The Cleveland Indians resume play on Friday night, and they go right into the fire with a three game series against the division leading Minnesota Twins.
The Tribe is 5-1/2 games behind the Twins at the All Star break, and while it is a big series to start the second half of the season, unless they get swept, it shouldn’t change what their plans are going into the trading deadline.
Even if Minnesota takes two out of three, the Indians will be 6.5 games out, and will still be very much in the wild card race, and with the following schedule filled with games against Detroit, Kansas City, and Toronto, Terry Francona’s squad should still be in the think of it when the calendar turns to August.
Last season, the top five scoring teams in the AL made the playoffs. Looking at the runs scored in the league right now, the top four teams are squarely in the race, with Seattle being an also ran, ranking fifth.
Tampa Bay and Cleveland rank 9th and 10th, respectively, meaning if history holds true, the Tribe front office should still be looking to improve the hitting.
In our opinion, although the Tribe’s offense has been much better the last 30 days, the front office cannot be complacent or satisfied.
Jason Kipnis had a very good stretch in the middle of the month, but has gone just 4 for his last 23, and is a liability against southpaws right now. He also struggles against power pitchers, hitting just .176 against them.
Jose Ramirez has slashed .353/.514/866 over the last 28 days, but can anyone be convinced he has returned to the guy who finished in the top three of the MVP voting in each of the last two years?
And then you have the young guys, can they hold up after opposing pitchers make adjustements?
Oscar Mercado has been a big boost to the lineup, but he had a rough week going into the break. Is that the beginning of hitting a rookie wall? We can say the same about Jake Bauers, who despite some early patience at the plate, now has a 80:28 strikeout to walk ratio.
That doesn’t bode well down the stretch.
If Mercado slumps, does the lineup have enough length to continue to put up the runs required to win in the AL?
That’s why we would still look to add at least one bat at the deadline. A veteran hitter would be nice, so that if Mercado continues to hit, and Bauers keeps providing some pop, then the added bat can be much needed depth.
We are also worried about the back end of the bullpen, especially with Brad Hand’s struggles (yes, we know he was damned near perfect up to this point) recently.
Nick Wittgren has done a fine job, but over the last month has allowed six runs in nine innings, serving up three of the five home runs he’s allowed this season.
And we still are worried about Tyler Olson’s effectiveness.
Nick Goody has looked good recently, but in today’s game, where the power arm out of the bullpen is king, the Indians don’t really have one. They could use a guy who can pitch the 8th (moving Wittgren to the 7th) who can blow away hitters.
What will the Indians do? We don’t know, but Frankie Lindor did kind of put pressure on the front office to add to the roster.
The point is, the organization shouldn’t and can’t be satisfied. They shouldn’t make a bad move, but they do have some depth at the farm to be able to help the big league club.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 