In the 1990’s, the Cleveland Indians may have been the model franchise in major league baseball. They had a brand new ballpark and a progressive general manager in John Hart. It was Hart that started the practice of signing young players to multi-year contracts to control costs.
They produced tons of great young players, guys such as Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Brian Giles, Sean Casey, etc. They also traded for several minor leaguers who turned out to be stars, like Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carlos Baerga.
They took some gambles because they were an aggressive, progressive organization.
Things couldn’t be any more different today.
Although the current administration under GM Mark Shapiro has done a good job judging talent from other organizations (Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana), in other areas they have become a very conservative group, with an eye always on the balance sheet.
They put an emphasis on college players in the amateur draft, one, because they are easier to sign because they don’t have the option of going to college, and two, because they enter the Tribe system at a later age, they are at the peak of their career before they are eligible for free agency.
For example, if they sign at age 22, and play three years in the minors, the player arrives in the big leagues at 25, two years before the 27-29 years of age that has proven to be the prime years for a player. Since you have to spend six years in the majors before becoming a free agent, the player is locked with the Indians until he’s 31 years old.
Unfortunately, the best players should be getting to the big club at around 22-23 years of age. Look at Grady Sizemore for example. Sizemore was a regular at age 22, and was a star at age 23. He won’t turn 28 until this August, meaning he’s in his prime right now.
How many people realize that Sizemore is actually a month younger than his outfield cohort, Shin-Soo Choo? Choo is coming off his first very good season in the major leagues, while Sizemore has been a regular for five seasons, and has made three all-star appearances.
This is also an organization very conservative when it comes to young players. Carlos Santana is one of baseball’s best prospects and plays a position where the Indians have no clear-cut starter. Lou Marson is the favorite to open the season behind the plate with veteran Mike Redmond backing him up. However, Marson is actually two months younger than Santana.
Why is the Tribe retarding the development of Santana, especially since they are not really a contending ballclub?
The switch-hitting Santana, acquired in the Casey Blake trade with the Dodgers, should be considered a good candidate to make the 2010 Tribe out of spring training. Why isn’t the current regime willing to take a chance on someone who showed he is a plus offensive player at Class AA Akron last season?
The same head scratching occurs with the signing of free agent Russell Branyan. Branyan is a mediocre player at best, and although many are worried he is blocking Michael Brantley, he is really hurting the chances of Jordan Brown, who has won two minor league batting titles in the past three years.
Brown, 26, is a .308 lifetime hitter in the minor leagues. He’s had an OPS of over 800 three of the last four years, including a career high 913 at Columbus last season. He’s not a big power guy, but did have a slugging percentage of .532 last season. And in a rarity on the Tribe, he doesn’t strike out a lot.
Basically, he can flat out hit.
Some would pooh-pooh his statistics because they were done in the minors, but minor league performance is an indicator of how a player will do in the majors. Once again, for an organization looking to the future, why not give Brown a chance to show what he can do?
This is why it will be interesting to see what happens in spring training if a top prospect performs very well. Already, indications are the Tribe will take the safe path, and send the player down for more “seasoning”. As a benefit, the Indians also delay the players’ arbitration clock, which is beneficial…you guessed it, financially.
Small market teams need to take some risks, both in terms of money and in terms of player development. The most risky thing this franchise does is trading the few starts they have for more prospects, thus forfeiting the chance to win.
It’s time to change that philosophy. Give the young players a chance. Draft high ceiling players. If the Indians want to return to the franchise they had in the 90’s, they can’t continue down the path they are on.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 