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Cabrera will likely be the opening day second baseman. (Photo: AP) |
Cabrera signing reshuffles infield
As of Saturday evening the Indians have still not confirmed or denied that they have signed free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera, but league sources have confirmed that he has been signed by the Indians to a major league deal.
Terms of the deal are unknown at this time, but it is believed to be a one year deal at or below the $3 million he made last year with the Cincinnati Reds. It is my understanding that the Indians have not confirmed the deal because a physical is still pending.
Cabrera, 36, played in 123 games with the Reds last season and hit .263 with four homers, 42 RBI, 11 stolen bases, and .657 OPS. In his 14-year big league career he is a .274 hitter and won a Gold Glove at shortstop in 2001 and 2007.
Since Cabrera has been signed to a major league deal and the Indians’ 40-man roster is full, the Indians will need to make a move to clear space on the 40-man roster to add him. The most likely candidates to be removed are infielder Jayson Nix, outfielder/first baseman Shelley Duncan, and right-handed pitcher Joe Martinez.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise as the Indians were expected to only be in the market for a utility infielder this winter or someone to play third base. But with very little available at third base, the Indians have apparently shifted gears and instead filled the need at second base and for the time being will instead fill the need at third base from within.
Cabrera is expected to be the odds on favorite to win the starting second base job, and will also spell Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop from time to time. There was some disappointment in the play of Asdrubal Cabrera last year and some people think he should move to second base, but the Indians are firmly committed to him as their regular shortstop in 2011, so the arrival of Orlando Cabrera will only be as a handcuff at shortstop.
The arrival of Cabrera means that Jason Donald, Luis Valbuena and Jayson Nix will be the main candidates for the opening day third base job. They will also certainly be in the mix for the second base job as well, but virtually have no shot unless Cabrera gets hurt this spring. What will likely happen is Nix and Valbuena stick with the big league club with one as the third baseman and the other the utility man. Non-roster invitees Adam Everrett and Jack Hannahan may also play into the mix at third base or the utility role.
Also, it is now looking more likely that Donald will start the season at Triple-A Columbus where he will be the everyday shortstop. He could still factor into the big league mix this spring, but the feelings in the organization were mixed on him last year and some believe he needs to play shortstop everyday in order to enhance his value in the future as a super utility player, and the only way to play shortstop everyday is to go to Columbus. He also needs everyday at bats to improve offensively.
This also means that the Indians top two second base prospects Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps and top third base prospect Lonnie Chisenhall will open the 2011 season in Columbus. Even before the signing of Cabrera this was the case as all three have development left defensively and offensively to ensure they are not overmatched when they make their big league debuts. In addition to that the organization does not want to rush them to the big leagues for roster management reasons.
Phelps is the only one of the three likely to play in Cleveland this year as he will likely be the first option called up to fill in at third base or second base. Kipnis and Chisenhall are likely to play the entire season in Columbus and may not make their major league debuts until 2012.
Injuries and team performance could always change that outlook, but as the way things stand right now this is the likely course of action they take with these players to ensure they are ready to compete at the big league level in the near future.
Good news on Santana
The Indians got some good news for a change this week as a six month post operative evaluation from Dr. Rick Parker on catcher Carlos Santana's left knee came out very positive. He was given the clear to immediately begin full batting practice activities from both sides of the plate in addition to catching bullpens. The evaluation was performed at the Goodyear complex where Santana has been working out all offseason.
Santana has also been cleared to begin position-specific agility drills in addition to full base-running exercises this week, and he remains on target to begin playing in games during the first week of the exhibition season which begins on February 27.
Even though Santana has been cleared, expect the Indians to be very conservative with his use this spring, especially early on in Cactus League play. Barring any setbacks, he is on target to play in the regular season opener on April 1st.
Santana had injured his knee in a home plate collision on August 6, 2010, and had surgery to repair his damaged lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee. Before going down with the injury he hit .260 with six homers, 22 RBI, and a .868 OPS in 46 games with the Indians last year. He also had a very good 37 walk to 29 strikeout ratio.
Sizemore progressing
While Santana is on target to play in the regular season opener, the same is not necessarily the case for outfielder Grady Sizemore. He had a more complicated surgery to his knee last year as he had a microfracture procedure in June that takes a lot more time to fully recover from. He has been at the Goodyear complex working out and has not had any setbacks, but he is not expected to play in any Cactus League games this spring until mid-March.
For now the Indians are content with being very conservative with Sizemore. He is doing agility and running drills, and if all continues to go well he should progress into full time workouts later this month. How he responds to playing in games will be the true determining factor on whether or not he will be ready to open the season on time.
In the end, the Indians may just opt to play it safe and have Sizemore open the season on the 15-day disabled list. This would allow him time to continue to workout and play in extended spring training games to make up for lost time this spring, and then be activated later in April.
Sizemore is in the last year of the guaranteed portion of his contract and will make about $7 million this year. Last year he played in only 33 games and hit .211 with no homers, 13 RBI and had a .560 OPS.
Indians sign Latin catcher
The Indians signed 16-year old catcher Kevin Calderon out of the Dominican Republic for $80,000.
I'll have a more detailed write up of Calderon tomorrow or Tuesday in a piece on him and the state of the Latin operations with quotes from Scouting Director John Mirabelli, but the quick scouting report on Calderon is at this time his defensive tools are clearly way ahead of his abilities at the plate. He has a Carlos Santana-like build at 5'10" 170 pounds, shows a lot of athleticism behind the plate, and has a strong arm.
For those who follow Tribe prospects and have an understanding of who-is-who, to put the signing in perspective it is a lower profile one than catcher Alex Monsalve who they signed over two years ago.
The signing of Calderon is a lot like many of the signings the Indians have made over the past year on the international front, almost all of which are not publicized. Like most organizations, the Indians have a policy where they do not release their international signings as it can hurt them in their pursuit of other prospective international prospects. The word of the Calderon signing was leaked by the academy he was playing at and/or his agent, which is why the signing has been released publicly.
Book update
My “2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects and More” book is scheduled to finally go to press this week. I am still working out the final details and layout, but the book will have everything fans needs to follow the young Indians at the minor league and big league level this season. The book includes tons of information and stats on over 175 players in the system from rookie ball to the big leagues, and has lots of other reference information for the casual and diehard fans.
I will have a detailed breakdown next week when hopefully it has gone to press as scheduled. In the meantime, I will be accepting pre-orders. Just use the interface on the upper right side of the page to complete your pre-order and once the book is available you will be one of the first to receive one (and signed to boot). If all goes very well, the first batch may go out this Friday or Saturday.
Key dates
With pitchers and catchers reporting to major league camp this Tuesday February 15th, here are some other key dates to keep in mind this spring:
February 15: Pitchers and catchers report
February 19: Position players report
February 26: Mandatory date all players need to report by
February 27: First Cactus League game vs. Cincinnati Reds
March 1: Early minor league camp begins
March 7: Minor league pitchers and catchers report
March 11: Minor league position players report
March 18: First minor league spring game
March 30: Indians vs. Columbus Clippers exhibition game in Columbus, OH
April 1: Regular season opener at home vs. Chicago White Sox
Parting shots
Left-hander Jeremy Sowers had surgery on Monday to repair a tear in his rotator cuff. He will miss the entire 2011 season and be out of action for nine to 12 months. He had recently been resigned to a minor league contract after going 2-6 with a 5.85 ERA in 27 appearances last year at Triple-A Columbus. … Cleveland Browns wide receiver and special teamer Josh Cribbs was named Cleveland's Professional Athlete of the Year at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards on Thursday night. He beat out Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas and Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo for the award. … Indians manager Manny Acta is now on Twitter. You can follow him @Mactriber_11.
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3 comments:
I didn't figure this meant that Kipnis and Chisenhall would stay in AAA all year (which is very disappointing). I figured Cabrera would be mid-season trade bait to make room for a Kipnis/Cabrera(A)/Chisnehall infield with Donald as the utility. If they don't bring Kipnis/Chisenhall up this year, there is zero chance they can compete in 2012.
Yes, Cabrera is still midseason trade bait...and I think that actually happens. But when it does, the first guy who is going to get a shot at 2B once Cabrera leaves is Phelps. Of course injuries and performance will dictate things, so who knows, but assuming health and Phelps not cratering with his performance, he should get a lot of PT in Cleveland the last half of the year. Just nowhere for Kipnis even if they did want to push him up. Unless something crazy happens, from what I know I just don't expect him to play in Cleveland this year. Chisenhall may actually end up in Cleveland late in the year....I know I said otherwise, but I think there is a decent shot. If I were to put a percent on it, I'd say 5% chance Kipnis comes to Cleveland this year and 50% chance Chisenhall does.
When I first saw news of the Cabrera signing I figured they were planning on putting him at 3rd. He seems to me like a better fit there and other than Chisenhall, who isn't quite ready, we don't have a real good option over there. Second however allows Donald to play and give decent defense and his arm strength is a non-issue. But Donald aside 3rd still looks like the better fit for Cabrera who is getting older and losing some range but still has the arm to hand the throws.
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