Cleveland Sports Forum

I would guess he gets 4-7 million contract from someone next year.

Nolan Jones, one of our top prospects, finished in AAA this year. He would, presumably, be ready some time middle of next year. He’s a 3rd baseman.

So I think you will see the Tribe move Jose to 2nd base to start spring training next year. And use a youngster like Chang or cheap veteran like Mike Freeman type to fill 3rd base till Jones is ready.

I’ve always liked Kip but I’m pretty sure this was it.

there's been questions about whether Jones would be better suited for an OF corner spot. Let's see where he plays in Arizona this winter. Last year Chang moved off SS in the AZL

We have so many good young MLB ready OF’ers now.

Mercado, Naquin, Reyes, Bauers, Zimmer, Johnson, Tom ... and I don’t know if Jones is better than any of them.

It wouldn’t be a move I’d make. If he can’t handle hot corner 1B is only other spot I’d look at for him. But I’m already trying to figure out how to get Bobby B some playing time too.

rusty2 wrote:I would guess he gets 4-7 million contract from someone next year.

rusty - perhaps but if so the lower end of that. For comparison:

Mike Moustakas (30-31 yrs old) signed this year for 1 year at $7 million. His 2018 stats blew away Kipnis. And he signed late ...only Milwaukee, his previous team went for him eventually.

Adam Jones (34 yrs old) signed late as well for 1 year at $3 million.

Ready for some chaos? How the Indians’ path to October could get wild

Zack Meisel 3h ago 18
CLEVELAND — Terry Francona will occasionally glance at the scoreboard embedded in the left-field wall at Progressive Field. He tracks results and trends across the league.

But at this point in the season, with the Indians jockeying for a wild-card spot, how closely has Francona followed his club’s chief competition?

Well, he watched the Rays and Dodgers spar in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. But it ranked second on his priority list.

“I’m binge-watching ‘Madam Secretary,’” Francona said. “I’m on (season) four.”

Téa Leoni occupied the TV screen. Tommy Pham was relegated to Francona’s phone.

Francona’s daughters recommended the show to him.

“I’ve run out of every Colombian or Mexican drug show that there is,” Francona said.

Francona fell asleep in the ninth inning, with Tampa Bay trailing by two. He didn’t learn of the Rays’ 11-inning triumph until he woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

“I checked my phone,” Francona said, “and I was like, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’”

Yasiel Puig knows the Rays’ upcoming schedule includes series against the Red Sox and Yankees. One problem: As he established earlier this summer, he prefers watching soccer, basketball, football and tennis to watching baseball.

“I don’t like to watch too much baseball, but now I need to watch,” Puig said. “I am focused on my team trying to win the most games we can and waiting for Tampa to lose a couple of games.”

The three teams vying for the two wild-card spots — the Indians, Rays and Athletics — each have nine games remaining. The Indians pulled into a tie with Tampa Bay for the second wild-card position on Thursday night with their 18th win in 19 games against the Tigers.

“We won a game,” Mike Clevinger said, “but we have to win every game right now. So, that’s the way we’re looking at it going into each day. … It’s definitely stressful, but everyone knows what’s at stake right now.”

The Indians notched their 90th win on Thursday, the fourth consecutive year they have reached that mark, despite limping into June with a losing record.

“It’s not enough,” Francona said. “We need more. I don’t know how many more, but I’m guessing we’ll need several more.”

Ah, but precisely how many more? Is a 6-3 stretch enough? Would going 7-2 earn the Indians an extra game?

First, the standings:

Oakland: 92-61
Tampa Bay: 90-63
Cleveland: 90-63

And the remaining schedules:

Cleveland: Three versus the Phillies, three at the White Sox, three at the Nationals
Tampa Bay: Four versus the Red Sox, two versus the Yankees, three at the Blue Jays
Oakland: Three versus the Rangers, two at the Angels, four at the Mariners

Some reinforcements could be coming for Cleveland. José Ramírez took batting practice from both sides of the plate Thursday afternoon. Francona declined to specify a potential return date, but Ramírez doesn’t have much remaining on his checklist. Brad Hand tossed a bullpen session on Wednesday, and the Indians were pleased with his velocity and release point. They’ll likely determine his next step on Friday.

The Indians’ chances of winning the AL Central have all but disappeared. It is essentially a three-team battle for two spots to determine the sole wild-card survivor. The Athletics hold a significant advantage with a two-game lead on the Rays and Indians and a friendly schedule. So, if we pencil them into the top wild-card spot — by no means is it a slam dunk, but it’s the most likely outcome — that would leave three plausible scenarios for the Indians.

Scenario 1: October vacation
The flight back to Cleveland from Washington would likely be quiet, and the Indians would clean out their lockers the following day. It seems surprising a team that records a win total in the, say, 95-97 range, could spend October on the beach or at the golf course, but there will be a loser in the game of musical chairs.

Scenario 2: Getting wild
The way the Indians’ rotation lines up, Clevinger should pitch the regular-season finale at Nationals Park. Washington holds a one-game edge over the Brewers and a two-game edge over the Cubs in the NL wild-card race. That final series could carry a ton of weight.

If the Indians clinch a wild-card berth, there will likely be some champagne flowing in the clubhouse. The team could fly back to Cleveland late Sunday night as planned and fly to Oakland sometime on Monday before a workout at the Coliseum on Tuesday and the wild-card game Wednesday.

Shane Bieber would be in line to start that game for the Indians. Now, if the Indians clinch a wild-card spot before Game 162, they could shuffle the rotation to preserve Clevinger for the playoff game.

“We need to win every game we can,” Francona said. “If we are fortunate enough to get into a situation where we don’t have to, that’s a different story. Seems like it’s going to be pretty nip and tuck.”

Scenario 3: Mass chaos
There’s a not-so-farfetched chance the Indians and Rays wind up with identical regular-season records. Should they, in fact, tie for the second wild-card spot, they would play a tiebreaker on Sept. 30 at Tropicana Field.

So, the Indians’ charter would head to Tampa Bay from the nation’s capital. If the Indians topped the Rays, they would fly across the country to Oakland after the victory in anticipation of the wild-card game. If they beat the Athletics, they would travel to either Houston or New York — depending on who winds up with the top seed — for the ALDS.

The potential schedule:

Sunday: Play in Washington, fly to Tampa Bay
Monday: Play in Tampa Bay, fly to Oakland
Tuesday: Work out in Oakland
Wednesday: Play in Oakland, fly to either Houston or New York

Now, that would require a lot of winning and ignoring of jet lag.

In 2018, the Rockies went from Denver to Los Angeles for a tiebreaker game against the Dodgers to determine the NL West champion (and that was an afternoon game). When they lost to the Dodgers, they had to play the wild-card game in Chicago against the Cubs the next night. They won at Wrigley Field and boarded a flight to Milwaukee to square off against the Brewers in the NLDS.

The Indians could encounter that level of chaos, but only if they survive the next week and a half of madness. Otherwise, October will bring nothing but “Madam Secretary” reruns.


Zack Meisel is a writer for The Athletic Cleveland covering the Indians and contributing on other beats. Zack previously spent four years covering the Indians for Cleveland.com and has been on the Tribe beat since 2011. Follow Zack on Twitter @ZackMeisel.

Cleveland Indians: Terry’s Talkin’ trades, money & opportunity
Updated 8:10 AM; Today 7:52 AM

cleveland.com


By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


ABOUT ROBERTO PEREZ

I recall the outrage from some members of the media and fans when the Tribe traded Yan Gomes to the Washington Nationals after the 2018 season.

It was supposed to be a pure money dump. The catcher was to be paid $7 million in 2019.

Gomes was coming off a good season, batting .266 (.762 OPS) with 16 HR and 48 RBI in 112 games for the Tribe.


Before discussing the prospects the Indians received in the deal, the Tribe looked at some other factors:

1. From 2015-17, Gomes batted .215 (.643 OPS) averaging 12 HR and 45 RBI. He battled several injuries. So the Indians were a bit concerned Gomes would return to that level, especially if hit with injuries again.

2. Gomes is set to make $9 million in 2020 ($1 million buyout). The Indians had no plans to pay him that at the age of 32.

3. So money started the Indians checking the market for Gomes. But so did the presence of Roberto Perez on the roster.

4. While the Tribe considered Gomes a good defensive catcher, they thought Perez would be elite behind the plate as a regular. They also knew he had become frustrated sitting behind Gomes.

5. Manager Terry Francona puts a high priority on defense and game calling from his starting catcher. He is willing to live with a weak bat if the man behind the plate is strong in those other areas.

6. There was a consensus among the decision makers that the Indians would improve defensively with Perez.


7. Here comes the money part: Perez has a very team-friendly deal: $2.6 million (2019), $3.6 million (2020), $5.5 million with only $450,000 guaranteed (2021), $7 million with $450,000 guaranteed (2022).

8. The projections on Perez behind the plate were accurate. Frangraphs rates him No. 2 defensively among American League catchers. Boston’s Christian Vazquez is No. 1.

9. Perez has not allowed a single passed ball all season. Among A.L. regular catchers, he ranks No. 1 in throwing out stealing baserunners (38 percent). Vazquez is next (36 percent).


10. The shocker has been the bat of Perez. Among A.L. catchers, only New York’s Gary Sanchez (34) and Mitch Garver (31) have hit more HR than Perez (23). With 62 RBI, Perez ranks No. 5 among A.L. catchers. The same with his .778 OPS.

11. The Indians are thrilled with the game calling of Perez and his ability to nurture and settle down young pitchers. In Trevor Bauer’s 2018 All-Star season, Perez was his personal catcher. Perez caught 159 of Bauer’s 175 innings that year. Perez was able to better deal with the sometimes stubborn Bauer than other catchers.

12. The Indians didn’t know Gomes would end up mostly as a part-time catcher with Washington in 2019. He hit .225 (.695 OPS) with 10 HR and 38 RBI. He threw out a solid 32 percent of stealing baserunners, but allowed eight passed balls in 85 games. Remember, Perez has ZERO, a stat that is unbelievable.

13. To be fair to Gomes, he is hitting .279 with 4 HR in September and catching regularly as starter Kurt Suzuki came down with an arm problem.

14. The Indians other goal in the Perez deal was adding prospects. They liked outfielder Daniel Johnson, and the 23-year-old OF batted .290 (.868 OPS) with 19 HR and 77 RBI, splitting the year between Class AA and AAA. He will battle for a spot at some point in Cleveland in 2020.


15. They added Jefry Rodriguez, a right-hander who was 1-5 with a 4.74 ERA in eight games with the Tribe early this season before arm problems hit. He is healthy now. He has a career 3.82 ERA in Class AAA. The third part of the deal was infielder Andruw Monasterio, who hit only .217 at Class AA Akron.

GREAT TRADE
cleveland.com

Cleveland Indians acquired Carlos Santana who became an All-Star and also saved money in he deal. Photo by Joshua Gunter / cleveland.com

MORE THAN SHEDDING PAYROLL

1. The Indians decided not to sign Cody Allen, who received a $9.5 million deal from the Angels. He opened the season as the Angels closer. He had problems and physical issues. He was cut. He signed with the Twins and was cut again.

2. They basically gave Yonder Alonso to the White Sox, dumping his $8 million salary. Alonso has split the season between the White Sox and Colorado, batting .196 (.635 OPS) with 10 HR and 36 RBI.

3. They didn’t sign Andrew Miller, who received a healthy two-year, $24 million contract from the Cardinals. He started slow, but has been pretty good this season: 5-5 with a 3.93 ERA and five saves. But he’s no longer the All-Star of a few years ago.


4. They traded Edwin Encarnacion and Yandy Diaz as part of a three-way deal bringing Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers to the Tribe. They saved a lot of money, as Encarnacion was due $25 million. By the time all the cash changed hands, the Indians will have Santana for 2019 and 2020 for a total of $29 million. The rest of his deal is paid by other teams.

5. The only decision that hurt was allowing Michael Brantley to sign a two-year, $32 million deal with Houston. That was a pure money move. Brantley has had an All-Star season, batting .318 (.889 OPS) with 21 HR and 86 RBI.

6. The Indians knew they couldn’t replace the steady Brantley. They hoped young outfielders such as Oscar Mercado, Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Tyler Naquin and Bauers could help in the outfield.

7. Naquin was having a strong season until suffering an ACL injury that required major surgery. Mercado looks like a starting CF. Luplow crushes left-handed pitching (.322 and 1.165 OPS). Bauers and Allen still have a lot to prove.

8. Not every moved worked out. They gave Danny Salazar $4.5 million and he pitched one game in Cleveland. They signed Carlos Gonzalez for $2 million, and he was cut after batting .210 in 30 games. Hanley Ramirez played only 16 games and was paid $100,000. But overall, the front office had a very good year.

WHAT’S NEXT?

1. As I wrote last week, the only key players heading to free agency are Yasiel Puig, Jason Kipnis and Tyler Clippard. It’s doubtful Puig and Kipnis will be back. The Indians would like to keep Clippard in the bullpen.


2. The Tribe plans to pick up the $17 million option for 2020 on Corey Kluber. He will be 34 on April 10. The Indians believe he can come back strong from his fractured arm (now healed) and a lat injury.

3. The Indians will be shopping for a second baseman in the off-season. He could be short term fix. If it’s a free agent, it won’t be for big money. Starlin Castro is someone I’ve liked. The 29-year-old is batting .268 (.722 OPS) with 20 HR and 79 RBI for Miami. But he’s a player who could sign quickly for a long-term deal or end up with no significant offers.

4. The Indians plan to work with Franmil Reyes in right field next spring. They don’t want him to always DH. Reyes played RF for San Diego, although not very well. Even playing RF part time would help give Francona more options when making out his lineup.

5. My expectation is the Tribe will execute a surprising and probably complicated trade to address the infield. That’s what they did when shipping Bauer to the Reds. It’s what happened when Santana came to the Indians.

Vie

If we could have just somehow managed to re-sign Brantley and not trade Yandy for Bauers. But everything else the front office did was just aces.

Then again, Yandy got hurt, only has 300 at bats, a half season. (14 HR and 20 doubles in that half season) And maybe there was just no way to match the 15 mill Brantley received. So all in all gotta appreciate their work.

We are lucky, in our small market, to continue having a very competent front office. Really, for damn near 30 years now.

Our record since 1994: Wins 85 Losses 74 Winning Percentage 0.534

That is average record per year I assume?

For a small market club that is fantastic, really.

I’d like to see what Milwaukee and Cincinnati and Kansas City and similar franchises record is over that time. No where near that I’d assume. But some of them have won World Series’ since the age of free agency. They have that on us.

CLEVELAND -- When José Ramírez first fractured the hamate bone in his right hand, an Oct. 1 return sounded ambitious, but the third baseman seems ready to prove everyone wrong.

For the first time since undergoing surgery on Aug. 26, Ramírez faced live pitching at Progressive Field prior to Saturday’s game against the Phillies, checking off what could be the final box before he’s cleared to return to the Tribe. Could he be back as soon as Sunday?

“We need to get together following this and see how José feels tomorrow,” Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “But right now, I think everything is on the table.”

Ramírez faced both left- and right-handed pitchers, including Jefry Rodriguez, and took ground balls at third base before wrapping up his pregame workout.

“He felt good, so we’re right now in the process of assessing where he is now, and what the plan will be,” Antonetti said. “But hopefully in the not-too-distant future, he’ll be in action for us. Another really good day.”

Ramirez's 2-homer, 6-RBI game
Ramirez's 2-homer, 6-RBI game
01:10
Aug. 16th, 2019
After Ramirez underwent the Aug. 26 surgery, the Indians announced the following day that his timetable for a return was five-to-seven weeks -- but not many assumed that four weeks would be an option.

“We really weren’t sure what to expect,” Antonetti said. “There’s a wide variation on how quickly guys come back from hamate injuries, and obviously José seems to be on a path where he’s on the shortest end possible for that. And it’s really a testament to the way he’s attacked the rehab process, and if you talk to [the training staff], the guys who are working with him day to day, he’s worked his tail off to get to this point. He desperately wants to be back.”

What to do with the starting rotation?

The Indians haven’t yet finalized a decision on how they will handle the final series of the regular season next weekend in Washington, D.C. As of now, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale are set to handle the three games in Chicago, a series that begins on Tuesday.

“We’ve talked about a lot of different options,” Antonetti said. “We’ve got three or four different options we’ve kind of laid out. I wouldn’t want to get ahead of ourselves. I think we need to share those with the players involved first before I disclose what those might be, but there are a few options based upon the [Monday] off-day on what we could do.”

Bieber's 15th win of the season
Bieber's 15th win of the season
01:10
Sep. 20th, 2019
The Tribe will likely be fighting for an American League Wild Card spot until the very end, meaning they have no time to save their best options for the postseason. But while they try to balance securing a playoff spot, they also have to decide if Zach Plesac, who was skipped in the team’s last turn through the rotation to help manage his workload, will make another start this season following Saturday’s outing.

“That’s something we’ll have to work through,” Antonetti said. “We still expect Zach to pitch for us, and pitch in a meaningful role. Exactly whether or not that will be as a starter, or when he’ll start, we’ll have to work through.”

Kluber update

Corey Kluber, who fractured his right forearm on May 1 and sustained a strained left oblique during his comeback effort on Aug. 18, took a day off on Saturday after extending out to long-tossing from 120 feet on Friday. The Indians aren’t quite ready to rule him out for the 2019 season.

“Yes, he could fit in,” Antonetti said. “I think how far [the season] goes obviously has an impact on that. Obviously, the longer we play, the higher the likelihood that he’ll be able to return and contribute.

“I’d love for him to be pitching Game 7 of the World Series. That’s a good outcome for us.”

Meisel’s Musings: A guide to the Indians’ critical final week

Zack Meisel 4h ago 12
CHICAGO — The Indians packed for six days on the road before they boarded their flight to Chicago on Monday evening. Well, six-ish.

If the Indians can’t come unglued from the Rays in the standings — and if the A’s don’t crumble this week — Cleveland and Tampa would meet in a tiebreaker game at Tropicana Field on Monday. Oakland would host the wild-card game a week from Wednesday. Hell, it’s not impossible for the Indians to travel from Chicago to Washington to Tampa to Oakland to either Houston or New York, all without a pit stop in Cleveland.

In that chaotic scenario, the Indians’ six-day trip would double in length. That’s not ideal for a manager who often laments his lack of clean underwear on multi-city road swings.

Anyway, only six games are guaranteed, and in the obvious statement of the season, the Indians need to win as many as possible.

First, a quick reminder of the remaining schedules:

CLE: three at the White Sox, three at the Nationals
TB: two against the Yankees, three at the Blue Jays
OAK: two at the Angels, four at the Mariners

The Indians capitalized on Monday’s off day by rearranging their rotation. Mike Clevinger will pitch on regular rest in the series opener at Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday. Shane Bieber will follow Wednesday, with rookie Aaron Civale pushed back to Thursday.

That allows Clevinger to start Game 162 on Sunday in Washington — so long as it’s a must-win game. If the Indians have wrapped up a wild-card berth by then and it makes more sense, they could hold back Clevinger. Either way, Bieber would be fresh for any sort of tiebreaker or wild-card game as well.

Pitching matchups for the Chicago series:

Tuesday: Mike Clevinger (2.54 ERA) vs. Hector Santiago (5.65 ERA)
Wednesday: Shane Bieber (3.23 ERA) vs. Ross Detwiler (6.98 ERA)
Thursday: Aaron Civale (1.82 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (5.79 ERA)

Now, one other pressing matter: The Indians will be at what Terry Francona termed “a distinct disadvantage” in the nation’s capital this weekend without the use of the designated hitter.

“I wish that would get changed,” Francona said. “I really think it would benefit the game, and it would be more fair. I doubt if they’re going to do it by next weekend.”

So, will Franmil Reyes, a hulking slugger and an essential piece to the Indians’ lineup, shift from DH to the outfield?

“I don’t know,” Francona said.

Reyes has appeared in the outfield only once since his trade to Cleveland two months ago. He spent seven innings in right field Aug. 7 in the nightcap of a doubleheader. He played 83 games in right field for the Padres this season. Obviously, San Diego didn’t have the luxury of a DH spot.

“He’s a right fielder,” Francona said. “So, you’re asking either (Yasiel) Puig to move or him to play a position he hasn’t played. Those are the kinds of decisions you have to think about, and it makes it hard.”

Reyes last played left field in 2017, when he started two games at the position during the Arizona Fall League.

The 24-year-old has clubbed 36 home runs this season, including nine with the Indians. That’s a valuable bat to feature during the most critical games of the year.

“It’s a presence,” Francona said. “It could change a game. You can take six, seven bad swings a game and then you take one good one and change the outcome of a game.”
(Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
Quotes to note
“He was the hitting instructor here in ’88 when I was here. I couldn’t tell you what he taught me, but I thought he was really good. I remember we were playing Kansas City. They had (Bret) Saberhagen and (Mark) Gubicza, it was tough. And I was standing on the dugout steps because I was in the hole, I was the third hitter that inning. And I go, ‘Grinder, what do I do?’ I was scuffling. He’s like, ‘Son, if it was me, I’d hit one over that sign. You, just massage one over to third.’” — Terry Francona, on Charlie Manuel

“If I’m a manager, I would do the same thing. Frankie’s an unbelievable talent and the last thing I want to do is see him with runners in scoring position. … I’m taking my chances with a righty on deck. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s the competitor in me that — I think anyone in here would say the same, like, ‘You can be afraid of me, too.’ I just want to show them that their move didn’t pay off. That’s kind of what pumps me up a little bit.” — Oscar Mercado, on teams intentionally walking Francisco Lindor ahead of him

“Same as always: comatose. A fraction above comatose.” — Terry Francona, on how he was feeling one day last week

Final Thoughts
1. Carlos Carrasco might be as important as any other player on the roster this week, now that he seems to have settled into a multi-inning fireman role out of the bullpen. He logged 2 2/3 near-flawless innings in relief of Adam Plutko on Sunday. That outing started with a key double play, which prompted a fist pump and a primal scream from Carrasco as he walked off the mound.

Carrasco’s average fastball velocity his last two appearances: 95.2 mph and 94.8 mph, his two highest entries of the season.

“The idea (was) to try to let him get his legs under him and get comfortable and get back in that competitive mode,” Francona said. “He’s done a really good job of that.”

2. The bullpen sure seems more proficient with Carrasco excelling and Brad Hand no longer dealing with a tired arm. Hand struck out the side in order Saturday, his first outing in almost two weeks. His average fastball clocked in at 94.1 mph, his second-highest mark since late June.
3. If Mercado reached a rookie wall in August, he has smashed through it in September.

Mercado in August: .219/.250/.323 slash line
Mercado in September: .325/.393/.584 slash line

The minor-league season typically wraps up during the first week of September, so Mercado said he’s usually focusing on fantasy football at this time of year. He’s only serving as the treasurer for the Indians’ fantasy league, so he’s had plenty of time to pinpoint how to place the proper finishing touches on his rookie campaign.

Another perk Mercado has provided: There’s no need to limit him to a platoon.

Mercado vs. RHP: .284/.329/.454 slash line
Mercado vs. LHP: .274/.333/.459 slash line

4. So what is James Karinchak doing when he practices his throwing motion in the bullpen during the first inning of every game — all without a baseball in his hand?

“Visualizing,” he said.

The routine started last season, after Karinchak walked two batters in his first outing at Class A Lake County.

“I was like, ‘All right, I have to get better at throwing strikes,’” Karinchak said. “‘This might help.’”

He’s done it ever since. It basically gives him a head start. When he warms up before his appearance, and when he enters a game, he already has some familiarity with his target.

‘We’ll hurt together’: The bitter end to the Indians’ hunt for October
By Zack Meisel Sep 27, 2019 37
WASHINGTON — Brad Mills walked through a silent Indians clubhouse and tapped players on the shoulder, one at a time.

Yu Chang. Bradley Zimmer. Andrew Velazquez.

They’ll all see the field this weekend, the kids receiving the keys to the sedan sputtering toward the finish line. Before the calendar flips to October, the Indians will clear their belongings out of the home clubhouse at Progressive Field. This season — disheartening and then uplifting, lifeless and then captivating — will cease before the national spotlight can find them.

The Indians’ third consecutive defeat secured their ultimate fate: They will watch the postseason unfold from afar for the first time in four years. No champagne celebrations, no goggles (aside from Tyler Clippard’s daily adornment). No chaotic travel itinerary for a tiebreaker game, no cross-country flight for a one-game playoff.

Most players filtered out of the clubhouse without a peep as the Rays placed the finishing touches on their clinching win against the Blue Jays. No TV in the room was tuned to that contest. Terry Francona didn’t address the club with any sort of speech. That will happen in the next couple of days.

“It’s the hardest one, because it hurts so much when you don’t get where you want to go,” Francona said. “And yet, there’s still so much that I’m proud of out there that they need to hear that. It’s not appropriate yet, but when it is … that’s the one meeting I don’t prepare for, because I just believe in my heart it’s never going to get here.”

Mike Freeman hadn’t seen the final Rays-Blue Jays score when reporters surrounded him and asked whether the season, defined by implausible peaks and unthinkable valleys, felt like a roller coaster.

“Did Tampa win?” Freeman asked. “Yeah, it was a long season. It was a roller coaster, ups and downs. You know, you don’t get a ton of opportunities to make it into the playoffs. I felt like we had a really good team. It would’ve been a lot of fun to see what we could do in the playoffs. Yes, it’s disappointing. I liked the way we played down the stretch. Unfortunately, we fell short this week.”

The past three nights, the top four hitters in the Indians’ order — Francisco Lindor, Oscar Mercado, Carlos Santana and Yasiel Puig — mustered one hit in 44 at-bats.

José Ramírez, the guy with the centipede-sized scar on his right hand, carried the lineup at the start of the week. His hand was barking on Friday, so he received a day to rest. Francona also omitted Franmil Reyes from the lineup, citing Reyes’ defensive limitations (though he stuck Santana in left field during the World Series and Jason Kipnis in center field during a pair of playoff pushes).

That left a must-win, all-chips-to-the-center-of-the-table lineup looking like an early-March nine, with Freeman, Roberto Pérez, Greg Allen, Ryan Flaherty and starting pitcher Zach Plesac rounding out the order. Unsurprisingly, the Nationals limited the Indians to two runs on three hits.

Really, the season came full circle. The last three losses counted the same in the standings as the ones that piled up in May, when Carlos Gonzalez and Jake Bauers batted in the middle of the order and Leonys Martîn supplied efficient wind energy at the top or bottom.

The roster dramatically evolved over the summer, in part out of necessity, given the club’s injury list. Rookies flourished. Other young players blossomed. The No. 5 starter bloomed into an All-Star Game MVP. They valiantly rallied around Carlos Carrasco as he battled leukemia. Those developments not only appeared to rescue the club from a fruitless season but also provided an encouraging reminder about the franchise’s future.

But that didn’t erase the abysmal start. It didn’t leave the club with much of a margin for error when it mattered most. And by the time the Indians finally caught the Twins, they were huffing and puffing.

Even the players paired statements of pride with concessions of disappointment. There’s plenty to take from this season (and we’ll reveal a full autopsy in the coming days).

“Obviously, we’re not going to say we’re content, because the ultimate goal here is to win and be in the playoffs,” Mercado said, “but we just have to accept it and understand that we did the best we could and be able to sleep at night knowing that.”

After Santana swung through a 98.9 mph fastball to end Friday’s game, the Indians’ brain trust — high-ranking members of several departments of the front office made the trip — packed up their belongings and took an elevator down to the visitors clubhouse. Their focus now shifts to the offseason, with club option decisions and trade targets and long-term contract extensions and player development goals to deliberate. How can they prevent a sluggish start to the season? How can they fill the impending holes on the roster? How can they ensure their players won’t spend next October on the couch or the beach or the golf course?

They’ll have more time to discuss those topics than they have the past few years, when the late-September conversation has been fixated on the team’s forthcoming ALDS opponent. This time, a complex season has all but reached its end a bit sooner than anyone in the clubhouse would have preferred.

“You try to be there for guys, not just through the good times, but when it’s difficult,” Francona said. “When I say that we win and lose together, I actually mean it. They’re not just our guys when they play great. When it’s hard, like tonight, it’s us.

“We’ll hurt together.”

Q&A: Yan Gomes talks trade, Roberto Pérez and the Indians’ emerging aces
By Zack Meisel Sep 27, 2019 6
WASHINGTON — Yan Gomes spent much of Friday afternoon on the dirt track outside of the visitors dugout at Nationals Park.

First, he reunited with Mike Clevinger and Roberto Pérez. Later, he chatted with Brad Hand and Dan Otero. When he walked toward Chris Antonetti, the Indians’ president hopped up onto the dugout railing to give him a hug.

Gomes and Corey Kluber plan to get together after Saturday’s game. The two have been close since Kluber’s Cy Young campaign in 2014. When Kluber retrieved his hardware in New York that winter, he demanded his catcher accompany him and receive some recognition.

Gomes crouched behind the plate for the Indians for nearly six years. He provided sterling defense. His bat came and went, from a Silver Slugger season to such a low that his teammates once held a chicken sacrifice for him in the middle of the clubhouse at Target Field.

The Indians traded Gomes to the Nationals in November, creating an opportunity for Pérez to emerge as a quality, everyday catcher. Cleveland also acquired Jefry Rodriguez and prospects Daniel Johnson and Andruw Monasterio.

Gomes, batting .225 with a .709 OPS and 12 homers in 96 games, chatted with a couple of reporters Friday afternoon. Here’s what he had to say.

What has it been like to catch up with all of your old teammates?

Fun. I’ve got some really close friends in that clubhouse and I’ve kept up with most of them during the year, but getting to see them in person and just talk and hang out, it’s pretty cool.

I’ve talked to most of the guys. I talked to Cookie (Carrasco) a lot when he had his condition going on. These are some very impactful guys in my life, so I’ve definitely kept in touch with a ton of them.

Has there been any trash talking in anticipation of this series?

No, I’m not very good at that and I wouldn’t want them to do that to me. So, no, no trash talk involved at all. I’m glad I’m not facing Kluber, I can tell you that. That would be kind of weird.

What was your reaction to the trade? Was there disappointment or frustration, or simply an acceptance of the business side of the game?

I wouldn’t go with disappointed being the word, (though) maybe (disappointed) just because I was leaving that clubhouse. You guys wrote enough about it, I think we all knew what was happening that offseason. Maybe surprised a little bit that I was one of the first ones to go, but as cliché as it sounds, it’s part of the business. I was going into the last year of my contract. We have a really good team now. We’re obviously in the playoffs. But I’m also very thankful for the opportunity that I had with the Indians. I had some very good conversations with Chris and (Mike) Chernoff and them. It’s part of the game, I guess.

What has it been like going from working with one elite starting rotation to another?

That was the main thing, talking about it earlier in the year, going from that staff with 200-plus strikeouts for everyone and going to another one with 200-plus strikeouts for everyone. I feel very fortunate. Sometimes when I get handed staffs like this, they make you think you’re the good catcher. I guess it’s a very good blessing to have.

Have you followed the Indians closely? Both teams seem to have followed a similar path this year, with slow starts and impressive turnarounds.

One hundred percent. Everyone knows the staff is going to lead them. And then also we got a ton of young players to balance the veterans. Even though our team, we’re like the oldest guys in the league. We’ve got a lot of old guys over there. But, yeah, there were a lot of expectations going into it. The season started off really slow, I think 19-31, but we were able to turn it around. We’re playing really good baseball now.

Have you been surprised by Roberto Pérez’s season and the power he has shown?

No, not at all. I think we all had an idea of how much power he had. Obviously with consistency, that kind of stuff comes out. We know at the end of the day he’s one of the elite defensive catchers in this game. It’s good that he’s bringing both sides together.

What have you thought about the growth that Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber have demonstrated?

Throughout this year, guys asked me about, “How was it with this guy? Or this guy?” Those two young guys, Bieber and Clevinger, I think it’s one of those things where those guys are going to be (two) of the better pitchers in the game for a long time. I think we’ve seen both of them put their names on the map and I think there’s way more to go.

Jayson Stark
@jaysonst
·
6h
Just looked at this some more. And these next two games will be only the 5th and 6th "meaningless" games the #Indians will have played since Terry Francona walked in the door before the 2013 season.



Jayson Stark
@jaysonst
· 7h
Today will be the first day the #Indians will play a "meaningless" game in 667 games (counting the postseason) - since 10/4/15.

With the #Cubs & #RedSox also eliminated, the only team with a current streak that long or longer is the #Dodgers (1,194 and counting).