2017-18 Cleveland Indians Offseason

Amherstcavsfan said:

That outfield depth is terrifying. If Zimmer cannot get back in a groove and Brantley is hurt, they could be really lacking.

Also, Kipnis just does not fit this team anymore. They need to be more aggressive in moving him.

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Urban said:

The "trade Kipnis" crowd confuses me.

He just came off an awful year where he was on and off the DL and could never get in a groove. And he's owed $28m over the next 2 years, with a $2.5m buyout or $16.5m team option in 2020. I think the return would be pretty negligible. Any team would be buying low hoping for a return to Kipnis' prior year's self.

On the other hand, he was a 4.6 and 4.1 WAR player in 2015 and 2016. We've already lost Santana, 2 valuable relievers, and soon Bruce too. And we want to trade our 2B who has shown to be All-Star caliber as recently as 2016? Why? Why not hold onto him for 2018 and see if he can return to that form while healthy?

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MoFlo said:

Agree, but where does he play?

I'm not a fan of moving him just to move him, but if we can get a good piece for him and if it would free up some salary to grab an OF, I'd be all for it.

That OF depth scares the crap out of me, especially in RF.

I know not all of Brantley's injuries are related and they've been separate issues, but it seems every time he's hurt, it's worse than originally thought and he's out for a while. I know a lot said it's a no brainer to pick up his option, but by all accounts, we've hit our spending limit unless we free up some more $. On paper, yeah, it was a no brainer, but if we're really at our $ limit, was it really the smartest use of $?

Don't get me wrong, I like our roster. No doubt we make the playoffs and there, especially with our rotation & pitching staff, anything can happen. However, I think we're kidding ourselves if we don't think there are some issues/question marks regarding our offense and to a lesser extent, our bullpen that could prevent us from getting far.

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Urban said:

2B. Everyone seems to have this foregone conclusion that Jose has to move there for some reason.

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MoFlo said:

He's much better than Kip there defensively.

But again, whether it's Kip or Yandy or Urshela in the everyday lineup, I just think there's a lot of question marks in our lineup. I don't want to just dump Kip, but if we could get a good piece back for him + be able to sign an upgrade to the OF with the freed up $, I'd be all for it.

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BimboColesHair said:

Only smart idea with regards to moving Kip is doing it as a straight salary dump that is a precursor to then taking on more money with either a signing or trade for either a 3B or an OF.

Any thing else, such as trading him because he "doesn't fit", trading him just to trade him, trading him because a guy on our team also can play 2B, etc., would be a massive failure for a small market team, because we would be selling low on a multiple time All-Star, 3-5 WAR player, who is locked in on a fairly team friendly contract through the rest of his prime, and that is never a smart idea.

Basically, if they trade Kipnis, they better have a fairly singnificant move that follows lined up in their back pocket, or else I believe it is a major mistake.

Still not convinced that Ramirez at 3B and Kipnis at 2B isn't what we see in Seattle on March 29th.

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MoFlo said:

I never suggested moving him because he doesn't fit or because someone else on the team can play 2B.

Whether it's Kip at 2B & J-Ram at 3B or J-Ram at 2B & Yandy/Urshela at 3B, I feel we need an upgrade in the lineup regardless.

I'd feel uneasy at best about an everyday lineup with Brantley, Kip, Yan, and Lonnie, who all have question marks surrounding them in one way or another.

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