UPDATE 11/20 10:04am EST: Have received a lot of e-mails and seen a lot of talk on message boards about Kelvin De La Cruz. He very well may be rostered, but in talks with the Indians and others over the past few weeks and months I just don't get the vibe that he will be rostered. I'll be very surprised if he is rostered given his questionable health status and completely lost year this season. He is in no way ready to face major league pitching because of his command/control issues at the moment, and contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, teams are not likely to take flyers on High-A pitchers with arm and command issues, no matter how great their stuff is. If De La were healthy and were coming off a year like say Hector Rondon had last year, he most definitely would be rostered. We'll find out soon enough.
It should be pointed out that in my roster prediction piece a few days ago, those were not the guys I prefer to be rostered, but who I believe will be based on conversations with people in the know. Four of the guys were verified from those talks, while for the others it was a little more uncertain and unclear.
UPDATE 11/20 9:01am EST: Not roster related at all, but since I am throwing up quick updates, it looks like new Indians manager Manny Acta will be going out to Venezuela soon, and during that visit will get a chance to have a face-to-face talk with Dave Hudgens and Jon Nunnally who are both coaching out there. Hudgens is the Indians Field Coordinator (oversees all the coordinators in player development) and Nunnally is the Triple-A Columbus hitting coach. Acta supposedly will choose between the two to fill the hitting coach position, the last open spot on his staff.
UPDATE 11/20 7:45am EST: This is hardly a shocker at all, but I have received confirmation that firstbaseman/outfielder Jordan Brown has been rostered. Ever since he got word back in early September that he would not be called up for the remainder of the season, I have reported that he would still be added to the roster this offseason. Several sources repeatedly informed me of that, and now it is official. With Grady Sizemore coming off surgery, Travis Hafner a shell of his former self and unable to play everyday even as a DH, and Matt LaPorta's status at the start of the season an uncertainty because of his offseason hip and toe surgeries, Brown figures to get a great chance this spring to make the Indians opening day roster and potentially even start right out of the gates.
UPDATE 11/19 11:35pm EST: Just got word that right-handed pitcher Steven Wright will supposedly not be added to the 40-man roster. With him being left off, it pretty much closes the door on the chance for any reliever save for right-hander Frank Herrmann to be added.
UPDATE 11/19 8:35pm EST: We are less than 24 hours from the official announcement by the Indians regarding which players from their farm system they have added to the 40-man roster. Even though the roster deadline is Friday night (November 20th) and official confirmation should come late in the evening, it does not mean we won't find out in advance who has or has not been rostered.
An impeccable source has already informed me that catcher/first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride has not been added to the 40-man roster. This certainly is somewhat of a surprise as I had him down as one of my seven roster picks, especially after an excellent Arizona Fall League showing where he hit .378 with 4 HR, 18 RBI and a 1.159 OPS in 22 games. With McBride not being rostered, he probably will be #1 player on the board that teams look to scoop up from the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft.
McBride's omission from the 40-man now gives the likes of third baseman Wes Hodges, shortstop Carlos Rivero, and right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin a much better chance to make the roster, or even one of the several relievers from Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron.
Throughout the night and all through the day on Friday I will continue to provide updates to this posting on players of interest who I have learned have or have not been rostered. Stay tuned.
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9 comments:
I think the Indians are making a mistake not adding Matt McBride. He is a very hard worker and he has done nothing but prove himself.
Yeah, have to agree. Not saying he will go Rule 5, but he has a great shot to get picked because of his versatility and RH bat.
Let me make one thing clear though, just because a guy is not rostered does not mean they don't like him or don't value him. It's strictly a numbers game and a gamble to chose guys who they think have a lesser liklihood to slip through Rule 5 vs. others. Apparently they think McBride has a greater chance to slip through Rule 5 than someone else they rostered.
Is it because the Indians are just waiting to make a last minute choice between him and someone else or that they aren't as concerned with losing him as they are others?
I figure a deal at this point in time before such a draft is unlikely, as teams will just wait til he's exposed, right?
Indians are not deliberating. Roster decisions have been made, and McBride decision has been made. He is 110% not rostered nor will be. Also, no trades will go down. It is impossible because everyone else is in the same boat.
Oh duh....I just had one of those "dumb dumba**" moments...I knew better!
There is no rational excuse for not rostering McBride while Gimenez remains on the roster. McBride has much more upside than soon-to-be-27-year-old Gimenez ... I'll be curious to see the outcome here. For the position players, after Brown and Donald, McBride should have been the next to be added ... everyone needs a backup catcher, so I can't imagine he won't be selected. The Indians would've been better off leaving McBride out of the fall league if they had no plans to add him, they just showed the league the guy can still catch, which makes him much more valuable. Honestly as much as I like Jordan Brown, I'd prefer it if the Indians kept McBride over Brown, because they simply have no need for a left-handed 1b/DH/LF, (unless Shapiro's goal is to eventually field an all left-handed lineup), and they need as many advanced right-handed bats as possible
McBride not being rostered is not that much of a surprise when you look at it....and it really depends on who ends up being rostered. I need to see the final list before I get upset over McBride being included. I felt up until a week ago that McBride would not be rostered because of his poor showing in Akron (outside of his XBHs). But changed my tune based on a good showing in the AFL and some talk with the Indians and them being pretty determined not to lose him. It very well may be it came down to him or a pitcher for the last spot, and they sided with the pitcher because they need it.
I will say this though, McBride is hardly a slam dunk to go Rule 5 muchless stick with a team if taken. Reminds me a lot of Goleski from 2006, so we will see. He is very talented and a great guy, yes, but it is all about how a guy translates to the big leagues right now and not in 1-2 years, and right now he still appears a big further away than we realize.
Will know more on this as roster decisions are announced, and then I have a chance to talk with some people about those final decisions.
Can the Indians take him in the draft and basically return him to themselves? Personally, of the seven guys rostered I think he is more likely to have a successful MLB career.
No, because if they wanted to roster him and protect him from the Rule 5, then why not just roster him now?
They are going to roll the dice on McBride et al. May lose a guy or two, but not a certainty.
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