kipnis has hit a little better over the past couple of months at least. i do wish we'd put brandon guyer out to pasture. and of course josh tomlin. really would be nice to solidify the corner outfield spots
Great trade. Going for the WS now...and Miller/Allen replacements for the future when they leave in FA. Well done.
Big fan of the trade. Mejia is a solid prospect, but we desperately needed bullpen help. It also helps hedge against losing Millerand/or Allen.
There was a lot of justified shit talking about the front office in the first decade of the century but the front office has been outstanding the last 5 years or so.
Nice move. More I thought about it, we needed a move like this to compete this year and Mejia didn't have an immediate path to playing time (even in the next couple years if he refuses to move from catcher) so feel like we needed this. Still looking for outfield help potentially?
Yes, outfield is something they'll probably look to upgrade, but it's not dire. We just need to get healthy. Brantley, Chisenhall, Zimmer, Allen, Naquin, Rajai, and Guyer. Long term- Chis, Guyer, and Rajai are gone after this year. I think we'll re-sign Brantley.
Would love to go after Castellanos from the Tigers. Aside from Brantley, it's just a bunch of mediocre options who are either always hurt or league average players or worse.
Naquin has potential. Career .284 BA / .355 OBP in 190 MLB games. Allen & Zimmer still have a lot to prove.
I'm probably biased against Naquin because I was in the stands for game 6 two years ago when a pop up landed at his feet giving away 2 runs
meh on naquin. zimmer showed promise but needs to get that k rate under control. allen is a replacement level player. lonnie getting healthy would be a really nice boost. he has 20-25 hr power, and he's done a pretty nice job getting on base when he's actually been in the lineup this year
Allen has the speed that if he could just hit .250 consistently, I'd make him a full time MLB guy. Problem is he is about a .215 hitter.
speed at least makes a major impact in the postseason though, as we saw two years ago. and it was something we conspicuously lacked in the playoffs last year (not helped by the fact that the few guys we had who could run couldn't get on base). really the one reason i'm glad we brought rajai back
Agreed. Outside of Brantley, our OF is extremely mediocrity and meh.... It would be really nice to get a proven OF for the postseason. Pretty much our last weakness.
Re: Hand trade. It’s less than what was given up for Miller for more long-term control. Mejia might turn into a fine player but he’s been falling down top prospect lists and is no longer consider “can’t miss.” Also, Yan is the man.
Buster OlneyESPN Senior Writer Five American League teams have better won-lost records than the Cleveland Indians. With almost two-thirds of the 2018 season completed, the Indians rank 29th of 30 teams in bullpen ERA. Bradley Zimmer, who was supposed to be the Indians' center fielder this season, just had major shoulder surgery and is out for the rest of this year. And with just eight days remaining before the trade deadline and clubs scrambling to plug holes, the Indians might rank among the most cash-poor teams in baseball, with little financial flexibility. But with all of that said, the Indians might be better positioned for the stretch drive and October than any contender in baseball, with some enviable advantages that could make them very dangerous. Because Cleveland inhabits the AL Central, baseball's worst division, it is already in a commanding position to reach the postseason while avoiding the one-game wild-card playoff. The Yankees can't say that, nor can the Red Sox or the Astros. The Indians' lead over the Minnesota Twins is 9½ games, and rival executives believe the Twins will become sellers in the next eight days. According to FanGraphs, the Indians' chances for reaching the postseason stand at 99.6 percent. Every decision made by the front office and manager Terry Francona over the next nine weeks can be viewed through this prism of certainty. If the hard-grinding Jose Ramirez needs an extra day to rest a nagging injury -- or two days, or six days, or two weeks -- the Indians will have the space to make that happen. Corey Kluber's work ethic is renowned, but the Indians can save him from himself by limiting his workload, by skipping a start or two, by pulling him an inning or two earlier than they normally would. Other contenders may have to push exhausted relievers through August and September, using them on back-to-back days repeatedly. Francona, now operating a bullpen fortified by last week's trade for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber, won't really have to push any of his relievers on any given day, other than to prep them for situations that could arise in October. The Yankees continue to search for a major rotation piece, the Red Sox seek a high-end reliever and maybe a second baseman, and the Astros need a closer. The Indians' front office already has executed the heaviest lifting of its trade deadline work through last week's trade, and now it can focus on fine-tuning the roster by adding pieces that are more easily acquired than what New York, Boston or Houston seeks. The Indians could use a right-handed hitting outfielder, but as was demonstrated last winter, cheap outfield options are generally plentiful. Maybe the Giants will become sellers and look to cash in Andrew McCutchen before he becomes a free agent. Maybe the Marlins move Cameron Maybin. The Reds have a surplus of outfielders from which they could deal, and reportedly, the Indians expressed interest in Adam Duvall. Maybe Carlos Gomez will get hot and become a trade option. Whatever, however: The Indians can wait for a solution to emerge -- and they'll have choices in this spot, inevitably. They could add a third baseman and shift Ramirez to second base, something they did late last season. Maybe that's why they have talked to the Mets about Asdrubal Cabrera, a switch-hitter and former Indian who can hit for power and generate good at-bats. Maybe they'll take a run at Mike Moustakas, while asking the Royals to pay Moustakas' salary in return for Cleveland forking over a better prospect. Maybe the Indians will wait for more alternatives to develop in the August waiver period. And one more thing, about the waiver process: Because of the Indians' won-lost record, they will likely be the waivers gatekeepers in the AL. For now, it appears Boston, Houston, the Yankees, Seattle and Oakland will all rank behind Cleveland in the waivers pecking order -- giving the Indians the first shot to consider each player who passes through. The Indians could use this position to try to add, or they could use it to try to block the other contenders: If the Indians place a claim on a player ahead of the Astros, Red Sox and Yankees, the Indians will prevent that player from ever reaching the AL's superpower teams. The Red Sox and Yankees might each win 20 more games than Cleveland this year in the regular season, and yet the Indians could possess these enormous competitive advantages late in the season.
cody allen is pitching like he's on a solo mission to make sure the recent trades do nothing to help the bullpen fuck i hate him
I want to start a go fund me for Frankie & Jose. We need $500M to keep them both in the next four years. Doable.
Indians got a huge bargain with Jose. They have him signed through 2023 with a maximum value of $50 million.
I love having him under control but they should definitely do right by him if he has another year like this and pay him bigly
Definitely should do something with those two option years at minimum, I fear that they blew their wad with Frankie after he turned down a big extension a couple years ago. Not sure they’ll be able to afford to keep him if he keeps this up.
RE: Waivers And one more thing, about the waiver process: Because of the Indians' won-lost record, they will likely be the waivers gatekeepers in the AL. For now, it appears Boston, Houston, the Yankees, Seattle and Oakland will all rank behind Cleveland in the waivers pecking order -- giving the Indians the first shot to consider each player who passes through. The Indians could use this position to try to add, or they could use it to try to block the other contenders: If the Indians place a claim on a player ahead of the Astros, Red Sox and Yankees, the Indians will prevent that player from ever reaching the AL's superpower teams. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24151070/buster-olney-why-cleveland-indians-edge-al-contenders