Fryman To Manage Mahoning Valley

Former Indians third-baseman Travis Fryman has been hired to manage short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley starting next season. This will mark the first managerial or coaching assignment of Fryman’s post-playing career. During the 2007 spring, Travis served as a special guest instructor with the Indians, working with the Indians Major and Minor League infielders. Former Mahoning Valley manager Tim Laker will now serve as a roving catching instructor.Also, Gary Varsho has been signed by Pittsburgh General Manager Neil Huntington to be the Pirate's...

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Indians Invite Three Minor League Players To Spring Training

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 30, 2007INDIANS INVITE THREE (3) TO MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING TRAINING CAMPCLEVELAND, OH --- The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has signed RHP RICK BAUER, RHP JEFF HARRIS & CA YAMID HAAD to free agent minor league contracts with non-roster invitations to Major League spring training camp.Bauer, 30, split the 2007 season between AAA Ottawa (2-4, 7.36ERA, 16 games) and AAA Las Vegas (0-2-2, 3.60ERA, 25 games), beginning the season in the Phillies organization prior to signing in the Dodgers system. He owns...

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Brad Grant Promoted, Mirabelli Gets Extended Role

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 30, 2007INDIANS PROMOTE BRAD GRANT TO DIRECTOR OF AMATEUR SCOUTINGAssistant GM John Mirabelli to Assume Expanded Role in Player ProcurementCLEVELAND, OH --- The Cleveland Indians & Executive Vice President and General Manager MARK SHAPIRO today announced the promotion of BRAD GRANT to Director of Amateur Scouting.Grant, who spent the last eight (8) seasons as the club’s Assistant Director of Scouting, will direct all elements of the First-Year Player Draft – providing evaluations and overseeing the club’s seventeen...

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Indians Lose Mariano Gomez

Per a report by Yahoo, the Minnesota Twins signed former Indians farmhand Mariano Gomez (LHP) to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.Gomez was a once promising left-handed pitcher in the system who had trouble overcoming a partially torn tendon on the middle finger of his pitching hand in 2003 which sidetracked him and he was never the same after that. At 6'6" and 190 pounds, he was an intriguing prospect as a left-handed pitcher because of his size, quick arm action, and the way he whipped the ball to the plate. He finishes his...

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Indians Lose Three Free Agents

On Wednesday, the Indians lost three minor league free agents that were signed by the Washington Nationals:Jason Stanford (LHP) Bobby Brownlie (RHP)Jim Ed Warden (RHP)Stanford could use a change of scenery, and really had no spot for him in Buffalo with the likes of Chuck Lofgren and Scott Lewis moving up to Buffalo this year into the starting staff and joining holdovers like Brian Slocum, Adam Miller, Sean Smith, and the loser of the Aaron Laffey/Jeremy Sowers spring training battle.Stanford leaves the Indians organization as the all-time leader...

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Indians Minor League Awards Announced

INDIANS ANNOUNCE 2007 MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER & PITCHER OF THE YEAR AWARDSASDRUBAL CABRERA combined to hit .303 in 2007AARON LAFFEY was 17-6 w/a 3.34 ERACLEVELAND, OH—The Cleveland Indians today announced the recipients of the organization’s 2007 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year awards.INF ASDRUBAL CABRERA has been named the 2007 winner of the Lou Boudreau Award as the top minor league position player in the Indians player development system. Additionally, LHP AARON LAFFEY has been selected as the Bob Feller Award winner for 2007 as...

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Winter League Update

Here is an update how various prospects in the system are doing in the winter leagues:Dominican Winter League: Argenis Tavarez (C, Gigantes del Cibao): .000 AVG (0-1), .000 OPSChris De La Cruz (IF, Aguilas Cibaenas): .259 AVG (7-27), 2 2B , 2 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, .609 OPSAndy Marte (IF, Azucareros del Este): .262 AVG (17-65), 6 2B, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 17 K, .722 OPSJose Constanza (OF, Azucareros del Este): .333 AVG (17-51), 3 RBI, 5 BB, 6 K, 3 SB, .726 OPSJason Cooper (OF, Azucareros del Este): .203 AVG (14-69), 5 2B, 8 RBI, 11 BB, 25 K, 3 SB, .596 OPSJuan...

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Roster & Rule 5 Draft Thoughts

Now that the Indians have decided on who they would add to the 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 Draft, I just wanted to break down quickly why they added who they did and what players they left unprotected who are now in danger of being selected.The fact they protected Adam Miller, Reid Santos, Scott Lewis, Tony Sipp and Wyatt Toregas is not much of a surprise to me. I even nailed it with a prediction last week on our site message boards (my post is near the bottom dated Nov 15th at 1:05pm). Miller is a no brained, and while Sipp is currently...

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Five Players Added to 40-man Roster

The Indians added the following players to their 40-man roster today:Adam Miller (RHP)Scott Lewis (LHP)Reid Santos (LHP)Tony Sipp (LHP)Wyatt Toregas (C)The 40-man roster is now at 39 playe...

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Winter League Update

Right-handed relief prospect Jeff Stevens continues to make his name noticed, and is primed for a potential bullpen role in Cleveland sometime in 2008 if he continues to pitch as well as he has in 2007 and this offseason. Team USA just won the World Cup, and Stevens was a big contributor in the bullpen throwing six shutout innings and only giving up three hits while striking out five.Stevens pitched briefly in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) and also pitched for Team USA against teams in the AFL in a tune up for the World Cup. Combined with his...

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Arizona Fall League Wrapup

Baseball America just released their Arizona Fall League Top 20 Prospect ranking for the recently concluded Arizona Fall League (AFL) season in 2007. The Indians had two players make the list: right-hander Adam Miller (#5) and left-hander David Huff (#20). Here is what Baseball America had to say about the two pitchers in the rankings piece:5. Adam Miller, rhp, Surprise (Indians): After battling finger and elbow woes over the course of the regular season at Triple-A Buffalo, Miller went to instructional league to face more live hitters before...

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Minor League FAQ

This is the beginning of an Indians minor league FAQ I am putting together. This FAQ will be updated a lot this offseason as I add more things like team records as well as many other things I come across that will be added. This will also be linked in the Minor League Reference section.1. Player salariesMajor League Baseball handles all Minor League Baseball player contracts. In addition to the bonus they receive when they sign, here is the monthly pay they get at each level:First contract season: $850/month maximum. After that, open to negotiationAlien...

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Adam Miller injury not serious

There was some cause for serious concern this afternoon in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) when Indians top prospect Adam Miller had to leave his start in the first inning due to an undisclosed injury. Early reports mentioned he had left the game with an apparent hand injury, and many fans feared the worst.The Indians organization and fans can catch their breath as it turns out he had to leave the game because of a blister on his throwing hand. Miller only logged a third of an inning and had given up three runs on three hits and a walk before having...

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Nick Weglarz and some site updates

I am in the process of completely a detailed FAQ for the site. Included in this FAQ will be items like what minor league players make, roster limits, team and league websites, stadium info, team records for each affiliate and more. This should be completed soon, and will be linked under the Minor League Reference section.Today I added the player development staff as well as the coaching staff for each affiliate. These are located under the Minor League Reference section, but here are the direct links:Player Development StaffCoaching StaffsI’ll...

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Fall Leagues Stats Update and More

Here is another update on how some of the Indians minor leaguers are doing in fall/winter leagues. Play in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) wraps up this week on November 15th, and play in the Hawaii Winter League (HWL) wraps up on November 18th. Both leagues have a short playoff, so play will extend a little after that for the teams that make the playoffs.All stats through 11/12/2007Arizona Fall League (AFL)Michael Finocchi (RHP): 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 games, 10.1 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 5 K, 1.06 WHIPDavid Huff (LHP): 1-1, 7.07 ERA, 6 games, 14 IP, 15 H, 3...

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Minor Happenings: Notes 11/12

Baseball Prospectus just released their Indians Top 11 Prospect list over the weekend. For more detail on these rankings, you will need to have a subscription to Baseball Prospectus. However, here is the listing (which is free):Five-Star ProspectsNoneFour-Star Prospects1. Adam Miller, RHP2. Wes Hodges, 3B3. Beau Mills, 1BThree-Star Prospects4. Chuck Lofgren, LHP5. Nick Weglarz, LF6. Aaron Laffey, LHP7. Jensen Lewis, RHP8. Josh Rodriguez, SSTwo-Star Prospects9. Jordan Brown, 1B10. Trevor Crowe, OF11. David Huff, LHPJust Missing: Brian Barton,...

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Minor Happenings: Notes 11/9

Some updates:J.D. Martin reportedly is healthy and maybe on the verge of a bounce back season next year. According to minor league coordinator Dave Hudgens, in the recently completed Fall Instructional League, “Martin looked really good. He especially looked good in his last outing and was throwing all his pitches well.” Martin is currently playing in the Nicaraguan Winter League to make up for lost innings this year since he missed two-thirds of the season. He is only expected to play there another two weeks before shutting him down, and to...

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Francisco Named Topps' All-Star

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENovember 7, 2007Bisons’ Ben Francisco Named to Topps’ Triple-A All-Star TeamOutfielder Hit .318 for the Bisons in 2007Minor League Baseball announced that Buffalo Bisons’ outfielder Ben Francisco has been named to the Topps’ Triple-A All-Star Team. After each season, the best performances in each Minor League Baseball classification are honored by the Topps Company of New York, NY, in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.Francisco, 26, played 95 games with the Bisons in 2007 and led the International League with a .318 (120-377)...

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Minor Happenings: Notes 11/7

Just a couple random notes this morning:First, the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster and make reserve lists at Buffalo, Akron, etc for protection from the Rule 5 Draft is November 20th. If you are not familiar with the Rule 5 Draft and what it is, a good, brief description can be found here. The Rule 5 Draft will take place at the end of the Winter Meetings on December 6th.Right-handed reliever Randy Newsom is in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) getting some additional work in. He is Rule 5 eligible, so the Indians are probably getting...

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Fall/Winter League Stats

Just an update on how some of the Indians minor leaguers are doing in fall/winter leagues so far:All stats through 11/05/2007Arizona Fall League (AFL)Michael Finocchi (RHP): 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 games, 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 0.95 ERADavid Huff (LHP): 1-1, 7.50 ERA, 5 games, 12 IP, 14 H, 3 BB, 10 K, 1.42 WHIPAdam Miller (RHP): 0-0, 5.40 ERA, 3 games, 10 IP, 10 H, 0 BB, 8 K, 1.00 WHIPRandy Newsom (RHP): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 games, 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1.64 WHIPRich Rundles (LHP): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 games, 5.2 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 0.53 WHIPT.J. Burton (RHP):...

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Minor Happenings: Notes 11/5

A couple quick notes:First, some may have been wondering why Trevor Crowe is no longer playing in the Arizona Fall League and why Brad Snyder replaced him on the roster. Well, per an e-mail I got over the weekend from the Indians, it looks like Crowe was sent home in Tucson with a non-baseball medical condition. He may or may not return to fall ball.Also, the roster deadline is November 20th. This is the date the Indians must finalize their 40-man roster selections and who to add from the eligible list from the minors to protect in the Rule 5 Draft.Last,...

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2007 Indians Minor League Free Agents

Here is a listing of players in the Indians farm system who are minor league free agents:Pitchers (11): Bobby Brownlie (RHP), Jake Dittler (RHP), Mike Koplove (RHP), Cliff Politte (RHP), Jeff Harris (RHP), Jim Ed Warden (RHP), Scott Elarton (RHP), Eric Dubose (LHP), Mariano Gomez (LHP), Rich Rundles (LHP), Jason Stanford (LHP)Catchers (3): Mike Rose, Armando Camacaro, Yamid HaadSecond Basemen (3): Trent Durrington, Argenis Reyes, Luis RivasShortstops (4): Rodney Choy Foo, Anthony Medrano, Mike Rouse, Christopher De La CruzThird Basemen (1): Keith...

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2007 Rule 5 Draft: Indians Eligibles

Here is the official info from the Indians on who is Rule 5 eligible for the December 6, 2007 Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings: Barton, Brian DBunkelman, Cody RBurton, TJ JButia, Mike WBuzachero, Bubbie DCamacaro, Armando JCevette, Dan EConstanza, Jose GCooper, Jason MCumberbatch, Cirilo EDe La Cruz, Christopher AFinegan, Brian JGimenez, Chris PGoleski, Ryan SHaad, YamidHarris, Jeffrey AHoyman, Justin KLarkin, Shaun MMulhern, Ryan TNewsom, RandyNiesel, Christopher WNottingham, Shawn MPanther, Nathan EPerdomo, Luis MPesco, Nick JPinckney, Brandon...

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