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.
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