2016-2017 Indians Off-Season Thread

[BimboColesHair]

Maybe this was a collection of chatter Rosenthal was hearing over the past few weeks and Plouffe was THE target 3B target. With him gone, they focus on value in OF and Relief Pitching?

Unless they are thinking of signing a UTIL who can play 3B which would let Ramirez play some OF when needed, instead of flat out signing an OF...that might be their thought process. That Ramirez is a better OF fit than the remaining free agents, so finding a guy who can move him off 3B every once in a while would be needed in order to do that...

Just glad that they aren't sitting back and waiting to toss minor league deals now after the Encarnacion signing. The market for hitters is so low right now that it actually makes a lot of sense for them to spend more now to save them from having to spend in a potentially more robust market for hitters next winter, with a major piece in Santana most likely leaving who will need to be replaced.

If you can do that in 2017 while the market is shit instead of 2018 when more teams have more money to throw around and prices are driven up, that'd be a solid cover your ass move.

Also, the market for LH relievers has slowed way down...can't believe Boone Logan hasn't found a deal yet after how fast Rzepczynski and Cecil signed this winter...would be a major coup if we could somehow come away with Logan or Blevins because their market dried up more than expected...

 

[Kevalier]

What surprises me the most in that article is the supposed continued interest in corner IFs, which after the EE signing has to be a 3B.

Wonder who they are keeping an eye on, cause after Plouffe signed with the A's, the pickings kind of became slim.

Stephen Drew. Our old pal Valbuena. Kelly Johnson. Chris Coghlan.

Wonder what they are thinking there...

Out of all of the utility infielder options you listed, which would you prefer the most for the Tribe and which do you believe is most realistic?

 

[BimboColesHair]

Out of all of the utility infielder options you listed, which would you prefer the most for the Tribe and which do you believe is most realistic?

Honestly? None of them...I'd rather just roll with Erik Gonzalez or Yandy Diaz in that role and sign an OF.

But if you had to force me...I'd probably prefer Valbuena, believe it or not. 3 straight years of above average offensive production is more than any of the other ones can say.

Most realistic? No idea, because I haven't really been following that market since I figured we wouldn't bother...but I'd guess probably someone like Kelly Johnson who would sign for a 1 year deal.

 

[macbdog]

but he's just a league average offense player and I don't see a ton of upside.

This I guess is where we differ- you show me a hitter who drops his Ks and increases his walks and I see a hitter who is only going to see his overall numbers improve. Add to that his improvement in the base paths each year and I see a guy who can easily bump up that average and see the bat climb. The fundamentals are all there, the athleticism certainly is, and he has the work ethic. Mejia still has a long ways to go and by the time he is ready to catch at the bigleague level the core will be gone. The time is now.

 

[sportscoach]

Well here is my two cents on this situation. Cleveland would only be looking to sign Bautista for a one year deal with at most a second year option (with like a 1 mil buyout). I do not see them going past that. Now when it comes to figuring out how to play guys, I am a bit lost since it would be hard to figure where to put everyone. I do not trust Bautista not EE in the field very much anymore. Now it's possible the move would be one of them into a corner OF spot while Chisenhall/Guyer and/or Brantley gets moved into center. The lineup would be solid but I dont think we would have a good OF, but then again we did have Belle and Ramirez in the OF at one point and still one games, but we had Lofton in CF who could make a lot of plays to cover them.

I sincerely cannot see the budget for Bautista being there but if his price drops low enough it's hard to say no to the deal if we can get him for one season/one season with an option.

Also I am still hoping we can bring in a Boone Logan type of reliever from the Left side. I mean it would literally mean innings 5-6 would be covered by likely McAllister and Adams (or whoever wins that last spot) then inning 7 would be Otero/Logan (or the veteran we sign) then 8 is Miller and 9 is for Allen. That would be one sick bullpen because of the fact your Lefties are not matchup guys they are inning guys.

Also if we sign Bautista do you think we could move Santana with a prospect like Allen/Aiken for someone like Blackmon of the Rockies to play CF?

 

[Derek]

This I guess is where we differ- you show me a hitter who drops his Ks and increases his walks and I see a hitter who is only going to see his overall numbers improve. Add to that his improvement in the base paths each year and I see a guy who can easily bump up that average and see the bat climb. The fundamentals are all there, the athleticism certainly is, and he has the work ethic. Mejia still has a long ways to go and by the time he is ready to catch at the bigleague level the core will be gone. The time is now.

I just don't see him adding enough to our team to warrant giving up a guy who could be a part of our next core once some of the current guys start moving on. The plan shouldn't be to blow our wad in the next 3 years, and leave the cupboard bare. We're one of a handful of World Series favorites, and should remain there. We can sustain success past the next 3 years without decimating our farm system for minor improvements.

More in regards to Kiermaier. His K% was the same each of the last 2 years. The increased walk rate was a nice improvement, but in the end, he's just not the caliber of player that is worth top prospects for me. I see him as similar to Ender Inciarte, who was traded (along with the #1 pick in the MLB draft) for Shelby Miller. To me, that says we wouldn't be getting great value giving up a top guy just for Kiermaier.

 

[sportscoach]

This I guess is where we differ- you show me a hitter who drops his Ks and increases his walks and I see a hitter who is only going to see his overall numbers improve. Add to that his improvement in the base paths each year and I see a guy who can easily bump up that average and see the bat climb. The fundamentals are all there, the athleticism certainly is, and he has the work ethic. Mejia still has a long ways to go and by the time he is ready to catch at the bigleague level the core will be gone. The time is now.

Meija's track is perfect for this organization actually since we will see him in Sept of 2018. We may see him in the clubhouse this September as well depending on the health of Gomes and Perez. I know you wanna move him but I'd rather move Aiken or Bradley than Meija in my opinion. Meija will be at AA by the end of the season and at AAA in 2018. Don't get me wrong I would like Kiermaier but not for Meija, Zimmer or Diaz. Tampa also I don't know who they would like, but they are familiar with the minor league system cause of Cash being the manager of Tampa

I would rather have a package of like Allen, then like Peoples and another A ball player rather than Meija for Kiermaier from Tampa, but Tampa isn't trading him unless we over pay for him anyways so unless we give them an offer they cannot refuse then it won't happen

 

[Derek]

I'd give up Diaz for Kiermaier without thinking twice

 

[sportscoach]

I'd give up Diaz for Kiermaier without thinking twice

Diaz to me will be at least a career .280 hitter that will be an average fielder while Kiermaier is a gold glove fielder with average hitting ability. I'd rather keep Diaz but I would understand why we made the move too, I just feel he will end up being a legit MLB every day hitter.

 

[The Oi]

Just looked up Kiermaier.

Gold glover, but offensively looks to be kind of average?

What are the long term projections for him? What am I missing here? Why would you give up an elite prospect for that?

 

[Derek]

Just looked up Kiermaier.

Gold glover, but offensively looks to be kind of average?

What are the long term projections for him? What am I missing here? Why would you give up an elite prospect for that?

He doubled his walk rate last year, but his BABIP dipped. So, there is hope that he improves on being league average offensively if the walk rate stays (or improves) and his BABIP rebounds.

I'd say his upside is Adam Eaton, who netted the White Sox A TON from the Nationals. However, I'm more apt to believe he's basically who he is offensively. For that reason, I would not give up any of our top prospects for him (I don't consider Yandy Diaz a top prospect).

 

[Snarly]

If we get Joey Bats it is good to then know Shapiro still works for the Indians.

 

[sportscoach]

He doubled his walk rate last year, but his BABIP dipped. So, there is hope that he improves on being league average offensively if the walk rate stays (or improves) and his BABIP rebounds.

I'd say his upside is Adam Eaton, who netted the White Sox A TON from the Nationals. However, I'm more apt to believe he's basically who he is offensively. For that reason, I would not give up any of our top prospects for him (I don't consider Yandy Diaz a top prospect).

I don't think he will ever reach the bat Eaton has to be honest, so he wouldn't be worth in most ways our top prospects (now if we do a straight swap, I'd really have to think on it, but that won't be enough to pry away Kiermaier).

Now Diaz to me is a sure bet prospect when it comes down to it. He can hit but he will never hit more than 10ish HRs per season, with like .280 average, and a .360 area OBP%. He has never impressed me anywhere defensively so hopefully converting him to the Of would fix this issue. He did play in the Cuban pro league when he was younger, so he is pro ready right now with his bat.

He doesn't have the upside/5 tools that Zimmer has, but he should be an every day solid player that every team needs hence why I don't want to trade Diaz. He will be on the roster in 2018, now I cannot tell ya what position on the field but he should be up here somewhere

 

[DJTJ]

Late to the KK discussion, but I've probably watched him more than anyone on the board because I lived in Tampa, and adopted the Rays because I couldn't watch the Indians.

He's got some offensive issues, was hurt last year. It doesn't keep from the fact he was an absolute nightmare of a ball was hit to a gap. 5dWar player that year, basically locked down most of the outfield and just has crazy range.

The issue is defensively, Greg Allen could be similar in talent (KK is the most underrated defensive outfielder in baseball and should be the face of that franchise). And Greg Allen will end up being just fine in center.

 

[Real Deal]

Jose Bautista is on Indians radar?? WTF

I'd shit my pants in laughter.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxs...adar-011517?amp=true?client=ms-android-att-us