In the era of throwback uniforms the Indians are trying something new: they are making throwback trades. That is, they are making trades that the GMs of the 70s and '80s would make.
Today they traded Yan Gomes. Let's look at the pros and cons.
Pro: We traded high on Gomes as this was his best year in a while and was a last minute all-star, making him look better than he was.
Con: Gomes was the primary catcher for most of the our starting pitchers. I doubt those pitchers perform as well this year as they have in the past as replacing Gomes creates chemistry issues.
Con: Roberto Perez is a terrible hitter. Gomes may not be great but he is better offensively and defensively than Perez, even in his worst year. So now our offense is worse than it was last year.
Con: We did not get back anything that will help our team next year. I repeat: WE DID NOT GET ANYTHING BACK THAT WILL HELP OUR TEAM NEXT YEAR. This makes this trade a salary dump and there is no way a team like the Indians should be dumping salary when they don't have or get an adequate replacement.
Another non-sensical trade.
Hey, if we get something good back for Gomes that is great. But Johnson was only Washington's #7 prospect at the end of 2018 and Rodriguez was only the 24th best prospect before 2018. Unless the PTBNL is great, this trade was not a fair exchange of talent.
So we didn't get better for next year or in the future in this trade. Again, it's a salary dump.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Why are we in this mess? Yep, it's because of you and I.
We are fans of the Cleveland Indians. We all know there are parameters to the club budget that are largely out of our control. However, there is one that is IN our control: attending games. Attending games adds money to the team. They can add that to the payroll. Simple.
We are looking at trading Cy Young award winners for questionable return. Frankly, that scares me as this is the same front office who traded a viable shortstop and a slew of minor league prospects for a sub .200 outfielder with the upside of being a platoon player, a sub .200 defensively challenged utility infielder and a couple of AAAA pitchers, one of whom had a ML ERA north of 9.00 this year.
You don't want to give this front office too much room to wheel and deal.
Yet here we are.
Because we don't attend games, buy merchandise, etc. our team is looking to cut payroll.
This is squarely on our shoulders, people, as we are not buying tickets and spending our money to support our team.
The Cavs suck.
The Browns suck.
Now is the Indians' time. They should be spending money internationally. They should be spending money domestically. And they should NOT have to made trades of team friendly contracts because we didn't buy tickets.
It's time, people. Christmas is coming. Buy some freakin' season tickets and show our team that they don't have to cut payroll. There is no other winning team in town right now. Get behind the one winning team you have.
We are looking at trading Cy Young award winners for questionable return. Frankly, that scares me as this is the same front office who traded a viable shortstop and a slew of minor league prospects for a sub .200 outfielder with the upside of being a platoon player, a sub .200 defensively challenged utility infielder and a couple of AAAA pitchers, one of whom had a ML ERA north of 9.00 this year.
You don't want to give this front office too much room to wheel and deal.
Yet here we are.
Because we don't attend games, buy merchandise, etc. our team is looking to cut payroll.
This is squarely on our shoulders, people, as we are not buying tickets and spending our money to support our team.
The Cavs suck.
The Browns suck.
Now is the Indians' time. They should be spending money internationally. They should be spending money domestically. And they should NOT have to made trades of team friendly contracts because we didn't buy tickets.
It's time, people. Christmas is coming. Buy some freakin' season tickets and show our team that they don't have to cut payroll. There is no other winning team in town right now. Get behind the one winning team you have.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Ignacio Feliz
I don't have much to say about the guy we traded for Walker Lockett except to say that he probably has more potential to be an effective big league pitcher...because any number is greater than zero.
What is being a club's minor league player of the year worth?
Someone told me that Jordan Luplow is a good prospect and used that he was the Pirates' minor league player of the year in 2017. So I thought I would take a look at some of the Indians' minor league players of the year. I decided to look at 2010-2015 as this would give me a chance to see how guys developed.
So here goes:
Indians minor league pitcher of the year:
So here goes:
Indians minor league pitcher of the year:
- 2010 Alex White
- 2011 Chen-Chang Lee
- 2012 Cody Allen
- 2013 Cody Anderson
- 2014 Ryan Merritt
- 2015 Mike Clevinger
Indians minor league position player of the year:
- 2010 Jason Kipnis
- 2011 Jason Kipnis
- 2012 Tim Fedroff
- 2013 Joe Wendle
- 2014 Giovanny Urshela
- 2015 Bobby Bradley
The guys in bold I would suggest have had successful careers. The guys not in bold, well, not so much. So what does this tell us?
At best it says guys who get this award who come up and have instant success have a chance for a successful ML career. Guys who don't have instant success become 4A players.
Luplow, well, not so much in his two years, right? Hey, not saying that he is totally without potential but we were certainly the only team taking a gamble in that trade with the Pirates...and Rays...and now the Padres.
OMG. Walker Lockett? Really?
After thinking for a second, it makes sense. Why not add a guy with an ERA over 9.00? I mean, your 40 man roster can't have enough guys with batting averages under .200 or ERAs over 9, can it?
I can't wait to see what pitcher they send to San Diego for the right to help the Padres clear roster space to protect prospects. I understand that Triston McKenzie is a minor league pitcher who doesn't have to be protected on the 40-man roster this winter. Hmmmm???????
In any case now we have reached the point that 25% of our 40 man roster is made up of 4A players.
Perfect!
I can't wait to see what pitcher they send to San Diego for the right to help the Padres clear roster space to protect prospects. I understand that Triston McKenzie is a minor league pitcher who doesn't have to be protected on the 40-man roster this winter. Hmmmm???????
In any case now we have reached the point that 25% of our 40 man roster is made up of 4A players.
Perfect!
Mixed Messages
Let's look at various media reports:
1. The Indians are looking for young players and are willing to trade starting pitching to get it. Great, trade from your strength. I get it, especially as a small market club. The issue for me is if they are trying to get young players, why are they trading away young players like Thomas, Mendoza and Turner for 4A players like Luplow, Moroff and Hu? I get giving up young players at the deadline to try to make a run at the playoffs. Still, you have to do it right as a small market team. The Joe Smith trade sucked. The Josh Donaldson trade was a great one. However, the trades we have made over the past two seasons right up to this point have weakened the farm system and removed some viable trade chips for little or no return in performance or, up to now, in potential for the future.
2. The Indians appear to be open to trading Gomes. Hey, Gomes value has never been higher so if you wanted to trade him now would be the time. However, he is the glue who holds the starting staff together. Trading Gomes would, in my opinion, have negative impact on the performance of the strength of this team, the rotation. This move is the OPPOSITE of what we should be thinking of, considering the strengths of this team.
3. The Indians are looking to shed salary as they are under financial constraints. Their roster will earn not much different than they did the last two years so I don't get it.
I will say this again and am ready to shout this from the hilltops. The Indians look, at this moment, like an organization that doesn't know what the hell it is doing. And, if you want a worse insult, they look like the Indians organizations I grew up with in the 70s and 80s: pathetic and inept. If any of the above is true, the Indians are quickly moving into Cavalier and Browns territory.
I don't know if anyone is listening but, if they are, hear this. The Indians are and will continue to be for the next 2-3 years, the only ticket in town worth purchasing. Why in the hell would their management try to screw that up and, in addition, why in the hell would a small market team do things that would make them less competitive while not improving their future? Hey, in a vacuum the above three media reports all make sense to some level. However, in the face of the two trades they have made already, what they are trying to do makes no sense.
1. The Indians are looking for young players and are willing to trade starting pitching to get it. Great, trade from your strength. I get it, especially as a small market club. The issue for me is if they are trying to get young players, why are they trading away young players like Thomas, Mendoza and Turner for 4A players like Luplow, Moroff and Hu? I get giving up young players at the deadline to try to make a run at the playoffs. Still, you have to do it right as a small market team. The Joe Smith trade sucked. The Josh Donaldson trade was a great one. However, the trades we have made over the past two seasons right up to this point have weakened the farm system and removed some viable trade chips for little or no return in performance or, up to now, in potential for the future.
2. The Indians appear to be open to trading Gomes. Hey, Gomes value has never been higher so if you wanted to trade him now would be the time. However, he is the glue who holds the starting staff together. Trading Gomes would, in my opinion, have negative impact on the performance of the strength of this team, the rotation. This move is the OPPOSITE of what we should be thinking of, considering the strengths of this team.
3. The Indians are looking to shed salary as they are under financial constraints. Their roster will earn not much different than they did the last two years so I don't get it.
I will say this again and am ready to shout this from the hilltops. The Indians look, at this moment, like an organization that doesn't know what the hell it is doing. And, if you want a worse insult, they look like the Indians organizations I grew up with in the 70s and 80s: pathetic and inept. If any of the above is true, the Indians are quickly moving into Cavalier and Browns territory.
I don't know if anyone is listening but, if they are, hear this. The Indians are and will continue to be for the next 2-3 years, the only ticket in town worth purchasing. Why in the hell would their management try to screw that up and, in addition, why in the hell would a small market team do things that would make them less competitive while not improving their future? Hey, in a vacuum the above three media reports all make sense to some level. However, in the face of the two trades they have made already, what they are trying to do makes no sense.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Examining the 40 man roster and the possible additions to it.
OK, it's time to look at current 40 man roster and who the Indians might add and who they might even subtract.
Locks: Bauer, Beiber, Carrasco, Cimber, Clevinger, Hand, Kluber, Olson, Otero, Plutko, Salazar, Gomes, Roberto Perez, Haase, Alonso, Chang, Yandy Diaz, Encarnacion, Kipnis, Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Leonys Martin, Oscar Mercado, Bradley Zimmer.
Guys on the fence: Cody Anderson, Jon Edwards, Nick Goody, James Hoyt, Chih-Wei Hu, Neil Ramirez, Ben Taylor, Max Moroff, Eric Stamets, Tyler Naquin
So, currently the Indians 4-man roster stands at 36 with two overall adds in the last two trades.
Never, and I repeat, NEVER have I seen this much dead wood on an Indians' team that is supposed to compete for a playoff spot.
Seven of the 18 pitchers and probably 3 of the position players currently on the roster would really be roster filler on any other contening team, the type of guys you DFA as you add prospects to the roster or make a trade for a major leaguer. There are only 3 non-pitchers who fall into the DFA-able category and two of those (Moroff and Naquin) you could argue about but you might be able to argue that Luplow and Mercado belong on the Guys on the Fence list.
Still, we have so many 4A type players on the 40 man roster at this time of year it is unbelievable. Literally it is possible that none of the guys I list on the fence could be with the Indians as the 2019 season starts and, likely, none of those guys will have an impact on the outcome of 2019.
If the Indians go into the major league season with this roster plus prospects we add to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, this team is in trouble both in the bullpen and in the outfield and in our infield depth.
So, now that I have trashed the Indians current major league roster, let's look at who they need to add to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft:
Definite: Bobby Bradley, Triston McKenzie (if he is Rule 5-eligible, which I don't think he is)
Maybe: Connor Marabell, Shao-Ching Chang, Henry Martinez, Sean Brady,
Literally, in my experience, the absolute weakest group of prospects who need to be added to the 40 man roster in my recollection. Literally, if McKenzie isn't eligible, it could just be Bradly or Bradley and Marabell. How weak and pathetic does that make the top of the Indians farm system look if we only add 1-2 prospects and don't worry about any of the rest being lost in the Rule 5 draft.
So it is likely that the 40-man roster could stand at 38 after adding Bradley and Marabell.
Don't get me wrong. Civale and McKenzie could also help the ML roster next year as might Nick Sandlin. This would be in addition to Bradley and Marabell. So it's not like we have nobody to provide ML depth, just probably not enough from our prospect ranks.
Pretty bleak, right? Well, lots to love about our 40-man roster as we should have enough horses to win the AL Central again. But no contending team has 1/4 of their 40 man roster be dead weight. It just doesn't happen. So it makes you wonder why we made the Luplow/Moroff and Wu trades. It really just makes our 40 man look that much more pathetic.
What in the blazes are the Indians doing here?
Locks: Bauer, Beiber, Carrasco, Cimber, Clevinger, Hand, Kluber, Olson, Otero, Plutko, Salazar, Gomes, Roberto Perez, Haase, Alonso, Chang, Yandy Diaz, Encarnacion, Kipnis, Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Leonys Martin, Oscar Mercado, Bradley Zimmer.
Guys on the fence: Cody Anderson, Jon Edwards, Nick Goody, James Hoyt, Chih-Wei Hu, Neil Ramirez, Ben Taylor, Max Moroff, Eric Stamets, Tyler Naquin
So, currently the Indians 4-man roster stands at 36 with two overall adds in the last two trades.
Never, and I repeat, NEVER have I seen this much dead wood on an Indians' team that is supposed to compete for a playoff spot.
Seven of the 18 pitchers and probably 3 of the position players currently on the roster would really be roster filler on any other contening team, the type of guys you DFA as you add prospects to the roster or make a trade for a major leaguer. There are only 3 non-pitchers who fall into the DFA-able category and two of those (Moroff and Naquin) you could argue about but you might be able to argue that Luplow and Mercado belong on the Guys on the Fence list.
Still, we have so many 4A type players on the 40 man roster at this time of year it is unbelievable. Literally it is possible that none of the guys I list on the fence could be with the Indians as the 2019 season starts and, likely, none of those guys will have an impact on the outcome of 2019.
If the Indians go into the major league season with this roster plus prospects we add to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, this team is in trouble both in the bullpen and in the outfield and in our infield depth.
So, now that I have trashed the Indians current major league roster, let's look at who they need to add to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft:
Definite: Bobby Bradley, Triston McKenzie (if he is Rule 5-eligible, which I don't think he is)
Maybe: Connor Marabell, Shao-Ching Chang, Henry Martinez, Sean Brady,
Literally, in my experience, the absolute weakest group of prospects who need to be added to the 40 man roster in my recollection. Literally, if McKenzie isn't eligible, it could just be Bradly or Bradley and Marabell. How weak and pathetic does that make the top of the Indians farm system look if we only add 1-2 prospects and don't worry about any of the rest being lost in the Rule 5 draft.
So it is likely that the 40-man roster could stand at 38 after adding Bradley and Marabell.
Don't get me wrong. Civale and McKenzie could also help the ML roster next year as might Nick Sandlin. This would be in addition to Bradley and Marabell. So it's not like we have nobody to provide ML depth, just probably not enough from our prospect ranks.
Pretty bleak, right? Well, lots to love about our 40-man roster as we should have enough horses to win the AL Central again. But no contending team has 1/4 of their 40 man roster be dead weight. It just doesn't happen. So it makes you wonder why we made the Luplow/Moroff and Wu trades. It really just makes our 40 man look that much more pathetic.
What in the blazes are the Indians doing here?
Chih-Wei Hu? Really?
Really? What does this guy bring to the table?
So the Rays get to dump a guy they don't really like in order to clear a roster spot they need to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft.
I get that.
Hu is expendable, we have roster spots and not a lot of guys to protect this year from the Rule 5.
But to trade him for a prospect? Really? Hu played in parts of 4 different seasons at AAA (admittedly one was for only one game). Does that sound like a 4A player to you? It surely does to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Turner wasn't that great of a prospect coming into the draft but his first year numbers were interesting. He was young for his draft class, just turning 18 in August. He played 2b, SS and CF his first year and his OPS was .744. Basically, he was a lottery ticket but the initial returns said he was an interesting lottery ticket.
So, in two trades this winter we have stripped three interesting prospects out of our farm system for guys who don't look very interesting to me and guys who we could duplicate in free agency for their major league minimum.
This trade was the second in a row that was non-sensical.
You are a freakin' small market team. Luplow, Moroff and Hu are not the kind of guys you build on.
Any day of the week I would rather have Mendoza, Thomas and Turner (and Gonzalez).
We keep ripping interesting prospects out of the bottom of our farm system and we get nothing of current or future value back.
What the heck is going on?
Tampa had their backs against the wall and we did them a favor by taking 4A player Hu off their hands so they could clear a roster spot and then handed them a legitimate prospect in Turner. That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me.
So the Rays get to dump a guy they don't really like in order to clear a roster spot they need to protect prospects from the Rule 5 draft.
I get that.
Hu is expendable, we have roster spots and not a lot of guys to protect this year from the Rule 5.
But to trade him for a prospect? Really? Hu played in parts of 4 different seasons at AAA (admittedly one was for only one game). Does that sound like a 4A player to you? It surely does to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Turner wasn't that great of a prospect coming into the draft but his first year numbers were interesting. He was young for his draft class, just turning 18 in August. He played 2b, SS and CF his first year and his OPS was .744. Basically, he was a lottery ticket but the initial returns said he was an interesting lottery ticket.
So, in two trades this winter we have stripped three interesting prospects out of our farm system for guys who don't look very interesting to me and guys who we could duplicate in free agency for their major league minimum.
This trade was the second in a row that was non-sensical.
You are a freakin' small market team. Luplow, Moroff and Hu are not the kind of guys you build on.
Any day of the week I would rather have Mendoza, Thomas and Turner (and Gonzalez).
We keep ripping interesting prospects out of the bottom of our farm system and we get nothing of current or future value back.
What the heck is going on?
Tampa had their backs against the wall and we did them a favor by taking 4A player Hu off their hands so they could clear a roster spot and then handed them a legitimate prospect in Turner. That doesn't seem like a fair trade to me.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
The light of a new day
As the sun comes up on a new day, guess what?
The Gonzalez trade still sucks.
Somebody PLEASE explain this one to me.
This is the kind of trade the Indians used to make in the 70s and 80s.
Plus we gave up Thomas and Mendoza which doesn't make sense considering what we traded and what we got back.
SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Gonzalez trade still sucks.
Somebody PLEASE explain this one to me.
This is the kind of trade the Indians used to make in the 70s and 80s.
Plus we gave up Thomas and Mendoza which doesn't make sense considering what we traded and what we got back.
SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
You can smell the stank of this trade all the way through the internet
OK, the Indians have started the off-season with a thud. They managed to sign Chernoff to a contract extension and he rewarded them by making a stinker of a first trade this winter.
Normally in trades you are trying to do one or more of a number of things:
1. Trade your excess for another team's excess in areas your team is weak. This is the best kind of trade as it usually a win-win, benefitting both teams' major league roster. The key is that you get back in the trade about what you gave up.
2. Trade prospects to get a current major leaguer
3. Trade veterans for prospects
4. Do a salary dump
5. Take on salary in a salary dump to fill a need on your roster.
6. Clear space on your 40-man roster
The Indians traded Erik Gonzalez, Tanaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates for Jordan Luplow and Max Moroff.
This trade does not fit into any of the above categories
Moroff is a utility infielder who is clearly inferior to Gonzalez.
Luplow is a right-handed hitting outfielder who bounced last year between AAA and the majors.
BOTH ARE PLAYERS WHOSE CAREER MAJOR LEAGUE AVERAGES ARE BELOW THE MENDOZA LINE.
Gonazlez, on the other hand, has performed at reasonable offensive and defensive levels to be a solid utility infielder for a number of years with the potential to be an everyday player in Pittsburgh. How he will do when asked to play every day is up in the air but my guess is he will be a well-above-average defender and his bat will blossom now that he will be getting regular playing time. Plus he isn't even arbitration eligible so wouldn't have cost us much money next year.
Thomas and Mendoza are lottery tickets but they represent the kind of players acquired in trades where the other team is doing a salary dump. That is, something that may net a big return in the future for the team dumping salary.
Plus, this trade actually ADDS dead weight to the 40 man roster instead of removing it.
So, to summarize:
A. Unless Luplow and Moroff have sudden turnarounds in performance they will be no help next year to the major league roster and will just take up roster space. They will both be in their 3rd year in the majors so it is not like they are about to explode on the scene.
B. We wasted a trade chip in Gonzalez and got nothing back that was useful.
C. As if A. and B. were not bad enough, the Indians also threw in two lower level prospects, i.e., something for the future to salvage the trade if Gonzalez doesn't out. Gonzalez should have netted us Luplow and Moroff WITHOUT throwing in Thomas and Mendoza. It is even reasonable, looking at the major league performance of each of these three players, CLEVELAND should have gotten one or two prospects like Mendoza back instead of throwing him int.
Let me be clear. This was a PATHETIC trade on paper. Maybe the Indians know something about Luplow and Moroff that I don't know (and obviously that the mediocre Pirates don't know). But, unless Luplow and Moroff far exceed their current level of ML production, this trade does nothing to help the Indians in the present or the future. Time will tell but this trade appears to be nonsensical and made without any plan in place for the short term or long term future of the club.
Normally in trades you are trying to do one or more of a number of things:
1. Trade your excess for another team's excess in areas your team is weak. This is the best kind of trade as it usually a win-win, benefitting both teams' major league roster. The key is that you get back in the trade about what you gave up.
2. Trade prospects to get a current major leaguer
3. Trade veterans for prospects
4. Do a salary dump
5. Take on salary in a salary dump to fill a need on your roster.
6. Clear space on your 40-man roster
The Indians traded Erik Gonzalez, Tanaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza to the Pirates for Jordan Luplow and Max Moroff.
This trade does not fit into any of the above categories
Moroff is a utility infielder who is clearly inferior to Gonzalez.
Luplow is a right-handed hitting outfielder who bounced last year between AAA and the majors.
BOTH ARE PLAYERS WHOSE CAREER MAJOR LEAGUE AVERAGES ARE BELOW THE MENDOZA LINE.
Gonazlez, on the other hand, has performed at reasonable offensive and defensive levels to be a solid utility infielder for a number of years with the potential to be an everyday player in Pittsburgh. How he will do when asked to play every day is up in the air but my guess is he will be a well-above-average defender and his bat will blossom now that he will be getting regular playing time. Plus he isn't even arbitration eligible so wouldn't have cost us much money next year.
Thomas and Mendoza are lottery tickets but they represent the kind of players acquired in trades where the other team is doing a salary dump. That is, something that may net a big return in the future for the team dumping salary.
Plus, this trade actually ADDS dead weight to the 40 man roster instead of removing it.
So, to summarize:
A. Unless Luplow and Moroff have sudden turnarounds in performance they will be no help next year to the major league roster and will just take up roster space. They will both be in their 3rd year in the majors so it is not like they are about to explode on the scene.
B. We wasted a trade chip in Gonzalez and got nothing back that was useful.
C. As if A. and B. were not bad enough, the Indians also threw in two lower level prospects, i.e., something for the future to salvage the trade if Gonzalez doesn't out. Gonzalez should have netted us Luplow and Moroff WITHOUT throwing in Thomas and Mendoza. It is even reasonable, looking at the major league performance of each of these three players, CLEVELAND should have gotten one or two prospects like Mendoza back instead of throwing him int.
Let me be clear. This was a PATHETIC trade on paper. Maybe the Indians know something about Luplow and Moroff that I don't know (and obviously that the mediocre Pirates don't know). But, unless Luplow and Moroff far exceed their current level of ML production, this trade does nothing to help the Indians in the present or the future. Time will tell but this trade appears to be nonsensical and made without any plan in place for the short term or long term future of the club.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Qualifying Offer Decisions
This past week resulting in an epic moment for the Cleveland Indians. They had a chance to offer qualifying offers to three former all-stars and chose not to.
This year the qualifying offer rate was a stiff one, $17.9 million for a single year.
Put into perspective for the three Indians who might have been worth a qualifying offer: Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Michael Brantley, had the Indians offered and these three players accepted those offers, the Indians' payroll would have already ballooned by over $21 million before all the raises and salary arbitration results.
Unfortunately, by not making a qualifying offer to any of these players, this small market team now gets nothing for these guys. This is the difference between the Blue Jays who got a lottery ticket (Julian Merryweather) for a month of Josh Donaldson and could do it because they were out of the playoff race and the Indians, who needed all hands on deck. If the Indians had been in the Central Division basement I am pretty sure all three of these guys would have been traded before September 1st. However, we needed all hands on deck so we couldn't trade them and will get absolutely nothing for them.
Look, the Indians farm system is still in the mediocre-to-poor range, likely ranking about 25th in the upcoming organizational rankings. We traded a lot of prospects and dumped a lot of suspects, one of whom became an all-star, in trying to go for it the last two years. And it wasn't like our farm system was that strong before the beginning of the 2017 system.
So, while I totally understand why they wouldn't make qualifying offers to these guys, the fact that they didn't means that it will likely take the Indians even longer to be competitive again once the current window closes in a couple of years. You would have to project huge trade returns for our best players at the end of their contracts as we start to rebuild. It might happen but, frankly, we could be looking at a 10 year rebuild starting in 2022.
It was the right choice for the short term but someone needs to start thinking long term here. I would like my kids to have a contending team to root for and not be subjected to the teams I had to root for in the 70s and 80s.
So, front office, what are you going to do to bring in talent that will be major league ready in 2020 and 2021? And not just bit player talent like Greg Allen. Real impact talent you a young Michael Brantley and a young Jason Kipnis. That is the real and only significant question I see going into 2019.
This year the qualifying offer rate was a stiff one, $17.9 million for a single year.
Put into perspective for the three Indians who might have been worth a qualifying offer: Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Michael Brantley, had the Indians offered and these three players accepted those offers, the Indians' payroll would have already ballooned by over $21 million before all the raises and salary arbitration results.
Unfortunately, by not making a qualifying offer to any of these players, this small market team now gets nothing for these guys. This is the difference between the Blue Jays who got a lottery ticket (Julian Merryweather) for a month of Josh Donaldson and could do it because they were out of the playoff race and the Indians, who needed all hands on deck. If the Indians had been in the Central Division basement I am pretty sure all three of these guys would have been traded before September 1st. However, we needed all hands on deck so we couldn't trade them and will get absolutely nothing for them.
Look, the Indians farm system is still in the mediocre-to-poor range, likely ranking about 25th in the upcoming organizational rankings. We traded a lot of prospects and dumped a lot of suspects, one of whom became an all-star, in trying to go for it the last two years. And it wasn't like our farm system was that strong before the beginning of the 2017 system.
So, while I totally understand why they wouldn't make qualifying offers to these guys, the fact that they didn't means that it will likely take the Indians even longer to be competitive again once the current window closes in a couple of years. You would have to project huge trade returns for our best players at the end of their contracts as we start to rebuild. It might happen but, frankly, we could be looking at a 10 year rebuild starting in 2022.
It was the right choice for the short term but someone needs to start thinking long term here. I would like my kids to have a contending team to root for and not be subjected to the teams I had to root for in the 70s and 80s.
So, front office, what are you going to do to bring in talent that will be major league ready in 2020 and 2021? And not just bit player talent like Greg Allen. Real impact talent you a young Michael Brantley and a young Jason Kipnis. That is the real and only significant question I see going into 2019.
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