The series with the White Sox wraps up today. Not going to the game today; hanging with my Dads today.

Tribe with a big win in the 10th!

Rajai Davis has found the fountain of youth. (20 stolen bases before the half-way mark at 35-years-old)

I hope he didn't find steroids like some of the other older players.

Dolan opening that war chest of money!

Brad Russell
‏@Brad1590
SportsCenter Video: Indians are telling other clubs they have money to spend at the trade deadline - Buster Olney
Link
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Juan Uribe gets nailed in the nads, he comes back, and then proceeds to hit a home run in each game he's back.

Going to the game tonight, getting into batting practice tomorrow, and then attending tomorrow's game with my Dad for his father's day gift.

I'll be downtown all day tomorrow starting at 6am. This should be a fun day.

It seems that Cleveland athletes respond pretty well after taking hits to the junk.

Hopefully Hue makes it part of mandatory training camp. lol

They're 9 above .500, in first place, on a win streak, but they can't even fill half of the stadium. What a shame. Come on, Cleveland!

Capacity now is 35-36,000.

While I don't expect sell-outs like happened in the early 90's, the team is playing well enought to draw 30,000 per game.

Baseball is the most affordable game to attend. My attitude is if you live in the area and consider yourself a fan, and don't go to a minimum of 4-5 games a year....you are just hot air.

It's one thing to say you are a fan. Another to actually support the local team and go to a few games. Cleveland is a better town because of it's teams. Y'all need to support them.

I don't understand why Cleveland can't support a NHL team.

Tribe wins again tonight!
6-0

5 game win streak
1.5 games in 1st place

quote above by 'peen:

"I don't understand why Cleveland can't support a NHL team."

Cleveland is currently the 51st largest US city. Just ahead of the megalopolis Bakersfield, CA.

70 years ago, when Cleveland was in the top ten US cities (#6 just behind LA), hockey was limited to "the original six" - (Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs)

When hockey expanded in 1967, Cleveland wasn't one of the 6 new teams. Since then Cleveland has shrunk.

A better question might be "How does Cleveland support any type of professional team?"

The answer of course is that Cleveland has the best fans in the country and we're keeping the teams we got.

But that doesn't quite tell the whole picture.

Cuyahoga County is a respectable top 30 county in terms of population and that doesn't take into the other counties immediately around Cleveland that would count towards the fan base.

Not nearly where it used to be obviously but there are signs that the Cleveland area is starting to attract people to move there, and a solid downtown, partially driven by good sports teams is going a long way toward making that happen.

So .... what happens when the Indians win the World Series this year .......?

I got this feeling .......

I said that when a Cleveland team finally won a Championship, it would take the most incredible of circumstances for it to happen. I felt like once a team finally broke through, the floodgates would finally burst open. Now, I do not expect the Browns to make the playoffs this year .... but I do think that the Indians will be World Series contenders this year. The Indians have great pitching .... and that's 90% of the battle. Once we get Brantley back, that will be a huge boost to the offense. He got good news today,. that he has tendinitis in his shoulder, and not a structural problem. Let's get him back on the field ....... and then, well, we might as well just go win the whole darn thing.

Cleveland!

Quote above by Rocket:

“They're 9 above .500, in first place, on a win streak, but they can't even fill half of the stadium. What a shame. Come on, Cleveland!”

I noticed on the ESPN MLB web site there’s only “294 tickets available” for tonight’s Indians game. (Much fewer than most MLB games tonight)

Does that mean…

Wait, what does that mean?

Looks like Kluber is finally starting to get dialed in a little more. If I'm not mistaken, he's pitched two straight complete games.

Bauer with 10 strikeouts, one run allowed, and a complete game win. Even better news came as Kansas City fell to the Mets.

Six game winning streak, eleven games over five hundred, and three games over five hundred.

Any of you start that GoFundMe account for me, yet? I'm the good luck charm and all.

... with 1.3 million people downtown...

Attendance tonight = 21,216

What's wrong with you Indians fans?

Baseball is boring. Wake me up when they get to the playoffs. Not that they would ever show an indians game in atlanta.

I expected a sell out tonight.

Not sure what else they can do, honestly? I never see many commercials for the tribe. I think Peen's right that people still feel drunk from the 90s team, and the hangover from not seeing such baseball hurts.

Yet, I'd argue the current team is much better in many aspects than any of those teams. The difference? Lacking a power bat, and a shut down reliever. Our pitching staff blows any of the 90s teams out of the water.

The Indians have some sort of marketing problem.

I respectfully disagree. Never expected a big crowd tonight. Fans are exhausted from the Cavs run and post championship celebration.

Last weekend vs the White Sox they averaged 27k - 30k in attendance. The will have another big turnout for the next homestand against the Tigers over 4th of July weekend.

The Indians have done an excellent job in bringing in popular local restaurants, local and craft beer options etc..

When I look around at the games when I am up there, I see a lot of twenty and thirty somethings at the games.

Attendance will pickup.

Fun time for CLE sports right now!

"These guys ain't so #@$%'& bad."

They draw well on any night with fireworks, dollar dogs, and/or a jersey giveaway.

Just wish it could be like the 90s where they draw due to a fantastic team on the field.

"In case you haven't noticed and judging by the attendance, you haven't..."

Napoli and Kipnis set this up in a locker located in the clubhouse

"Hello. Do you know us?"

"We're a Major League Baseball team."

"But since we haven't won a world series in over 65 years, nobody recognizes us - not even in our own home town."

"That's why we carry the American Express card."

"No matter how far out of first we are, it's cool. You know, it keeps us from getting shut out at our favorite hotels and restaurant-type places."

"So if you're looking for some Big-League clout, apply for that little green home-run hitter."

"Look what it's done for US. People still DON'T recognize us but..."

"We're contenders now."

"The American Express card: Don't steal home without it."

D.Salazar with the W. Beat Detroit yet again. KC down in the 8th. 4 game lead for the Tribe!!!

Salazar got the win, but he struggled a lot tonight.

Tribe hit 4, yes 4 triples in tonight's game. Kipnis hit 2 of them. Game ended on a great catch/re-catch up against the wall, and then a double play as the runner on 1st was somewhere in the next zip code as they threw back to double him off.

The Tribe is 12 games over .500, and they will have a 4 game lead in the division as soon as KC finishes losing their game. (they are down 13-4 in the 9th right now)

The Indians are really winning with every aspect of play .... their pitching, especially their starters, have been spectacular ...... they are getting offense up and down their lineup ...... and their defense has been outstanding, to sometimes flat out incredible.

The floodgates have burst ..... I feel a World Series coming our way too .....

wow four triples

yeah since the KC series they've turned it up. Speaking of Salazar, i still don't see him as a starter, he really struggles the second and subsequent times through the lineup, his offspeed stuff still isn't very good. I've said since he was called up his whole skill set screams closer, i think he'd be a great closer or setup man

all these major league references are great, still one of my all time favorite sports movie..it was cast perfectly, everyone was believable

Salazar's young. Don't give up on young guys. Carassco, and Bauer struggled when they were young, and look at what they're becoming.

I'd argue all five of our guys would be considered aces on 25 other MLB teams.

Sorry, but IMO you're wrong about his offspeed stuff. According to Fangraphs, Salazar's change-up is the most effective pitch in MLB - better than Syndegard's 100 MPH fastball or Kershaw's slider - the best.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_...-valuable-pitch

I was just about to post the same article, Dave. I have no idea what leadtheway is talking about in his analysis of Salazar.

Additionally, Salazar has the 2nd lowest ERA in the AL and the 2nd lowest batting average against him in the AL.

my eyeballs tell me otherwise, his last few starts teams figure him out and start to hit him hard early in the count..i care less about stats, they get skewed by a few good games early in the season...his offspeed stuff was all over the place last night. He really only has 2 pitches, a fastball and change, and his change up isn't a true changeup, its more like a split-change with how he grips it. He don't have a curve ball and his slider doesn't fool anyone. so he had a fastball, splitchange and occasionally throws a fast sinker..those scream closer. I'm not saying he can't be a starter if he can have another offspeed pitch to go to, but he's proven to come back to the mean average over time..which for him is a era above 3, and sometimes 4. I just want to see consistency out of him. But everytime he pitches i get nervous the second time through the lineup, because he almost always throws a first pitch fastball and they end up hitting them hard. He gets down on himself quite a bit when his pitches start missing.

Don't get me wrong, when he's on he filthy and a true strikeout pitcher, all I'm saying when i watch Kluber, i expect him to shut a team down and we can probably win with 3 runs, when salazar pitches, i expect him to need support, and this year he's gotten it. Not saying he isn't a starter because hes doing well now, but I've always thought he'd be a top notch closer.. I hope he makes a liar out of me and he keeps this up all year, but i'm betting he comes back down as the competition gets better.

Sitting here with the White Sox game in the background. They hit 7 homers today...and lost by 2 runs. How is that possible? Well, giving up 10 runs will help make it a possibility, but damn! I didn't think they would stay as hot as the were in April, but they've really taken a nose-dive, hard.

Back in March, who had us having the 3rd best run differential in all of major league baseball nearing the end of June (#4 in RA and 9th in RS)? Simply amazing.

Indians up 5-0 in the 8th today. Carrasco pitching a beauty, 2 dingers for Lindor and 1 for Santana.

Update: 3 up 3 down in the bottom of the 8th for the Kitties.

6-0 in the 9th. Naquin with a double and a triple in the game today. Gomes hits the Indians 4th HR of the game. Carrasco going for the complete game shutout as we go to the bottom of the 9th.

Some June Indians' facts (so far)

28 games scheduled for the month (16 on the road)

17 wins already. (only six loses)

Five days, five road games to finish the month out.

This team probably is the best team we've had in 20 years; yeah, I totally mean it. Top to bottom we're solid for this era of baseball.

Kc was getting doubled up by the astros. 5 game lead. Tomlin goes tomorrow.

Hey Cavs fans, does the Tribe's current 10-game road trip sound familiar?

@Detroit
@Atlanta
@Toronto

Tribe up 6-2 top of the 5th

Now it's 8-2. Tribe hits 4 HR in the 5th (so far) off of Verlander. (1st time ever that has ever happened to Verlander in his entire career)

Let's go Tribe!

Gomes almost made it 5 HR in the inning ... but it pulled just foul.

My goodness! Since the Cavs beat the Warriors at home in Game 6, Cleveland teams haven't lost in a week and a half!

Feels good to give it to Verlander like that. After all the innings he dominated us. I almost feel bad the Tigers have to keep paying him for a while.

DITTO THAT Punchsmack!

"Feels good to give it to Verlander like that. After all the innings he dominated us. I almost feel bad the Tigers have to keep paying him for a while."

Except for the "almost feel bad" part.

I watch Verlander and wonder how anyone hits him - his stuff is still electric. But his career record vs the Indians is now 18-21. That's amazing. Even more amazing is he's 0-3 vs Josh Tomlin this year, and Tomlin is 3-0 vs him, and the Tigers. I think I blame Kate Upton; he's lost 3-4 MPH off his fastball. She's draining his strength. But what a way to go ... plus he's still getting the $25M per.

Oh yeah, he's still winning life. Kate Upton, $25m/season and a famous professional baseball player.

As for his career against the Indians, I would have guessed a lot more wins for him. Maybe the last few seasons it's been balancing out.

Coming into the series, one of the Tigers players mouthed off about how they were going to win the series against the Indians, and probably even sweep the Tribe .....

I don't believe that player has a future in prognostication.

Tribe has won 9 in a row, and are now a season high 14 games over .500, and have a 6 game lead in the Central. They are also only 3 1/2 games behind the Rangers for the best record in the AL. They really seem to be coming together offensively, and their starting pitching is like an All Star roster in and of itself.

Let's go Tribe!

quote above by Y:

"...and their starting pitching is like an All Star roster in and of itself"

The media have been touting the Indians starting pitching staff for years now. Maybe it's finally coming to fruition.

Indians receiving tons of positive buzz on ESPN, but it gets framed within the context of the Cavs. Such a ridiculous way to show off our team.

j/c..

10 in a row!!

They are playing phenomenol ball right now. They said they have cash to spend, realistically who can we get?

keep rollin

Well, I'd prefer we use our two promising bats in AA to get a power bat we can control for a couple of years. Or a shut down reliever for the two bats.

I don't think we'll find a piece. I'm okay with the current make up of our club.

I don't see anyone on the trade block that would be worth giving up Frazier or Zimmer for. I think giving them up in trade would be a mistake. Don't see a deal happening for either of those two. Bobby Bradley, maybe? Even then, I'm not so sure.

I too am fine with the current squad.

On a side note, Logan Ice (Tribe's 72s overall pick in the 2016 draft) banged a HR over the weekend in his 5th game for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

How could you not be happy with the team rihht now? I am but the lack of a power bat worries me a little. Santana is on his way tob30+ homeruns tho. Time will tell.

P.S I hope KC starts losing again also.

I absolutely love this team! I truly believe that we will have a 2nd championship parade this year in Cleveland. (imagine how nuts that one will be)

I would love to see the Tribe be able to add a back of the bullpen type arm. We have a lot of guys who are having special type years .... but at the same time, I am very concerned about our chief set-up man, Bryan Shaw. If we can find a guy who can fill that same role, it would be a huge plus for the team, and since we are willing to add salary, maybe we can add one without giving up the farm.

We would all love to see a true power bat added to the team, but that would cost a lot in terms of young talent, and then that player has to fit in with the rest of the team. I don't know who would be available that tics off all of those boxes.

Almonte can return from suspension soon, but he may have PED'd himself off of the Major League roster. I cannot imagine him returning at the expense of any of the players currently on the roster. I still have hopes that Michael Bradley will be able to come back and contribute this season, and if he can, that would almost like trading for a top bat, only without the expense. Last year Bradley hit .310, with 15 HR, 45 doubles, and struck out only 51 times in 529 AB. He stole 15 bases, and knocked in 84 runs. He would be a really nice "add" to this team.

Even if we can't get him back, we have a lot of guys who are just simply doing their jobs. I think that this team feeds off the success of one another really well. They genuinely seem to enjoy playing together, and they have been able to overcome adversity together. (Bradley's injury, Carrasco's injury, Almonte's PED suspension, Byrd's suspension, and Perez's thumb injury) We also had Kluber start the year in a somewhat rocky fashion. The Indians have overcome all of this.

Heck, I'm not tired of seeing parades in Cleveland.


I do have one question, though. Who thought that Tomlin would lead the team in wins at the All Star break? lol (and not because the other pitchers were pitching poorly)

I will admit I didnt see Tomlin having quite the year he his having. I thought Salazar and Kluber would be the ones with the most W's at the break.

I would have guessed Carrasco would be the team leader in wins.

As far as trading for a power bat, we need to remember that this team is built on pitching and defense. I don't want to add a run a game with a guys bat but give up 2 a game because of his glove. It's easy to identify a good offensive player because the numbers are there. Evaluating defense is a little more difficult.

I would like to add another late inning arm. Shaw hasn't been himself this year. Has he been overworked the past couple of years and it's finally hitting him? Either injury or just a tired arm? I don't know, but even if he returns to form in the 2nd half of the year, another quality late inning arm doesn't hurt.

Now we know why The tribe is playing so well.




https://twitter.com/hoynsie/status/745724553456803840/photo/1

Cleveland Indians as contenders, do you believe it? -- Terry Pluto



By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 27, 2016 at 4:39 PM, updated June 27, 2016 at 10:43 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Are you buying the Indians as contenders?
It's odd the question has to be asked about a team with a 45-30 record and a 10-game winning streak. The Tribe entered with a five-game lead in the Central Division.
This is not April or May. It's nearly the end of June, approaching the midway point of the 162-game schedule.
In the minds of many Northeast Ohio sports fans, the Indians are deemed "guilty" about being a contender until proven otherwise. It has been that way for 15 years, ever since the end of the 1995-2001 playoff run.
I'm not going to reheat the old hash about ownership not spending, etc. I'm simply going to do more than point to the 45-30 record. I'm going to dig deeper.
The Indians are 24-10 in the Central Division! Want to make the playoffs? Dominate your division. It's where you play 76 of 162 games.
The only other team with a winning record in the Central is Kansas City (21-11). I expect the Tribe and Royals to duel for the rest of the summer. It wouldn't be a surprise if both teams made the playoffs.
But as the Indians learned painfully in 2013, it's so much better to win the division. That season, the Tribe finished 92-70. They were a game behind Detroit. They had a one-game wildcard playoff with Tampa Bay.
They lost, 4-0. Season over.

MAYBE PREDICTIONS ARE RIGHT
A year ago, Sports Illustrated predicted the Tribe to win the 2015 World Series. Not quite. They were 81-80.
A lot of other places predicted the Tribe to win the 2015 Central Division title. Maybe they were a year early.
Fangraphs picked the Tribe to win the Central Division with an 85-77 record in 2016. The analytics website had the White Sox second at 81-81.
Baseball Prospectus (PECOTA) projected the Tribe to finish with an 92-70 record this season.
Both websites hate the Royals. The previous two years, the Royals made the World Series and they had the Royals under .500. They will probably be wrong about the Royals again.
But will they be right about the Tribe?


PITCHING AND MORE PITCHING
Many experts and analytics sites love the Indians for one reason -- the pitching. The Tribe's 3.51 ERA is the lowest in the American League. Seattle is next at 3.87.



Terry Pluto is talkin' TribeTerry Pluto is talkin' Tribe ... and how about that pitching staff!


So the Indians aren't simply No. 1 on the mound, but they are tops by a significant margin. The rotation of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin entered Monday night with a combined 33-15 record. That's big time.
The Indians are 9-0 with a 2.00 ERA against Detroit. That's huge. That's why they are contenders. That's why you should take the Indians seriously.
When a team has a pitching staff that can turn the Tigers toothless in nine games, something is happening here.


IT STARTED IN 2015
Early last August, the Tribe was having a miserable season. Their record was 49-59. That's when the front office of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff made what has become a franchise-changing deal. They shipped Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn to Atlanta. It was a salary dump, and a chance to put some younger players in the lineup.
After the trade, the Indians finished the season 32-21.
I don't exactly know how all the dots connect to the departure of Swisher and Bourn and the revival of the Tribe. But something changed, and it continued into this season.
The Indians are now 76-51 since that trade. Something is happening in Wahooville, something very, very good.


CAN IT CONTINUE?
Yes, it can. At least, the pitching can remain at an elite level. The only real surprise is Tomlin, who is 9-1. The other four members of the rotation have tremendous arms, and they are all under 30.
Will the Indians continue to hit at this level? They are fifth in runs scored. I have some doubts about that.
At the bat, this team is like the 2013 Tribe. Terry Francona demonstrated why he is one of the game's premier managers. He juggled veterans in and out of the lineup. He squeezed good years out of Ryan Raburn, Jason Giambi, Drew Stubbs and Mike Aviles. He got six powerful weeks from Mark Reynolds, before his massive slump.
This time, the names are Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis, Juan Uribe, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jose Ramirez, Michael Martinez, Tyler Naquin and Chris Gimenez. Some are old, some young. All are delivering.
And the team is being led by Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana. Yes, Santana ... who is batting only .231 but has 16 HR and 40 RBI.
The Indians still could use one more veteran hitter. In a recent story, MLB's Peter Gammons brought up Carlos Beltran. The 39-year-old outfielder is hitting .287 (.891 OPS) with 19 HR and 53 RBI for the slumping Yankees.
He makes $15 million, meaning about $8 million is left on the contract.
Would the Yankees be willing to pick up $5 million of that in exchange for a prospect? If so, the Indians should consider it -- assuming the prospect is not one of their top young players.
At the start of the season, I picked the Tribe to win 87 games and make the playoffs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index...contender.html

YTown might just be on to something, guys and girls!!

Projection gives Tribe a good shot at World Series win


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If the Cavaliers' championship didn't cause pigs to fly, the swines might be soaring come October.

Projection systems at FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus give the Cubs and the Indians, a pair of franchises mired in lengthy World Series droughts, the league's best chances at winning the Fall Classic.

The Cubs, who boast baseball's best record at 48-26, have not captured a title since 1908. The Indians, winners of nine straight and 44-30 overall, have not prospered since 1948.

A quick aside for the purpose of perspective: Both teams are a week away from even reaching the midpoint of the regular season. More than three months remain until the postseason, and plenty can change during that time. Keep in mind, the Cavs didn't have favorable odds to win the NBA Finals before they proceeded to end Cleveland's 52-year major professional championship drought.

That said, a team would rather sit in first place with a sunny forecast at this juncture than be clawing its way out of a slow start. The Indians have found themselves in the latter situation each of the last two years.

Here is how each site's projection system views the Indians' outlook.

FanGraphs

• 85.4 percent chance of winning the division;

• 91.9 percent chance of making the playoffs;

• 12.7 percent chance of winning the World Series.

Baseball Prospectus

• 90.2 percent chance of winning the division;

• 95.2 percent chance of making the playoffs;

• 18.5 percent chance of winning the World Series.

Only the Cubs have better odds of winning the championship. FanGraphs gives Chicago an 18.6 percent chance; Baseball Prospectus gives Chicago a 19.0 percent chance.

The Indians hold a five-game lead in the American League Central, their largest advantage in the division in five years.

Even the oddsmakers in Las Vegas have taken notice. The Indians and Rangers are tied for the third-best odds of winning the World Series (10 to 1), behind the Cubs and Giants, according to VegasInsider.com.

Yikes ... not to get ahead of ourselves. But could you image going to the World Series and seeing the Bay area for another 7 game series? Or probably even better, Cubs vs Indians ... where ONE of us would have to win it?

I was thinking about a Cubs series, which is just a bit less dramatic since we won the NBA championship.. but it would still be a good story line of two tortured fan bases..

then again, Tribe vs Giants would be fun too.. but it's an even year, so I'd rather play the Cubs.

I just found it interesting, especially because YTown has been trumpeting that since the Cavs won the NBA title. (I still can't believe I got to write that!!)

It's crazy how the stench of Cleveland's sports blew away because of one kid from Akron. I truly believe that this year could be the #ALLINdians year. But, before LeBron and the boys did the impossible, I was ready to "Wait for next year."

Indians have been on a warpath lately, and their schedule is pretty favorable for a bit. Shaping up to be a great summer, until fall hits and reality strikes as the browns take the field..lol

After last night's game, Drennan was talking about Trevor Rosenthal, formerly the Cardinals closer, who has fallen out of favor in St. Louis. He may be available without trading blue chips, and a change of scenery could be just what he needs. We don't need him to be the closer, Allen is doing just fine. Rosenthal would be a great addition as a 7th or 8th inning guy.

Let's be precise here.......

I said that if a Cleveland team was going to win a championship, it would be under the most improbable, or even impossible circumstances, doing something that no one had ever done before. (I was right for once, and it was a good thing ...... so I am going to enjoy this experience)

I also said that once a Cleveland team won it all, the floodgates would open. I really hope that I am right about this one too.

Cleveland Indians trade targets: Which players are realistic options for the Tribe?

Any Tribe big splash will be in hotel pool
What do Chris Antonetti and Co. have up their sleeves this summer? (Chuck Crow/PD)
Print Email Zack Meisel, cleveland.com By Zack Meisel, cleveland.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 28, 2016 at 11:40 AM, updated June 28, 2016 at 11:45 AM
Cleveland Indians 2016
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All Stories
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis are safe. Barring a catastrophic free-fall over the next month, the Indians won't be conducting their annual veteran garage sale.

At last, it appears as though the Indians will be buyers, scouring the market for a reinforcement or two to help push the team closer to a busier October schedule.

The question with this organization, of course, is what can the Indians afford to take on, from a monetary standpoint, and give up, in terms of prospects?

The Indians' needs are no secret. While the offense has performed admirably given Michael Brantley's absence, an outfielder or third baseman could offer a lift. A late-inning relief arm or a lefty specialist could provide a jolt as well.

How soon will teams on the fence determine whether they're willing to part with particular players? The advent of the second Wild Card slot has clouded the trade market until the thick of July in recent years. That could complicate things.

Who will the Tribe chase? Let's take a look at a list of options -- some realistic, others mere pipe dreams. The non-waiver trade deadline is Aug. 1.

Makes sense

Danny Valencia, IF/OF, Oakland

2016 salary: $3.15 million

Contract: Eligible for final year of arbitration in 2017

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The fit: He has played third base this season, but not well, according to defensive metrics. He also has experience at first base and the corner outfield spots. He owns a career .327 average and .888 OPS against lefties. He has hit every pitcher well this year, though, as he boasts a .335/.386/.545 slash line with 11 home runs in 228 plate appearances.



Josh Reddick, OF, Oakland

2016 salary: $6.6 million

Contract: Free agent at the end of the season

The fit: Reddick's career numbers at the plate (and position on the field) resemble those of Lonnie Chisenhall, though he posted a .322/.394/.466 clip through 41 games before he broke his thumb. He's expected back on Tuesday, but for how long will he remain with the A's?

Sean Doolittle, RP, Oakland

2016 salary: $1.58 million

Contract: Signed through 2018, with team options for '19 and '20

The fit: He has logged a 3.02 ERA in five big league seasons, with 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. We haven't seen enough of Tom Gorzelanny to learn if he's the solution to the Indians' left-handed reliever void. Doolittle would also provide late-inning insurance. Doolittle could become an attractive commodity for a lot of teams seeking a bullpen addition.



Jon Jay, OF, San Diego

2016 salary: $6.85 million

Contract: Free agent at the end of the season

The fit: He has rebounded from a miserable 2015 season by registering a .296 average and .345 on-base percentage, with a National League-high 24 doubles. He has experience at all three outfield positions and is a career .288 hitter against both lefties and righties.

Will Smith, RP, Milwaukee

2016 salary: $1.48 million

Contract: Eligible for first year of arbitration in 2017

The fit: Smith, a left-handed reliever, owns a 3.00 ERA in four seasons as a reliever, with 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Fernando Abad, RP, Minnesota

2016 salary: $1.25 million

Contract: Eligible for final year of arbitration in 2017

The fit: The southpaw has logged a 2.79 ERA over the last four years, including a 2.16 ERA this season.

10 stunning stats from Tribe's 10-game streak
10 stunning stats from Tribe's 10-game streak
Tribe starters have limited the opposition to 44 hits in 74 2/3 innings. That's impressive. So are these nine other facts.

Who else might be out there?

Wil Myers, 1B/OF, San Diego

He's young, cheap, under control through 2019 and is finally producing offensively like he did when he was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2013. The Padres won't just hand him over, though.



Jake McGee, RP, Colorado

He's scheduled to return from a sprained knee this weekend. The lefty has struggled in the Colorado air after a few dazzling seasons with Tampa Bay. Prior to this season, he averaged 11.1 strikeouts per nine. He is under control through next year.

Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati

He has mashed this year (career-high .899 OPS, 17 homers). The Reds are rebuilding. The Indians are also reportedly on his no-trade list. Would he waive it to play for a contender? Can he play an adequate outfield? Would the Indians exercise his $13 million option for 2017?



Carlos Beltran, OF, New York

The 39-year-old is hitting like he's still in his prime, with a .294 average, .902 OPS and 19 home runs. He's probably best-suited as a designated hitter, but the Indians don't really have an opening there. Beltran is earning $15 million this season and can become a free agent at the end of the year.

Kole Calhoun, OF, Los Angeles

Last year, Calhoun flashed power (26 homers) and won a Gold Glove Award. This year, he boasts an .813 OPS with a decreased strikeout rate and a much higher average and on-base percentage. He is under team control through 2019 and the Angels have holes everywhere, especially in the farm system.

Jonathan Lucroy, C, Milwaukee

He's inexpensive and proficient at both sides of his job, but you can bet the Tribe's starting pitchers would be less than thrilled about having to build a rapport with a new starting backstop, even if Lucroy could shift to first base next year.

Aroldis Chapman, RP, New York

In 2014-15, Chapman totaled 222 strikeouts and only 64 hits allowed. Now imagine that four-time All-Star paired with Cody Allen at the back end of the Indians' bullpen. The hard-throwing southpaw can become a free agent in a few months, so perhaps the Yankees' price tag won't be exorbitant. It won't be small, though.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf...art_river_index

I'd give up our two big prospects for Valencia. I'd like that reliever from OAK, but I doubt they'll trade both of them to us for only just our two batting prospects.

"In addition to winning 10 games in a row, the Indians are working on a couple of other notable streaks. ESPN Stats & Info offers a look:

Scored at least six runs in seven straight games (their longest streak since 2005)
Allowed three earned runs or less in 10 straight games; longest streak since 13 straight in 1998."

And to have these two streaks happen concurrently is amazingly fortuitous.

Man Lindor is kind of a liability with his glove/arm isn't he. Almost every game I watch he pulls the 1st baseman off the bad a few times a game, he can't throw on the run. His bat is amazing, you can tell he's young

You're never happy.

keep rollin

11 in a row!

Naquin needs to pick it up on defense. Completely misjudged that ball in the 9th.

J-Ram had some big hits batting 4th.

Fun fact: Ramirez has now hit in every spot of the batting order this season (courtesy of Andre Knott).

Hot Take!

But..... Crappy Lindor Play

Another terrible Lindor play

Yeah I definitely don't get the hate on Lindor's D. I thought that was one of his stronger points.

Granted, I'm out in Seattle and don't get to see many games, but RTLW is the first I've heard complain about his D.

Ranking the 15 best shortstops in baseball in 2016... #4

to be fair i haven't watched alot of games last year and this year i just started watching, not saying its the case, but just from watching his throws have been bad, and bad angles sometimes when fielding, but the last two weeks i've noticed him pulling napoli/santana off the bag alot with this throws on the run, mostly going to his right

Also, I love Lindor, he's the most excited I've been about a player in a long time, and he's young so he's prone to errors yet, noone comes in being omar, except well maybe omar. Just saying I've noticed he seemed to struggle with throws from the 3rd base side to 1st, that being said, i've noticed that when he can stop and throw, even from the fringe, he has a laser for an arm, which for a guy his size is pretty amazing. I think maybe some of its our 1st basemen too, Napoli/Santana aren't really fielding stalwarts, but some of the throws i've seen, Napoli literally had to run 3-5 feet each side of the bag to pull in throws...I know it nit picking, but just something that caught my eye. One said throw actually allowed Atlanta to come back and tie it up at 2 yesterday.

This is nice to see...

6/28/16
Tom Withers Verified account
@twithersAP
#Indians projecting at least four crowds over 30,000 during upcoming homestand. Progressive Field now holds just over 35,000.

Tweet

I'm headed to the game on the 4th with my wife and will be back up on the 6th with my youngest son.

Let's Go Tribe!

Good to see.

Although, the Indians have gone 20-6 in the month of June and are still barely pulling crowds of 30,000. The Cavs went just 4-3 in June and they can pull a crowd of over a million.

And the Tribe still hasn't lost since game 6 of the NBA finals..

Bottom of the 5th, Indians up 2-0 after a 2-run single by Kipnis.

Get the sweep!

still rollin

Found this article interesting. I don't know anything about any of the diamondback players.


Cleveland Indians should be buying what the Diamondbacks are selling
By Matt R. Lyons  @mattrly on Jun 29, 2016, 10:26a 81


As long as those hideous jerseys don't come with him. - Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The two teams make sense as trade partners.

With their 3-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies last night, the Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves in a rough spot. Despite all the money and prospects they spent acquiring talent in the offseason, they are currently 36-44 and a full 13.5 games back of the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants. No matter what hope they clung to at the start of the season, the realistic option for them at this point is to sell at the trade deadline. If they do, the Cleveland Indians should be very interested.

For all the misfortunes of the Diamondbacks' 2016 season so far, they have consistently had a couple intriguing bullpen arms. If the Indians are going into this deadline looking to improve upon their 11th-ranked (AL) reliever ERA, they have plenty of options to pick from the corpse of the Diamondbacks.

First and foremost, if the Indians want a quick rental reliever, they can look at a reliever like Daniel Hudson. The 29-year-old veteran has a 3.26 ERA in 30.1 innings this season but is only under contract until the end of 2016. If the Diamondbacks are sellers, Hudson is probably one of the players they will be the most motivated to move.

If the Indians want to go potentially a bit cheaper, they could target 36-year-old Brad Ziegler instead, who has served as the Diamondbacks closer over the last two seasons. Ziegler is owed a bit more than Hudson ($5.5M compared to $2.7M), but if he is willing to move out of a designated closer and into Bryan Shaw's setup role and if Terry Francona is finally willing to turn away from pushing Shaw onto the mound every other day, it would be a perfect fit for the Tribe.

Alternatively, if the Indians are willing to part with a few more prospects, they could also look at Tyler Clippard. The Diamondbacks signed Clippard to a two-year, $12.3 million deal this offseason, but like many of their signings, it has not resulted in a winning team. Clippard is not having a particularly amazing season -- 3.07 ERA, 4.01 FIP -- but he is striking out 29.7 percent of the batters he faces and has a track record as a solid reliever.

Moving away from relievers, let's a get a little crazy. Dim the lights and make sure no children are reading this post right now, because what if the Indians traded for Jake Lamb? The 25-year-old third baseman is the midst of a breakout season for Arizona with a .286/.366/.584 slash and 16 home runs. He is under team control through 2017 with arbitration carrying him to 2020. If the Indians truly do not see a future in Giovanny Urshela or even Yandy Diaz and the Diamondbacks are really slamming that sell button, maybe something can happen there. Perhaps something built around Tyler Naquin and one of the many young arms in the Tribe system?

Of all the deals that the Indians could make with the Diamondbacks, a Jake Lamb trade is admittedly pretty low on the totem pole of possibilities. But before you angry-comment, sit on it, chew on it, sleep on it. Let it rattle around your head. It's not too crazy.

No matter what the Indians consider doing at the trade deadline, I have to imagine a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks will be at least discussed. The two teams talked during the winter meetings about a trade for Danny Salazar (which obviously is not happening now), and when the Diamondbacks were spurned they went after Shelby Miller instead. They dumped a whole lot of prospects for the struggling pitcher, and now the top of their farm system is looking pretty barren. And on the Indians side of things, no matter who they would want to acquire from Arizona -- save for my loony Jake Lamb suggestion -- it would not take the entire farm. Everybody wins*.

*Except whoever gets sent to Arizona and has to wear their jerseys.

http://www.letsgotribe.com/2016/6/29/120...dbacks-deadline

17 over 500

KC and StL tied 0-0 in the 7th

I read that article as well, interesting read. I'm definitely more interested in acquiring someone for the backend of the bullpen than I am a bat.

Shaw wrecks my nerves.

However.....12 in a row!

J-Ram had two outstanding plays at 3B. Heads-up play to cut down the runner at home in the 1st inning.

Naquin had a nice running catch on the track. Good to see.

Let's Go Tribe!!!!!!

I was shocked to hear our 11 game win streak was the most since 1982, and 12 wins the most since 1952. Pretty surprised none of those 90's teams did that.

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin' .....

Staring out 6-0 on a 10 game road trip is more than anyone could expect. Our starters have been magnificent. The biggest concern I have with our pitching is that we are hardly able to use our bullpen.

McAllistar has pitched 6.2 innings in June. (1 ER)
Otero has pitched 8 innings in June. (1 ER)
Chamberlain has pitched 3.1 innings in June. (2 ER)
Hunter has pitched 5.2 innings in June. (0 ER)
Manship has pitched 6 innings in June. (1 ER)
Gorzelanny has pitched 2.1 innings in June, and overall, for the Indians. (0 ER)

Of course, Shaw and Allen have gotten most of the late inning work. Part of me agrees with those who are driven nuts by Tito constantly sending Shaw out there ..... however, Shaw has been exceptional in the set-up role in the past, so I can see why Tito is trying to get him turned around. I cannot imagine that we continue with him if he doesn't get straightened out fairly soon. I would think that we are looking at late inning guys right now, and that Shaw has until we bring in such a guy to get himself fixed.

I am a Reds fans first, but I always pull for the Tribe also. Great run, fun stuff to watch.

Wonder what the tribes record will be at the end of the season? I'm guessing at this pace it will be 131-30. Lol

Wonder what the tribes record will be at the end of the season? I'm guessing at this pace it will be 131-30. Lol

That would give us a 99 game win streak to end the season. Not going to happen. 130-31 is much more realistic

Well regardless it's been a fun week and a half to be a Cleveland fan.

The Indians are 47-30 right now. There are 162 games in the MLB season, so we have 85 games left.

Assuming that we win somewhere around 60% of our remaining games, (which seems reasonable, or maybe even light, considering our rotation, and the way we have been playing) we should finish up with somewhere around 51 additional wins. That will give us a total of somewhere around 98 wins for the season.

I think that we have a shot at 100+ wins. We'll see though.

The Royals are currently in 2nd place in the division. They are currently 6.5 games out of 1st, and are currently tied 2-2 in the 12th in their game against the Cardinals. If we win 60% of our remaining games, and wind up with 98 wins, and the Royals do win tonight, then that means that they would still have to go 57-28 from here out just to tie the Tribe.

In other words, the Indians are in pretty good shape for making the playoffs, and winning the Central, right now.

One other really encouraging thing is that the Indians are tops in the AL with a run differential of +91. Next best in the AL is Boston with a +64 differential.

The Cubs have a staggering +170 run differential, and they are the only team with a better run differential than the Tribe.

I love where this team is at right now.

I like what watching that run differential grow. Cubbies are in a slight slump as of late.

I love watching the Indian base runners !

The Tribe’s current 12 game winning streak is their longest since 1951.

Do you comprehend that?

In the last 65 baseball seasons the Indians have not won 12 games-in-a-row.

That’s 10,000+ games, 65 years.

Not 12 in-a-row till yesterday.

Thirteen is the franchise record. That’s the longest in Cleveland’s 115 year history.

As Cleveland Indians fans, we are experiencing historically good times.

.

The Cleveland Indians Big Four Starting Pitchers in 1951

Bob Lemon

Bob Feller

Early Wynn

Mike Garcia

These were tough dudes.

Fixed it for you. At this rate, the Browns might win their Orange and Brown scrimmage.

Thanks Excl.

I was initially an Indians fan. (1968)

Then Browns (1970)

Then Cavaliers (1989)

What a Cavs team in '89:

Brad Daugherty
Mark Price
Hot Rod Williams
Craig Ehlo
Larry Nance
Steve Kerr
Ron Harper
Tree Rollins

Let's not get carried away now.

As Dave might say:

"At this current rate the Tribe will go 132-30"

And Michael Jordan is the ONLY reason that those guys never ended up hoisting that trophy.

I've been wearing a lot of my Cavs gear around town lately and I'm waiting for someone to call me a bandwagon fan so I can let them know that I've been a Cavs fan since World B Free was the best player on the team.

Just ask people whether Austin Carr played in the NBA, or if he was just brought in along with Fred McLeod to be the new radio announce team.

If they know that he played in the NBA, as them what team he played for.

"What???? Austin Carr played for the Cavaliers???? When???" LOL

This is so dumb.

There are some things that I simply find no value in responding to. The post you referenced was one of those.

AC was a little ahead of my time, YTown. He started playing for the Cavs the year I was born.

As the Indians lose their last game and the media reports that we are going into the playoffs on a losing streak and with our confidence shaken.....

DC, I believe you asked before about Indians game being nationally televised so you could watch them play. If I recall correctly, I saw last night on MLB network that the Tribe vs Blue Jays games (both Friday and Saturday 1pm games) are going to be aired on MLB Network.

Just a heads up.

Definitely going to buy mlb.tv once the price gets cut down to 50. Tribe has earned that much from me.

Carlos...7.1 IP with 14 k's

13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tribe up 4-1 in the ninth

Indians finish June with a 22-6 record.

Wow!

If only we could put this starting rotation on the 95 or 97 team.

keep rollin

Ugh, that made me listen to three minutes of Limp Bizkit.

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin .....

Thanks, I saw that. I will be out of town but have already set up to record them..

All we do is win win win no matter what.

These are indeed historic times.

so the Lakers signed Mozgov and Clarkson for 4 years/$115 million guaranteed ... yikes

Sorry in advance...

http://hittrackeronline.com/

We’re gonna find out what Tomlin is made of this afternoon.

His start today is the equivalent of pitching game 7 of the World Series.

Maybe even more significant. The Tribe have won 2 World Series. They’ve never won 14 games in-a-row.

The Indians and Tomlin are well aware of what’s at stake. Let’s see how Tomlin does.

Two notes:

The Blue Jays are favored.

Cleveland’s team name was originally The Bluebirds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901_Cleveland_Bluebirds_season

Just heard this fun fact:

Josh Tomlin has more wins than walks this season.

Tomlin just pitched himself in and out of a pinch. Tribe up 1-0 going into the 5th.

Make that two innings in a row!!

Go Tribe!!!

No. It is not.

Tomlin always good for a solo shot, or two.

quote above by cfsr15:

"No. It is not."

Very uninsightful. (for your benefit cfs that means = stupid)

You're rocking a bit of hyperbole. This game won't win or lose us a WS.

Not sure we even need a reliever at this point. The bullpen went seven innings before giving up a hit.

I'm following on mlb.com... this is a nailbiter!!

Top of the 15th, Kipnis just walked, Lindor coming up!

sucks if we lose, but the pen has shown great fortitude

1st and 3rd 1 out

And hit straight into a double play.

dang dp

Double play... ugh.

come on

This is frickin' insane. I got off work early to cut the grass, caught the game in the 10th on the radio. Here I sit and the grass ain't gettin' cut.

That was an embalming at bat for the Team !

ugh

Can this end? I have to go grocery shopping.

Well, we've gone 15 games now without losing.

If they can go 23 innings and win, they can set two club records!

Slamtanna!

Holy shibbitz, it's about frickin' time. I hope this game doesn't suck the life out of them for a while.

just put them away now

Nap should be embarrassed !

Only took 15 games to get 14 in a row!

keep rollin

Wow.

Keep rollin' rollin; rollin' rollin'

Man, they earned their all time longest win streak. We're Cleveland, and nothing comes easy. Man, 14 game win streak, with 8 wins in a row on the road. That is incredible!

Wow.

The redemption of Trevor Bauer continues.

It is a 162 game season. I know you already know this bro, so this post is not intended for you. For those jumping on the Indians band wagon just remember long winning streaks can be followed by long losing streaks. All that matters is our record at the end of the year. Please keep enjoying Tribe baseball all year long folks.

19 innings is just crazy.

What a game!!

Incredible performance by Trevor Bauer.

Go Tribe!!!

Great win, great job by Trevor Bauer, but who pitches tomorrow (Bauer was scheduled)? The guys on the radio seemed to think the Indians might have to bring up Shawn Morimondo (?) from AA Akron, because Cody Anderson is on the DL at Columbus, Mike Clevenger just pitched on the 29th, and TJ House just pitched 4 innings in relief recently. The tough thing is they're not off until Thursday. I wonder if they couldn't just move the rotation up one day and pitch Kluber tomorrow? Maybe not worth the risk of one of these starters getting injured ... just bring up the farmhand to eat some innings and hope for the best.

Gotta love Trevor Bauer. He went 5 innings today, and the reporter asked him if he was ready to start tomorrow, and he said "Sure, Why not?"

Kid is a bulldog, that's for sure.

I got a good chuckle when Bauer, during the postgame interview with Andre Knott, said, "Man I was tired. [Insert S bomb], I didn't even know what inning it was."

In case anyone missed it .... the Royals and White Sox each lost tonight. (thought the Tigers did win) This gives the Tribe a 7 game lead over the Royals in the division, 7.5 over the Tigers, and 9.5 over the White Sox. (and a 24 game lead over those darn Twins)

I can't remember things looking so good this early in the season!

I just hope they don't burn themselves out by playoff time. The team that usually wins the World Series is the one that got hot in September, not June.

you mean like the warriors did

Yes, exactly like the Warriors. I was saying all year that I hope the Warriors would knock themselves out going for that record, because it might burn them out by the time they got to the playoffs.

JC

I think people contesting 28+ foot shots is what really did the Warriors in.

I would agree if they didnt do that for 100 games before it

Did you watch those games yourself?

Probably 85% of their games, yes

Back to baseball ... the Indians are giving the bullpen today's start. Zach McAllister will start out, and Shawn Morimando was called up from AA Akron to help out. Morimando is 10-3 at Akron with a 3.09 ERA. He has 73 K and 36 BB in 93 IP, with a WHIP of 1.21.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=596049#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL

Also, the Indians just announced that their July 4th home game vs Detroit is a sellout.

Today's game will be a difficult one to win IMO. Hope I'm wrong.

I also expect the series against the Yanks to be a sellout. Should be continued fun in the land.

J/C ..... I hope that we'll somehow be able to keep Ramirez, but I suspect that another team will like what they have seen from him this season. It appears that Almonte has been hitting about half the pitches he has seen so far at AAA, since returning from suspension. I think that he'll be back with the Tribe after we get through this pitching situation today.

I found it interesting that teams have called about Clevinger. I wonder what kind of value he has.

Anyway ..... Pluto always has a ton of good info .....

Terry's Talkin'

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' how they are winning and winning -- Terry Pluto (photos) | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2016/07/cleveland_indians_have_terry_t_57.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For some fans, it's hard to understand how the Indians are dominating the American League Central Division.

I confess to being shocked by their 14-game winning streak and 49-30 record heading into the weekend.

The obvious answer is the pitching. The Indians lead the American League with a 3.43 ERA, far in front of Seattle's second-best 3.89.

If the pitching wasn't outstanding, we could forget the rest of the discussion. So the pitching is the foundation, but it's not the entire house.

Start with defense. The Tribe catches the ball. The Tribe really catches the ball. Fangraphs ranks the Indians as the No. 3 defensive team in the American League -- behind Texas and Kansas City.

The website recently did a story on Francisco Lindor. Jeff Sullivan's article is very complex, unless you are deep into baseball analytics.

Here's his main point:

"As much as Lindor is phenomenal, the Indians contain other defenders and defenders are not in control of their shifts. This is a team thing, more than a player thing ... but shortstop is the true difference maker. With Lindor at the center of it, this year's Indians have welcomed opposing ground balls. ... it's not out of the realm of possibility that Lindor could win himself an MVP."

Do you believe Tribe is real contender? -- Pluto (photo, video)
Do you believe Tribe is real contender? -- Pluto (photo, video)
The Cleveland Indians are leading the AL Central Division as mid-season looms. Do you believe in them?
THE RANKINGS

Here's how Fangraphs ranks the Tribe's infield defense by position in the American League:

First base - ninth
Second base - first
Shortstop - first
Third base - second
Catcher - second
The surprise is the high ranking at third for Juan Uribe and Jose Ramirez. I don't see them as outstanding, but that's the ranking. However, after his early defensive troubles, Uribe has settled down and played well at third.

Ramirez does a good job anywhere he plays -- or bats in the lineup.

The outfield defense is ranked No. 8 overall.

In 2014, the Indians had the worst defense in baseball. That was according to the Tribe's internal stats and those of several other analytic websites. They were terrible early last season until Lindor took over at short and Gio Urshela started at third in June. In August, the defense became even better when Lonnie Chisenhall (right field) and Abraham Almonte (center) moved into the lineup.

The only really below-average spot this season has been center field, where rookie Tyler Naquin has had problems running down deep fly balls. But his hitting has offset that. Ramirez has been solid in left, his first exposure to playing the outfield. A year ago, Chisenhall was an elite right fielder. He's now simply above average, but that's still pretty good.

So defense is part of the story, led by Lindor.

THEY RUN THE BASES

One obvious stat is the Tribe leads the American League with 38 stolen bases, but that's only a small part of the story. The Tribe is 38-of-47 in stolen bases, and run more than any other team.

Just as important is how the Tribe runs the bases, period. Do the players score from second base on singles? Do they go first-to-third on singles? Do they put pressure on the defense by turning singles into doubles?

The answers are: Yes... YES... YES!!!

Fangraphs ranks teams for overall base running, and the Indians are No. 1 in the American League. The analysis takes into account all these things and more.

The Indians have a far more athletic team than they've had in years. Davis, Lindor, Ramirez, Kipnis, Naquin and Chisenhall all are above average base runners, especially when it comes to taking the extra base.

Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli are average in the extra-base department. Only Uribe and catcher Yan Gomes would be considered slow.

They lead the American League with 19 triples. They are eighth in doubles. They keep putting pressure on opposing defenses.

Rajai Davis is 35, but he can still run. He's 21-of-24 in stolen bases. Davis was only 18-of-26 in steals last season with Detroit. The Indians thought he could run more, but the Tigers wanted to avoid baserunning outs because they have so many power hitters. The previous three years, Davis averaged 42 steals.

Lindor has stolen 13 bases, Ramirez has 10. Nacquin has five triples, Jason Kipnis and Chisenhall each have four. Ramirez leads the team with 19 doubles.

When you add it all up in the American League, you find the Indians rank:

No. 1 in pitching.
No. 1 in baserunning.
No. 3 in defense.
No. 6 in runs scored.
Put all that together and you have a playoff caliber team.

ABOUT THE INDIANS

1. The Indians are cautiously hopeful about Michael Brantley returning in the next few weeks. They believe they'll have a much better idea about Brantley's comeback from shoulder surgery during the All-Star break (July 11-14).

2. Abraham Almonte is batting .458 (11-of-28) with 1 HR and 4 RBI at Class AAA Columbus. He is now eligible to return to the Tribe after serving his 80-game suspension for PEDs. The Indians really like Almonte, who batted .264 (.776 OPS) with 5 HR and 20 RBI in 51 games for the Tribe last season. He also was above average in center field.

3. Here is when good things are happening: Almonte's suspension opened the door wide for Naquin, who hit .397 with 4 HR in Arizona to win the center field job. As the Tribe juggled roster spots, he went to minors for a few weeks -- and kept hitting. Almonte's suspension allowed the Indians to fast-track Naquin, who had played only 50 career Class AAA games before 2016.

4. Then there was my dumb idea. When the Indians were bringing Michael Brantley off the disabled list, I suggested the Indians trade Chisenhall rather than send Naquin to the minors. At that point, Chisenhall was coming off a miserable spring training, a forearm injury and a slow start to the regular season. His trade value was about zero. It would not have been a wise move.

5. Chisenhall batted .227 in April. Since May 1, he's a .308 hitter (.860 OPS) with 5 HR and 21 RBI. He plays primarily against right-handed pitching. Maybe at 27 and having moved from third base to the outfield, Chisenhall is finding his spot in the majors.

6. Since moving to right in the middle of last season, Chisenhall is a .299 hitter (.817 OPS) with 8 HR and 44 RBI in 350 plate appearances.

7. Gio Urshela is having a hard time finding his swing at Columbus. The smooth fielding third baseman is batting only .245 (.589 OPS) with 3 HR and 26 RBI.

8. It could be that Yandy Diaz is playing himself into the picture. The Cuban third baseman is batting .309 (.848 OPS) with 4 HR and 18 RBI for the Clippers after opening the season at Akron. Diaz is 24 and in his third pro season. He's a career .301 hitter in the minors. He also has been learning the outfield.

9. Mike Clevinger is 8-0 with a 2.70 ERA for the Clippers. He is a prospect several teams have asked about in possible trades. With Cody Anderson recovering from arm problems, Clevinger is the first starter who will be promoted if the Indians need someone to help in the rotation because of a doubleheader or injuries.

10. Adam Plutko was promoted from Akron and is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his first three starts at Columbus. Plutko was on the same UCLA pitching staff with Trevor Bauer. The 24-year-old right-hander entered the season with a 20-17 record and a 3.16 ERA in his minor league career.

good info Ytown ... I always have said Pluto is a GREAT mlb/Indians journalist

As the Cleveland Indians pursue their 15th consecutive victory Saturday, ESPN Stats & Information gives you 15 things you should know about the team:

1. With their win in the 19th inning Friday, the Indians became the first team in major league history to extend a winning streak to 14 games or longer by winning a game of more than 14 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

2. Cleveland's starting pitchers have a sub-2.00 ERA -- 1.83 ERA, to be precise -- during the streak.

3. Only three other American League teams in the wild-card era have had win streaks as long as the Indians’: the 1994 Kansas City Royals (14 games), the 2001 Seattle Mariners (15) and the 2002 Oakland Athletics (20).

4. The Indians have outscored opponents by 3.9 runs per game during the win streak. Their scoring margin is 55 runs (82-27).

5. Second baseman Jason Kipnis has at least one hit in each game he has played during the streak. He has a 13-game hitting streak, during which he has three home runs and 13 RBIs. The 13-game streak is baseball’s second-longest active streak, one game behind Corey Seager.

6. The Indians have scored six or more runs in a game eight times in their 14-game streak (57 percent of the time). In their first 65 games, the Indians reached the six-run mark 24 times (37 percent of games).

7. The Indians’ win streak has propelled them to a seven-game lead in the AL Central. The last time they were up by this many games this late in the season was in 2007, when they won the division.

8. Indians starters’ WHIP during the streak is 0.85. That’s only slightly above Greg Maddux’s WHIP for the Atlanta Braves in 1995, when he won the National League Cy Young Award and finished third in the NL MVP voting (0.81).

9. In their win against the Blue Jays on Friday, the Indians’ bullpen threw 13 scoreless innings, which matched a franchise record.

10. As good as the starting pitching has been, the bullpen has perhaps been better. Indians relievers have an MLB-best 0.79 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP during the streak. The second-best ERA by a bullpen during this time is more than three times as high: 2.44 by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

11: Power has been a key component of the Indians’ run. They have hit 25 home runs in the 14 games, second to the Chicago Cubs’ 28 home runs (in 15 games) from June 17 through Friday.

12. Indians batters have thrived on “soft” stuff from pitchers (defined as changeups, curveballs, sliders and splitters). They have an OPS of .803 on those pitches -- best in baseball -- compared with the MLB average of .657.

13. The Indians have fared well against right-handed pitchers. They have faced at least one in each game of the streak and have a slugging percentage of .567 -- best by any team against right-handers from June 17 on.

14. The Indians’ bullpen has not allowed a run in its past 16 2/3 innings.

15. The Indians’ 14-game win streak is tied with the 1948 Cleveland Browns for the longest single-season streak in Cleveland major pro sports history. That title-winning team was 14-0 during the regular season in the All-America Football Conference.


http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_...th-straight-win

1 batter ..... 1-0 Indians!

Made it easy for him.

The Blue Jays' starting pitcher threw 25 pitches in the 1st inning. Hopefully the Indians can continue that eye. and really make him work, and maybe we get into their bullpen early too.

good start!

nevermind ... bad start

This will end up as the toughest win of the streak if they can pull it off.

Definitely. They cannot use the biggest strength the team has today. (their starters)

Hopefully we can score enough to off-set the difficulties we will have with the pitching.

I get it now.

Toronto manager John Gibbons basically sacrificed yesterday's game. (having the second baseman pitch rather than today's scheduled starter Marco Estrada)

ehh teetering here ... looks to be the end IMO

Back and forth game. So much different than yesterday.

Tribe just got shafted on that overturned call.

They got screwed big time.

We should be in the 9th inning, tied ..... but instead the Blue Jays have a 9-6 lead.

Well ..... top of the 9th, down 3 ...... time to see just how much magic this team has in it.

Well, it took a really good Toronto team, and being screwed by the replay official, to end the streak.

Time to start a new streak today.

Really miss Brantley when you are in games like the last two ..

Good point, GM. This pitching has held up better. And we have upside if Big B gets better soon.

My hat is off to Francona. Just win, baby. This is thrilling stuff, this is. But it can't go on forever (look at Golden State — cough, cough). But this is looking good so far without a June swoon.

Get 'em, Tribe. Wahoo for the Chief!

Well, the Indians followed the Cavs model. Swept Detroit. Swept Atlanta. Lost Game 3 to Toronto on the road, but still won the series. Now they just need to win the Championship.

Hat tip to Tito for having us in position to win a game short-handed without altering the rotation or burning up the bullpen. Another hat tip to Rajai Davis for hitting for the cycle - first time an Indian did it since Hafner in 2003.

LOL That's true. Kinda freaky, actually.

man that does it, seasons over.

Today was a total throwaway considering how Tito was forced to handle the pitching staff. Still had an awesome effort.

Also, can we please get rid of Matt Underwood? Does anybody actually like him as a PBP guy? He comes off as incredibly whiny.

Like I get that it's a local home broadcast, and you're supposed to be a bit of a homer to play up to the audience, but to constantly complain, you come off so horribly.

I don't need hard hitting analysis of a game by an announcer. I'm totally fine with the broadcast teams being somewhat of a novelty. Having issue with officiating is fine, but every single time there is something in question he acts like some demented fan who's sitting at a buffalo wild wings and is hot taking all his buddies.

Guy should take a lesson from Jim Donovan, who is probably the best PBP guy in town (I give him a slight edge over Hammy, especially considering what he has to deal with every year)

This might not be worth the bits it uses on this site, but the Tribe activated Abraham Almonte today. (after an 80-game suspension for PEDs)

They're very high on him. Interesting to see how much he adds to the team.

This might not be worth the bits it uses on this site, but the Tribe is starting Abraham Almonte in center field today. (after an 80-game suspension for PEDs)

Down 3-0 in the 1st. Kluber's throwing BP out there today.

17 to 1 ... yikes

It's okay. I'm going tomorrow, so they'll win.

i'll remember this rocket!

8-2 road trip. Awesome.

17-1? The road trip didn't end well. Go Jays...

Great road trip for the Tribe. Anytime you go on a 10 game trip, and go 8-2, you have nothing to complain about.

Man, 17 straight games ..... 10 on the road, and then we follow that up with 7 at home against the Tigers and Yankees. No days off. That's rough, especially the way we burned up our bullpen over the past 2 days. Hopefully Salazar gives us a really good outing tomorrow. I suspect that he will.

We had to add Morimando before yesterday's game, and had to designate Michael Martinez for assignment as a result. That probably marks the end of him in an Indians uniform, and that's a shame. He was a real nice spark plug on many occasions. However, we did get Almonte back, and hopefully he can pick up where he left off in the Minors, at least going forward from here. Brantley has started hitting off of the tee .... and that's great news. He was moved to the 60 day DL, but that means little at this point. He can return after July 9th.

7 games till the break, all at home. Then the team can recharge for the 2nd half of the season.

Indians' radio broadcasters were talking yesterday about Brantley taking live BP, and having no discomfort. The injury was in his non-throwing shoulder, so once he can swing a bat, you'd think he might be ready to start a rehab assignment pretty soon. I'd look for a Brantley return after the All Star break.

I am Psyched!

Indians host the Tigers on ESPN2 tonight here in Connecticut.

Then the Tribe hosts the Yankees for the last stretch before the All-Star game.

(I get all the Yankee games on the TV)

Wow they are even showing the game here tonight.

Anyone else down here tonight. Giant lines waiting to get in to the park; one would think we're back in the mid 90s.

Rain delay, ugh. Sooooo warm with all these bodies wandering around progressive field.

It looks like the weather is gonna clear real soon.

So Rocket, if the game is postponed do fans get like stubs for a future game? Or are fans S.O.L.

weather should clear in CLE. just about to sprinkle here

Currently doing laps around the lower concourse. Just started lap 3. Not too sure when I started...

Espn says the game will start at 930.

Sprinting or walking?

Sometimes you win
Sometimes you lose
Sometimes it rains

Walked haha. I did 5.

Pretty much everyone stuck around.

50 wins with 6 games to play before the break.

Keep rollin' rollin; rollin' rollin'

keep rollin!

What in the world are they going to do with Gomes ???

Both Gomes and Gimenez.

Black Holes in the line-up.

Instead of making these guys take their turns at the plate each game, Francona should just concede an out to the opposition.

At least that way no one gets hurt and no double plays.

And the team batting average would probably go up.

No wonder Salazar and Carrasco have opposing batters so confused.



"You again?"

That was a lot of fun to be at that game last night. The band and $2 beers pregame were great!

I've never seen such a ridiculously long line for nachos as I did last night during the rain delay.

Tribe keeps winning and cooled off Detroit who had won 6 straight.

The bullpen did a nice job.

Gomes can't hit the ball to save his life, poor guy.

Let's Go Tribe!!!

Ugh, 2 dollar domestic beer. You couldn't pay me to drink awful stuff like that. Always blows me away to see lines that long.

You're very sophisticated.

I also refuse to pay 12 dollars for a large beer from GLBC at the stadium.

Paul Dolan got me for both!

7-1 or 17-1...a loss is a loss. Even the best teams lose about 60 games. You can't worry about the run differential in one game.

Remember that game the Indians beat the Yankees 22-4 in 2009? We ended up losing that series.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Roberto Perez is ready to come back.

Right now this has got to be one of the best 5 man starting rotations in history.

Corey Kluber
Danny Salazar
Carlos Carrasco
Trevor Bauer
Josh Tomlin

At the game today. Just got done with on field batting practice. Ended up getting a picture with Lindor, and another with Salazar. Received autographs from Salazar, Lindor, Francona, Uribe, and Brantley.

Go Tribe. Time to tame the Tigers in an hour.

All-Star teams announced.

Where's Josh Tomlin?

Congratulations Einstein.

You win.

"Shoo-in."

Our two players, both who can end up as AL MVP, and Cy Young, who truly deserved it made it in.

13 in a row at home. This team can hopefully continue this.

I love Indians baseball.

keep rollin

Detroit has to dislike us a lot.

11-0 on the season.

This year is so different than from years past.

Keep rollin' rollin; rollin' rollin'

51-32, 19 games over .500 ..... 7.5 game lead in the division ...... 1 game behind the Rangers for the best record in the AL, though we are tied in the loss column ..... best run differential in the AL ......

I am absolutely loving my Tribe! This team has players who love playing together, and who play the right way together.

2 position players have really emerged this year, in Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall. Tyler Naquin has been a huge surprise, hitting .314, with 7 HR now. He never had much power in the Minors, but really concentrated on strength training this off-season. It shows. These 3 young players have been huge contributors. (along with, of course, Lindor)

We added 3 veterans who have come in and really contributed. Uribe has stabilized 3rd base, and Napoli has combined with Santana to hit a combined 35 HR and 100 RBI so far at 1B/DH. Rajai Davis has found the fountain of youth. Man, he's hitting .271, with 9 HR, and has stolen 22 bases. (which is 1st in the AL, and 3rd in all MLB) We really hit the jackpot with these 3 guys. Sure Byrd was a disappointment, but if he was still here, we never would have seen Naquin's rapid development in the Major Leagues. It is also amazing how well Santana and Davis have combined to handle leadoff. I was worried that doing this might completely rob Santana of all of his power, but it seems to have helped him in that regard. He might hit 40 HR this season. Incredible.

Then we have our starting rotation. Man, it's scary that Kluber still hasn't locked in .... and might be our 5th most effective and consistent starter ....... yet we still have one of, if not the best, rotations in all MLB. We have a high quality closer in Cody Allen, and some nice bullpen arms in McAllister, Otero, and Manship.

Roberto Perez went down early with an injury, and we traded (once more) for Chris Gimenez, and he has done a marvelous job behind the plate. He doesn't add a lot as a bat, but he is a superb backstop, and handles a high quality staff really well. Almost nothing get past him, and we have guys who will put a ball in the dirt on occasion.

We have a pair of guys who will be returning from injury soon, and decisions will have to be made. The OF decision will be very difficult. Who do we send down when Brantley comes back? Maybe Almonte? Maybe we go with a 7 man bullpen? What do we do when Perez is eligible to return from the DL?

This has been a really fun year so far .... and it appears that it could be really, really fun when all is said and done. Go Tribe!

This is why we're winning the AL Central.

Not sure which one of these pitchers I would want to face. Tough bullpen making all the difference this year. I am excited to see us keep going after the break. Like Major League, neh?

Go, Tribe. Get some more!

Question:
Where do you think Brantley will bat in the lineup when he comes back? I'm guessing 5th but, knowing Francona, he'll switch it up often.

On another note, I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of Naquin in the leadoff spot. He's fast and has a .373 OBP.

He still strikes out a bit too much, and doesn't draw as many walks for a leadoff spot. Maybe if he fixes those two issues, sure.

Yes, SO are the Achilles heel for him. I just like having a constant leadoff hitter and not sold on the Santana/Davis platoon. However with us being in first place, I guess I shouldn't complain that much.

Tribe record so far 2016:

...First half

…..49-32

.Second Half

......2-0

As Dave would say: "At this pace the Tribe will go 99-63" (51/83*162)

I love Santana's patient approach. The amount of walks, along with lack of SOs this year, makes him the perfect guy to lead off. He's rocking a .370 on base percentage.

Beautiful afternoon for some weekday baseball. Pushing 90 degrees, but lots of wind and cloud cover. Let's get that sweep!

The Tribe is 39-8 when scoring the first run.

Probably because all of our pitchers can pitch 9 innings and not give up a run.

And, if we get a win today, we will tie 2011's home win streak of 14 straight.

Last year people wanted to trade him.

And some wanted to trade Salazar for Todd Frazier.

Check this out:

Remember when a lot of Tribe fans were pissed about not getting Todd Frazier for Danny Salazar? Here are some guys with a higher OPS than him right now:
Naquin .950
Chisenhall .846
Santana .839
Lindor .805
Davis .784
Napoli .782
Ramirez .780
Kipnis .771
And Frazier? .769
Based on OPS which is a measure of offensive productivity, Todd Frazier would be the 9th most productive player on our roster.

I'm still ok trading him. His value is at its highest right now.

He's also having this success with a club option year right around the corner.

I was in that camp. He tried way too hard in a cleanup role. Batting lead off completely changed his approach at the plate. Francona's a genius.

I don't know if it's completely changed his approach sans strikeouts. The guy is still averaging roughly what he does in a season re: batting avg, home runs, rbi, on base percentage, AND walks.

Tribe up 2-0 going to the Top of the 4th

He's the same player he always was, the team is just winning.

Tomlin has been cruising right along so far.

Never mind

Yeah, I'll take the blame for that, lol
I'm done posting about them for this game

Same player, but much more patient. On pace for a career low in strikeouts. 90 SOs compared to 120 SOs shows a much improved Santana.

Ouch. Getting ugly out there.

Well.... That escalated fast.

Way to go Purp!!

Probably my fault more than PPE's..... I was the one that mentioned how Tomlin was cruising.

Tough game today, but 2 out of 3 from Detroit isn't all bad.

Nice sized crowd up there today for a mid-week, noon ballgame. I park in the same lot each game I go to, the price for parking has gone from $15 to $30 to park. Guess that's the price of first place!

Hopefully, Bauer can get the team back on track tomorrow against the Yankees.

Do you have anymore games this season? I've got the Yankees series, and Nationals left.

My garage was 10 today. Usually I only pay 7. I park at the corner of 9th and Superior. Quick and easy access to the highway, too!

I still have 11 games left. Between family events/schedule, I've had to use the ticket exchange on Tribe Rewards and shuffle several games around. Quite a few jammed in from mid-august thru Sept.

Thanks for the heads up on the garage. A longer walk, but not bad.

Have fun at the Yankees series, should be some nice size crowds.

I'm trying to go to the Yanks game either friday or saturday

Better jump on it, Friday's game is sold out and Saturday's game isn't far off. For Saturday, there are tickets remaining in the upper deck along the 1st and 3rd base lines. Looks like 2 tickets are still available in section 103.

The tickets where I sit are now 50-60 dollars. They were 20-25 when I bought them back in late March.

I could flip them for a profit, but I enjoy going too much for that.

Tough loss for the Tribe tonight. Down 5-4 in the 9th, 2 men on, and Naquin is gunned down at 1st to end the game by about 1/4 of a second.

Time to get back on the winning track tomorrow, and take a 3 game win streak into the break.

On the positive side, Toronto came back to beat DET with two down in the bottom of the eight.

Negative side, KC came back from a 3-0 deficit in the 8th to win.

Need the Tribe to get back on track tomorrow in front of a sold out crowd.

The game gets tied if Almonte bothers to run to first. Ugh...

How do you hit a guy that throws 101-102 mph in the freakin' 9th inning?!

Yep. That was infuriating.

And there are two others that are just as good.

Tribe p 10-1 in the 7th.

Guess they were a little pissed off about the 2 replay reversals last night.

Or they are just way better than the other team.

Or both.

Nice game by the Indians, starting a new winning streak.

Let's go Tribe!

White Sox turned their 3rd triple play of the season. Ties the season record for triple plays. Last done in 1979. They are down 4 in the 8th.

Royals batting in the bottom of the 9th down 3-2.

Tigers lose

Went to turn on the game and saw it is on FS1 .. What shame ! The guys suck ..

Glad they are taking it to CC a little bit....

One thing about Tito yjat gets under my skin , is home long he will go with a starter lie today .. Danny was not sharp from the beginning ..

How do you not pinch hit for Gomes in the Eight ?

Ump screwed Santana on the 1-1 pitch.



That pitch is a strike only 18% of the time.

Ump has had some strange calls today . but thats Baseball ..

weird loss today with some strange plays/calls

Indians will bounce back tomorrow

Yeah, tough loss. Hopefully we grab a win tomorrow and head into the break on a high note.

Man I would love to grab a bullpen arm from the Yankees. The announcers mentioned that they may be interested in trading an arm from their 'pen if they fall out of wildcard contention. They even mentioned that Chapman might be available, but I suspect that he'll be really expensive. However, if we could grab a guy like Betances or Miller .... man, that would be an incredible add for this team.

Yeah, Miller, Betances, and Chapman are basically all the Yankees have. They'll probably end up being sellers because they are not a good team.

They'll likely sell 1-2 of them and Beltran near the deadline.

Man, the Indians look really tired. They have made probably 5 or 6 big mistakes so far in this game.

I am glad they have a break now, so they can catch their wind.

Seems as if they decided to take the break a day early. Painful.

maybe a comeback?

Unfortunately, No.

Luckily, though, the Tigers and White Sox both lost, and the Royals are down 8-1 in the 8th.

great first half Tribe. rest up (or go to the AS game) and back to it!

As I said 10 days ago!

What losing streak? Two-in-a-row?

The four games before that the Tribe was 3-2.

OK, it's summer and this isn't a math board.

Well quiet frankly I found the Yankee series to be Embarrassing from a Management and Players perspective .. Now we need to rest , regroup and come out Singing after the break .. Sure could use some help in the Bullpen , and let Tyler and Lonnie play no matter who (Righty / Leffty ) is on the mound ..

I'm curious of why you would say this, water. Can you explain why you said this?

No secret on my part that I have a problem with Terry going over the top when staying with Starters . Went to long with Bower in game one and Danny in game three ,, Everyone of the regulars that I watch the games talked about how Salazar was not himself from the start .. I also have an Opinion ( who would believe ) on Terrys Lefty / Righty syndrome , lol .. The amount of error's and miscues ( uncharacteristic ) wounded the team deeply .. I think the guys were worn out #1 and they played sloppy ball against a team that they should have beaten .. OPINION , LOL ..

I find it interesting when good players have bad days.

Although sometimes it's just a matter of probabilities.

Even when Bob Gibson had his MLB season record 1.12 ERA, there were a couple times when batters managed to bunch a few "seeing eye singles" in the same inning.

Although I think the most earned runs Gibson gave up that year in a game was 3.

The Indians played 17 days straight, and had a 10 game road trip in that stretch. I think that played into their fall off in the last couple of games. I think that they were really looking forward to a day off, and a chance to breathe and recharge for the 2nd half.

My biggest concern right now is that Salazar's elbow is reportedly barking enough for him not to be available for the ASG. He'll be there but he won't pitch.

Not sure I'd worry too much about Salazar's elbow, for now, Dave. He pitched Saturday and as nice as it for Salazar to make the ASG it would be prudent not to throw him on only three days rest.

Better to have him fully rested and ready for the second half of the season.

As an aside, it sounds like Kluber will be the second pitcher to throw for the AL.

I think that he will pitch either 4th or 5th coming out of the break, so he will have a good amount of rest.

Players Likely To Be Traded

By Jim Duquette / MLB.com | July 14, 2016

Now that we have reached the most active trading month of the season, the list of players that will end up being traded becomes more clear. Most people I speak with expect the trade market not to be as hectic this year in terms of the number of players moved because of the lack of impact talent available. That would be a departure from last June, when we saw star players like David Price, Troy Tulowitzki and Yoenis Cespedes, among others, traded. Below are the most likely candidates to change uniforms by the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline.


Jonathan Lucroy, C, Brewers
The timing is perfect for the Brewers to trade Lucroy, whose value is at its highest; his 2.4 WAR is third highest among all big league catchers. Additionally, general manager David Stearns does not have to move Lucroy because he is under club control through next season at a very reasonable $5.5 million. They simply need to find a trade partner seeking an All-Star catcher who can hit in the middle of a lineup.

Most likely suitors: Rangers, Astros, Mets


Rich Hill, LHP, Athletics
What a difference a year makes. Hill's value has increased perhaps more than that of any player from last July to now. Now that he is healthy, Hill becomes one of the most coveted starters on the market; his rate of 10.66 K/9 at the All-Star break makes him one of the elite strikeout pitchers in baseball. Additionally, Major League scouts who saw Hill recently observed his fastball velocity up a tick from before his June left groin strain, and most feel the resulting stint on the disabled list will ultimately benefit the acquiring team down the stretch, allowing Hill to finish the season strong. There are plenty of good fits for Hill, but Boston appears to be the most aggressive in its pursuit.

Most likely suitors: Red Sox, Dodgers, Orioles, Marlins


Josh Reddick, OF, Athletics
Health has played a key role in Reddick's season, but teams looking for a versatile outfielder and a lineup upgrade are pursuing him. It's not likely that the A's will be able to sign Reddick to a multiyear contract, so they are expected to trade him rather than making him a qualifying offer at the end of the year to collect a compensatory Draft pick. Several teams will be knocking on GM David Forst and executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane's door for Reddick's services.

Most likely suitors: Indians Giants, Cubs, White Sox


Jay Bruce, OF, Reds
Bruce recently said he would be willing to waive his limited no-trade clause to play for a contender, and he'd be a perfect fit in Cleveland, which is starved for another winner this year. The Indians will not be the only team interested -- Bruce could play either corner-outfield spot and is better defensively than most metrics show. His first-half numbers -- especially wRC+ and ISO -- rank him among the top right fielders in the Majors, especially vs. right-handed pitchers, against whom he has an .881 OPS.

Most likely suitors: Royals, White Sox, Dodgers, Giants


Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Yankees
The Yankees are still on the fence about whether to buy or sell as they continue to play .500 baseball. At the end of the month, if they stay in their current position in the standings, the Yankees will move Chapman for better pieces than those they gave up to Cincinnati over the winter, and they may still compete for an American League Wild Card berth if they catch fire. This offseason, the Yankees would still be one of the front-runners to sign Chapman to a long-term deal, making the decision to trade him much easier.

Most likely suitors: Giants, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Rangers, Astros


Danny Valencia, 3B, Athletics
Valencia's versatility, low salary ($3.15 million) and ability to play third and the outfield, or even first base, make him an asset who would be valuable to multiple teams. His .854 OPS makes him an impactful right-handed bat, but recent questions about his makeup may force interested clubs to think hard about what they would be willing to part with.

Most likely suitors: Indians, White Sox, Mets, Astros, Royals


Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Padres
The lack of available starting pitchers suggests the Padres will move Pomeranz, who is having a breakout season and deservedly was added to the National League All-Star roster. Concerns over his command and control are legit, as he is among the Major League leaders in walks per nine innings, but the lack of overall pitching depth, his age (27), ability to miss bats (5.9 H/9) and penchant to command his breaking ball should land him with a contender.

Most likely suitors: Red Sox, Orioles, Mets, Rangers, Marlins


Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Braves
The Braves seem less inclined to trade ace Julio Teheran but would benefit from moving Vizcaino for a couple of pieces, since the reliever has improved his value considerably. His rate of 11.8 K/9 would fit at the back end of most bullpens.

Most likely suitors: Cardinals, Dodgers


Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Phillies
With an ERA under 4.00 at the break, Hellickson has pitched well enough this year for some team to trade for him and upgrade the back end of its rotation.

Most likely suitors: Orioles, Red Sox, Rangers, Mets


Jeanmar Gomez, RHP, Phillies
Scouts view Gomez as a good eighth-inning reliever, which limits the Phillies' potential return, but he adds important depth to any bullpen and could occasionally pitch the ninth for a contender.

Most likely suitors: Red Sox, Cardinals, Giants


Yunel Escobar, 3B, Angels
Questions about his baseball instincts remain, but for the stretch run, his versatility is an asset that's difficult to overlook.

Most likely suitors: Pirates, Royals


Joe Smith, RHP, Angels
Free agency looms for Smith, and his ability to pitch in the eighth and occasionally close for a team makes him more valuable.

Most likely suitors: Indians, Red Sox, Cardinals, Pirates


*Jim Duquette, who was the Mets' GM in 2004, offers his opinions as a studio analyst and columnist for MLB.com.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/189602026/12-mlb-players-likely-to-be-traded-by-deadline/

MLB free trial this week. I get to watch Indians games for a week.

Thanks for the reminder. Indians broadcast on Ch 737

We beat the Twins!

keep rollin

About time.

Thanks for the reminder. I am watching them now. :-)

same here thanks squires

Rain delay in the 11th. Seriously?

Yan Gomes is hurting the team. No excuse not to catch that ball.

Feel bad for the guy, but his head just isn't in it right now.

Carlos Santana killed us last night with his poor glovework at 1B. He is brutal in the field. There was no reason for Tito to rest Napoli last night in just the second game back after a 4 day break.

tough loss last night ugh

Have been saying for weeks that Tito's head scratching management has been putting us in some bad positions .. Second game in a row he went to long with Bauer also !

I like Tito a lot and think he's a good fit for the Indians, but if he has one flaw (which is probably what makes him good too) is his loyalty. He sticks by guys even as they're struggling.

Love Tito , but he has a BAD habit of going to long with CERTAIN starters and ( opinion ) he is over the top on the lefty/righty thing ..

Thus team sure seems to have fun though.

http://www.letsgotribe.com/2016/7/16/122...rgive-yan-gomes

hopefully gomes is okay

but keep rollin

I saw that. No doubt this team has great chemistry. I thought it was great when Uribe was hugging Gomes in the dugout after he got robbed of a hit for the third time the other night.

Nice win today. Let go win the series against KC!

Cleveland Indians' Yan Gomes dislocates right shoulder; Roberto Perez will be recalled

on July 17, 2016 at 7:42 PM, updated July 17, 2016 at 9:25 PM

MINNEAPOLIS – When catcher Yan Gomes hit the ground, his whole body hurt. Then the pain started to make private visits to different body parts.

First in line was his left knee. When the pain somewhat eased in the knee, his right shoulder started to hurt.

"Really, I was hurting all over," he said.

Gomes suffered a separated right shoulder Sunday in a nasty spill at first base in the fifth inning while trying to beat out a ground ball. He'll be placed on the disabled list Monday and the Indians will activate Roberto Perez, who was rehabbing at Class AAA Columbus as he recovered from a broken right thumb.

"The X-rays showed it's a dislocated shoulder," said Gomes, his right arm in a sling. "There is something sticking out of it right now."

While Gomes' injury might end his season, the Indians' immediate response was that they were not going to go out and pursue an established catcher such as Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy. As of now, they believe Perez is ready to guide one of MLB's top pitching staffs through the rest of the season and, perhaps, into the postseason.

In the third inning, Gomes doubled off pitcher Kyle Gibson's glove. The hit ended a 0-for-27 skid and caused a strange celebration in the Indians' dugout. Players were wearing capes and shaking maracas and other noisemakers in celebrations of Gomes getting a hit.

On Saturday, they stole a page from the movie "Major League" and sacrificed a Boston Market chicken to help Gomes get over his season-long slump. But in the 11th inning Saturday night, Gomes made an error at the plate that allowed the Twins to score the winning run. Now he's headed back to Cleveland with a dislocated shoulder.


Terry Francona on Yan Gomes' injury
"I thought the sacrifice was supposed to be a good thing," said Gomes. "But I got a hit and we got a win. That's plenty."

Gomes, with one out in the fifth inning, sent a grounder to third. Here's how he saw the play unfold.

"It was just one those plays where you put a two-strike pitch in play, put your head down and run," said Gomes. "When I looked up, I saw the first baseman (Kennys Vargas) reaching out (for the tag). I tried to avoid it and he tagged me and kind of threw me off balance.

"When I stepped on the bag, my leg just jammed and that's when I kind of catapulted and landed on my shoulder."

Regarding his left knee, Gomes said, "The knee is fine. It hurt really bad at first, but it was more just because I jammed it. . . When I got to sit down for a second, that's when I noticed my shoulder was starting to hurt. Then I looked over and my shoulder didn't look right. I tried to move my hand and it kind of hurt."

Manager Terry Francona said it was tough to go from the pure joy of the celebration over Gomes' hit to the injury two innings later.

"Everybody was so happy for him," said Francona. "One, he hustled his ass off, which he always does. But, you could see the pure joy of guys for him.

"It's just, things like this happen. You don't know when it's going to happen, but it happens and, hopefully, you're prepared so it doesn't get in the way of what you're trying to do."


http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf...art_river_index

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'

Looks like Gomes will be out for a while with a shoulder separation. Maybe a little time off will help him. He has been pressing, and maybe some down time, followed by a trip to the minors, will help him out mentally.

Fortunately, Roberto Perez is ready to go following his return from the DL, and his rehab assignment. Gimenez really doesn't give us much with the bat either, but he is a great backstop. It is amazing how few balls in the dirt get past him. Perez is also solid handling pitchers.

Evidently their ritual for Gomes did not have the desired effect.

It is very bad to drink Jobu's rum - VERY bad.

I can't stand Shaw. That is all.

Me neither.

Shaw sucks, we need another reliever in the worst way, it doesn't help that for all that Tito does well, managing pitching isn't one of them..He always leaves them out too long. But KC has our number, their offense loves to see our pitching come to town

7 points in one inning. Couldn't even get one out?

Shaw hadn't given up a run since June 14th.

KC has winning % of over .700% at home (if I'm not mistake), it not just us they beat at home.

However, the Indians do need to add an arm to the pen before the trade deadline.

This is a game they let slip away. Surprised Kluber didn't pitch the 8th.

Kluber's calf cramped up on him, so he couldn't continue.

It was certainly disappointing to see Shaw come in and fail to hold the lead, but he had been very good in his last 17+ innings. I also, though, would love to be able to add another plus bullpen arm, if at all possible.

Well, back on the winning path tomorrow.

another tough loss late in the game ... time to win one today

Rick Manning seemed to indicate Kluber going out and then pointing to his calf was nothing more than the Indians creating more time for Shaw to warm up to come in and start the eighth.

Not going to win many Play-off games with this bullpen ( as it stands now ) , we have been saying this all season long .. Tito sticks with Shaw until the FO SAYS, " NO MORE " !

Certainly must be Jobu! Ritual must have gone wrong. Somebody step up and get us back on track soonest, please.

Start Jobu. Roll, Tribe!!

While he may not have given up runs he gets himself into jams that will eventually will bite this team like last night. Kluber pointed to his calf and they pulled him - probably a cramp but better safe than sorry.

No doubt he does put himself into some jams. Seems to struggle throwing strikes early. It's frustrating.

It's going to be interesting to see what this team does before the trade deadline.

MLB Trade Deadline Rumors

Miller is 'probably' top Indians target
Update: 1:31 p.m. ET
Yankees lefty Andrew Miller is "probably" the top trade deadline target for the Indians, reports Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Cleveland needs a left-handed reliever, and Miller's affordable salary and willingness to accept any role makes him a very desirable trade target. Plus, you know, he's really good. The Indians may be the most well-rounded team in the AL. Their one glaring weakness is a shutdown lefty reliever.

getting Miller would cost a pretty penny

He is 31, and has 2 years left at $9 million per year. That's kind of steep for this team.

I also wonder what we would have to give up for him. I do not want to have to give up Naquin, even with other OF in the pipeline, because he has shown that he can play CF at the Major League level, and can both hit, and hit with more (developing) power than he did in the Minors. He has shown a commitment to developing his body, as well, adding 10# of muscle in this off-season, without sacrificing speed and quickness. He has the highest batting average of any position player on the team. Naquin has a .314 average, 8 doubles, 5 triples, and 10 HR. He also has the highest slugging % of any position player. Despite striking out as many times as he has, he has the highest OBP and OPS of any position player. I think that as he develops his eye further at the Major league level, he will be able to put the ball in play more consistently. He is already a really good bad ball hitter.

He still strikes out too much, but he is definitely improving at the Major League level ..... and I would hate to trade him away, and have him become a 30 HR+ guy who also hits .300 and plays a very good CF. I do not want to trade him away.

The Yankees will want some very good assets in return. Their three bullpen guys are of the utmost value in today's game.

i'm with you there, naquin should be one of the untouchables..it would be brandon phillips all over again

Michael Brantley is having discomfort in his shoulder again, and will have an MRI tomorrow.

http://www.letsgotribe.com/2016/7/19/12231528/cleveland-indians-michael-brantley-injury-news


I don't think we can count on Brantley this year.

That really sucks for him. (and the team, of course)

It has to be driving him nuts that here the team is doing so well, and he is unable to help or contribute.

Indians won tonight, and Detroit lost, so that's a good thing.

Keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'

(I know it's the 1st win of a won streak ..... but you have to start rollin' somewhere)

I agree with you on not trading Naquin. I believe all of his HRs have come after June 1st as well. He has gotten more patient at the plate since being sent back to Columbus a few months back.

However, if we are going to get a guy like Miller, we'll have to give up Zimmer or Frazier. Personally, I'd rather give up Zimmer.

I don't think think the Tribe will have a problem with the $9m/yr. As it is right now, the Indians are paying Swisher and Bourne $15M combined this year and will have that allocated money come off the books next year. Unfortunately, they are still paying Chris Johnson too.

Nice win tonight. It got hairy in the 7th, but Crockett ended it with a strikeout.