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Brown's best chance may be to catch on with another team. (Photo: Ken Carr) |
Brown out
On Thursday the Indians officially added outfielder Austin Kearns to the 40-man roster. To make room for him, they designated outfielder/first baseman Jordan Brown for assignment.
The Indians have ten days to trade, release or outright Brown to the minors. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, as a first time 40-man outright he cannot refuse an assignment to the minors and would be the Indians property for at least the 2011 season.
Brown, 27, made his major league debut on August 1st last season and played in just 26 games. He hit only .230 (20-for-87) with seven doubles, two RBI and had a .582 OPS. In 83 games at Triple-A Columbus last season he hit .298 with 28 doubles, one triple, eight homers, 67 RBI, and had a .804 OPS. In his six year minor league career he is a .306 hitter with an .840 OPS, has won two league MVP awards ('06 Kinston, '07 Akron), and two batting championships ('07 Akron, '09 Columbus).
Brown is a very good hitter who did not get much of a major league opportunity with the Indians mostly because of bad luck and the lack of a true position defensively. Every time he seemed to have a chance to get a shot the last three years an untimely injury seemed to always get in the way. The Indians also have acquired a lot of upper level talent the past few seasons in the wake of the trades for C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee and others, which pushed him from near the top of the totem pole at the beginning of 2008 to what now appears on the outside looking in.
Brown's removal from the roster comes as somewhat of a surprise considering it was expected that Shelley Duncan would likely be removed once Kearns was officially added. But the Indians opted to remove Brown for depth reasons and team need, and are willing to gamble that he clears waivers.
Kearns was a need the Indians felt was important to add because of their all left-handed hitting outfield of Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore, and Shin-Soo Choo, so as a right-handed hitter should complement them well as the fourth outfielder who primarily plays against lefties. He is also insurance in the event Sizemore is not ready to open the season and needs to spend additional time in Arizona rehabbing from knee surgery. Duncan is a better fit with the team because he is a right-handed hitter who hits lefties well, and is considered a better defensive option at both first base and left field than Brown.
Since Brown is a left-handed hitter he was no longer considered much of an option in the outfield because of the all left-handed starting outfield and because of his shaky defense. It left no opportunity to platoon with anyone at the big league level in the outfield, which meant his only option was first base and designated hitter.
But the Indians have Matt LaPorta and Travis Hafner locked into both of those spots, and recently rostered Jared Goedert is an option at first base as well. In addition to that, they also have the left-handed hitting slugger Nick Weglarz who if he can stay healthy will probably get a look in Cleveland sometime after the All Star break this year, if not sooner.
All that said, Brown can hit, so someone with a need for a platoon player or stop gap option at first base, designated hitter, and/or left field may snag him off waivers. However, considering how so many 40-man rosters are close to locked up for the start of 2011 spring training and Brown is limited as a one tool player (bat), it looks likely that he will probably clear waivers.
With that in mind, you always need to watch out for the Pirates as GM Neil Huntington is very familiar with Brown and saw him at his best before he took the Pirates GM post in 2008. Another team who may have interest is the Red Sox.
Blyleven, Alomar named to hall
Former Cleveland Indians right-handed pitcher Bert Blyleven and second baseman Roberto Alomar were named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Wednesday.
Blyleven pitched five seasons for the Indians from 1981-85 and went 48-37 with a 3.23 ERA in 104 games, and as an Indian was an American League All Star in 1985 and finished 3rd in the American League Cy Young voting in both 1984 and 1985. His best season with the Indians came in 1984 when he went 19-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 32 starts, finishing 2nd in the AL in wins, 3rd in ERA and 4th in strikeouts. In his 22-year Major League career from 1970-1992 he finished with a record of 287-250 with a 3.31 ERA in 692 games. His 3,701 strikeouts are the 5th most in the history of baseball.
Alomar played with the Indians over three seasons from 1999-2001, hitting a combined .323 with 362 runs, 114 2B, 63 HR, 309 RBI and 106 steals. His 1999 season was one of the all time best in club history as he hit .323, scored a league best 138 runs, and had 40 doubles, 24 homers, 120 RBI and 37 stolen bases and placed 3rd in the AL MVP voting. He won Rawlings Gold Gloves over each of his three seasons with the Indians and Silver Slugger Awards in 1999 and 2000. He is one of just four players in history (Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor) with at least 500 career doubles (504), 200 homers (210) and 450 steals (474) to go along with a career batting average of .300.
Blyleven and Alomar are the 30th and 31st individuals to gain election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame who either played or managed with the Cleveland American League baseball franchise.
Sizemore making progress
Indians All Star outfielder Grady Sizemore is making his way back from microfracture surgery on his left knee last June, and after a recent checkup with doctors is on pace to be ready for opening day on April 1. This past week he got the okay to take part in a hitting and throwing program, and this week he will begin a light running program to build up strength in his knee.
While there is optimism for Sizemore’s healthy return, it should be noted that he very likely will not play early this spring as he and the Indians will take a conservative approach to help reduce the chance for a hiccup in his health when he does return to the lineup full time. It remains a possibility he could open the season on the 15-day disabled list and get some extra rehab time in Arizona and game action in extended spring and then join the team later in April.
Sizemore, 28, is coming off two injury plagued seasons in 2009 and 2010, and if his health returns it would be a huge boost to the offense. Last year he played in just 33 games and hit .211 with no homers, 13 RBI and a .560 OPS before being shutdown in May with the injury.
Indians, Pirates complete trade
On Tuesday the Cleveland Indians acquired right-handed pitcher Joe Martinez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or for cash considerations. The trade is not future compensation from the Pirates for infielder Josh Rodriguez who they took from the Indians in the Rule 5 Draft last month, and instead is likely to just be a cash deal.
Martinez, 27, was picked up by the Pirates in a trade last July, and in nine combined games at the big league level last year with the Pirates and Giants went 0-1 with a 4.12 ERA. In 21 combined appearances (17 starts) between Triple-A Fresno (Giants) and Indianapolis (Pirates) he went 5-6 with a 3.94 ERA.
Martinez throws an upper 80s sinking fastball and relies on pitching to contact and getting groundball outs. While he lacks dominating stuff he is still considered a starting option because he gets good movement on his fastball and has two solid secondary pitches in a curveball and changeup. In the past he has proven to be a durable, reliable starter, which is something the Indians need right now is a pitcher who can consistently give them innings and compete well. He may also fill a long relief or swing role in the bullpen at some point in 2011.
Barring injury, the Indians are set to open the 2011 season with Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco and Mitch Talbot in the starting rotation. The options for the final spot in the rotation appear plentiful with Jeanmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin, Aaron Laffey, David Huff and others, but due to the youth, inexperience, and the inconsistent performance of all of those pitchers in the past - as well as the front four of the rotation - the Indians have been looking to acquire more starting pitching options this offseason.
No on Chavez
The agent for free agent third baseman Eric Chavez recently made it known that he will have a private work out for the Dodgers and two unnamed American League teams. With the Indians in search of a cheap third base option for 2011 it would appear that he would be a good fit for them, but they are not one of the two mystery teams that will work him out later this month as they are not interested in signing him.
Chavez is coming back from a serious back issue, and from what I have heard there are enough concerns with his medical that even if he can play in 2011 will likely will push him to first base, a position the Indians will be playing Matt LaPorta at a lot this upcoming season.
Indians sign Mathis
On Wednesday the Indians signed right-handed pitcher Doug Mathis to a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training. He made 13 relief appearances with the Texas Rangers last year and went 1-1 with a 6.04 ERA, though the ERA is greatly affected by a disastrous outing on May 14th at Toronto where in 1.1 innings he allowed 8 earned runs. He recently pitched for Este in the Dominican Winter League where he went 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA in seven games.
Parting Shots
Right-handed pitcher Justin Germano last weekend accepted his assignment to Triple-A Columbus. As a non-first time 40-man roster removal he had the right to refuse an outright assignment to Triple-A and declare free agency. He will report to big league spring training in February. … Non-roster invitee middle infielder Adam Everett will make $700,000 if he makes the big league roster this year, and with incentives could make as much as $1 million. … Minor league outfielder Lucas Montero signed with the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the week. He was a six year minor league free agent who reached as high as Double-A Akron and last year in 111 combined games at High-A Kinston and Akron hit .261 with 3 HR, 32 RBI, 25 stolen bases, and a .706 OPS. … Finally, ESPN’s Buster Olney recently commented that Indians President Mark Shapiro is someone who may get consideration down the road as the successor for Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig when he hangs it up.
Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. His latest book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on his site for a special year end closeout sale of $10.00 (including shipping and handling stateside).
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