Your 2019 Cleveland Indians

[Stark]

Kipnis is Tito's boy. I cannot wait until the dude is gone. He's nothing more than a bench player, or out of the league.

I've got nothing against him. Kipnis is a good dude and he had a few really good years for us, especially back in our World Series run in '16. He's just not an MLB player anymore and is absolutely killing us. I'm sure the team was hoping he'd still be productive at age 32, but here we are. He's one of the, if not the worst starting second basemen in all of baseball.

 

[Arketebel]

I've got nothing against him. Kipnis is a good dude and he had a few really good years for us, especially back in our World Series run in '16. He's just not an MLB player anymore and is absolutely killing us. I'm sure the team was hoping he'd still be productive at age 32, but here we are. He's one of the, if not the worst starting second basemen in all of baseball.

Why don't we just put Brad Miller in? Oh wait, he was producing above his career averages and was cut. That makes sense.

 

[AZ_]

Why don't we just put Brad Miller in? Oh wait, he was producing above his career averages and was cut. That makes sense.

The joys of retaining your own talent and extending it just a bit too long.

 

[sportscoach]

I've got nothing against him. Kipnis is a good dude and he had a few really good years for us, especially back in our World Series run in '16. He's just not an MLB player anymore and is absolutely killing us. I'm sure the team was hoping he'd still be productive at age 32, but here we are. He's one of the, if not the worst starting second basemen in all of baseball.

This is his last season in a tribe uniform more than likely since he will be cut for next season regardless if hes a leader or not in the clubhouse. Now will we offer him a minor league contract with incentives even though we cut him? Yes, but he will have to beat out the guys we add either via trade, minor league guys like Chang, Mathias, Clement etc to get back on this roster? Yes. Next season he is a long shot to get back on the roster even if he decides to take a minor league deal with us.

Though maybe we can bring up a different back up 2B rather than Freeman to be honest (aka I want to see what Mathias can do since some scouts say plus contact and plus defense at 2B). Kipnis doesn't hit lefties well and never has, so I wouldn't mind having a decent RH bat to go against lefties rather than Freeman who really only seems to know how to take walks lol

 

[Urban]

Now will we offer him a minor league contract with incentives even though we cut him? Yes

I feel pretty strongly that the Indians will not extend a minor league offer to Kipnis

 

[sportscoach]

I feel pretty strongly that the Indians will not extend a minor league offer to Kipnis

Indians lose nothing by giving him one, but its not like he would take it at the end of the day. They really like Kipnis overall but not at the price tag he is playing for. What I am saying is this, the Indians will be open to bringing him back on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, but outside of that happening, the scenario where he has to earn his way back onto the ball club, I cannot see him back in Cleveland next season and beyond as a player.

 

[Urban]

but its not like he would take it at the end of the day

Unless he turns things around it's likely the best he is going to get from any team

They really like Kipnis overall but not at the price tag he is playing for. What I am saying is this, the Indians will be open to bringing him back on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, but outside of that happening, the scenario where he has to earn his way back onto the ball club, I cannot see him back in Cleveland next season and beyond as a player.

Do they "really like him" though? Like outside of what type of person he is? They've tried to trade him multiple times over the past 2 years- a lot of which was because of his salary- and moved him off 2B in back to back years in September.

In the offseason the Indians will either be trying to contend again and upgrade the lineup or enter a bit of a transitional phase which will feature young players. I do not see where a 33 year old Kipnis on the decline fits into either of those plans.

 

[sportscoach]

Unless he turns things around it's likely the best he is going to get from any team



Do they "really like him" though? Like outside of what type of person he is? They've tried to trade him multiple times over the past 2 years- a lot of which was because of his salary- and moved him off 2B in back to back years in September.

In the offseason the Indians will either be trying to contend again and upgrade the lineup or enter a bit of a transitional phase which will feature young players. I do not see where a 33 year old Kipnis on the decline fits into either of those plans.

Kipnis is well liked as a person, but they wanted to trade his contract, I mean if we were sitting here and he was making a Million dollars, no one would be complaining about him like we are, we would just say we need an upgrade and looking at players we could trade for. This really may end up being his last season in the pros which is sad since he was playing fairly well overall there for awhile (though I felt he was a little overrated then anyways to be honest).

 

[Stark]

Indians Alumni in 2019 - Updated June 6th

Josh Donaldson, ATL: .248 BA, .364 OBP, .800 OPS, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 14 2B, 36 BB, 68 K, 202 AB
Matt Joyce, ATL: .278 BA, .371 OBP, .852 OPS, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 8 BB, 14 K, 54 AB
Josh Tomlin, ATL: 21 GP, 32.0 IP, 3.94 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 20 K
Yonder Alonso, CHW: .187 BA, .287 OBP, .613 OPS, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 27 BB, 49 K, 193 AB
Mark Reynolds, COL: .177 BA, .302 OBP, .656 OPS, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 16 BB, 37 K, 96 AB
Bryan Shaw, COL: 32 GP, 36.0 IP, 3.75 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 26 K, 4 HLD
Michael Brantley, HOU: .332 BA, .391 OBP, .925 OPS, 10 HR, 38 RBI, 17 2B, 21 BB, 22 K, 3 SB, 232 AB
Joe Smith, HOU: 10-Day DL, has not pitched in 2019
Cody Allen, LAA: 22 GP, 20.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 25 K, 4 SV
Jesus Aguilar, MIL: .186 BA, .295 OBP, .595 OPS, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 22 BB, 42 K, 140 AB
Matt Albers, MIL: 25 GP, 26.0 IP, 3.81 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 28 K
Clint Frazier, NYY: .275 BA, .327 OBP, .857 OPS, 11 HR, 30 RBI, 11 BB, 47 K, 153 AB
C.C. Sabathia, NYY: 9 GP, 47.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 42 K, 3-2 W-L
Gio Urshela, NYY: .325 BA, .371 OBP, .825 OPS, 11 2B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 10 BB, 27 K, 154 AB
Melky Cabrera, PIT: .335 BA, .376 OBP, .843 OPS, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 10 BB, 21 K, 167 AB
Lonnie Chisenhall, PIT: 60-Day DL, has not played in 2019
Erik Gonzalez, PIT: .216 BA, .298 OBP, .592 OPS, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 13 K, 51 AB; 10-Day DL
Francisco Mejia, SD: .167 BA, .207 OBP, .466 OPS, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 18 K, 54 AB; Sent back to Triple-A
Shawn Armstrong, BAL: 13 GP, 13.0 IP, 2.08 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 13 K; Traded from Seattle to Baltimore
Jay Bruce, PHI: .233 BA, .297 OBP, .894 OPS, 17 HR, 35 RBI, 16 BB, 53 K, 176 AB; Traded from Seattle to Philadelphia
Edwin Encarnacion, SEA: .241 BA, .350 OBP, .855 OPS, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 34 BB, 49 K, 216 AB
Drew Pomeranz, SFG: 10 GP, 39.0 IP, 8.08 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 43 K, 1-6 W-L
Andrew Miller, STL: 27 GP, 20.2 IP, 3.92 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 28 K
Yandy Diaz, TB: .257 BA, .350 OBP, .830 OPS, 9 HR, 22 RBI, 9 2B, 25 BB, 35 K, 171 AB
Asdrubal Cabrera, TEX: .249 BA, .330 OBP, .778 OPS, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 21 BB, 44 K, 181 AB
Shin-Soo Choo, TEX: .295 BA, .381 OBP, .920 OPS, 11 HR, 28 RBI, 16 2B, 2 3B, 24 BB, 63 K, 217 AB
Yan Gomes, WSH: .225 BA, .301 OBP, .619 OPS, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 12 BB, 37 K, 129 AB
Carlos Gonzalez, CHC: .222 BA, .333 OBP, .667 OPS, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K

Added to list: Carlos Gonzalez (CHC)
Removed from the list: J.B. Shuck (PIT), Jeanmar Gomez (TEX)

WAR Rankings
Michael Brantley, 32 | 2.4 WAR
Josh Donaldson, 33 | 1.6 WAR
Edwin Encarnacion, 36 | 1.4 WAR
Shin-Soo Choo, 36 | 1.1 WAR
Yandy Diaz, 27 | 1.1 WAR
Jay Bruce, 32 | 1.0 WAR
C.C. Sabathia, 38 | 0.9 WAR
Gio Urshela, 27 | 0.8 WAR
Bryan Shaw, 31 | 0.7 WAR
Matt Albers, 36 | 0.4 WAR
Melky Cabrera, 34 | 0.4 WAR
Yan Gomes, 31 | 0.4 WAR
Asdrubal Cabrera, 33 | 0.3 WAR
Matt Joyce, 34 | 0.2 WAR
Josh Tomlin, 34 | 0.2 WAR
Cody Allen, 30 | 0.2 WAR
Shawn Armstrong, 28 | 0.2 WAR
Clint Frazier, 24 | 0.2 WAR
Andrew Miller, 34 | 0.0 WAR
Carlos Gonzalez, 33 | 0.0 WAR
Erik Gonzalez, 27 | -0.1 WAR
Mark Reynolds, 35 | -0.2 WAR
Yonder Alonso, 32 | -0.3 WAR
Francisco Mejia, 23 | -0.4 WAR
Jesus Aguilar, 28 | -0.8 WAR
Drew Pomeranz, 30 | -1.2 WAR

Some notes:
- Drew Pomeranz is fucking terrible.
- Jesus Aguilar is struggling to replicate his MVP-caliber season from last year.
- Mejia was so bad early on that he got sent back to Triple-A.
- Yonder Alonso has been awful in a good hitters park.
- Cody Allen has not been good with Los Angeles and is no longer their closer.
- Frazier is hitting well, but apparently not great in the field based on the numbers.
- Tomlin looks rejuvenated in a bullpen role in Atlanta.
- Yan Gomes has been far inferior to Roberto Perez this season, plus we got Daniel Johnson + Jefry Rodriguez for him.
- Melky can still rake.
- Sabathia is ageless.
- Gio Urshela is still hitting way above his weight-class and has been a key cog in an injury riddled Yankee squad, figures.
- Jay Bruce is still Jay Bruce. Lot of homers. Lot of strikeouts.
- Andrew Miller has rebounded a bit after a horrid start. Still has a good K/rate.
- Yandy Diaz would look fantastic in our lineup.
- Edwin Encarnacion and Shin-Soo Choo still have some fight left in them.
- Donaldson has been pretty solid, but unspectacular despite his high WAR.
- Michael Brantley is far and away the best ex-Indian in baseball.

 

[Stark]

Alright, here's my masterplan:

I have my doubts that we're going to catch the Twins this season. The starting pitching is either beat up or not playing up to expectations. Bullpen is surprising, but the offense outside of Lindor, Santana, Perez, Mercado, and Luplow against lefties is absolute trash.

We still have a chance obviously. It's June 6th, Clevinger is back soon, and we still have a decent chunk of games left against Minnesota and the trash-ass Tigers and Royals.

1. Send Jake Bauers to Triple-A; call up Bobby Bradley | Bradley is raking down in Columbus, and I'm pretty sure Bauers has an OPS below .670 and a WAR below -0.5. Easy switch to make at this point in the season.
2. Send Naquin to Triple-A (if he has options, not sure if he does); call up Daniel Johnson | We know what we have with Naquin, and we've already got an outfielder in Martin who can't hit lefties at all. Difference here is that Martin is still a really good glove in the outfield and has a cannon for an arm. Johnson has tore up Double-A and Triple-A thus far, might as well give him a chance with this anemic offense.
3. Send Mike Freeman to Triple-A; DFA Eric Stamets; call up Mark Mathias | Stamets blows and will never be a competent Double-A stick, let alone an MLB one. Not a big loss here. Mathias isn't a hyped up prospect or anything, but he's producing at a good enough level in Triple-A (.823 OPS) where I think he's worth a look over Kipnis at this point. Kipnis stays on the roster and gets the occasional DH stint or start against a righty at second. Mathias has roughly similar successes against lefties and righties, so he wouldn't have to be a platoon guy.

Starting lineup against righties:

LF - Oscar Mercado
3B - Jose Ramirez
SS - Francisco Lindor
1B - Carlos Santana
DH - Bobby Bradley
C - Roberto Perez
RF - Daniel Johnson
CF - Leonys Martin
2B - Mark Mathias

Starting lineup against lefties:

CF - Oscar Mercado
3B - Jose Ramirez
SS - Francisco Lindor
1B - Carlos Santana
LF - Jordan Luplow
DH - Bobby Bradley
C - Roberto Perez
RF - Daniel Johnson
2B - Mark Mathias

Bench guys not listed in either lineup: Kipnis, Plawecki

My main problem with this team composition is that 1) Mathias likely wouldn't be any better than Kipnis at the big-league level but I just want to see something new and 2) we're kind of left without a utility infielder when you send down Freeman.

I'd also be down for something that moves Jose to second, because good God he is the worst defensive third basemen I've seen in a long time right now. Like, laughably bad. Just made his 11th error tonight.

 

[AZ_]

No interest in Mathias unless its as a platoon bat.

Johnson can stay in Triple-A for a bit while we see if Naquin can get back to where he was. He looked pretty good just before his injury, signs that he was starting to click offensively.

I think we've come to the point where they must at least flip Lindor and Mercado in the lineup. I'd go one further, and put Ramirez in the leadoff spot and see if that doesn't force him to be choosy and attack one pitch he's looking for.

Tell him to work counts and be selective, see if it breaks him out of his slump.

vs. RHP
3B - Ramirez (S)
LF - Mercado
SS - Lindor (S)
1B - Santana (S)
DH - Bradley (L)
C - Perez
RF - Naquin (L)
2B - Kipnis (L)
CF - Martin (L)

vs. LHP
3B - Ramirez (S)
LF - Mercado
SS - Lindor (S)
1B - Santana (S)
RF - Luplow
DH - Bradley (L)
C - Perez
2B - Mathias
CF - Martin (L)

 

[Huber.]

Alright, here's my masterplan:

I have my doubts that we're going to catch the Twins this season. The starting pitching is either beat up or not playing up to expectations. Bullpen is surprising, but the offense outside of Lindor, Santana, Perez, Mercado, and Luplow against lefties is absolute trash.

We still have a chance obviously. It's June 6th, Clevinger is back soon, and we still have a decent chunk of games left against Minnesota and the trash-ass Tigers and Royals.

1. Send Jake Bauers to Triple-A; call up Bobby Bradley | Bradley is raking down in Columbus, and I'm pretty sure Bauers has an OPS below .670 and a WAR below -0.5. Easy switch to make at this point in the season.
2. Send Naquin to Triple-A (if he has options, not sure if he does); call up Daniel Johnson | We know what we have with Naquin, and we've already got an outfielder in Martin who can't hit lefties at all. Difference here is that Martin is still a really good glove in the outfield and has a cannon for an arm. Johnson has tore up Double-A and Triple-A thus far, might as well give him a chance with this anemic offense.
3. Send Mike Freeman to Triple-A; DFA Eric Stamets; call up Mark Mathias | Stamets blows and will never be a competent Double-A stick, let alone an MLB one. Not a big loss here. Mathias isn't a hyped up prospect or anything, but he's producing at a good enough level in Triple-A (.823 OPS) where I think he's worth a look over Kipnis at this point. Kipnis stays on the roster and gets the occasional DH stint or start against a righty at second. Mathias has roughly similar successes against lefties and righties, so he wouldn't have to be a platoon guy.

Starting lineup against righties:

LF - Oscar Mercado
3B - Jose Ramirez
SS - Francisco Lindor
1B - Carlos Santana
DH - Bobby Bradley
C - Roberto Perez
RF - Daniel Johnson
CF - Leonys Martin
2B - Mark Mathias

Starting lineup against lefties:

CF - Oscar Mercado
3B - Jose Ramirez
SS - Francisco Lindor
1B - Carlos Santana
LF - Jordan Luplow
DH - Bobby Bradley
C - Roberto Perez
RF - Daniel Johnson
2B - Mark Mathias

Bench guys not listed in either lineup: Kipnis, Plawecki

My main problem with this team composition is that 1) Mathias likely wouldn't be any better than Kipnis at the big-league level but I just want to see something new and 2) we're kind of left without a utility infielder when you send down Freeman.

I'd also be down for something that moves Jose to second, because good God he is the worst defensive third basemen I've seen in a long time right now. Like, laughably bad. Just made his 11th error tonight.

Only problem I found is Johnson isn't on the 40 man so you're going to have to DFA someone else. I think that's why most people would choose to cut Martin since Naquin has options and Martin is free agent next year. Only other option is to DFA Kipnis, DFA Haase who would most likely pass through waivers, or move Kluber to the 60-day if they think it's going to be awhile.


An injury update on Yu Chang to replace Kipnis would be nice

 

[Kevalier]

Hypothetical trade scenario: Hand to Tampa Bay for Brent Honeywell and either Nick Solak or Nate Lowe. Who says no?

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Hypothetical trade scenario: Hand to Tampa Bay for Brent Honeywell and either Nick Solak or Nate Lowe. Who says no?

I say no from Cleveland's point of view. Hand is by far the best player there, and I'm not ready to punt on the rest of Frankie's deal.

 

[Real Deal]

I love Hand though. Dude is definitely an allstar and one dominant motherfucker. He's the type of closer where players plan for but he just punches them in the mouth.

If we can get a kings ransom for Hand, I guess I'd listen. @AZ_ who's our closer of the future m