Cleveland Sports Forum

Mazaroski

That Was Fast: Indians Sign Kevin Durant

Shortly after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Cubs, the Cleveland Indians shocked the sports world by signing Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant.

“He reached out to us,” explained Indians GM Mike Chernoff. “Frankly, I’m not sure he’s ever even played baseball. But I suppose he could probably rob some home runs if we put him in the outfield.”

In a Player’s Tribune Essay titled “My Next Chapter/Inning/Baseball Word Along Those Lines”, Durant wrote: “If the Indians would have won the World Series, I wouldn’t feel right about signing with them. It would just feel unfair. But now, I feel like I can help lead this team to glory.’”

The Indians’ odds of winning next year’s World Series have actually gone down, but that hasn’t stopped various ring-chasing NBA veterans from signing with the team.

“I have absolutely no use for Zaza Pachulia or David West,” Chernoff said. “But they’re here, so, that’s that I guess.”

Indians decline 13 million dollar club option on Coco Crisp.

That would be a lot for Coco. Does that mean we can't sign him now for less? I guess with Almonte returning [unless he screws up again] and with Yandy Diaz ready for the majors we don't need Coco back, but he had a very nice return visit.

Indians announce today that Brantley is set to resume baseball activities in December and be ready to roll for Spring Training.

This time I believe it.

This years team was a fantastic ride. Also,I do not hurt in the gut like I did in the 97 series. That being said and moving on, we need the stud defender with speed and good bat in CF and as for Chiz, the guy does have a cannon for an arm. Lastly, MLB needs to either get rid of the DH (unlikely) or have the NL rejoin the rest of the world and have a DH. One last thing, why not have a 27 or 28 man roster than to have a 40man in Sept. The really good teams should have to deal with competition fairly and not with a 13 man bullpen.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that the Indians are expected to make Mike Napoli a one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer.
Napoli hit all of incentives to make his contract this year worth $10 million, but it would obviously be a nice raise should he choose to accept the qualifying offer. He certainly earned a pay bump after batting .239/.335/.465 with 34 homers and 101 RBI for the Tribe this season. He just turned 35 and having a qualifying offer attached to him figures to hurt his market, so Napoli's best bet might wind up being to take the offer from the Indians.
Source: Jordan Bastian on TwitterNov 4 - 1:41 PM

This would shock me. 17.2 million !

if Indians make the offer I cannot see him turning it down; but I would prefer the first round draft pick

civ ollilavad wrote:if Indians make the offer I cannot see him turning it down; but I would prefer the first round draft pick

That would be a lot for Coco. Does that mean we can't sign him now for less?

Civ - obviously $13 million is way overkill for Coco, but yes we can definitely now talk to him to see if he wants to come back for less.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that the Indians are expected to make Mike Napoli a one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer.

As for Nap, at this stage of his career, he is going to want multiple years. So, the Tribe will make the qualifying offer, figuring he will turn it down. Worst that can happen is that he takes it, but even then it's only a one year commitment.

I'm thinking, if Nap really wants back, they make him a 2 year offer, say $25 mill? Then he gets more cash in the deal overall and the Tribe has him for less annually and still a short commitment.

kenm will laugh, but the Indians do have a playoff bounty that they never have, so I do expect a bit (nothing crazy) more spending than usual. As well, they will likely have quite the increase in season ticket sales after this crazy wonderful season.

Tribe interested in bringing back Napoli, Davis


Both veterans eligible for free agency; Cleveland more likely to extend qualifying offer to DH/1B


Chris Antonetti discusses Michael Brantley's recovery and the team's plans with free agents Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis


By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | November 4th, 2016 + 41 COMMENTS


CLEVELAND -- Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis played key roles in the Indians' season, and the team has interest in bringing both veterans back for next year. Over the next few days, Cleveland's decision-makers will hold internal discussions to determine just how much they are willing to pay.

By Monday, the Indians need to decide whether to extend a $17.2 million qualifying offer to Napoli or Davis, who are both eligible for free agency. Of the two, Napoli is the more likely candidate to be given the one-year opportunity to continue his time in Cleveland. If an offer is given and declined, then the Indians would receive a compensatory Draft pick if the player signs elsewhere.
"Obviously, the offseason is just getting started for us," Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on Friday. "But we have a lot of decisions to make, and both for Raj and Mike, we expressed our desire to potentially have them back. And we recognize they both have alternatives, based on the years that they had, but we're certainly open to exploring different ways where both of them could be back here."
Napoli presents an intriguing case.


Before the Indians signed Napoli to a one-year, $7 million contract, the club cut ties with first baseman Chris Johnson, eating the $7 million he was owed for the 2016 campaign. Napoli, 35, went on to have a career year, hitting all his financial incentives and boosting his final salary to $10 million. That means that Cleveland paid roughly $17 million -- or nearly the same cost of a qualifying offer -- to have Napoli on the team.
Behind the scenes, Napoli emerged as a leader in the clubhouse and a cult hero among fans. The "Party at Napoli's" motto became a kind of rallying cry, not to mention a source of charitable donations for each T-shirt purchased bearing the slogan. On the field, Napoli set career highs in home runs (34) and RBIs (101), while racking up more games (150) and plate appearances (645) than any other season in his 11-year career.

Down the stretch, though, that heavy workload may have caught up with the slugger. Napoli hit .140 (13-for-93) in September and then .173 (9-for-52) in the postseason. In the World Series against the Cubs, the first baseman hit .167 (4-for-24) with 11 strikeouts.
"I think you have to look at the balance of the season," Antonetti said. "And Mike did a phenomenal job for us. I think he posted career highs in plate appearances, home runs, RBIs, all of those areas. He made a huge impact for us on the field and in the clubhouse, and I think that's the lens through which we'll view it."
Throughout this season, Napoli has expressed a desire to stay with Cleveland beyond this year.
Davis also enjoyed a strong season, but it is unlikely that he will receive a qualifying offer. Over 134 games, the fleet-footed outfielder led the American League in stolen bases (43) and had an excellent stolen-base success rate (88 percent). Davis, who spent most of his time in center and left field, hit .249 with 48 RBIs and career highs in homers (12) and runs scored (74).
In the postseason, Davis hit only .147 in 15 games, but he also provided a handful of memorable moments. Davis stole three bases in Game 5 of the World Series, becoming only the fifth player in baseball history to achieve that feat in a Fall Classic game. In the eighth inning of Game 7 against the Cubs, Davis launched a game-tying two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman.
Davis' game-tying two-run homer
Davis' game-tying two-run homer
Rajai Davis lines a two-run big fly to left field off Aroldis Chapman, tying Game 7 of the World Series at 6 in the 8th
After the Game 7 defeat, Davis said he would love to return with Napoli for next season.
"This is the best season I've ever had in my Major League career," said Davis, who signed a one-year contract worth $5.25 million with the Indians last winter. "That would be great if we could get us both back, especially with this group of guys. They're a good group, talented. I think they're ready to learn.
"I don't make those decisions. I just go out there and do whatever I'm told, really. If I get the opportunity, I get it. If I don't, I'll be somewhere else."
Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on Twitter @MLBastian and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Texas dumped him.

Boston dumped him.

Nobody wanted him.

Tribe got a regular season bargain and a post season bust.

No qualifying offer to Napoli.

Let him hit the FA market. When nobody gives him a multi year deal, he'll come crawling back. Negotiate another 1 year deal.

Bluntly put, but I agree with the concept.

Meanwhile, Yandy Diaz, Jesus Aguilar, and Giovanny Urshela are all off to hot starts in Venezuela.

I was hoping that Giovanny Urshela would get some reps in at first base this winter but he remains at third base.

Yandy Diaz is playing mainly center field with a couple of starts at the corners.

Aguilar is off to a very hot start. Maybe 2017 is a year that he competes and wins the first base job.

seagull wrote:Texas dumped him.

Let him hit the FA market. When nobody gives him a multi year deal, he'll come crawling back. Negotiate another 1 year deal.

Not sure if you guys understand how that works. If you make the qualifying offer, it actually INcreases the chance he comes crawling back.

Then teams have to give up that draft pick to sign him.

See Fowler, Dexter. He had to come back to Cubs as no one wanted to part with the pick AND what he wanted for a contract. It's pretty common and the players' union actually wants to get rid of that qualifying offer because of it.

(Actually Fowler had an escape clause after a year, which he just exercised. So it ended up being one year.)

Besides, I do agree with the article that he ran out of gas, because of his past health issues he's never played this full a schedule.

Fearless prediction is that he comes back on a much more team friendly 2 or 3 year deal. And the leverage that the qualifying offer gives them makes that possible.

I don't know the rules: Question-- if we make the qualifying offer and he turns it down, are we able to negotiate with him on same terms as the other 29 teams? Same question if we don't make the offer? Isn't there something about being unable to sign a player until April 1 or May 1 or something like that?