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I don't understand your point. Are you saying we should have traded him several years ago?

.... I thought this was a pretty tired topic (the Indians not willing to pay to keep their top-tier talent past their 1st contract). My point is the same point Indians fans have been talking about for decades now.

You made the original point calling out the fans to open up their wallets to drive/park/eat/drink (and buy ticket for admission), and my response was to point out the irony/hypocrisy (can't find the right word there) related to a team that (as a rule) is not willing to retain its own top players.

A somewhat fair point I suppose, but to me there is a difference between a fan not able to come up with $50 to go to a game and a team not being able to come up with 350mil to keep a player.

I know Ramirez has always been a bit "big-boned", but that Milwaukee tumor seems to be a tad larger.

Indians Twitter is so good.

And that's a new guy that runs the account. MLB fired the guy the ran the Indians social media for a number of years. He was outstanding!

Yu Chang had 2 HR, 3 RBIs today - kid has a beautiful swing (game was on STO). Civale went 3 perfect innings with 3 K, Logan Allen and Nick Witgren pitched 3 shutout innings in relief, giving up 1 hit. Indians beat the Brewers 5-1.

No doubt the Indians are deep at SS. At 25 Chang's time is now.

Hopefully we can swing a trade for one of them. For their sake and the teams sake.

The good thing about Chang is he can play anywhere on the infield - same with Amed Rosario, who's one of the SS they got from the Mets in the Lindor deal. They both appear to have good bats too. I wonder if either has outfield experience.

Good to know about Chang. I knew that about Rosiaro.

I was thinking the same about outfield. I would think with both being adept as infielders, it shouldn't be that hard to get then playing outfield.

I am not saying playing the outfield is easy. There is way more to it than catching fly balls. It's not like either are 1st basemen who generally aren't very good as defensive players. The has become a position for many teams to put a bat.

j/c

Doesn't have to do with Indians baseball, but probably not worth a thread of it's own:

"Buckeyes Win the Opener in 13 Innings, Beating Illinois 6-3"

https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/buckeyes-w...Oc27_m79e8clf9E

In his collegiate debut, freshman Kade Kern had a special day. The Archbold, Ohio native went 5-for-6 with a double, triple and three singles. He also had an RBI double in the pivotal 13th inning. Kern is the first Buckeye since Dominic Canzone in 2018 to have five hits in a game.

If anyone wants to hear a ballgame on a cold winter day, you can listen online at WTAM.

https://www.iheart.com/live/news-radio-wtam-1100-1749/

j/c...

Wahoo ! Just win.

j/c...

Sounds impressive to me. Is he that solid a producer or is today's mentions an outlier?

Go, Tribe!

j/c...

Obviously, not good for Mercado. But hey, we still have 25 more OFs to sift through.

My bet is we'll see Ben Gamel starting in CF, with Amed Rosario getting some starts vs lefties. Gamel is Tito's new Dave Martinez (ie, good D, weak stick). Where I'm going to be PO'd is if they decide on Bauers over Bradley at 1B - and I think they will, based on the info they fed Terry Pluto this week. They keep saying that Bradley still has options left while Bauers doesn't. My reply to that is "So bleeping what?". And don't even get me started about Austin Hedges (.071 BA) winning the backup Catcher job.

And now they send the wrong guy down.

Get excited for the platoon of Zimmer and Gamel.

Amen.

DFA Bauers. He blows and has had plenty of opportunities. The FO and ownership doesn't want to start the clock on some of the young guys. It's irritating.

I think DFA is still on the table but perhaps not until early on in the season as they get a better feel on Bradley. Bauers can play 1B, OF, and of course DH. If Bradley comes out of spring training doing well as the team hopes, there will be little reason to keep Bauers. I think Bauers is nothing more than an insurance piece at this point.

I/m with ya all the way on Bauers and week stick , stick n my Craw .. Tito is famous for that stuff though .

I'd like to have seen Daniel Johnson make the big club. Guys like him and Bradley don't have a lot left to prove at AAA. The way the Indians try to manipulate and maximize years of control has to be a source of resentment with their farm hands. Heck, I'd rather see Bo Naylor at backup C instead of Hedges. I'm pretty sure Naylor could hit his weight at least.

j/c...

On today's radio broadcast, Tom Hamilton said that Mercado's demotion makes Bradley Zimmer a "virtual lock" to make the big club this spring, so maybe we'll see Zimmer in CF instead of Gamel. I'm okay with that. Its been a long road back to health for Zimmer.

j/c...

Mandy Bell
@MandyBell02
The Indians told Bryan Shaw that he made the Opening Day roster.

https://twitter.com/MandyBell02/status/1374835920965230600

Leave it to the Indians to suck the air out of the room a week before opening day. Bobby Bradley, Daniel Johnson - and even Bradley Zimmer - have every right to be upset.

SMH.

Boy am I ever on the same page with you on this one .. Something is rotten in Denmark !

Groan. This was expected and what and awful message this sends to the locker room. The only reason Bauers was handed the job was because he was out of options.

Can't wait to get to the ballpark and watch Bauers bat .142!

Very disappointed Bradley will not be the 1B on opening day!!! Bauers hitting .179 this spring and be won the job, what the hell Francona. Even though I hate it, I hope it is just the service time thing and we see him quickly like in early May. Not sure how long since he does have some big league time.

Also disappointed Danial Johnson never got a shot at CF! I think he is our future at CF.

Hope Logan Allen wins the 5th spot in the rotation, he’s been on fire this spring.

At least I can hopefully see both here in Columbus a few times.

The part I find laughable is that they were concerned they would lose Bauers to another team if they put him on waivers. That seems very unlikely to me. I think this is entirely about manipulating Bradley's service time.

It's without a doubt about manipulating Bradley's service time. A disservice to the player(s) who put in the work and earned the job, in addition to, the message it sends about the Tribe's intentions to field the most competitive team and creating clubhouse division.

I assume Bauers, through no real fault of his own, gets the side eye in the clubhouse from several players.

But that's the business side of baseball. I agree, Bradley earned the job. But every team (with a few exceptions) employs the same strategy regarding service time. Doing so saves millions of dollars. Bauers will likely struggle to make contact, and as soon as they can, Bradley will be here to stay.

What can we learn from roster decisions as opening day looms? – Terry’s Talkin’ Tribe

https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/03/...lkin-tribe.html


WHY JAKE BAUERS OVER BOBBY BRADLEY?

That’s what I was thinking when looking at the Tribe’s roster decisions before opening day, which is Thursday in Detroit. Let’s look at some of the decisions:

1. I don’t think Jake Bauers will hit. In spring training I saw the same guy who batted .214 (.691 OPS) with 23 HR and 91 RBI in 811 MLB plate appearances in 2018-19 with Tampa Bay and the Tribe. He showed so little last season the Tribe never promoted him from the “alternate site” despite an outfield with a combined .190 batting average in 2020.

2. Bauers can play left field, as he did for 73 games in 2019. His best position is first base and the Tribe considers him superior to Bobby Bradley in the field. Bauers batted only .179 (.645 OPS) this spring with two doubles, zero HR. Bauers made two errors at first in Friday’s game. I saw him drop a pop up last week in Goodyear, but wasn’t charged with an error.

3. Why did Cleveland keep Bauers over Bobby Bradley (.305, 2 HR, .951 OPS), who had a better spring? “The biggest thing is if Jake doesn’t make the club, it’s irreversible,” said Terry Francona. “Jake has done enough, we need to see him play.”

4. Francona is referring to Bauers being out of minor-league options. Before the Tribe can send him to the minors, he has to pass through waivers. Any team in baseball can claim him. The Tribe doesn’t want to risk losing him and find out the 25-year-old Bauers finally plays like the highly regarded prospect he was a few years ago.

5. I wish I could say Bradley looks absolutely ready, but it’s hard to be sure. He fanned 196 times in 581 Class AAA plate appearances, hitting .262 (.876 OPS) with 36 HR. He has power, but when a guy strikes out every three at-bats in Class AAA – that a concern. At least he does have legitimate big-league power. The Tribe is going to take turns at first base, and they moved Bauers to the front of the line.

6. With Bauers and Bradley both being lefty hitters, look for Yu Chang to play against left-handed pitchers. Chang made the team as the utility infielder. He’s a natural shortstop, but the 25-year-old Chang can handle first base.

7. Francona on Chang, who has four homers this spring: “When I see him at the plate, he always looks dangerous to me. ... He’s taken to first (base) pretty well.”

BRADLEY ZIMMER TO THE MINORS

1. When Daniel Johnson was sent to the minors 10 days ago, I thought that meant Bradley Zimmer would make theroster. Both are lefty-hitting outfielders. Well, I thought wrong as Zimmer was sent to the alternate site.

2. The Tribe is counting on Ben Gamel to play center field, along with converted shortstop Amed Rosario. Gamel played a lot of center in the minors, but the 5-year veteran has played only 39 big-league games in center. But Gamel has played 24 games there over the last two seasons. Francona calls Gamel “really reliable in center field.”

3. Cleveland would love Rosario to prove capable. He has not had any problems in CF since his 3-error debut. He also hasn’t had a lot of balls hit in his direction. Rosario has had a nice spring at the plate, batting .296.

4. The message to Zimmer was he needs to make more plate adjustments. “We want Zim to have a chance to be more consistent,” said Francona. “We think April can be a pretty cruel month in Ohio. We want to give him the best chance to succeed.”

5. The Tribe also has only two right-handed hitters in the outfield – Jordan Luplow and Rosario. Both are career .300 hitters vs. lefty pitchers. The Tribe played Luplow a little in CF. But he has battled ankle problems for most of the spring.

SOME GOOD NEWS FROM GOODYEAR

1. Andres Gimenez has been a revelation in spring training, playing a solid-to-sensational shortstop along with being a reliable hitter. That’s why Rosario could move to the outfield. Gimenez has shown a short, quick left-handed swing. This spring, he’s batting .293 (.878 OPS).

2. In Friday’s game, Gimenez singled and stole second. He moved to third base on a deep fly ball, then scored on a sacrifice fly. He’s only 22 with a mere 49 MLB games, but he plays with a veteran’s confidence.

3. Logan Allen has been the best Tribe pitcher in Arizona, allowing only one run in 14 innings. He’s fanned 18, walked only three and deserves a spot in the rotation.

4. Franmil Reyes has had a strong spring, especially after he began to concentrate on hitting the ball up the middle rather than pulling most pitches. He’s hitting .324 (1.107 OPS) with four homers.

It is all about options, or lack thereof on Bauers. No doubt. I thought they would keep both on the roster regardless who was deemed the starter. I don't have high hopes for Bauers as we have a pretty decent sample size on this performance but he is 25.

I get why the Indians do this. They always do. They did it with Lindor. He was ready, and everyone wanted to see him ASAP, yet the Indians kept him in the minors as long as they could. Cleveland's best leverage against the player pricing himself out of what they are willing to pay is the control of time with the organization because we all know, 9/10 times when a player gets too good they are long gone. Blame the Dolans. Blame the MLB structure. Blame whoever/whatever. But those are the guardrails in which the Indians currently reside. And more times than not, Antonetti has made the best, longview approach for Tribe.

I'll wait and see.

It sucks about Zimmer too. His time might be coming to a close.

Cleveland Indians trade Adam Plutko to Orioles for player to be named or cash
Updated 6:47 PM; Today 6:30 PM
Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers, August 21, 2020
The Indians have traded right-hander Adam Plutko to the Orioles.John Kuntz, cleveland.com

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By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Indians have traded right-hander Adam Plutko to the Orioles. In doing so they’ve cleared a spot in the bullpen for another right-hander, Cal Quantrill.

Plutko was sent to Baltimore on Saturday for a player to be named or cash. It appeared that Plutko had made the Indians bullpen with the regular season opening on April 1. When Quantrill made a relief appearance on Friday against the Rockies, a red flag went up.




Quantrill had been competing for the fourth and fifth spot in the rotation with Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen. Now it appears Quantrill will go to the pen and the back end of the rotation belongs to McKenzie and Allen. McKenzie starts Sunday against San Diego, while Allen threw five scoreless innings on Friday to cap a great spring training.

Plutko, the Indians’ player rep, was the organization’s 11th-round pick in 2013. He made his big-league debut in 2016 and has pitched in parts of five seasons in Cleveland. Plutko came up as a starter, but showed enough versatility to pitch out of the pen as well.

In 2019 Plutko went 7-5 with a 4.86 ERA in 21 games, including 20 starts. He struck out 78 and walked 26 in 109 1/3 innings. He spent most of last season in the bullpen, going 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in 10 games, including four starts.

The starting rotation, unless there are more moves, looks like this: Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Allen and McKenzie. The eight-man bullpen unfolds this way: Nick Wittgren, Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, Bryan Shaw, Phil Maton, Oliver Perez, Trevor Stephan and Quantrill.

https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/03/...ed-or-cash.html

I never thought Plutko was anything special. His role was always in question and he was average at best.