26-man roster analysis and how this could have been so much better.

 Let's talk about this roster and how we got to where we are today.  Overall, the roster contains 25 of 26 players that I would have expected/liked at the beginning of spring training.   That's right.   If you look at this roster it is not much different than I would have liked or expected to see.   Here's my thoughts:

Starting pitching: These are the 5 guys I wanted.   I like Quantrill in the bullpen.   I like Mckenzie as the #5, keeping him out of harm's way as much as possible.  Allen coming on strong this spring is a good sign that he has turned the corner in his development and is going to be a positive force in the #4 spot or the #3 spot if Civale falters.  

Bullpen:  Again, looking at the guys we had in spring training, this was the best possible outcome.  Stephan earning a spot is a real plus long-term.   If he sticks and continues to progress he will be an inexpensive option for years to come, much like Maton has become (we hope).  And it looks like Gose is staying with the organization.  The  only real loss was Plutko and if that is the extent of the major leaguers we lose then I guess I can live with that, although it would have been nice to get something for him or package him in a deal with Ahmed Rosario (more on this later).

Catcher: I love Roberto Perez.  I hate Austin Hedges.  Today Hedges dropped a ball on an attempted steal and let a ball get by him that he didn't drop to smother.   He finally picked up a curveball off a bounce but it was like an ole' play.   He went 0-2 and struck out, again.   How he is still on this club I don't know.  If we could dump him now and only owe him 45 days salary that would be great.  So, I would rather have another backup catcher but, again, minor point if Hedges hardly ever plays.  

Infield: This is almost what I would have liked, going into spring training.  I love Gimenez.   Ramirez and Hendandez look good.  Then we come to first base.   In a normal year, surrounded by 8 good hitters, I could see give Bauers the first shot at 1B.   But this team needs hitting and he doesn't provide any.  And his defense is not THAT much better than Bradley's.   It was Bobby Bradley time and it will hurt the team to have Bauers on it compared to having Bradley on it so I don't like this.  I love Yu Chang as the backup.   He needs to play in the majors and Mike Freeman (who was just sent to the Reds minor league camp) was just the grizzled veteran.   I always like a guy like Chang who has decent upside on the team instead of the grizzled veteran.  Plus he will likely add more offense than Freeman.  It may take time but Chang is a good choice.   

DH - Very happy with Reyes.   I would like to see more rapid improvement but his floor is good enough to me even if he only flashes his ceiling once in a while.   If he approaches more consistency towards the top of his ceiling, this will make the Trevor Bauer trade look better.  Chang or Ahmed Rosario look good here as backup DHs, too.

Outfield - Eddie Rosario in left is solid.   If they use Naylor/Luplow in RF and Luplow shakes the rust off I think everyone will be surprised at how good our RF looks against league average.   Centerfield if the whole.   Gamel will cost us games both offensively and on defense in CF.   Ahmed Rosario, if was just passable in CF, would be a much better choice.   But he isn't.   I don't know that Zimmer would have been better offensively than Gamel but, honestly, I feel that, offensively and defensively, Zimmer was the better choice.

Biggest off=season roster screwup:  Not trading Ahmed Rosario before ST started. One last point:  When the Indians traded Lindor and Carrasco they should have gotten more.   But they didn't.   Looking at our roster we should have gambled on Gimenez at SS with Chang or a minor league signing as the backup plan.   We should have traded Rosario to get a CFer.  I obviously wanted Nick Senzel from the Reds.   The Reds will go with a rookie at 2B in Jonathon India and a below average fielder in Eugenio Suarez and push Moustakas to 3B.   A trade between the Reds and Indians sending Senzel to the Indians and Rosario, Zimmer, Plutko and one our lower level SS prospects like Angel Martinez would have given us a CFer.   We should have gambled because now Rosario, in the OF and the IF, is just a 5th wheel.   He is not needed and is a pretty expensive utility guy and we are not maximizing his value to this club.   That value is as a trade chip.    Big mistake by the Indians and it will hurt our offense, defense and, likely, locker room chemistry this year as Rosario can't be happy with his butt on the bench.   We need to fix this now before it gets to be a problem.

More front office BS

 Antonetti with the BS today:

“The entirety of the decision wasn’t just based on Jake’s option status,” said Antonetti. “We do believe that Jake has always been a very young player at every level. His exposure to date to the major leagues, he’s still been very young. There’s been some indicators we think gives him a chance to be successful. We’re hoping he’s going to take advantage of the opportunity that’s in front of him and allow this to be the start of the productive major league career for him.”

Let's look at this:

Bauers vs Bradley level and age:

Birthdate: Bauers (10-6-95),   Bradley (5-29-96).   Bradley is 8 months, 24 days younger

1st year: Rookie league (Bauers 17 years 9 months, Bradley 18 years 1 month)

2nd year: Low A (Bauers 18, Bradley 18/19); Bradley played 2 games in High A

3rd year: High A/AA (Bauers, 19), High A (Bradley, 19/20)

4th year:  AA (Bauers, 20, Bradley 20/21)

5th year: AAA (Bauers, 21), AA/AAA (Bradley 21/22)

6th year: AAA/ML (Bauers, 22; Bradley 22/23)

7th year: AAA/ML (Bauers 23)

So Bauers started his professional career at 17 years, 9 months old and Bradley started just after his 18th birthday.  But almost every year after that they played at the same age at the same level.   It's just that Bradley moved up one year a couple of months after the season started and Bauers season ended just before his birthday.   Still, they were at the same level at the same age at least part of each year.

Antonetti is correct, technically, but bottom line is the development path of these two players is about the same.  

The only true differences between these players is that Bradley has power and appears to be on an upward development path and has had 650 less ML ABs than Bauers...and, of course, Bauers was traded for Yandy Diaz and Bauers has no options left meaning the book on that trade would finally be closed and look really bad for the Indians.  Plus Bauers appears to be getting worse over time and has done nothing this spring in comparable situations to Bradley.

The Indians need hitting and Bauers doesn't provide that.  He has had over 800 ML plate appearances and knew he was in competition for a spot on the roster this year. and he choked, hitting less than .200 this spring and playing questionable defense (he botched another popup today).   He did stick his foot in front of a pitch today to go along with a strikeout with runners on first and third and no outs in the 5th and that defensive gaffe.

I am just tired of the spin, the BS and all the other crap that is going on with respect to this Bauers/Bradley thing.   The latest, that Bauers was young for each level, is pretty much turned to crap by the above fact-checking. and comparison to Bradley.

So what's next?  Bauers development was stunted when he was abducted by aliens?

Plutko trade and the roster

 Some clarity was gained in the roster today by the Indians trading Adam Plutko to the Orioles.   The Indians will receive cash or a player to be named later.   Normally these things end up being a cash transaction or a weak minor leaguer with no chance of making the majors.   

To use Francona's words, giving Plutko away is an irreversible situation.   That is, we lose Plutko and get little or nothing in return.   I know, Tito, its really bad when your words come back to bite you.   You kept Bauers because keeping Bradley meant that Bauers would have had to been put on waivers and he COULD have been lost for very little in cash.   The rationale was that Bradley had an option left and so we sent him to the minors.   

So, if we had kept Plutko and optioned Quantrill to the minors that would have been a reversible situation, right Tito?

Once again the Indians actions are incongruous with their words.   Bauers over Bradley so you don't given Bauers away for nothing.   Then you give Plutko away for, essentially, nothing when you could have just sent out Quantrill and let him get innings in Columbus.  

Plutko has given a lot more to the Indians and has more value, in my opinion, than Bauers does.

While losing Plutko is not the end of the world or even a major transaction, that's not the point.   For an organization based on integrity and straight talk, all we are getting this year is double talk and head-scratching decisions.   

Gamel, with very little CF experience (see today for an example of how he is not a CFer) over Zimmer

Bauers over Bradley

Giving Plutko away for nothing?

None of this makes us more competitive short- or long-term.  The good news is that only the Plutko move is irreversible.   Isn't that right, Tito?

Going into this season the team is weaker than it should be.   We will not win as many games as if Zimmer, Plutko and Bradley were on the team from the get go.   We will not be more competitive long term.

But, we will be able to delay the egg on our face from the Yandy Diaz trade.   We will be able to make the Clevinger trade haul look better.  Basically, our front office won't look as stupid.    Our front office and manager have made us a winning team for years and years.   But now there are some cracks in the dam and they are starting to do stupid things.  This, and a cheap owner, is how you end up losing with a team with its current talent level.   

Bottom line is that this team is good enough to finish 2-8 games over .500 this year.   We will see if they overperform or underperform that number.

Thoughts from Saturday's game

 It was nice to get my work done in the morning so I could enjoy the game on TV today.   

• Beiber looked better, albeit against Dodger reserves as the stars were on their way back to LA.   I have more confidence in him.
• Austin Hedges is one of the worst catchers in baseball.   I counted at least 10 borderline pitches that he tried to frame for Bieber.   Bieber got 2 strike calls and some of the pitches looked like definite strikes.  Lavarnway did a much better job framing pitches when he came in.    Hedges K'd twice including ducking out of the way of a curveball that ended up over the heart of the plate.   His only good thing was that he got hit on the foot by a pitch.    I know all the starters must want Perez as their catcher and he would be more helpful to the other starters but, man, Bieber can't be asked to carry Hedges on his back every start!  Hedges is bad and should be out of here.  He does nothing well.  Nothing.
• Gamel looked bad in centerfield.   He turned the wrong way on a ball over his head turning it into a double.   Naylor looked worse in RF with 2 errors in one inning and he didn't hit the ball well either, appearing to have a terrible approach and rolling over on balls he should have taken up the middle or to right field.  You have your Cy Young guy on the mound.   At least put people behind him who can catch and throw the ball appropriately.
• Trevor Stephan looked really good again, mixing his fastball with a good cureball/slider off the plate at the knees which he complemented with some sort of backdoor slider.
• Emmanuel Clase looked good today, mixing in a lot of sliders.
• Nick Sandlin looked good, as well.   His stuff can be nasty.
• Owen Miller, man, what can you say?  The guy is a hitting machine.   Given what they have in the minors at middle infield if they do not start working Miller exclusively in the OF tomorrow,, someone in this organization should be fired.   I mean, really: Amed Rosario, Josh Naylor and Ben Gamel as our outfielders?   Miller should get a couple of months of OF work in Columbus and then be recalled.
• Tyler Freeman and Yu Chang looked good, too.  
• Jake Bauers....didn't make an error and had a broken bat hit.   That, my friends, will be a good Jake Bauers day this year!
• Trevor Bauer...always fun to watch, especially his matchup with Jose Ramriez.
• I can't believe Cesar Hernandez made it back to the Indians.   He has looked good...and this is not spring training good.   I can tell the difference.  He is looking all-star good.
• Andres Gimenez should still hit second with Hernandez leading off.   
• Rosario down to the #4 spot.   I would still flip flop him and Reyes but Rosario hitting 4th is light years better than him hitting second.   But his swing still looks loopy to me as he is badly rolling over on a lot of pitches.  
• Bryan Shaw did not choke away his one batter and that is a good thing, I don't care who he is facing.  This looks like a good pickup, better than a guy like Cimber who you knew it was only a matter of time until the league caught up with him.   Shaw, on the other hand, looks like he might have the juice to be an effective reliever for us the entire season.  Fingers crossed, maybe even a difference making reliever. 

Comments on the roster and the BS meter is going off

 OK, so roster decisions have been made.   Let's go over them and discuss the impact on the upcoming season:

Jake Bauers over Bobby Bradley - Bauers was selected and Bradley was sent out:

Here's why it made sense:  Bauers is out of options and would have to be put through waivers where he might be lost.   The key is, do you think that his loss would have been significant?

Here's why it doesn't make sense:  Bradley outhit Bauers in every category but walks and that is the single category, in my opinion, that means little in spring training.   You can never take the bat off your shoulder in spring training and still get walks.   The same will not be true in the regular season.   Hitting is easier in ST. Not that everyone hits (see Eddie Rosario).   But it is easy to allow for bad hitting in ST if you have a history of it and then hit in the regular season.   Bauers doesn't have either.   Another comment about Bauers is that he is a better defensive firstbaseman.   In the games I saw this spring this was not the case.  So, in no way, did Bauers win this competition on the field.

Summary:  The Indians need hitting.   They need long-term solutions for the rebuild.  As long as a player isn't a liability defensively he should make the team if he is a better hitter.   The only reason that Bauers made the team is that he is out of options and we might lose him for essentially nothing if we put him through waivers.  He was also acquired in a bad trade that sent right-handed hitting Yandy Diaz to Tampa if you think (wink!) that had anything to do with the decision.  Oh, BTW, Bauers 'celebrated' making the team today by going 0-3 with a strikeout and making two errors.   It is tough when the BS comes back to bite you in the butt so soon!

Oliver Perez over Kyle Nelson - Perez was kept and Nelson was sent out:

This one makes perfect sense.   Perez looked just like Perez during the spring and Nelson needs more work at AAA.  The only possible pain in this one was Anthony Gose.   If he stays in the organizationa nd doesn't exercise his opt-out this is a win-win.   If he does exercise his opt-out because we kept Perez over Gose then that is a little painful.   Still, given that Nelson is in the minors, it was the right decision.

Ben Gamel and Ahmed Rosario were kept and Bradley Zimmer and Daniel Johnson were sent out:

Here's why it made sense: We have a big investment in Rosario (Lindor/Carrasco trade) and the guy can hit better than any of our other centerfielders so that makes sense.  

Here's why it doesn't make sense: Remember, we can't hit.   If guys can hit we keep them if they aren't defensive liabilities.  Keeping Rosario on the hopes he becomes passable in CF makes sense as he should also be the primary backup if Gimenez tanks at SS and he can hit.   Keeping Gamel makes no sense.   He has hit under .250 with limited power and no speed over the past two years and he didn't hit this spring.  He brings nothing to the table.   Tito implied that Zimmer doesn't look like a good CFer right now as isn't a good hitter.  If I read between the lines (just my opinion) he took Gamel because Gamel is more of a team player than Zimmer is and didn't whine at all about how he was used, or not used, in spring training.  Gamel is not really a CFer at all and, to me, Zimmer looked fine in the OF this spring.

Summary: They kept an inferior hitter in CF in Gamel who isn't more than passable at CF defense.  It wasn't based on defense, it wasn't based on offense, what was it based on?   We are trying to win now.   We are trying to build for the future.   What does journeymen, 28-year old outfielder who has played 38 games in the majors in CF in his career have over a lifetime Cleveland Indian who has played CF his entire career do for either?   The choice should have been Zimmer and Rosario.   It shouldn't have even been close as there is no way Gamel showed up THAT much better than Zimmer and Zimmer has more upside, in my opinion.

Chang kept as the utility infielder, Gimenez kept as starting SS.  No one was sent out:

This was a no-brainer.   There weren't any other options.   Unless Ahmed Rosario gets sent out or lost on waivers, it is time that we see what Chang can do.   Maybe he can get reps at 1B against lefties.  Chang celebrated making the team by going 1-1 today.

Austin Hedges as the backup catcher

I have already covered this in a previous post but Hedges is a terrible ML catcher.   His defense is over-rated and he is the most pathetic hitter I have seen in a ML uniform, ever.   And I have been an Indians fan since 1959 so that is saying a lot.  This guy is being kept around because we picked up his option and he was traded for Mike Clevinger.   If the FO tries to sell you any other reason it is total BS.   This guy should not be on this team as it is a waste of valuable salary.   

 OVERALL SUMMARY

These are not mostly not winning decisions.   They are not, at all, rebuild while trying to win decisions.   Most of them, except Perez, appear to be based on pre-conceived biases that were made even more ridiculous by spring training performances of the winners and losers of these decisions.   Many of these appear to be politically/save-face motivated as, otherwise, they don't make any sense.   It appears they got caught with their pants down on the players they got back in the Lindo/Carrasco trade, now not knowing what to do with Ahmed Rosario.   They did not flip him for a CFer like they should have.  They didn't give young players who deserved it a chance..   

That is NOT what you want in a rebuild.   I have heard our manager talk for a number of years now and, until now, I have believed everything he has said.   But hearing him talk this spring, it is clear he is spouting the party line as most of what he, and Antonneti have said (e.g., they didn't have time to give Daniel Johnson reps in CF but they are giving those to A. Rosario???) make no sense.   Their comments about Quantrill, about making sure Bradley showed maturity when he got screwed are just mind-boggling. That is why I know what Tito is saying is BS with some other agenda or agendas being played out by his bosses who he feels compelled to support.

Folks, the BS meter is going off continually at this point.  We have another test of that meter in a few days.   Right now our 40-man roster is full.   We have three non-roster invitees (Shaw, Perez and Gamel) who are going to make the roster.   The only 'fluff' we have on the roster is Beau Taylor and Harold Ramirez.   So we know we will need one of two things: (a) another guy, this time a prospect, comes off the 40-man  or (b) someone (maybe Cam Hill or Luplow) will have to go on the DL.  If it is (a), that BS about "reversible and irreversible" that Tito is spouting is shown up for what it is.

Austin Hedges

 Look, the closest I ever got to a major league field is camera day at the Jake.  I also know that these guys are just trying to make a living playing this game.  If they don't play it is taking food out of their family's mouth.  I don't know if I am even qualified to have the opinion I am about to express.  But here goes.

Austin Hedges, to me, appears to be one of the worst major league players I have ever seen.  Now I only saw him a little last year and this IS spring training.  But, still.

• Most guys can hit in spring training, at least.   Hedges can't even do that.   I mean, he is pathetic at the plate, even when he is just trying to make contact.   Most pitchers are probably better hitters than him.   The fact that he is an automatic out should make it questionable whether he should even be a backup in the majors.  Even if he was the best defensive catcher in the world.  Which brings me to the rest of this post.
• Hedges is said to be an excellent defensive catcher.  Well, I just don't see it.
• From my perspective his pitch framing is terrible.   I haven't seen him get one borderline call for his pitchers since he has been with the Indians.
• The last two games I have seen him give up runs with a throwing error and not get a ball out of his glove to even make a throw, not once but twice.
• His pitch blocking looks decent but not above average.
• Finally, and this could just be my impression, the last two times I have seen him he caught Bieber and Plesac.  Both of these guys got bombed when he was catching.  Now, is it his fault that they got bombed?  I know that would be a stretch but they did get bombed.  Now, Hedges did catch Plesac in his last start against the Cubs and Plesac had his best outing of the spring so there is that.   So maybe there is nothing there.

Still, we are paying Hedges the second highest salary on this team, over $3 million a year. Do we really think, given his performance, that he is worth that?   

I don't know if they do but if the Indians have until the end of spring training to release Hedges and only owe him 45 days salary I would think they have to think about doing that.   

Thoughts for a Sunday evening: Roster updates and the lineup

 

Thoughts after today's game:

(1) Ahmed Rosario needs to be traded.   Otherwise I see a full-time starter becoming disgruntled when he is sitting on the bench half or more of the time.   This is a waste of his talent but, right now, he is not a good fit in CF, so I am not sure how else to handle this than to trade him to get Senzel.  

(2) When you look at the pitching results from today consider that what Texas threw out there was not even a good B game lineup.  Watching Bieber this time compared to his last start when he got rocked the only differences were that Ahmed Rosario wasn't out there giving the other team extra outs AND the hitters were actually swinging at a lot more balls out of the zone today compared to his last start when he was actually facing real ML hitters.   But Bieber still wasn't crisp today against this AA/AAA lineup as it took him 80 pitches to get through 4 innings. I am telling you, this guy is not right.   There is something wrong because today it was all about competing and frankly, against this lineup, he didn't dominate as he should have as guys were fouling off too many pitches and he was going way too deep in counts against this lineup.  

(3) Along those same lines the Indians pitchers struck out 18 guys today.   But, given the weakness of the guys Texas had on the field, you really can't make much out of today's pitcing performance which is part of the reason Parker should be sent down.   Gose, at least, looked like he had his slider working at a level that was intriguing but the rest of our relievers were just dominating weaker hitters, something they would not see in a ML regular season game.  

LINEUP

When Perez is catching:

vs a RHP: Hernandez (2B), Gimenez (SS), Jose Ramirez (3B), Franmil Reyes (DH), Eddie Rosario (LF), Perez (C), Bradley (1B), Naylor (RF), Zimmer (CF)

vs a LHP: Hernandez (2B), Gimenez (SS), Jose Ramirez (3B), Franmil Reyes (DH), Eddie Rosario (LF), Luplow (RF), Bradley (1B), Perez (C), Ahmed Rosario (CF)

When Hedges is catching:

vs a RHP: Hernandez (2B), Gimenez (SS), Jose Ramirez (3B), Franmil Reyes (DH), Eddie Rosario (LF), Bradley (1B), Naylor (RF), Zimmer (CF), Hedges (C)

vs a LHP: Hernandez (2B), Gimenez (SS), Jose Ramirez (3B), Franmil Reyes (DH), Eddie Rosario (LF), Luplow (RF), Bradley (1B), Ahmed Rosario (CF), Hedges (C)

Obviously lineups have to change when Chang or Gamel is in unless we want one of them to hit second.   

Rationale: I have seen Eddie Rosario hit second now for several games and he is not a #2 hitter.   He needs to hit 5th to allow him to focus on his power AND to give Reyes and Rarmirez protection with Perez or Bradley or Luplow (against LHP) hitting behind him to protect him.   Getting Eddie additional ABs by getting him closer to the top of the lineup is great IF it doesn't screw up the flow of the lineup, which it has consistently done so far.   Plus, I am not sold on Eddie R. as a good hitter yet.  His swing is loopy and he is having some weird contact pounding balls into the ground like he is being somewhat overmatched by pitchers.   So, actually, 5th is better for him if he IS having trouble hitting.  Tito is a great manager but having Eddie R. hit second is just plain stupid and even if it isn't stupid based on analytics, it simply does not work.  Plus, hitting Gimenez 2nd actually should take pressure off him as he can focus on hitting to the right side, taking some pitches both to let Hernandez run and to get on base for Ramirez,  hit-and-run and, in case he hits the ball on the ground, using his speed to avoid a double play.  The only advantage to hitting Gimenez 8th is if you substitute Ahmed Rosario for Gimenez and that gives your lineup L/R balance at the end if Zimmer hits 9th and plays CF

Bullpen - We are starting to get a little more clarity but, with the clarity, comes questions.   We found out that Trevor Stephan has made the team.   While I always like rookies making the team it seems like when he struck out Anderson, Robert and Abreu in a row that is what put him over the top.   What if those guys were just punking him to make him look better than he is?   The Indians keep him on the roster pushing a proven reliever out the door on an opt-out clause and then Stephan is gone after a month?

But he is on the roster as a reliever.   We will have 8 or 9 relievers, so what does that leave us?

Wittgren, Karinchak and Clase are locks for the bullpen along with Stephan.

Perez, Shaw, Plutko and Maton are the veterans who appear to be locks.  

That gives us 8 relievers right there and that looks good to me. If we want a 9th reliever AND we can't get Gose to stay in the organization then I think we have to keep him.  He is the wildcard.  I would rather have to DFA him into the season than let him walk right now.

I will let Parker walk if he doesn't want to go to the Depth camp.

I am OK with Nelson and Sandlin going to the Depth camp to get more experience, along with Cam Hill who will be rehabbing.   If Parker stays in the system that gives us probably the strongest set of relievers at AAA that I can remember, and that doesn't even count the guys we had in camp who we already sent to the minors.

Rotation -  We covered this yesterday but my four starters right now are Beiber, Plesac, Civale and Logan Allen.   McKenzie and Quantrill go to the Depth camp to start the season.   If something goes really wrong and you need an emergency starter, that's Plutko.  Early in the season we only need 4 starters and when we need 5, we bring back McKenzie first with Quantrill getting more time as a starter at the Depth camp/Columbus (AAA).  Not ideal for Quantrill but we really don't have room for him in the pen right now and don't need him as a starter.

So either we package Quantrill with Ahmed Rosario to get Senzel to play CF or we keep Quantrill in the minors to wort out his issues.

Donny Downer post: Indians about to make several philosophical mistakes

The Indians are about to make several roster decisions.   My fear is that all of these roster decisions will be philosophically wrong.   Let's examine where we are and those roster decisions.

CURRENT STATE OF THE CLEVELAND INDIANS

Starting pitching: Bieber has not looked right since the end of the regular season last year.   The Indians are doing their best to hide it but he is just not right.   You all know it is my opinion that this stemmed from the game where he threw about a million pitches in a game we were winning 1000-0.   On top of that  Civale is looking shaky and McKenzie looks more like the guy I expected last season, someone with talent who needs more minor league seasoning.  Plus Quantrill is pitching like a wannabe starter who is really best as a reliever.   Take away Plesac's last outing and he looks the same as the other guys.   Basically, the starting rotation that we are building EVERYTHING else around (see below) is shaky.

Position players:  Really no different and maybe a little weaker than last year.

Bullpen: We will give them a pass and say they are the same as last year.

DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR 2021  

The Indians are trying to compete this year.   The ability to compete has one major assumption: The starting pitching is dominant and the rest of the team only has to be supportive of the starting pitching.   That means the bullpen has be to solid without question marks and the team has to be able to catch the ball and hit a little better than last year.   That being said there is an elephant in the room: We traded away good players over the past few years and we have to show a return on those trades.  

So, with that backdrop, let's take a look at these upcoming decisions:

Bauers vs Bradley:  This is simple.  Bauers can catch the ball better than Bradley and Bauers is out of options.   Bradley, on the other hand, has a hugely greater upside and has had a much more dominating spring.  If the Indians keep Bauers it is only to support the starting pitching AND to avoid having the Indians have to DFA him, as I said many times previously, having egg on their face for the Yandy Diaz trade. If they keep Bradley it is because he is the future and they are giving up a little defense to support having more hitting this year and the in the future.  

Bradley Zimmer vs Oscar Mercado vs Ahmed Rosario:   Look, Mercado can't hit, Rosario can't play defense.   \Zimmer has won this competition, hands down, this spring.  The only reason to put Rosario in CF is for offense.   But if we do that our support for the starting pitching is not the most importatnt thing as Rosario will cost those pitchers a lot of runs this year with his inexperience in CF.   But Rosario was a key trade chip in the Lindor/Carrasco deal.   Just like with Bauers we have to consider that they want to avoid egg on their face by not having a place for Rosario, meaning that he becomes a throw-in in the biggest Indians' trade in years. 

Hedges vs Beau Taylor: I have to admit, I was drinking the Hedges koolaid all winter.   I remember what life was like with Perez.   Still, I have watched Hedges multiple times last year and this spring.  There is clearly no way ANY major league player can hit this bad.  No way.  I mean Bo Naylor would hit more than Hedges.   But Hedges is an excellent defensive catcher, meaning he is a talented backup when Perez doesn't play.   But you can't have a hole in a ML lineup like this guy is.   If the Indians keep Hedges they are supporting the defense at the expense of the offence.  It doesn't matter if it is Taylor on someone else.   They will be inferior to Hedges defensively.   But they will make a lot less and hit a lot more.  The Indians need to release Hedges to save most of his salary and go with Taylor as the backup.  

Bullpen: This one is easier.  Oliver Perez and Bryan Shaw have track records..  I was surprised that Hembree was re-assigned so early as he has a track record, too.  Their competition consists of Nelson, Stephan, Gose and Sandlin, all untested rookies, and guys who are locks to make the team in Karinchak, Maton, Wittgren and Clase.   Plus, we have to include Plutko and, most likely, Quantrill (see below) in that group.  Plus you also have minor league invitees like Parker.   The easy choice is to support the starting pitching with experienced bullpen guys.   With the inexperience of Clase and Karinchak, you would go with Plutko, Perez, Shaw, Quantrill, Wittgren and Maton.  This supports the starting pitchers in a way I can understand.  But, still, the rookies just go to the alternate site where they really don't get experience or even get better.   That is hard to swallow for a team that we know is in some level of rebuild.

Logan Allen vs Cal Quantrill: The same theme that we have with Bauers and Bradley.   The spring training winner getting screwed because the FO had made up their minds on Quantrill before ST started.   Logan Allen should be the #4 starter, Mckenzie the #5 and Quantrill in the bullpen.  THAT is best for the team as it gives the bullpen the best chance to not have to be burned out with short starts that we are likely to get with Quantrill and, maybe, MckEnzie.   We will see what happens.

So, there you have it.   The Indians are doing whatever they can to build a team around the starting pitching even though the starting pitching is shaky and some of their decisions are questionable relative to supporting the starting pitching (Rosario in CF?).  

Next we will talk about the batting order, which should be:

Hernandez, Gimenez, Ramrez, Reyes, E. Rosario, Perez, Bradley, Centerfielder, Naylor

Anything beside that makes NO SENSE at all as Ramirez and Reyes need the protection that Eddie Rosario provides.  If Ahmed Rosario is the centerfielder this gives us a left-right alternation throughout the whole order, too.    If you want, you could switch Gimenez and Naylor.