Tribe Happenings: Cabrera settles for silver

Cabrera was a highlight reel at shortstop

in 2011, but fell short in the eyes of voters

for the Gold Glove (Photo: AP).

Some news, notes and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Cabrera loses out on gold but wins silver

On Tuesday night in front of a live television audience Major League Baseball and ESPN unveiled the 2011 Gold Glove winners for both the American and National Leagues. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and right-handed pitcher Fausto Carmona were both finalists in the American League at their respective positions and in the end neither one of them won.

Cabrera ended up losing the Gold Glove to Erick Aybar of the Angels, and Carmona lost it to Mark Beurhle of the White Sox. But the news was better on Wednesday night as Cabrera won the Silver Slugger Award for the best offensive performance by a shortstop in the American League.

A lot of Indians fans considered it an upset that Cabrera did not win a Gold Glove and wondered how he could lose it after so many highlight worthy plays this past season that had him a part of ESPN’s Web Gems segment all season. But five or six highlight plays do not make a good defender as it is the consistency day in and day out, and compared to other shortstops Cabrera was just a little short and did not measure up. Had he won there would have been many people – including me – wondering how he won it.

There is no doubt that Cabrera had a breakout season offensively and that he was the heart and soul of the Indians this past season, and he was rewarded as such with the Silver Slugger Award on Wednesday. But he still has yet to live up to the promise he had defensively when the Indians acquired him back in June of 2006. Back then he was considered an excellent defender with great range and hands, but so far in his big league career he has been average to slightly above average at best as a defender.

Cabrera did not rank well in just about every stat category this season among American League shortstops. Among 12 shortstops who qualified he ranked 6th in fielding percentage (.976), tied for the 4th most errors (15), and was 6th in total chances (617). He did not rank well among other more advanced fielding stats either as he was 10th in range factor (4.08) and dead last in ultimate zone rating (-11.8). In fact, his 2010 season defensively was arguably better with a .972 fielding percentage, 4.57 range factor and -7.7 UZR.

The statistics did not support Cabrera as being the top shortstop in the American League in 2011. Fans may say he passed the “eye” test to them, but there is also a huge bias there with him being an Indian. Not to mention that highlight plays can often create a false perception on how well a player is playing over the course of the season.

Also, the “eye” test is just as flawed as any of the new and old fielding stats. How does one truly quantify what a good defensive performance is? Was that performance evenly compared against the other players at the same position? Was too much stock put into what were perceived to be a handful of great plays? Or were those great plays the result of the player getting a poor jump on the ball or because they have limited range?

Baseball has always been a game based on stats as people have used them to judge both hitters and pitchers since the game was invented, but due to the lack of very good traditional stats for fielders there has always been a lot of grey area in truly evaluating the defensive performance of a player. Sometimes the best defenders are those who consistently make the routine plays day in and day out and are not as flashy simply because they make it look easier because of far greater range, quickness, hands, and by reading balls better off the bat.

As for Carmona’s inclusion as a finalist for the American League Gold Glove for pitchers, I can’t explain that one at all as I do not recall him ever being considered a good defender. In fact, his own teammate Josh Tomlin is arguably two or three times the defender and probably should have been up for the award instead and it would not have been a surprise if he won it. Carmona’s inclusion is yet another reminder of how the voting system and who ultimately wins a Gold Glove is seriously flawed.

It’s official: Sizemore gone, Carmona returns

The Indians made it official this past Monday when they announced that the $9 million club option on outfielder Grady Sizemore was declined and the $7 million club option on right-handed starter Fausto Carmona was picked up. With the moves Carmona is still under club control another three years and Sizemore is now a free agent.

Neither decision came as much of a surprise. Yes, when looking at it emotionally I am sure there were a few Sizemore fans out there that were upset by the news, but if looking at the decisions logically and taking the emotion out of it the Indians absolutely made the right decisions.

The Indians have a very finite budget and to blow roughly 1/7th of their payroll on Sizemore’s option would have seriously hindered any financial flexibility they would have had this offseason to improve the roster. Sizemore has played just 210 games the last three seasons and is coming off an injury plagued season and more surgery and it made sense to let him go.

The Indians and Sizemore’s agent talked about restructuring the $9 million option, but supposedly the agent was not interested in doing that as he either wanted the option picked up or it to be declined so his client could become a free agent. There is a small chance Sizmeore could return to the Indians later in free agency, but once the new CBA is agreed to there is a belief that we will see a spike in spending by clubs this offseason. This may help Sizemore and his agent get the deal they are searching for and push him to a bigger market club with more financial flexibility to take a gamble on him.

Carmona’s option was a no brainer to pick up. For as much of an enigma as he is and how frustrating he can be to watch at times his $7 million salary for 2012 is still actually below market value and somewhat of a bargain for the Indians. Picking up the option also keeps Carmona’s 2013 ($9 million) and 2014 ($12 million) option years intact, so the Indians maintain control of him beyond this coming season and it also adds more value to him as a potential trade option.

With Sizemore gone the Indians now absolutely need to acquire a starting outfielder. Whether that comes via free agency or a trade remains to be seen, but they are going to acquire one at some point this offseason. With the rotation shored up it is probably their number one focus.

Rotation upgrade?

Speaking of shoring up the starting rotation, the Indians made a surprising move on Monday by completing a trade with the Atlanta Braves. The Indians sent High-A left-handed reliever Chris Jones to the Braves for right-handed starting pitcher Derek Lowe and cash. He is set to make $15 million in 2012 in the last year of his four-year $60 million contract he originally signed with the Braves, but as part of the deal the Braves are paying $10 million of his 2012 salary leaving the Indians on the hook for just $5 million of it.

The 38-year old Lowe did not have one of his better seasons in 2011 as he went 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA in 34 starts. The numbers do not look pretty if you simply evaluate a pitcher on wins and losses and their ERA, but there are far better ways to evaluate the value and effectiveness of a pitcher than that.

Lowe proved last year that he is still a capable back-of-the-rotation pitcher. Most teams are happy to get 20-25 starts from their fifth starter and any form of effectiveness, but what Lowe brings is consistency and durability which is something the Indians’ staff needs next year. Since being moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation in 2002 he has had ten consecutive seasons of at least 32 starts and 182 or more innings pitched. That’s just what the doctor ordered, and on top of that he comes with a great reputation as a guy who works well with young pitchers and could maybe help fellow sinkerballer Fausto Carmona become more consistent.

Long term I would prefer someone like right-handed pitchers Jeanmar Gomez and Zach McAllister or left-handed pitcher David Huff to get a crack at the fifth spot in the Indians’ rotation, but they erred on the side of caution for the rotation to get more consistency. It is hard to fault them for that when they are trying to contend next season, and the move now potentially allows them to trade one of Gomez, Huff and McAllister as part of a deal for a need in the lineup.

On top of that the Indians are only paying Lowe $5 million. It looks like a good gamble when you consider the free agent options available have just as many warts and are probably more expensive. When you also consider that there are several unknowns with the rotation with regard to the health of right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin and Carmona’s Jekyll and Hyde mound persona, it makes sense to add a veteran starter.

Yes, Lowe is 38 years old and he is not the pitcher he probably was three to five years ago and may be a flop this year. He used to be such a sinkerball heavy pitcher, but with age his sinker has become less effective and he now incorporates a cutter and slider more into his regular repertoire. While the sinker has declined his slider has actually improved and it has now pretty much become his go to pitch to strike batters out.

But Lowe’s history shows that he will go out there and do what he is paid to do which is to compete and give his team innings. Besides, the last time he had what was viewed as a poor season in 2004 when he went 14-12 with a 5.42 ERA he came back the next few seasons and had the best four-year stretch of his career. The Indians can only hope the same happens again and that a move back to the American League serves as somewhat of a spark for one last good season from him.

The speed at which the Indians operated to acquire Lowe is compelling, though the deal may have been agreed to days or weeks ago but they were unable to announce it until after the World Series. General Manager Chris Antonetti’s aggressive style he started with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in July and now a trade at the start of the offseason are a great sign that the Indians will be busy this offseason.

Rising stars

On Tuesday the Arizona Fall League (AFL) announced that right-handed bullpen pitching prospects Cory Burns and Preston Guilmet were selected to participate in the Rising Stars game. The game serves as a showcase for the top talent participating in the AFL and was played last night in Surprise, AZ.

Hot hitting first baseman Jesus Aguilar was the most deserving of any Indians’ prospect and probably would have been named to the team, but he is no longer participating in the AFL after he left for home to Venezuela last weekend. It was a pre-planned departure as he was to only play in the AFL until the end of October before going home to play the rest of the offseason for Caracas in the Venezuelan Winter League. Outfielder Carlos Moncrief has replaced Aguilar on the Arizona roster.

Roster shenanigans

On Wednesday the Indians outrighted outfielder Trevor Crowe off the 40-man roster and assigned him to the minors. Earlier in the week he had been designated for assignment and cleared waivers. He is not a free agent and the Indians control him for the 2012 season.

Also on Wednesday the Indians removed right-handed pitchers Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco and outfielders Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo from the 60-day disabled list and added them back onto the 40-man roster. Players on the 60-day disabled list do not count toward the 40-man roster, but since there is no disabled list in the offseason they had to be added back to the active roster.

Parting shots

Outfielder Jerad Head was outrighted a few weeks ago from the 40-man roster, but as a second time outright he declined the assignment and is now a free agent. While there is mutual respect between the Indians and Head, due to the depth of outfielders in Cleveland and Columbus he probably will seek a better opportunity elsewhere and not resign with the Indians. … Former Indians player and coach Charlie Nagy had his contract renewed earlier this week through 2013 as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. … The Boston Red Sox are interested in Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. as a candidate for their managerial opening.

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).

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2011 Indians 40-man review: Who do they remove?

Trevor Crowe and Luis Valbuena may not

survive on the 40-man roster. (Photo: AP)

With the World Series underway the official start of the 2011-2012 offseason is quickly drawing near. For those teams whose season already ended weeks ago they are making final preparations for the November 18^th roster date which is four weeks away.

This is a key date in the offseason as teams set their 40-man rosters for the upcoming season by making decisions on which players to keep, which players to remove, and which young players to add in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft in December. The Indians already made two decisions on Tuesday when they outrighted outfielder Jerad Head and right-handed pitcher Mitch Talbot off the 40-man roster.

Most of the additions to the 40-man roster are who organizations view as their best young talent in the minors that is up for roster protection from the Rule 5 Draft.  The rest of the additions come from signings through free agency with a few waiver claims or trades potentially sprinkled in.  Teams conduct several meetings from the final month of the season until the roster deadline date as they work to whittle down the roster and finalize it before the deadline.  Many decisions on who to remove and who to add from the roster are obvious, but other decisions are not so cut and dry.

Whether obvious or not, teams will wait until right around the deadline date to officially make roster additions from the minors in order to let things play out.  Teams rarely make roster decisions on who to add well in advance of the deadline since there is no rush to do so and it could be a decision that results in disaster. What if the player being rostered is playing winter ball then goes out the next day and gets seriously hurt? This is a situation the team wants to avoid, and is why most of these decisions typically always go down to the last minute.

Occasionally, a team will open up a roster spot by trading a player already on the 40-man roster in exchange for a non-roster player that is not required to be protected.  Even more rare are trades at this time of the year involving Rule 5 eligible players that teams may not have room on their roster to protect.  This is mostly because other teams are in the same boat, and also because teams have little interest to acquire a player that if they are even interested in they can just go out and try to pick them up in the Rule 5 Draft for little cost.

When it comes to filling out the 40-man roster at this time of the year, it all comes down to a combination of need and talent.  For a young team like the Indians that expects to contend next season and already has so many young players on the roster there is not as much focus on adding more youth to the roster this offseason as in previous years.

For the Indians most of the needed additions to the roster from their farm system this offseason happened over the course of this past season when they rostered such players as third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, second baseman Jason Kipnis, right-handed reliever Zach Putnam and others. While there are still maybe two or three players from the farm system they will add to the roster, the additions the Indians make this offseason will likely mostly be Major League players via free agency or trade.

With all this in mind, let's take a look at what decisions the Indians may make in creating room on the 40-man roster prior to the November 18th roster deadline.  In the next few weeks I will post a follow up to this piece and take an in depth look at what players from their farm system the Indians will consider adding to the 40-man roster.

Roster Breakdown

Currently the Indians have 42 players on the 40-man roster, four of which are on the 60-day disabled list. There is no disabled list in the offseason, so by the November 18^th roster deadline the Indians will need to put all players on the 60-day disabled list back onto the active 40-man roster. These four players are right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco, right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin, outfielder Michael Brantley, and outfielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Shortly after the World Series players eligible for free agency will officially be removed from the roster. The Indians have three players eligible for free agency: outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, designated hitter Jim Thome, and right-handed pitcher Chad Durbin. None of these players are expected to be resigned in advance of the start of free agency, so even with the activation of the 60-day disabled list players back on to the 40-man roster the removal of the three pending free agents technically puts the Indians roster at 39 players right now.

Obviously one open spot on the 40-man roster is not enough for the Indians to make needed and expected acquisitions via free agency and trade or to add some of their young players from the minors, so they still need to remove a few players from the roster.

Who Stays, Who Goes

Looking at the 39 players on the Indians’ roster that are not free agents, the following players appear to have a questionable status on the roster: Fausto Carmona (RHP), Kelvin De La Cruz (LHP), Corey Kluber (RHP), Luis Valbuena (INF), Trevor Crowe (OF), Shelley Duncan (1B/OF), Thomas Neal (OF), and Nick Weglarz (OF).

That's a lot of guys ranging from low to high chances at being removed from the roster.  Here is a breakdown of the chances each player is removed:

Fausto Carmona (Right-handed pitcher)

2011: 7-15, 5.25 ERA, 32 GS, 188.2 IP, 205 H, 22 HR, 60 BB, 109 K

The Indians have a pretty big decision to make on whether or not to pick up Carmona’s $7 million option for next season. This decision is expected to be made rather quickly this offseason as what they do with Carmona will directly affect what they do in the free agent and trade market and will determine how much money they have to spend. He has been an enigma as his inconsistency is maddening, but considering that he is healthy, has averaged 200 innings pitched the last two seasons, and has tons of talent that could still be reached it appears that the Indians will pick up the option. Besides, $7 million would not go very far in free agency for a starting pitcher as few if any pitchers better than Carmona can be signed for anything close to that.

Decision: The Indians pick up the club option and keep Carmona for another year to see if he puts it all together next year. They need starting pitching and in the starting pitching market $7 million for one season with two club option years is very cheap and one of the most team friendly contracts you will find.

Trevor Crowe (Outfielder)

2011: .214 AVG (6-for-28), 6 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB, 4 BB, 9 K, .563 OPS

Crowe went into the 2011 season as the favorite to make the opening day roster as the fourth outfielder, but a right shoulder injury in spring training forced him to be shutdown. He ended up having surgery and did not return until mid-September and played in just 15 games before an injury to his left shoulder ended his season prematurely. He is a former 1^st round pick so there is a lot invested in him and he also has an option remaining so there is some roster flexibility there next season, but the injuries and performance in the big leagues to date are a concern.

Decision: Due to his injury issues and performance the Indians can probably slip Crowe through waivers without risk of losing him, and that is what I think they will do either now or later this offseason when they need the roster spot. Provided he clears waivers, as a first time outright from the 40-man roster the Indians would still control him for next season.

Kelvin De La Cruz (Left-handed pitcher)

2011 at Double-A Akron: 5-6, 4.19 ERA, 23 G (16 GS), 86.0 IP, 70 H, 3 HR, 57 BB, 95 K

Among players in the Indians’ farm system De La Cruz had one of the more disappointing seasons this year, especially for a player on the 40-man roster. He has now used up two of his three option years the past two seasons at Double-A Akron and his performance has been inconsistent and he has not shown any improvement. The strikeout rate is nice (9.9 K/9 in 2011), but he is still walking way too many batters (6.0 BB/9 in 2011). He had a 6.1 BB/9 rate in 2010 at Akron so a return trip this past season did not help, and now it appears the Indians have resorted to putting him in the bullpen to hopefully fix the command issues. He was once a highly regarded prospect, but injuries and command problems the past few seasons have dimmed his star considerably.

Decision: De La Cruz looks like one of the more sure things to be removed from the roster this offseason considering where he is as a prospect and his plummeting value to the organization. It is possible another team may take a shot and claim him off waivers because he is left-handed and can strike batters out, but the chances appear to be slim and the Indians could risk that. As a first time outright, if he clears waivers he would be under the Indians’ control for 2012.

Shelley Duncan (Outfield/First base)

2011: .260 AVG, 29 R, 17 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 0 SB, 19 BB, 56 K, .808 OPS

Duncan played in just 76 games and had 247 plate appearances, yet was a productive player in that limited playing time. For a team hurting for right-handed bats at the corner positions, letting him go without any other alternatives on hand would not make sense. Next year both Duncan and Matt LaPorta will probably go into spring training in a battle to make the team as the right-handed bat off the bench for left field and first base. At the moment the Indians probably plan to have LaPorta open the season at Triple-A Columbus to get him on track, which means before any other moves are made this offseason that Duncan has a firm hold on that bench role to start the season.

Decision: Duncan’s performance this past season along with his versatility to play left field and first base, his excellent clubhouse presence, and his acceptance as a role player off the bench make it highly unlikely he will be removed from the roster this offseason.   Even still, it is possible he could be removed later on this offseason if the Indians remove others and find themselves in a roster crunch, especially if the Indians make a sizable right-handed hitting acquisition at first base or left field.

Corey Kluber (Right-handed pitcher)

2011 at Triple-A Columbus: 7-11, 5.56 ERA, 27 GS, 150.2 IP, 153 H, 19 HR, 70 BB, 143 K

Kluber did not have a very good season at Triple-A Columbus this year, which was the result of a lack of consistency and some injuries. He made his Major League debut in September and pitched in three games out of the bullpen in Cleveland allowing four runs in 4.1 innings.  The Indians are still high on him as they think he has good stuff and an ability to get strikeouts, and they did trade right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook for him a year ago so there is some investment in him that they may still want to see through.

Decision:  With Mitch Talbot being outrighted earlier in the week they already removed one starting pitching open for 2012, so it decreases the likelihood Kluber is also outrighted, especially one year after being rostered. I’d say he remains on the roster, but there is still a chance he could be removed. If you are scoring at home I’d put it at 75-25.

Thomas Neal (Outfielder)

2011 at Triple-A: .289 AVG (74-for-256), 40 R, 14 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 26 RBI, 8 SB, 14 BB, 57 K, .734 OPS

The Indians acquired Neal back at the end of July and it was a disappointing finish to the season for him as several injuries limited him to just ten games with Triple-A Columbus the rest of the season. Injuries were an issue all season as he only played 70 total games between Triple-A Fresno and Columbus. The Indians acquired him from the Giants for infielder Orlando Cabrera and it looks like he has some value to the organization, but it would have been nice to see what he could do the final six weeks of the season to get a better read on him going forward. The one thing going for him is he is a right-handed hitting outfielder, something the Indians lack from Double-A all the way to the big leagues.

Decision: Neal is definitely a player who is on the short list as a possible roster removal this offseason, though there should be a few players ahead of him on that list. It really depends on how many players the Indians plan to add via free agency, what trades (if any) they make, and how many players from their farm system they need to add. I think he stays on the roster, mostly because of that right-handed bat and because the Indians have not yet seen what he can do.

Luis Valbuena (Infielder)

2011 at Triple-A: .302 AVG, 64 R, 22 2B, 0 3B, 17 HR, 75 RBI, 6 SB, 46 BB, 96 K, .848 OPS

Valbuena had a very good season at Triple-A Columbus, but he only managed to play in 17 games at the big league level and hit .209 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and a .506 OPS. Over the last two seasons he has shown he is too good for Triple-A but not good enough for the big leagues, the very definition of the classic 4A player. With Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps at second base, Lonnie Chisenhall and Jack Hannahan at third base, Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop, and the versatile Jason Donald available at any of the three positions, there just appears to be no room for Valbuena on the big league roster unless a severe rash of injuries occur.

Decision: Valbuena is only 25-years old, but it is time to pull the plug on him after two poor years at the big league level. While he has proven to be productive at Triple-A and may still have a future in the big leagues, the Indians just have several other options at any position he plays that warrants keeping him and taking up a valuable roster spot. I would be very surprised if Valbuena is on the 40-man roster post November 18^th as to me he is one of the most for sure removals this offseason.

Nick Weglarz (Outfielder)

2011 at Double-A: .179 AVG (24-for-134), 25 R, 8 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 0 SB, 36 BB, 43 K, .666 OPS

It was a very disappointing year for Weglarz as once again injuries ruined his season. He tore the meniscus in his knee in spring training and it resulted in him missing the first two months of the season, and then after returning in June his season came to an end in late July when he suffered an injury to his left elbow. Injuries have been an issue for him his entire seven year career as he played in a total of just 128 games the last two seasons and four of his last six seasons have ended prematurely because of injury.  There is no denying his power and patient approach as it is something that the Indians and scouts for other teams have loved all along with him. The problem is he is he will turn 24-years old in December and there are huge questions about his health, not to mention he may at best be a designated hitter only if he makes it to the big leagues.

Decision: The Indians know Weglarz is a better player than the player he was statistically this past season, but they may use those poor numbers to their advantage by removing him from the roster and trying to sneak him through waivers. If he is removed he will remain property of the Indians in 2012. My guess right now is he is will be removed from the roster, though that is not as firm as some of the others.

Final Tally

When determining who stays and goes it should be noted that not all of the players will be removed at the same time. Some will be removed right away in the next week or so while others may be removed as needed later in the offseason. As we have seen in the past the Indians have made roster additions in February the past two years picking up Russell Branyan and Orlando Cabrera and needed to remove a player from the roster at that time.

There are certain to be a couple of guys kept on the roster that will leave people scratching their heads.  As we have seen in the past a few “sacrificial lambs” will be kept on the 40-man roster in the event roster room needs to be made to add a free agent or trade acquisition.  Teams keep a few of these players on the roster instead of loading up with straight prospects so as to not have to designate for assignment a prospect they might otherwise not want to.

So who do the Indians remove? I’ll go ahead and predict that Valbuena and De La Cruz are removed, and maybe not right away but later this offseason Crowe and Weglarz are removed. Those moves should allow five open slots on the 40-man roster to add players from the farm system, free agency, and trade.

So what internal options will the Indians look to fill those open spots?  We'll take a look at all the options in the upcoming followup piece in about two weeks.

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).

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Tribe Happenings: Talbot may still be in the Indians plans

Talbot's time with the Indians may not be

up just yet (Photo: AP).

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Talbot could still be in the picture

In case you did not know, right-handed pitcher Mitch Talbot is still property of the Cleveland Indians. While he was designated for assignment at the end of July, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. As a first time removal from the 40-man roster and outright to the minors he could not refuse the assignment and had to report to Columbus.

Talbot has battled through some injury issues all season, and when healthy he was ineffective in Cleveland this year as in 11 starts he went 2-6 with a 6.33 ERA and opposing players hit .338 off of him. But instead of sulking because of a demotion to the minors, he has actually gone out and rekindled his value with the Indians.

When Talbot reported to Columbus in early August he initially worked out of the bullpen, but a starting pitching need eventually forced him into the Columbus rotation near the end of August. Since then he has taken off. In five starts – including two postseason starts – he went 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA, and in 35.0 innings allowed 33 hits, five walks, and had 35 strikeouts.

Columbus pitching coach Ruben Niebla is a big reason for Talbot’s rekindled success. His delivery was not very good this year, so Niebla made some major mechanical adjustments to Talbot’s delivery and also worked with him some on the mental part of pitching. Talbot got into a bad habit of nibbling and getting too opposite arm side with his fastball, so Niebla challenged him to go after hitters more and the results of late speak for themselves.

The Indians still think highly of Talbot because they feel he has good stuff, and he is intriguing to them as a potential bullpen option down the road. The thought is that by maybe limiting his exposure to innings it will control some of the injury issues he has had as when he is healthy he is effective. The initial plan to experiment with him in the bullpen was nixed because of the need for starting pitching in Columbus, but the Indians may still look to bring him back next season as a depth starter or as a long man in the bullpen.

Talbot is no longer on the 40-man roster, so if he is not added shortly after the conclusion of the season he can leave as a minor league free agent and sign with another team. Considering the Indians lost right-hander Carlos Carrasco to Tommy John for all of next season and they need starting pitching depth, there is a good chance that they may choose to add Talbot back to the 40-man roster soon.

Talbot will not even have two years of Major League service time after this season, so if he is on the 40-man roster he will only cost the league minimum of just over $400,000 next year. Considering their opinion of him and their need for starting pitching depth next season, it seems like an obvious move to roster him and to keep him around at least to start the 2012 season.

Repeat champions

It may not be a World Series championship, but the Cleveland Indians Triple-A affiliate the Columbus Clippers wrapped up their second straight International League title on Friday night. They won the league’s Governor’s Cup by winning their best-of-five series three games to one.

This is the second year in a row Columbus has won their league title, and they will now move on to play the champion of the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A National Championship game this coming Tuesday September 20th. The game will be played in Albuquerque, NM and will air on national TV at 8:00 p.m. ET on the Versus (Vs) network.

It was once again another outstanding job by manager Mike Sarbaugh who navigated through a lot of roster moves between Columbus and Cleveland this year. He has now has won five championships in the minors including one in each of the last three years. He won a championship in his first season as a manager in 2004 with short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley, then in 2006 with High-A Kinston, 2009 with Double-A Akron, and the last two years with Columbus.

That is five championships in eight years as a manager for Sarbaugh. In the other three years as a manager in which he did not win a championship his teams lost in the championship series once (Akron 2008), lost in the first round of the playoffs (Kinston 2007), and finished 72-66 but missed the playoffs (Low-A Lake County 2005).

For the Clippers it is their ninth championship in league history, which is the most in the league since Columbus joined the International League in 1977. It is the third time they have repeated as champions as they previously did it with a three-peat from 1979-1981 and were repeat champions in 1991-1992.

Winning in the minor leagues does not necessarily translate over to the big leagues, but hopefully some of the success the Indians’ farm teams have had of late in the upper levels starts to really affect the win-loss column starting next season. Also, hopefully Sarbaugh gets a big league coaching job next season as he is more than deserving.

Chisenhall showing flashes

Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has struggled with consistency since being called up in late June, nothing of which was unexpected since he is a young 22-year old rookie breaking into the big leagues for the first time. He has struggled at times in the field and mostly at the plate, but of late he has shown some flashes of the potential he has as a hitter.

In his first 47 games from June 27th to September 6th he hit .223 with 3 HR, 8 RBI and a .618 OPS, but in his last ten games he is hitting .317 with 4 HR, 10 RBI, and a .951 OPS. More impressively is his recent hot streak has mostly come against left-handed pitching, which is good to see since his biggest weakness is his ability to hit southpaws.

Chisenhall is laying the foundation this season for what is hoped will be a permanent home he will build at third base for the next half decade or so. He is finishing the season on a good note, which should give the Indians a lot of confidence going into next season to have him as the favorite to be the opening day starter at third base next April. Jack Hannahan will also be in the mix at third base next year, but if Chisenhall is healthy and shows he is ready next spring it is his job to lose.

Crowe returns

With players going down left and right of late with season ending injuries, the Indians had some good news for a change as outfielder Trevor Crowe recently returned from a season long absence. He had shoulder surgery earlier this spring and returned to the lineup for the first time this season on September 7th. In seven games he is 5-for-19 at the plate with 2 RBI.

Crowe, 27, offers the Indians some versatility and depth in the outfield. While the expectations were at one time a lot higher for him as a former first round pick in 2005, he is still viewed as a Major League contributor. He has good speed, plays solid defense, can play all three outfield positions, and with his switch-hitting ability he complements the Indians all left-handed hitting outfield well.

Crowe will probably never be an everyday player and instead just be a role player off the bench, but those guys have value too. Spring training is five months away, but one of the most highly contested battles next spring may be who wins the fourth outfield job between Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera.

Infirmary report

Right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin is currently in the middle of a throwing program to get him back and able to pitch in one of the games in the Indians’ doubleheader on Saturday September 24. He hasn’t pitched in a few weeks because of inflammation in his throwing elbow.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo re-aggravated his left oblique injury on Thursday and is now officially done for the season. It was definitely a disappointing year for him and the Indians as he managed to play in just 85 games and hit .259 with eight homers, 36 RBI, and a .733 OPS.

Third baseman Jack Hannahan is expected to work his way back into the lineup this week from his strained left calf, likely in one of the games in the doubleheader with the White Sox on Tuesday.

Right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco had reconstructive right elbow surgery earlier in the week in New York City. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek, and the recovery time is expected to last for 12-18 months.

Parting shots

Catcher/first baseman Carlos Santana now has 25 homers on the season, which ties him with Victor Martinez (2007) for most homers in a season by a switch hitter. … Former prized Indians prospect left-handed pitcher Drew Pomeranz made his Major League debut last Sunday and pitched well. He got the win and threw just 63 pitches in five shutout innings. He followed that up with another solid outing last night going 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks, and had five strikeouts. … Former right-handed pitcher Alex White has now made five starts for the Colorado Rockies and is 2-1 with an 8.46 ERA. He has gone at least five innings in all five starts, but has allowed four runs or more in every start including a whopping 11 home runs.

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). Use discount code 2Z6F362B to receive 40% off the book through the site store!

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Trevor Crowe active in Columbus

Trevor Crowe

Indians outfielder Trevor Crowe has been reassigned in his rehab assignment to Triple-A Columbus. He is recovering from shoulder surgery on March 30th and was recently playing in games for rookie level Arizona. In six games for Arizona he hit .444 (8-for-18) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 8 RBI and 9 runs scored. He is expected to be in the Columbus lineup tonight and probably will remain with the team for the duration of the playoffs.

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). Use discount code 2Z6F362B to receive 40% off the book through the site store!

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Tribe Happenings: Hannahan getting more opportunities

Hannahan has been a spectacular defender

at third base this year (Photo: AP).

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Hannahan taking playing time away from Chisenhall

Lately Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has been giving up some of his playing time stake at third base to former everyday third baseman Jack Hannahan.

This would have been considered blasphemy back when the 22-year old Chisenhall was called up on June 27th. He is the future at third base and is very talented, so he came up with the full intention to insert him into the everyday lineup at third base. But that is not the case anymore as he has shown his true colors as a very green and unpolished hitter and defender at the big league level. He has been steady as a defender, but he is clearly a step down from Hannahan who is a gold glove caliber defender at third base.

Chisenhall has been a very inconsistent hitter and has struggled as he is hitting just .234 with 3 HR, 7 RBI, and a .661 OPS in 35 games. By the same token Hannahan is hitting .220 with 5 HR, 24 RBI, and a .654 OPS in 89 games. At the moment Hannahan is proving to be the better and more consistent option at the plate.

Chisenhall has really struggled against left-handed pitching going just 2-for-17 with seven strikeouts against them. This was something that he worked a lot on earlier in the season at Triple-A Columbus, but he still struggled with as he hit just .200 with a .642 OPS against lefties in 75 at bats. He is a much better, confident hitter against right-handed pitching but with the Indians in the thick of a pennant race they can’t afford to be patient and hope he develops a better approach against left-handed pitching.

Chisenhall was brought up at the end of June because it was felt that while he would be a step back defensively to Hannahan at third base, he would be a much more effective offensive contributor for a team desperate for help in the lineup. But at this point Chisenhall has not shown to be much of an offensive upgrade over Hannahan, at least right now.

With Hannahan being a superior defender, manager Manny Acta has slowly been giving the third base job back to him more and more as the days go on. When Chisenhall first arrived he took the lion’s share of playing time, but in the last six games Chisenhall and Hannahan have split time at the position.

Coincidence? Probably not. Just a sign that Acta trusts Hannahan and knows exactly what he will get out of him.

While Chisenhall is the future, the Indians need to concentrate on winning now and it appears they believe Hannahan’s glove and suspect bat give them a better chance to win. Plus, it is not like Chisenhall has played well enough to earn the right to continue to be put in the lineup card every night, especially for a team trying to win the AL Central.

If it were May or June the Indians would probably consider optioning Chisenhall back to Columbus as he looks a little overmatched right now, but with September 1st so close they won't do that now. What should be expected is for Chisenhall to continue to lose playing time to Hannahan not only for the team’s sake, but so Chisenhall can take a break and catch his breath.

Wanted: Spot starter

The Indians have their second doubleheader of the season on Tuesday against the visiting Seattle Mariners. The game is a makeup of the postponed game on May 14th, and is a day-night doubleheader.

Right-hander Justin Masterson is scheduled to get the ball for the early game, but the Indians have not yet made a decision who the starter will be for the second game later that evening. The three candidates to get the spot start are right-handed pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Zach McAllister, and Jeanmar Gomez.

Carrasco is currently on the 15-day disabled list, but is eligible to come off at any time. However, he is not expected to come off the disabled list anytime soon so does not appear to be an option. In addition to that, once he is removed from the disabled list he has to finish his six game suspension he earned the last weekend of July for throwing at the head of the Royals’ Billy Butler. Since Carrasco’s activation will result in the loss of a roster spot while he is suspended, he probably will not be activated until after September 1st when rosters are expanded.

This means the decision will come down to one of Gomez and McAllister.

The way things set up, the Indians will have the option to pick either one as both will be rested and ready to pitch. Gomez just pitched on Wednesday night for Triple-A Columbus and went 7.0 innings allowing one earned run on 108 pitches. His next scheduled start for Columbus is Monday. McAllister just pitched on Thursday night for Columbus and went 7.0 innings allowing four earned runs on 98 pitches. His next scheduled start is on Tuesday.

Gomez is expected to get the start because he is pitching well in Columbus and is more experienced at the big league level than McAllister. The Indians could really go either way with their decision for the spot start, and no matter what pitcher they bring up to pitch the game they will be optioned right back out after it. Needless to say, it is still an important start as the Indians look to find a way to catch the Tigers in the AL Central race.

Remembering Winter Haven

It is hard to believe it, but the Indians have already been out of Winter Haven now for over three years. When the Indians packed their bags at the end of spring training in early April of 2008, they were leaving Winter Haven for good for a new state-of-the-art facility in Goodyear, Arizona.

Three years later the Winter Haven facility still exists. About the only thing that has changed is most of the old signage pertaining to the Indians has been taken down, but the “Indians Legends” poster still stands outside the old team store next to the stadium. The Chief Wahoo is still painted on the water tower overlooking the complex and the rest of the city. Also, the big Indians banner at “Andy’s” - a popular diner and a place with some incredible milkshakes – is still showing proudly on the front of the restaurant.

The facility continues to fall to ruin, but is still being used these days. It is a popular destination for college baseball teams from the north who need a place to train for a few weeks or months in the winter and early spring. This summer Winter Haven joined a summer college wooden bat league the Florida Collegiate Summer League. Their new team the “Loggerheads” are a part of the six team league for the first time.

The facility may not stand for much longer as a developer bought the land and is supposed to build condominiums on it, but reports are that as a result of the poor economy the developer is having second thoughts and the area may end up being abandoned.

In the mean time the city continues to operate the facility and has realized they made a mistake in letting the Indians go as they are scrambling to find tenants to use the facility to keep it afloat. In an effort to make up for their mistake of letting the Indians go, a new amusement park called Legoland is being built on the old Cypress Gardens grounds and is expected to open on October 15th this year.

For as great as Goodyear is for the Indians from a business and training perspective, it is too bad nothing could have ever been done to keep the team in Winter Haven or somewhere in Florida with a new facility. The Indians did their best to stay and the city leadership now realizes they made a mistake in letting them go, but it is too late to change anything. So long Winter Haven.

Injury bug bites again

If you consider the amount of injuries the Indians have had this year, it is amazing they are even still in the AL Central race. If someone told you going into the season that Travis Hafner would miss over a month of the season, Shin Soo Choo would miss a month and a half, and Grady Sizemore would miss half the season with injuries you would have probably said they would have been 20 or more games under .500 by now.

But even with all the injuries they have had the Indians continue to find ways to win games. Others like Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta do not look like they are 100% healthy, Alex White missed a significant portion of the season with a finger injury before being traded, Carlos Carrasco and Fausto Carmona have spent stints on the disabled list, and now Jason Kipnis has gone on the disabled list with a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for at least three weeks.

If the Indians can somehow, someway ever get 100% healthy with their lineup, they might have a chance to get on a roll. Everyone saw it earlier in the season when they were healthy and the lineup was intact how consistently good they could be. Maybe once Kipnis and Sizemore come back in September it gives them that final push needed to overtake the Tigers and win the AL Central.

Sizemore progressing, slowly

Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore is slowly making his way back from a sports hernia operation on July 21st and from a right knee injury that has plagued him for most of the season. He is currently throwing long toss and doing some light hitting sessions while he tries to build up the strength in his knee.

The Indians have not set a timetable on when he might return, but their hope right now is sometime in early September. He is only hitting .237 with 10 homers, 27 RBI, and a .769 OPS in 61 games, but before the injuries started to mount up again for him this year he looked like the old Grady back in April and May. If he can come back 100% healthy, or even just at 90%, he will be a huge addition for the final three weeks or so of the season.

Parting shots

According to Baseball America the Indians spent $8.2 million on the draft this year, down a little from the $9.4 million they spent on the draft last year. Most of that was because money allotted to 8th rounder Stephen Tarpley and 20th rounder Dillon Peters never ended up being spent since the Indians were unable to sign them. Even still the Indians finished 12th in the league in spending this year in the draft. … Outfielder Trevor Crowe is recovering from right shoulder surgery this spring and began a minor league rehab assignment in Arizona this weekend. If all goes well he could finish the season in Akron or Columbus …. The Indians designated outfielder Austin Kearns for assignment last Friday to activate Choo from the disabled list. On Wednesday he cleared waivers and the club released him.

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). Use discount code 2Z6F362B to receive 40% off the book through the site store!

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Tribe Happenings: Kipnis' future likely tied to Cabrera

Kipnis' arrival in Cleveland likely depends

on Orlando Cabrera. (Photo: AP)

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Indians notebook…

Kipnis watch continues

Now that third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has been called up to Cleveland, all eyes are on the Indians’ other top position player prospect Triple-A Columbus second baseman Jason Kipnis and when he gets the call to Cleveland.

Kipnis had a good showing this past week in two different All Star games, hitting a lead off homer for the USA team in the All Star Futures Game last Sunday and going 1-for-2 with a double and walk in the Triple-A All Star game on Wednesday. He is hitting .292 with 11 homers, 51 RBI, and a .875 OPS in 85 games at Columbus, and all signs point to him being ready with the bat to contribute at the big league level. With the Indians desperate for hitting, he would surely help give the lineup a boost.

The one problem with all of this is the presence of incumbent second baseman Orlando Cabrera. The Indians saw what a disaster it was when they made the in-season switch last month to Cord Phelps as the regular second baseman and relegated Cabrera to more of a utility role. The move did not sit well with Cabrera who vocalized his displeasure about the second base change and did not take to third base well, and it backfired with Phelps as he struggled both offensively and defensively.

With Cabrera now settled into his second base spot again, it looks like the Indians have made a decision to stick with him for the long haul and he could be the second baseman for the rest of the season. Cabrera is a favorite of manager Manny Acta and he also brings a ton of leadership to a team in need of it. Even with his sub par play offensively and defensively the Indians appear inclined to stick with him at second base in order not to risk rocking the boat and damaging the psyche of the team as they make a playoff run.

What this means for Kipnis is he may not get to Cleveland at all this year. That was the plan going into the season as the Indians preferred he get a full season in at Triple-A in order to finish off his development defensively and because he is not even up for roster protection until after the 2012 season. However, contending has a way of changing things so those reasons are no longer as important in holding Kipnis back. The only reason at this point is Cabrera’s presence on the roster.

When the Indians call up Kipnis he will need to play every day, but there is no way that can happen as long as Cabrera is around as he needs to play every day too. It is just not a good fit to move Cabrera to a bench role as he would be very unhappy there and he is not very comfortable at third base, and while Kipnis played outfield in college he is not an option there at least right now at the big league level. There is really no option to play either at any other position on a regular basis, so second base is really it for both of them.

Ultimately, what this means is that for Kipnis to make it to Cleveland this season it probably will require that Cabrera be traded or released. It is very unlikely the Indians will release Cabrera as that could have a detrimental affect on the team since he is so close to a lot of the players, particularly with Asdrubal Cabrera who gives Orlando Cabrera a ton of credit for his breakout season. The only option appears to be a trade, though that appears remote at this time.

For now it really looks like the Indians have settled on Cabrera as the second baseman, and will also mix in Luis Valbuena some in a minor platoon where he plays against some right-handed pitching. If Cabrera has to be the everyday guy, a player like Valbuena is a much better fit to pair up with him since he doesn’t need to play everyday and he can play other positions.

So prepare for the possibility that Cabrera is the second baseman for the rest of the season and that Kipnis does not make it to Cleveland. It will make for an interesting couple of weeks as we get closer to the July 31st trade deadline to see what the Indians do with this growing dilemma at second base. Plans can always change.

Rotation changeup

As expected the Indians made some changes to their rotation at the All Star break. They reset the order of their rotation by having Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco pitch the first three games out of the break. The move of Masterson to the first slot shows the confidence they have in him as well as his standing as the Indians ace of the staff right now.

The Indians also placed Mitch Talbot on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain retroactive to July 9th. He was scheduled to start today, but now that he is shelved right-handed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez will be called up to make that start and is expected to remain in the rotation while Talbot is out. There is a good chance that if Gomez pitches well it will be tough for Talbot to reclaim his spot in the rotation when he comes off the disabled list. If Talbot is not inserted into the rotation when he returns, then the Indians would have to place him on waivers before they can send him to the minors since he is out of options.

The Indians also put Fausto Carmona at the end of the rotation, partly because of his struggles but also because it worked well in allowing him to only miss one start since the earliest he could come off the 15-day disabled list is Monday July 18th. Provided he is good to go, he is expected to pitch one of the games in the doubleheader scheduled with the Twins in Minnesota on Monday.

The Indians will also need a spot starter for the other start on Monday in the doubleheader, and the two candidates for that start are right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister and left-handed pitcher David Huff. Both Huff and McAllister are aligned for the start since McAllister only pitched two innings on Wednesday in the Triple-A All Star game and Huff pitched just three innings (63 pitches) on Thursday for Columbus.

The Indians have not yet announced who will make the spot start, but McAllister is listed as the probably pitcher for Columbus on Monday which would put him right in line for a callup.  Huff is definitely in play for the Monday start, but it seems he was likely held back in his start on Thursday as a precaution in the event Carmona is not ready to go on Monday.

Internationally speaking

The Indians have shown a stronger presence in Latin America this year by going after and signing some of the top talent available. In the early stages of the International Signing Period which started on July 2nd they signed five 16-year old players, shortstop Dorssys Paulino, outfielder Francisco Miguel, left-handed pitcher Edgar Pineda, outfielder Omar Sanchez, and outfielder Anthony Santander.

This is a bit out of the norm for them as in recent years they have been more inclined to watch from the sidelines during the early parts of the signing period and would wait until August and September to sign players that maybe fell through the cracks. The Indians have an international budget of around $2.5 to $3.0 million, which is more than recent years; however, it still pales in comparison to some teams who are spending about twice that or even more on the international front.

“This market has totally gone haywire,” Indians Scouting Director John Mirabelli said in a recent interview. “I am sure it has gotten the attention of Major League Baseball and the owners with the costs involved here. Everybody talks about the [MLB] Draft, but I think this market has gone more out of control at a more astronomical rate even more than the draft. I am pretty sure this will be addressed in the next agreement as well.”

Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires in December. There are a lot of things that will be addressed this year, and hard-slotting with the MLB Draft and handling the international market are two things that will get a lot of attention when talks get started on a new deal.

Unlike the NFL or NBA who both have gone through lockouts this year with the expiration of their CBA’s, Major League Baseball is not expected to have a work stoppage.

Slow developing trade market

With such a slow trade market developing, do not expect the Indians to make any kind of trade until the July 31st trade deadline gets closer. With so many teams still in the mix in their division races, it is a seller’s market right now as so many teams believe they can still win.

At the start of play on Saturday, 16 teams are within five games of first place or in first place. That should begin to change in a week or two as we move beyond the All Star break and get closer to the deadline, and at that time you may see the Indians strike in a deal or two. The Indians have the ammunition with prospects to pull off any deal they would want, but there are monetary concerns at play when acquiring a player and they also do not want to trade off significant pieces of their future for a three month rental.

With this in mind, look for the Indians to be in the mix for some of the lower level players expected to be available in a trade such as Oakland outfielder Josh Willingham, Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman/outfielder Casey Blake, or maybe even San Diego outfielder Ryan Ludwick.

Kansas City’s Jeff Francoeur would appear to be a good fit in that the Indians expressed interest in signing him in the offseason, but there is talk that Kansas City has some interest in resigning him. But he has also struggled of late. In his first 29 games of the season he hit .316 with 7 homers, 23 RBI and a .980 OPS. Since then in 61 games he it hitting .238 with 4 homers, 32 RBI and a .635 OPS.

Trading within the division should not be a problem as the Indians and Royals completed a July trade in 2003 when they shipped lefty Brian Anderson to them, and the Indians also traded Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers last year and Carl Pavano to the Twins in 2009.

White on comeback trail

Right-handed pitcher Alex White is continuing to work his way back from the right middle finger sprain he suffered at the end of May that ended up placing him on the disabled list. He has been progressing through a long toss throwing program which he finished up on Friday and experienced no issues. The next step in his rehab is to start throwing bullpen sessions, which he did on Saturday in Baltimore by throwing 30 fastballs. If things continue to go well he could go on a rehab assignment in the minors by the end of the month.

White, 22, made three starts for the Indians earlier this year before injuring the finger going 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA. It is still not a sure thing that he will pitch again this season as middle finger sprains are very tricky and can flare up at any moment (see Adam Miller). In any case, this is good news that he is doing well and may be an option down the stretch for the Indians as a starter or even a bullpen option.

Parting shots

The August 15th signing deadline for the 2011 Draft is four weeks away, but do not expect any of the remaining unsigned players taken in the first ten rounds by the Indians to sign until the deadline or just before it. All four players remaining unsigned players are expected to be signed. … Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall was back in the lineup as expected on Thursday and has not had any issues with the facial fracture he received when hit by a pitch a week earlier. He is wearing a custom helmet that has an extended ear flap to protect the right side of his face. … Outfielder Trevor Crowe is coming along well in his rehab from his elbow injury and is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon, possibly by the last week of the month. … Right-handed pitcher Anthony Reyes threw a sim-game in Arizona on Friday and it supposedly went well.

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).

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Tribe Happenings: Should Marson open in Cleveland?

Marson is happy to be in Cleveland,
but how long will he stay there?
(Photo: Getty Images).

Some news, notes, and thoughts from my Tribe notebook…

Everrett, Marson need to make most of opportunity

There were no real big surprises with the final roster decisions the Indians made at the end of spring training.  Right-hander Josh Tomlin was awarded the final spot in the rotation, Jack Hannahan earned the third base gig, Travis Buck annihilated pitching this spring to win the final outfield spot, and right-handed relievers Frank Herrmann, Vinnie Pestano, and Justin Germano all pitched lights out in spring training and made the opening day bullpen.

If there was any surprise it may have been infielder Adam Everett making the team as the utility infielder and catcher Lou Marson making the team to be the caddy for Carlos Santana.

Everett is not that much of a surprise as the Indians' focus this spring was on defense, and he can certainly pick it; however, if not for a hand injury to infielder Jason Donald there is a good chance that Everett would not have made the team.  With his play early on in camp Donald was almost a sure thing to be the third baseman, and after the way Hannahan performed he likely would have been the utility infielder.  Donald should be back later this month, so Everett will need to make good on the limited chances he gets the next few weeks or his stay could be a short one.

As for Marson, he should be thanking his lucky stars that Donald got hurt.  Donald’s injury in some ways created a butterfly effect of sorts because the Indians had to use a roster spot for Everett, a spot they may have preferred to use for catcher Paul Phillips at the end of camp.  But with Everett on the team and with little wiggle room with regard to the 40-man roster the Indians sided with Marson as the opening day backup catcher.

Marson is still only 24 years old, which is still considered a baby for catchers.  He is still learning and still has room for development, particularly as a hitter.  Burying him on the big league roster as the backup catcher where he may - if he is lucky - play two games a week is not a good way to finish off his development.

Marson may only have a future as a backup in Cleveland because of the presence of Santana, but many around the game still view him as having starting potential if he can show more consistency as a hitter.  With that in mind he should be in Triple-A Columbus playing everyday to try and improve in an area that is his greatest weakness and improve his overall value to the organization, and potentially other organizations as well.  Having him as the backup in Cleveland really stalls any potential progress he could make.  Plus, it is not like the team is going to be a win or two better this year with him or someone like Phillips or Carlin as the backup.

This is not a knock on Marson at all as from a defensive perspective he is the best option as the backup catcher on this team.  But at the plate, Phillips and even Luke Carlin are no worse right now, and both of those guys are no slouches defensively either.  Also, Marson has development opportunities left that it makes a lot of sense to try and take advantage of now while we can.

There is no guarantee that sending Marson to Columbus to open the season would fix anything with his hitting, but it is worth a shot, especially since catchers take time to develop.  He is still apparently having the same issues at the plate as last year when you look at his abysmal spring performance, so playing two times a week in Cleveland and working in the cages is not going to do him any justice.

Of course all of this could be moot once Donald comes back and the roster is updated in a few weeks and Marson is potentially shipped off to Columbus at that point.  The bottom line for me though is I am more for continued growth and increasing value, which would be possible by sending Marson to Columbus for a majority of this season.  Playing him in Cleveland all year potentially stunts both his growth and lowers his value.

Opening thoughts

The Indians lost 15-10 to the Chicago White Sox in the season and home opener at Progressive Field on Friday afternoon.  They also fell behind by a score of 14-0 by the fourth inning after their ace Fausto Carmona was touched up for an astounding ten runs on eleven hits, two walks and two home runs in 3.1 innings of work.

That all said, beyond the outcome of the game and the poor performance by Carmona and then long man Justin Germano, there were actually more positives than negatives to take out of the game.  If you look up and down the box score and graded the performance of every player in the game, you would no doubt give Carmona and Germano an ‘F’ for their performance.

But what about the rest of the players?

Frank Herrmann and Vinnie Pestano looked great in their season debuts combining for three innings of work and allowing one run on two hits, no walks, and had eight strikeouts.

From a hitting perspective it is hard not to like ten runs and 17 hits by the Tribe lineup.  Six players in the lineup had multi-hit games and the only one who went hitless and was any kind of a disappointment was Austin Kearns although he at least drew a walk.

Shin-Soo Choo only went 1-for-5 and made a base-running blunder on a Travis Hafner bomb to the center field wall, but he is the least of our concerns.  The guys we wanted to see come out and get off to a good start did, at least for one game.  Guys like Michael Brantley (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Asdrubal Cabrera (3-for-5), Carlos Santana (3-for-5, HR, 3 RBI), Travis Hafner (2-for-5, RBI), Matt LaPorta (2-for-5, RBI), and even Jack Hannahan (3-for-5, HR, RBI).

So, yeah, they lost the game.  And yes, they fell behind 14-0.  But the way they came back and put up ten runs when they could have just rolled over and gone through the motions to close out an unwinnable game showed me something.  Also, when evaluating specifically on a player level and not a win-loss level, there were a lot of positives from yesterday for the team to build upon.

As the old cliché goes, it was only one game.  But if you look at it objectively this was a positive stepping stone to build on for the rest of the season.  This season could be a lot of fun as this lineup and bullpen has the potential to be pretty good, but the key will be finding a way to make that shaky starting rotation more consistent.

Goedert and the 60-day disabled list

One of the more interesting quirks with managing a Major League Baseball roster is the use of the 60-day disabled list.  All teams have a 40-man roster that is set and that they use to pull players from to add to their 25-man active roster at the big league level, but in order to add other players not on the 40-man roster the team must create roster space.  This is what the Indians did this past week when they placed outfielder Trevor Crowe and infielder Jared Goedert on the 60-day disabled list as it created two 40-man roster spots to add players to it.

The difference between the 15-day disabled list and 60-day disabled list is significant.  While on the 15-day disabled list a player can obviously come back sooner and he still counts toward the 40-man roster, but with the 60-day disabled list a player must be out a minimum of those 60 days and more importantly while he is still listed on the 40-man roster he does not count towards it while he is on the 60-day disabled list.

Typically players who have been in the big leagues for at least a little bit are the only ones considered for the 60-day disabled list.  The reason for this is because when a player is on the 60-day disabled list they accrue major league service time that counts toward free agency and they also are paid a normal major league salary.  Minor leaguers with no service time are almost always never added to it because teams prefer not to start the service time clocks of young players when they don’t have to.

Goedert’s addition to the 60-day disabled list was interesting this week as he is a zero service time player.  As a result, he will at least earn about 60 days of major league service time and on top of that will be paid a major league salary while on the 60-day disabled list.

For a player like Goedert that is huge as consider that he will make more money in just one week on the 60-day disabled list than he would have if he played the entire 2011 season at Triple-A Columbus.  In addition to that, in the 60 days he is on the 60-day disabled list he will make almost double the salary he has made in his entire five year minor league career from 2006-2010.

The fact the Indians placed Goedert on the 60-day disabled list shows just how much of a roster crunch they were under to add all the non-roster spring invitees at the end of spring training.  By the same token, it was a classy move by the organization for a player they could have tried to take off the roster by sneaking him through waivers.

Yeah, it is unfortunate that Goedert will be stuck in Arizona rehabbing and playing extended spring training games the next several weeks when he probably could have opened the season in Triple-A Columbus.  But at the same time he is going to be making some pretty good money.

Tough break for Crowe

Outfielder Trevor Crowe went into spring training as the odds on favorite to be the Indians opening day fourth outfielder.  With his versatility to play any spot in the outfield, his speed, and his switch-hitting ability, he was a natural fit for the team in the role.

But a few weeks into camp Crowe complained of some right shoulder soreness, more specifically in the rotator cuff area.  The Indians shut him down and had him rehab to see if the soreness would go away, but after he did not respond to their aggressive rehabilitation and treatment program the club sent him to New York this week to consult with a specialist.  Two days after the consultation he ended up having arthroscopic debridement of his right shoulder, a procedure performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Crowe has already started his rehab and he is expected to begin a return to play program in about two months, but he is expected to be out of consideration as a big league option until probably at least the beginning of August because he will likely serve two terms on the 60-day disabled list from April 1^st to June 1^st and then from June 1^st to August 1^st.

Predictions

In case anyone was wondering what my predictions for the 2011 baseball season are, I have the Indians winning 80 games this year.  I see a lot of potential for this season to be like 2004 where we go through lots of ups and downs but the team competes and is in every game.  The lineup is on the verge to become one of the better ones in baseball, and with an improved defense and a solid bullpen they could surprise some teams this year.  Their questionable starting pitching is going to be the biggest weakness to sort out if they hope to contend next year – or gulp – this year.

The biggest key if anything for me is that this club gets off to a solid start.  If they can just find a way to win 13 or 14 games in April to open up one game above or below .500 for the first month I think that will go a long way at providing some momentum not only for the development of the team but to also start gaining some attention from the fans.

As for the rest of the predictions, here they are: AL East (Red Sox), AL Central (Twins), AL West (Athletics), AL Wildcard (Yankees), NL East (Braves), NL Central (Reds), NL West (Giants), NL Wildcard (Phillies), and in the World Series the Red Sox beat the Braves.

Parting shots

Outfielder Grady Sizemore and right-handed reliever Joe Smith have reportedly left Arizona and are set to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week.  If both do not have any setbacks they both could be with the club by month’s end. … Infielder Jason Donald is taking groundballs in the field and is expected to start swinging a bat on Monday.  He could also go on a minor league rehab assignment soon and join the team by the end of the month. … On Tuesday the Indians traded infielder Jayson Nix to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations.  Nix lost out in the competition for the third base job to Jack Hannahan and also the utility job to Adam Everett.  He was out of options and the Indians needed his roster spot to add players like Hannahan and Everett to the 40-man roster. … On Thursday the Indians completed a minor league trade when they acquired outfielder Bubba Bell from the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations.  He has been assigned to Triple-A Columbus.  The 28-year old outfielder hit .293 with 17 doubles, 6 homers and 49 RBI in 104 games last year at Triple-A Pawtucket.

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).

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