The baseball season is wrapping up soon with just a little over two weeks remaining on the schedule for those teams who will not be making the post-season, like the Cleveland Indians.
It’s also time to begin speculation on who is indeed playing their last games in a Cleveland uniform. Here is a look at a few guys who it would be surprising to see wearing a Chief Wahoo on their hat when 2011 rolls around.
This list doesn’t take into account possible baseball trades, that is to say deals that aren’t made with the concept of dumping salary, although outside of Travis Hafner, there is no one on the roster whose paycheck is a burden to the organization.
Here is one person’s list of who will be jettisoned this winter—
Andy Marte. Although Marte’s pitching performance against the Yankees was a highlight to this dismal season, he will be gone following the season. He hasn’t always been treated well by the organization (former skipper Eric Wedge never gave him a legitimate shot), he now has over 800 big league at bats and has an OPS of 629.
His lifetime batting average is just .215 with 20 homers lifetime. And when given an opportunity to play more after the trade of Jhonny Peralta, his defense wasn’t up to his usual standard.
Marte will turn 27 following the season, and that would be the only reason to give him another chance, but more likely he will hook on with some other club on a minor league deal before spring training.
Trevor Crowe. Many people speculate that Crowe could be a good fourth outfielder, but usually those guys have one overwhelming skill, such as the crush left-handed pitching. Crowe doesn’t have any statistics like that, nor is he a great defensive outfielder.
He hits better against righties, but still has an OPS under 700. He looks like he might be a top of the order hitter, but his on base percentage hovers around the .300 mark. He also hasn’t been a guy who has destroyed minor league pitching on his way up, as his lifetime minor league OPS is under 800.
He’s another guy who will turn 27 this winter, but it says here the Tribe would be better off letting him go to see if he can hook on with another organization.
Shelley Duncan. The guess here is Duncan will be let go to make room on the 40-man roster, but this may not be the right move. Duncan has the great skill needed from a bench player; he crushes southpaws to the tune of an 847 OPS lifetime, with 9 home runs in 157 career at bats.
He’s not a good defender, but he plays hard. He could provide rest for Travis Hafner against tough lefties, and can also play 1B or LF. If he is designated for assignment after the season, here’s hoping the Indians quickly ink him to a minor league contract and invite him to spring training.
Chris Gimenez. Not really much of a reach, but with Carlos Santana returning next season and Lou Marson on the team, there is no need for a guy like Gimenez. It’s a testament to his hard work that he got to the big leagues, but if he’s back on the roster next season, the Indians are not a good ballclub.
He’s hit .163 in 160 career at bats with an OPS of under 600. He also strikes out a ton, in fact 35% of his at bats result in a whiff. Nor is he a particularly good defensive catcher. He’ll wind up in AAA with another organization because he works hard and can play multiple positions, but his big league days are likely at an end.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 