Winter Meetings Rundown: Day 4

Josh Willingham (Photo: AP)

Aside from the announcements of the Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson signings this morning and of course the Rule 5 Draft, it was a very quiet final day at the Winter Meetings. Here is a quick rundown of any new developments involving the Indians or that may affect them.

The Indians left the Winter Meetings without making a deal. This should come as no surprise as the Winter Meetings are quite often hijacked by all the hoopla surrounding the wheeling and dealing with the top free agents, and of course the Indians are never in on any of the top guys. Now that some of the big dominoes in free agency have fallen and the arbitration decisions have been made, I think we will start to see more signings and trades announced very soon. The Indians have been working diligently looking for any option possible to add to their team to improve it in 2011, and the groundwork by all of those talks could bear fruit later this week or month. The Indians may still announce a deal before the end of the day, but if so, it will probably only be a minor league deal.

A lot of people have been upset with the lack of rumors regarding the Indians. This is always the case as they run a tight ship by edict of former General Manager Mark Shapiro and current General Manager Chris Antonetti where they simply do not discuss potential trades or signings with the media. There are a few rare exceptions, but they are often very vague and not very forthcoming with what they are up to. Anytime you do see a rumor with the Indians, 95% of the time it is agent driven where the agent has informed the media that the Indians have talked to their client. This is a game agents play to put pressure on other teams by getting their client’s name out there and to create a market for them. So, again, just because there is a lack of rumors with regard to the Indians it does not mean they are doing nothing. They are doing just as much as anyone else working the phones, but they are just a lot less public with what they are doing.

Moving on….with Albert Pujols signing his mega deal with the Angels for 10 years and $254 million this morning, speculation immediately began that the Angels may look to trade one of their incumbent first basemen Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo. New Angels GM Jerry Dipoto denies that either player is available in a trade as they have the roster flexibility to keep and play both players, and they are unsure if Morales will even be ready to start next season since he is still coming off a serious leg injury. The Indians would obviously have interest in either player if they became available, but the feeling is the chances are remote that will happen right now. The Angels will surely listen to offers for both players, but since they are not hardpressed to trade either player it will take a pretty good offer for them to pull the trigger on either one. (Note: I am somewhat perplexed how many people are interested in picking up such an unknown health risk in Morales.)

Susan Slosser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports the Indians are one of three teams in the final running for outfielder Josh Willingham. The Twins and Rockies are the other two teams. Both the Twins and Rockies are also both on first baseman/outfielder Michael Cuddyer, and it looks like whoever does not get Cuddyer between the Rockies and Twins will get Willingham. Cuddyer is expected to stay with the Twins, and if this happens Willingham probably goes to the Rockies. If by chance Cuddyer chooses the Rockies, then the Twins fallback is Willingham. While the Indians have been interested in picking up Willingham since July, their interest is mild at this time so they are the clear third team in the mix here. Also, unless the Rockies or Twins have a change of heart on signing Willingham after Cuddyer makes his decision, it looks unlikely that Willingham would end up an Indian. The Indians are limited with the amount of payroll they can add, so if they were to add Willingham on a two-year deal for about $9-10 million a year they would have to move some payroll in a trade.

As always the Rule 5 Draft was held on the final day of the meetings and it was completed in less than 30 minutes. After two rounds in the Major League phase, four rounds in the Triple-A phase, and two rounds in the Double-A phase teams breezed through the selections and in the end a total of 37 players were selected in all three phases. The Indians did not select anyone in any phase, and while they did not lose anyone as expected in the Major League phase they did lose right-handed pitcher Marty Popham and outfielder Donnie Webb in the Triple-A phase. For more on them, check out the Rule 5 Draft live blog from earlier today or view the 2011 scouting reports for Popham and Webb I posted today as well.

One final nugget, Indians right-handed pitcher Hector Rondon cleared waivers today and has been outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. He is still under the Indians' control for 2012.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).

Posted in: Chris Antonetti,Cleveland Indians,Donnie Webb,Hector Rondon,Josh Willingham,Kendrys Morales,Mark Shapiro,Mark Trumbo,Marty Popham,Michael Cuddyer