitch in the seventh inning, if I pitch in the ninth inning, if I pitch in the fifth inning, that’s all a non-factor.”

Q: We talked about it a lot during the spring — that this could be the last year here for you and a lot of other guys. Are you starting to feel that sense of urgency to win now as you close in on another division title?

Allen: “No, I feel like this team has done a really, really good job of just taking every game day by day. And I think that’s probably why this team has been so good in the second half the last few years. Just stay the course, play the game, don’t panic. And then, obviously, our front office does an unbelievable job at the Deadline, going and getting the pieces they feel are necessary for us to win. They’ve gotten some really, really good players the last few years who have come in and been a vital part of this ballclub, whether that be Andrew Miller, Jay Bruce, Joe Smith, Brad and Adam Cimber, Coco [Crisp]. There have been a lot of guys who have come in and really helped us.”

Q: It’s easy to start identifying the American League contenders. Have you started daydreaming at all about how this bullpen could match-up with those lineups?

Allen: “Yeah. You look at New York last year. They were in a rebuild year and they went to Game 7 of the ALCS. They played really well down the stretch of the season and throughout the playoffs and a big part of that was a long bullpen that was pitching well at that time. Granted, our bullpen hasn’t pitched particularly well this year — myself included. I have not pitched well. But, there’s too much left of the regular season, a little over two months. We have a lot of time to get things moving in the right direction and we still have to earn our right to play in October. If we can do that, if we’re playing our best baseball going into the postseason, that’s the goal. That’s why maybe giving Andrew or certain guys a little extra time, and hopefully we can find some time to give our starting pitchers [some rest] and Frankie [Lindor] and Josey [Ramirez] and [Michael] Brantley [rest] so those guys can be fresh and ready to go into October while playing our best baseball.”

Q: Is it a relief when you enter a game in the seventh or eighth, or can you be more aggressive?

Allen: “No. I will say that sometimes you go into those spots and, I wouldn’t say it’s relief, but you do know — I know that if I get myself in a pickle, there’s a guy like Andrew or Brad who can come in and get you out of it. In the ninth inning, you’re in there until it’s decided. Sometimes, that can be that way, but for the most part, you’re just going out there and trying to make a good pitch, just trying to get outs. Last night, I ended up walking Victor [Martinez]. Adam came in, finished the inning. Dan comes in, closes it out. That’s how a good bullpen is going to work. You just hand the ball off to the next guy. This ‘pen, over the last few years, why it’s been one of the better ones in baseball, is because we just hand the ball off to the next guy. That’s what we did in the postseason in ’16. We had a serious weapon in Andrew Miller, but it’d be Andrew-Bryan-myself or Bryan-Andrew-myself or Bryan-myself-Andrew. You go as long as you can and then you hand it off to the next guy.”

— JB