MOVES WE SHOULD MAKE WHEN WE COME HOME FROM THIS ROAD TRIP
We have an off day on Thursday and then start a homestand. Columbus is right down the road in Toledo starting tonight so the trip to Cleveland would be a no brainer. We have now had almost two months to evaluate our players. It is time to make some roster moves. Here are those moves.
(1) I read an article in the Plain Dealer that talked about how bringing up Owen Miller may not change much because the pitching is so good in the majors right now that stringing 3 hits together is almost impossible, so the current philosophy says that you are much more likely to have success if you just swing for the fences.
It makes sense and, as a scientist, I can wrap my head around that thought process.
But here is the thing. It's all an equation, right? Power PLUS defense has to be better than overall offense PLUS defense. That's why Franmil Reyes is DHing and we just didn't sign/trade for a DH and let Franmil roam right field.
Regarding the Indians, I have now watched Jake Bauers for a number of years. Yes, his defense is relatively elite. But he doesn't hit for power now. He has become a savvy enough hitter to keep himself at or just below the Mendoza line (which is where he was in his one good season with Tampa) but he doesn't have any power.
So, really, we are back to the same argument. Bradley strikes out. Bradley doesn't hit for average, Bradley takes an occasional walk. Bradley's power is so above Bauers that it is not worth comparing. In the philosophy espoused by (I think) Terry Pluto's article, Bradley would be the obvious choice if his defense isn't that much worse than Bauers.
I think it is time to find out. Bauers doesn't fit the current baseball model and he isn't even doing an Owen Miller thing in terms of getting on base.
MOVE 1: BRING UP BOBBY BRADLEY, DFA JAKE BAUERS.
(2) This one is a no-brainer. Yu Chang has, on this stint, solidified that he is either a AAAA player or that he needs to get something changed. His big thing is his defensive versatility, some ability to play SS and the teaser that he can be a power threat.
The power thing isn't happening. So, while Owen Miller doesn't provide this 3-true outcome result that is so popular in baseball today, he appears to be incrementally better at small ball than Chang while not costing us much on defense.
So, there is no reason NOT to bring up Miller now. He may not hit here because of his unsustainable BABIP but he is better than Chang at putting the ball in play and the equation (power + defense + OBP) doesn't favor Chang at all as Chang has shown no offense at all, in any way.
MOVE 2: BRING UP OWEN MILLER AND SEND DOWN YU CHANG
(3) Look, it is becoming more apparent that we got hosed in the Lindor/Carrasco trade. At least in the present. The shine on Andres Gimenez is starting to wear off. His defense is coming back to league average and his hitting is becoming more abysmal by the day. You don't just let a guy like this rot on the bench. If Chang was not so pathetic at the plate I would suggest bringing up Miller and sending down Gimenez. In fact, that is one logical way to go. However, I think Chang needs to go to the minors and Gimenez needs to go with him. At this point, I would be OK with bringing up Tyler Freeman. I know that is a long shot and his spray chart and my viewing of him being overmatched by good fastballs would indicate that Freeman might need more seasoning. But maybe we throw this guy out there and hope for an above-average bump in performance just because the league doesn't have a book on him. Heck, in the 2005 WS everyone in the National League knew how effective David Justice was against lefthanders like Jim Poole but we still threw Jim Poole out there thinking that it was the smart play, So maybe Freeman hits well for a month if we bury him at the bottom of the order where pitchers tend to relax, at least a little. The disclaimer is that this move is designed as a Hail Mary AND we do start Freeman's service time clock and we would have to create a roster spot for Freeman. Still, we need something.
MOVE 3: TYLER FREEMAN UP AND ANDRES GIMENEZ DOWN. DFA OSCAR MERCADO TO CLEAR A ROSTER SPOT
(4) Our #4 and 5 starters are a mess. Duh. Welcome to the major leagues where teams have such a dearth of starters that they are using 1 or 2 openers and having a bullpen day every time through the rotation. Look, the opener thing works (at least AGAINST the Indians, LOL). We need to start thinking about constructing our roster that way, at least to fill in Hentges spot in the rotation. My thought is that we make that #5 starter spot a bullpen day. We start with Maton, then Quantrill, Stephan and Sandlin. The real question is, do we send down Hentges and bring up Kyle Nelson? I think the answer is yes, although it is not an easy call. If we really think Hentges is a long-term answer in the rotation we send him out and let him start every 5th day. If we are not sure and we are focused on this year, he becomes part of (but not the opener) in a bullpen day. Right now I think we send him out and bring up Nelson. We can adjust a month or so from now if Hentges shows enough improvement to be part of a bullpen day.
MOVE 4: SEND DOWN HENTGES AND BRING UP KYLE NELSON
(5) This team has already decided to have defense-first catchers only. That makes a lot of sense when you have a Gold Glover who is also the caddy for the reigning AL Cy Young award winner and 2020 pitching triple crown winner. Keeping Hedges as the backup, as painful as his offense is to watch and how inflated his salary is, also makes some sense. What doesn't make sense is having Rene Rivera on this roster. He has been TERRIBLE defensively, including not catching pitches that are obviously catchable. His .308 average is soft and the definition of small sample siza and, frankly, he has been almost a non-factor in the runs we have scored when he catches. Literally, he is playing the position as if he is the emergency catcher, not the experienced backup. Meanwhile, Ryan Lavarnway, who did well in spring training, especially defensively in pitch framing and blocking balls, is still thumping the ball at AAA. It is just pathetic to see Hedges or Rivera pinch hit...or even have Chang pinch hit for one of them. It is time to inject a little offense into the catcher's spot and see if, upon Perez's return, we want to think about dumping the pop-less Hedges in favor of a guy who you aren't embarrassed to run up there as a pinch hitter.
MOVE 5: DFA RIVERA AND BRING UP LAVARNWAY TO TAKE HIS SPOT ON THE ROSTER
SUMMARY
5 roster moves on a Thursday. That would be about as much as a roster could handle at one time....but it is the time to do it. So, please, do it.
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