2012-2013 Indians Red Hot Offseason Thread (Bourn signed post 1940)

[JiggleIt]

It's been covered 100 times on this board, but the draft was completely revamped in '08 and the returns have shown to be much better. Everyone knows their drafts sucked from '00 - '08 - Shapiro has said as much in 2 recent interviews. But fans are constantly saying, 'THEY NEED TO DRAFT BETTER!' no matter how many times you tell them they already have.

Kipnis seems to be the #1 fan favorite lately - where did he come from?

But HAVE the returns really shown to be much better? Kipnis looks like he could be an above average player, but nobody else has done anything yet. I keep seeing this sentiment that the Indians improved in drafting with no evidence to prove it.

I'll assume the drafts have been poor until proven otherwise, because at this point there's nothing other than hope that should have everyone thinking the "revamped" strategy has done anything.

Meanwhile, if the team is "mishandling" its talent once it gets to the majors- or even before- the drafting isn't going to matter very mich.

Not sure what the relationship is like between Dolan and the front office but to date, Shapiro and his cronies have done little to earn that paycheck. And Shapiro acknowledging the the organization he's been a large part of has drafted horribly does nothing to make me trust that they've made the right hires or made the right strategy changes. You can tell from the tone of the article that he's not really buying it either.

Seems to me that the organization is incompetent from top to bottom, but Shapiro is a good enough, earnest seeming salesman that he's able to convince ownership every year that they're "battling and making progress."

Guess we'll see in 7-10 years.

[JMcCurry08]

http://sulia.com/channel/cleveland-i...source=twitter

Indians are listening to offers on Asdrubal Cabrera and Cardinals interest said to be "real"

After the Indians acquired shortstop Mike Aviles from the Toronto Blue Jays this past weekend, it opened the door for the Indians to consider trading shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

The Indians do not prefer to trade Cabrera and chances are he will open the season with them, but they can now listen to offers and weigh their options. If they get the "right deal" where they get much needed proven Major League pitching in return, they would have to seriously consider trading him.

Three teams that could be a potential landing place for Cabrera would be Oakland, St. Louis, or Arizona. All three need a shortstop and all three have arms to spare (maybe not as much for Arizona). Already the rumor mill is churning after Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Dispatch mentioned that the Cardinals interest in Cabrera is "real" (Read more at stltoday.com › ).

With the lack of quality shortstops available in free agency, Cabrera could be one of the most sought after players this offseason on the trade market. The Indians don't have to trade him, so they can hold out for desperation from another team and then consider a deal.

One thing is for certain, and that is when the Winter Meetings start up in a few weeks, the Indians will be at the forefront of a lot of rumors because of the potential availability of Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, and Chris Perez.

[JMcCurry08]

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/features/rumors

The Cleveland Indians, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com Wednesday, are expected to field calls on Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Masterson and Chris Perez this winter. Another player garnering interest already, however, is Asdrubal Cabrera, the club's starting shortstop.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the St. Louis Cardinals have legitimate interest in Cabrera, and a glance at both clubs' needs it appears there could be a match here.

The Indians need pitching in the worst way. The Cardinals have depth in that department. While they do need to keep an eye on the injury situation with lefty Jaime Garcia, they do have an extra arm to move in the right deal.

Shelby Miller isn't likely to be that arm, but Trevor Rosenthal, Lance Lynn or prospect Carlos Martinez could be part of a package.

Other clubs that could show strong interest in Cabrera include the Arizona Diamondbacks, who could help the Indians fill another need -- right-handed hitting outfielder -- by discussing a deal involving Justin Upton. The D-backs are thought to be seeking a shortstop and if Cabrera is available, the two sides could find common ground.

Out of the list they put in the article. I'd take Lance Lynn if St Louis offered him, won 18 games this past year and is under our control until 2018

[JMcCurry08]

Red Sox Have Interest In Choo & Masterson
By Mike Axisa [November 8 at 12:01pm CST]
The Red Sox have interest in acquiring both Shin-Soo Choo and Justin Masterson from the Indians, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It's unclear how far along talks are, but Cleveland is getting calls about those two as well as Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez.

Boston is seeking both outfield and rotation help this winter, so the fit is obvious. They originally drafted and developed Masterson before sending him to the Tribe in the Victor Martinez trade, though Morosi notes that new Indians manager Terry Francona could push to keep the right-hander, who had in Boston. Masterson is under team control through 2014 while Choo will be eligible for free agency after next season.

The Red Sox have enough prospects to offer in trades and plenty of payroll space to absord contracts. Matt Swartz projects Choo to earn $7.9MM and Masterson to earn $5.7MM through arbitration next year. Boston also has both Mike Napoli and Adam LaRoche on their radar this offseason as well.


Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#qeSyUYg9jFtJuwfZ.99

I dont know much about their prospects but i'd like a pitching prospect at least in return

[macbdog]

Ben hang that Trevor Bauer is available. He somehow managed to piss off the AZ front office after only a year. Have to wonder what they would want.

[b00bie]

He refuses to listen to their coaching staff, in terms of how to control his stuff better.

There's obviously a red flag there, considering this comes after a pretty evident loss in velocity since college.

[JMcCurry08]

From Tony Lastoria

Victorino could be on the Indians radar; Cabrera could bring back young pitching
The Cleveland Indians probably will not be in on any big name players in the free agent or trade market this offseason, but they could be active on both fronts as they look to acquire players to bolster their roster this offseason.

Rumors continue to swirl that the Indians are fielding offers for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. They may not deal him this offseason, but it may make some sense to trade him if his market continues to rise over the next few weeks. ESPN's Buster Olney says the Indians would target young starting pitching in return for Cabrera. This is obvious, but a sign that they probably want at least two Major League ready arms in return for their All Star shortstop.

On the free agent front, they are expected to be tied to several middle tier free agents, and according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnik they are already rumored to be in on free agent outfielder Shane Victorino.

[sgm405]

I'm starting to wonder if the strategy will be to trading Cabrera, Choo, and Perez but then being more active in free agency with 2nd tier players.

[Rob]

Why the fuck are we trading Carbera? Jesus.

[b00bie]

Cabrera is OK, but he's trending the wrong way in production and weight.

He's got contract uncertainty and value, plus he's not a core player for a good team.

[Amherstcavsfan]

Why the fuck are we trading Carbera? Jesus.

Because he's an above average hitting short stop with terrible range.

Cabrera is actually a worse fielder than Jhonny Peralta

[b00bie]

He'll make more spectacular plays than JP, but in terms of consistency JP has him beat.

[Amherstcavsfan]

He'll make more spectacular plays than JP, but in terms of consistency JP has him beat.

My biggest disappointment was that Droobs never improved his range, which was the biggest JP downfall.

I have pretty much given up on Droobs being that type of fielding SS that you need in the middle of the field. Trading him would hurt the offense some, but his production is easily replaced by a good 1B and getting better D up the middle helps the pitchers more.

[b00bie]

Agreed, my biggest knock on him is his refusal to get in shape and it's cost him in terms of injury and second half ineffectiveness

[Gimme Some Mo]

Let's trade our only good players that are on decent contracts! Welcome to Cleveland Indians baseball.

Pathetic that we even have to trade guys like Choo and Asdrubal now even though they aren't going to make huge $.