"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
However, he is home run hitter and pitching rules.
Give me a great pitching staff.
The Tribe will be fine. Salazar is the key guy. We know what we have in Kuber, Carrasco, Bauer, and the rest. Salazar could make a difference as pitcher or in trade.
I would love to sign Bruce. If not hopefully a right handed power guy.
The Tribe does not have to over react. They can let the market come to them. They can wait and see what needs to be done. They can hold off till the trade deadline.
Not to mention Todd Frazier and Matt Holliday. I read on ESPN that the Yankees still aren't over the threshold for MLB's luxury tax, and that they plan to go after Bryce Harper next year when he's a FA.
Actually, Jeter is CEO, and his GM is Gary Denbo, who spent the last 8 years overseeing the Yankees minor league system. So they know the prospects they're trading for besides Starlin Castro. I wonder if Clint Frazier is part of this deal now that NY has an outfield logjam.
I also wonder if Stanton is aware that New York state and city have a substantial income tax (over 12% combined), while Florida has no state income tax. The high cost of living in NY, along with income taxes will shrink that $25M considerably. I'm sure he'll manage somehow, though.
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
With MLB team will set records for the most times striking out in one season. 2018 New York Yankees
they might do it with just 3 guys
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Not sure of this move, low risk but he’s a low obp guy. I guess can’t be worse than kipnis in the field. Losing Santana hurts but hopefully that means we sign the younger Bruce
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
now that santana gone, possible.. kipnis doesn't have a position now. Glad santana got his money, but man EE money for santana..meh..enjoy philly
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
That's a really good deal if he can maintain his launch angle change from 2017. He should replace Carlos Santana nicely.
"Launch Angle" would be a good brand name for the stuff guys take to hit 28 HR when they never hit more than 9 before. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin' ...
That's a really good deal if he can maintain his launch angle change from 2017. He should replace Carlos Santana nicely.
"Launch Angle" would be a good brand name for the stuff guys take to hit 28 HR when they never hit more than 9 before. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin' ...
I get what you're saying, but we have data to show the difference in launch angle.
The Indians return a strong lineup, but there's one noticeable difference compared to last year: Instead of Carlos Santana, who signed a three-year deal with the Phillies, it'll be Yonder Alonso at first base. Alonso signed a two-year deal with Cleveland in December.
Alonso is coming off the best season of his career, belting 28 home runs and driving in 67 runs in 2017. He'll help fill the Santana void in the Tribe's balanced lineup.
LINEUP IF SEASON STARTED TODAY Francisco Lindor, SS Jason Kipnis, 2B Jose Ramirez, 3B Edwin Encarnacion, DH Michael Brantley, LF Yonder Alonso, 1B Roberto Perez, C Lonnie Chisenhall, RF Bradley Zimmer, CF
STRENGTH Top to bottom, the Indians have one of the most balanced lineups in baseball, with proven production. They posted the second-highest OPS in the Majors in their 102-win season in 2017.
QUESTION MARK How healthy is Brantley? It's a question that has been uttered plenty of times over the past few seasons. The verdict is still out on whether he will be ready by Opening Day after having surgery in October on his right ankle. Brantley was an All-Star last year, but the injury limited him to 90 games.
WHAT MIGHT CHANGE Manager Terry Francona will have to decide whether Ramirez will play second or third base. That decision could impact Kipnis, who has been at second for most of his career but is now being considered for the outfield. If Kipnis is moved to the outfield and Brantley is healthy, how will that affect the position shuffle?
Quinn Roberts is a reporter for MLB.com.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Read more: Cleveland Indians
CLEVELAND -- Cody Allen has developed into one of baseball's most consistent closers over the past few years, and will once again serve as the stopper at the back end of the Indians' bullpen this year. The future beyond that is uncertain, and makes this summer a critical one for Cleveland.
On Wednesday night, the Indians agreed to terms with Allen on a one-year contract for the 2018 campaign, avoiding arbitration with the closer in his final year of eligibility. The pact is worth $10.575 million, according to the Associated Press. Next offseason, both Allen and relief ace Andrew Miller -- the primary weapons within the Tribe's bullpen -- will be eligible for free agency.
That is a potential problem for the Indians to solve at a later date.
"I'd be losing a lot more sleep if we didn't have those two awesome relievers [this year]," said Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, last month. "We're not always going to be able to have guys that are under control for multiple years. At some point, guys are going to approach the end of their contracts."
The agreement with Allen whittles Cleveland's pile of arbitration cases down to four. Remaining on the to-do list are starters Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar, reliever Zach McAllister and outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. Friday is the deadline for any unsigned arbitration-eligible players to exchange proposed salary figures with their teams. If necessary, arbitration hearings will take place between Jan. 29 and Feb. 16.
Cleveland's preference is to avoid a hearing if possible, and have only reached that stage in the annual process twice, dating back to 1991. Prior to the 2014 season, Cleveland went to arbitration with both Josh Tomlin and Vinnie Pestano, and the team won both cases. A deal can be reached at any point leading up to a player's scheduled hearing.
Allen K's Bird for the save Allen K's Bird for the save 00:27 Oct. 5th, 2017
Allen, who earned $7.35 million last season, had 30 saves to go along with a 2.94 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings (69 appearances) for the American League Central-champion Indians in '17. The right-hander has logged a minimum of 67 games and 67 1/3 innings in each of the past five years for Cleveland, which selected him in the 23rd round of the 2011 Draft.
Over the past five years combined, Allen has appeared in 359 games, which ranks third overall in the Majors. The only other righty ahead of Allen on that leaderboard is Bryan Shaw, who worked 378 games as a setup man for the Indians for the past five seasons before signing with the Rockies as a free agent this winter.
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During that five-year period, Allen turned in a 2.59 ERA with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 122 saves.
As things currently stand, the Indians' bullpen beyond Allen and Miller projects to include McAllister, Dan Otero, Tyler Olson and Nick Goody. Barring a trade, Cleveland could always move one of its starters (Clevinger, Tomlin or Salazar) to the 'pen. There will also be a handful of other pitchers, including a mix of non-roster invitees, in the running for relief jobs this spring. The Indians are also continuing to explore the trade and free-agent markets for bullpen help.
CLEVELAND -- Given the losses absorbed by the Indians' bullpen this offseason, Zach McAllister could see a heightened role for the club this year. On Thursday, Cleveland locked the big right-hander in with a one-year contract to avoid the arbitration process.
One day after the Tribe avoided arbitration with closer Cody Allen, McAllister reached an agreement with the team on a one-year pact worth $2.45 million, MLB.com confirmed. Including Allen's deal -- worth a reported $10.575 million -- Cleveland has more than $23 million invested in four relievers (Andrew Miller, Dan Otero and McAllister being the others) for the upcoming campaign.
CLEVELAND -- The Indians avoided arbitration with outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall on Friday with a one-year contract for the upcoming season, MLB.com confirmed.
Chisenhall will earn $5,587,500 this year, in which he projects to be Cleveland's primary right fielder. The Indians' two remaining arbitration cases involve starters Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar, and Friday marks the deadline to exchange salary figures with any unsigned arbitration-eligible players.
The Indians avoided arbitration with closer Cody Allen ($10.575 million) on Wednesday and reliever Zach McAllister ($2.45 million) on Thursday.
Last year, Chisenhall hit .288 with an .881 OPS in an injury-shortened, 82-game season. Chisenhall had three stints on the disabled list due to right shoulder, right calf and concussion issues. When he was on the field, he hit 12 homers and had 30 of his 68 hits go for extra bases. In parts of seven years with the Tribe, Chisenhall has hit .266 with a .742 OPS.
CLEVELAND -- Francisco Mejia is not only widely considered the top prospect in the Indians' organization, but he is also one of baseball's best young catchers. According to MLB Pipeline, in fact, there is no catching prospect who merits a higher ranking than the up-and-coming Tribe backstop.
On Thursday, MLB Pipeline unveiled the top 10 catching prospects in baseball and Mejia -- who got a brief taste of the big leagues last season -- led the way in the No. 1 spot. This comes after Indians pitcher Triston McKenzie was rated as the No. 9 right-handed pitching prospect in the game earlier this week.
MLB Pipeline will continue to roll out its preseason top 10 lists over the next several days, culminating in the Top 100 prospects list on Jan. 27.
"He did an extraordinary job at continuing his development," Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, said of Mejia at the end of last season. "Offensively, and specifically defensively, the way he led the staff, some of the nuances of catching. He's in a much better spot now than he was a couple years ago as a defender."
Mejia, 22, was promoted to the Majors from Double-A Akron in the final month last season, but he only appeared in 11 games for the Indians. Tribe manager Terry Francona quipped that Mejia was always standing near the bat rack or close to the skipper with a bat in his hand, staying ready. That was noticed by Cleveland's big league staff, which will be looking closely at Mejia this spring, too.
When Mejia was called up to the big leagues, though, the Indians were in the midst of their American League-record 22-game winning streak, and they had a good thing going with veteran catchers Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes. Under the circumstances, there were not many innings available for Mejia to be worked into Major League games.
"There just wasn't the opportunity to catch him as much as I would have liked," Francona said. "You could tell, it's a young kid who's used to playing every day. He's making the jump from Double-A to the Major Leagues, and he's playing so sporadically. You could even see in his at-bats, he was getting a little out of control. That's not the type of hitter he is. He's a really advanced hitter. He was put into some situations that were extremely challenging."
Mejia enjoyed a standout showing with Akron before being called up to The Show. In 92 games in the Minors, the catcher turned in a .297/.346/.490 slash line with 14 home runs, 21 doubles, 52 RBIs, 52 runs scored and seven stolen bases. Mejia also threw out 30 percent of would-be basestealers.
The .835 OPS that Mejia posted in 2017 followed a breakout showing in '16, when he had an .896 OPS between Class A Lake County and Class A Advanced Lynchburg and made national headlines with a 50-game hitting streak. That performance, which vaulted Mejia up the prospect rankings, came after he had a .670 OPS in '15 for Lake County.
"It's been about the focus and focusing on the game," Mejia said earlier this month at MLB's Rookie Career Development Program. "When I finished the season in 2015, I went to the Dominican [Republic] for a short time and came back to do a program that the [Indians] set up for me. I stayed with the team more than in the Dominican. The focus and the help of the coaches and new manager helped me a lot. I talked about a lot of things with the pitching coach.
"Also, I practiced a lot in the Dominican, seeing a lot of games there, too. I learned a lot in the winter league. I didn't play, but I was on the bench. That helped me a lot to see that, in this game, it's not just you. There are a lot of people behind you waiting to take your job."
Following the regular season, Mejia went to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .365 in 15 games and tried his hand at third base. The idea was to introduce some versatility into Mejia's game, given that he is close to being ready for the Majors and Cleveland has two veteran catchers locked in at the moment.
"One thing we know," Antonetti said recently, "is [Mejia] is a really good catcher right now and he made a lot of great progress defensively. Over the course of the last six months, he took a step toward increasing his versatility, so that's a big positive. Francisco deserves a lot of credit."
Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian,
You may recall Francisco Mejia had a 50 game hitting streak in 2016.
The longest in "modern" minor league history.
That means longer than thousands and thousands of other players.
I found it interesting that after the streak, top minor league analysts said Mejia still needs another year behind the plate before the majors. That he would be ready in 2018.
What I like is that the Kid has spent his entire ( so far ) baseball life BEHIND THE PLATE .. Indians are going to be forced to make a discussion with Gomes and Perez ..
What I like is that the Kid has spent his entire ( so far ) baseball life BEHIND THE PLATE .. Indians are going to be forced to make a discussion with Gomes and Perez ..
When that decision comes, it shouldn't be too hard. Both of the guys you mentioned are basically league average/backups. Francisco Mejia has a chance to be an above-average starter, and maybe even, a star.
Can't turn over a top 5 pitching staff to an unseasoned catcher. Gomes and Perez, while not Buster Posey level catchers (how many are?), are still pretty highly respected as receivers who can handle a staff and call a game behind the plate. IMO, in baseball you still put defense first when it comes to catchers. If they hit, its a bonus. Mejia will hit, but he's not ready to handle this staff. He doesn't even speak any English yet.
