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| Fausto Carmona |
In 2001 Carmona went 7-15 with a 5.25 ERA in 32 starts (188.2 IP, 205 H, 110 ER, 60 BB, 109 K). Had the Indians declined the option they could have still offered him arbitration since he has less than six years of Major League service time, but would have likely had to pay him more in arbitration. Also, considering that the price tag for a like pitcher or better would have been the same or more in free agency, it made sense to pick up his option. He is now signed through the 2012 season and the club options for 2013 ($9 million) and 2014 ($12 million) remain intact.
Sizemore hit .224 with 10 HR, 32 RBI and a .706 OPS in 71 games this past season. He has been limited to just 210 total games played over the last three seasons because of a wide variety of injuries, the most serious being microfracture surgery which cost him most of his 2010 season and delayed the start of his 2011 season.
The Indians will now look to fill their centerfield void this offseason with a free agent or trade, and one name to keep an eye on is Tampa Bay Rays outfielder B.J. Upton who is on the the block and is a player the Indians were serious contenders to acquire this past July and August. They will look at every possible outfield alternative, but Upton could be at the top of their list.
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3 comments:
Not a big fan of Upton. He's got all the talent in the world, but he doesn't take instruction well. The Rays have been trying to work on his swing for years. He does well when it comes to his legs and hips, but his shoulder movement has always been a problem. His should twist and tendency to open the front shoulder up make it hard for him to alter the swing in motion to respond to the pitch. On top of that, this is Upton's last year for arbitration and he becomes a free agent after next season. I don't think he's worth much in trade for us as a rental. We aren't a big market that can afford to trade a lot of assets for a rental.
Upton in a lot of ways is like Sizemore...a player who has always been strikeout prone and has some issues with his swing but has never improved. Sometimes it means a guy is uncoachable because they don't make the necessary changes, but sometimes it can also mean the guy just has tapped out that skill set.
The big key with Upton is you get him in a free agent year, which means he would potentially have a big year looking for that new contract. There is more incentive to that than worrying about losing him after one year (they'd accept that going in that it would likely be a one year deal with him). It would really depend on what we would have to give up....I too would not want to overpay, but I would definitely talk and try to package a current ML reliever or ready ML reliever with one of our depth starters. Whether that is enough, who knows....but at least a starting point.
The Rays could use the relief pitcher, but their organizational strength is starting pitching. They'd be most interested in strong MLB ready catching prospects and outfielders, though without Upton they are looking at Guyer, Jennings, and Joyce as their outfield - not bad. I could see them taking an interest in Kipnis or Phelps, but I personally wouldn't be willing to trade either for Upton. They also might get some of what they need by moving James Shields. I could see them grabbing one of Cincy's catching prospects (Mesoraco) for him.
If we land another 1B, they might be interested in LaPorta. His service time is just over 2 if I calculate correctly, though I think they would prefer to re-sign Kotchman.
My preference would be to try to sign Cuddyer, but I would be shocked if the Tribe even made a play for him. He'll command more than what Sizemore was due to earn, though he'd likely be far more reliable.
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