Cleveland Indians quick hits: Corey Kluber’s option exercised, Scott Atchison fired and more
Updated 4:08 PM; Today 1:04 PM
By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians executives Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff and manager Terry Francona on Wednesday morning conducted the autopsy of the 2019 season. Here are some of the quick takes to come out of it:
* Antonetti said the Indians will exercise Corey Kluber’s $17.5 million option for 2020. Kluber essentially missed most of 2019 with a broken forearm and strained oblique muscle. The Indians feel the time off will allow Kluber to do some repair to his delivery.
“In talking to Corey, he’s able to do some things in his delivery that maybe he wasn’t able to do -- positions he could get in that he wasn’t able to (in recent seasons),” said Francona. "You start accumulating all those innings and with that comes bumps and bruises and nicks and things like that. Good pitchers and good players they keep playing, they figure out a way.
"But over the course of time, his arm was getting lower, his back knee was getting a little lower. You just keep competing, but it does things to your pitches. I think this is almost a blessing in disguise. Yeah, we missed the heck out of him, but come next year I bet you he has a chance to be the Kluber that we’ve seen and relied on. I betcha he has a chance of being that again because of having a little bit of a layoff.”
Kluber made seven starts this season before getting hit by a line drive on May 1. The two-time Cy Young winner went 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA in 2018.
* The Indians will not exercise the 2020 options on second baseman Jason Kipnis and right-hander Dan Otero. The Indians have not closed the door on bringing back either player.
Kipnis had a club option worth $14.5 million with a $2 million buyout. Otero had a $1.5 million option for 2020 with a $100,000 buyout.
“I wouldn’t close any doors,” said Antonetti, concerning a Kipnis return. "All this means is that we’re not going to exercise his option. It just wouldn’t work at that value. We’ll remain open to Kip potentially returning.
“Irrespective of whether or not he returns, he’s made a huge contribution to the organization in the time he’s been with us. If you think back to him getting drafted as an outfielder in the second round. We were talking the other day about remembering the instructional league games where he was working on the conversion to second base. He put in a tremendous amount of work to turn himself into a really good and productive major league player.”
* Bullpen coach Scott Atchison was fired after two years on the job. The search has begun for his replacement. Atchison replaced Jason Bere, who was fired following the 2017 season.
“We really look at our pitching, kind of our pitching program as multiple people and because of that there are certain skillsets that we think we can maximize," said Francona. "Atch is as hard a worker, as good a guy. It was not a fun conversation.
“We all think he’s gonna be a major league pitching coach. We just think there’s a certain skillset we are looking for to compliment guys we have here and we will begin that (search) soon.”
* All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez told the Indians he would move to second base if they want him to next year. He just doesn’t want to bounce between second and third. So he’ll either play second or third next year depending on what kind of infield upgrade they can find.
“In our exit meetings, Jose said he will play anywhere we ask him to," said Francona. "He just doesn’t want to go back and forth, which we agree. So, that opens our window a little bit of either internally or externally (on how the Indians will fill third or second base), knowing that we have a guy that is the caliber of player of Josey that can do both.”
* Antonetti said Francisco Lindor will not be traded and will play for the Tribe next year. He said they would continue to try and find common ground on a multiyear contract. Lindor can be a free agent after the 2021 season.
“We’ve had plenty of players here that have played out the entire terms of their contract here and we didn’t trade him,” said Antonetti. "A lot of that has to do with factors outside of that individual player, what’s going on with our team, how competitive we are, what’s in front of us, what our alternatives are.
“The big part is the competitiveness of our team and what role that player plays in the competitiveness of our team. We’re fully expecting to be a really good team next year and we have every expectation that Frankie’s going to be a huge part of that.”
Regarding pursing a contract extension with Lindor, Antonetti said, "We obviously would love Frankie to be here for his entire career and for as long as possible. I think Frankie really likes it here, too. He has always communicated that. We’ve never heard anything different than that.
“Hopefully, with that as the foundation, there would be an opportunity for us to align on something, but we just haven’t been able to yet.”
* The Indians anticipate Carlos Carrasco, diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during the season, to come to spring training as a starting pitcher. He rejoined the team this year as a reliever.
* Tyler Naquin, who underwent surgery for a torn ACL, is rehabbing in Texas. GM Mike Chernoff says the normal rehab time for that injury is seven to nine months. Naquin was injured on Aug. 30 when he hit the left field fence at Tropicana Field.
* Francona said they’ll slow-play right-hander Shane Bieber in spring training to keep him fresh for the season. Bieber was pitching on fumes at the end of this year.
“There’s a pretty good chance he’s going to be in our five-man rotation next year,” said Francona, in a no-kidding way. "We’ll probably do a lot with him like we have in the past with Kluber. We’ll ease him into the games. We’ll have him throw simulated games just to keep down the intensity.
“You don’t want to do it too much, because you don’t want to start the season not ready, so there’s a balance you try to strike. And my guess is Bieber will come back stronger than ever and he’ll probably figure out a way to be even better next year.”
Bieber went 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 33 starts. He struck out 259 batters in 214 1/3 innings in just his second big league season.
* Catcher Roberto Perez, coming off a career year, is headed to Wisconsin to get a second opinion on his right ankle. Antonetti said he could have surgery, but it should not interfere too much with his offseason conditioning.
https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2019/10/...d-and-more.html
What a year.
