Tribe Gathers A Moss

We have advocated for a long time that the Cleveland Indians have strengths in their organization and needed to use some depth in those areas to acquire pieces the ballclub needs.

Those strengths are in the middle infield and bullpen depth.

Yesterday, they did exactly that, trading minor league 2B Joe Wendle to the Oakland A’s for 1B/OF/DH Brandon Moss.

Wendle is a solid prospect, but let’s face it, he stuck behind Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez with the big club, so future playing time in Cleveland has to be considered bleak.

Dealing from strength is the chief reason we like this trade from the Indians’ standpoint.

The other is Moss’s power. Remember the end of August to the middle of September when the only Indian who could hit a home run was Carlos Santana? Moss should take care of that, having hit 76 home runs over the last three seasons.

The newest Indian should enjoy not playing in Oakland’s pitching friendly park. He hit .265 with 13 homers in 272 at bats away from the bay last season, posting an outstanding 831 OPS in 2014.

He is also reported to be a great clubhouse presence, which manager Terry Francona likes to have. We don’t think the front office would bring in a player who would be a problem in the locker room.

He does strike out a lot, whiffing 153 times last season.

That’s just one of the reasons for concern. Moss hit just .173 with 4 dingers in the second half of the season a year ago, battling a bad hip which he had surgery on in the off-season. In fact, it has been reported he will not be ready for spring training.

He also is a left-handed batter, adding yet another to the collection that GM Chris Antonetti is putting together. There is no question the Indians need a solid right-handed bat, and they may still be looking for one, but with Michael Brantley, Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Michael Bourn, the Tribe is vulnerable to southpaw pitchers.

You also have to wonder about the ramifications for the rest of the roster with this move. Moss is primarily a 1B and a DH, he’s not particularly a good outfielder defensively, and the Tribe seems to have Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher currently manning those spots.

The Cleveland defense was shaky last season, so putting Moss and his surgically repaired hip in RF doesn’t really address that area. You have to wonder if Antonetti’s next move is dealing Swisher, if that is possible.

The only way we can see that happening is if the Indians are willing to eat some of his large contract, something the current front office has been loathe to do. We would do it because, let’s say you pay half of the $15 million owed each of the next two years, you would then have $7.5 million to spend elsewhere.

If we were Antonetti, we would still be looking for a right-handed hitter and another innings eater for the rotation. The Tribe still has the bullpen depth and some young back of the rotation arms to dangle.

With the White Sox making a splash in trades and free agency, Antonetti can’t stand pat with the current roster. He still needs to improve the club. We are skeptical, but here’s hoping another decent move is coming for the Cleveland Indians.

No Question About It, It’s a Big Winter for Tribe

Now that the Cleveland Indians have been officially eliminated from post-season play, it is time to look ahead to the Hot Stove League.

The Tribe will likely start with a roster that has either the Cy Young Award winner or runner-up in Corey Kluber, and a hitter who will be in the top five in the American League’s MVP voting in Michael Brantley. So, that’s a good start.

However, their is no question the club needs at least one legitimate bat going into next season.

The AL league average for OPS in 707, and the Indians had only four players who exceeded that mark: Brantley, Carlos Santana, Yan Gomes, and Lonnie Chisenhall. You probably need to get two more guys who are better than league average.

Yes, we believe Jason Kipnis’ struggles this year are an aberration based on his past, so that would be one such bat, but can we really be confident that anyone on the current roster can step up?

We like Jose Ramirez and what we has shown since getting regular playing time, but he needs to get on base more (.291 OBP) and drive the ball a little more (.332 slugging) to be a bonafide offensive threat.

And you cannot depend on older players like Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, and David Murphy to bounce back either.

A lot of people we respect love the future of the Cleveland pitching staff, and although it is very promising, outside of Kluber’s two major league seasons, there isn’t another starter who has a proven big league track record.

GM Chris Antonetti needs to get another established hurler to put in the middle of the rotation and make guys like T. J. House, who performed better than expected into a nice option if someone falters or has an arm problem.

We feel the bullpen will take care of itself. Yes, there is a lot of wear on some of the arms, but the organization seems to have some depth in this area at the minor league level.

Also, you can find relievers that other teams discarded and resurrect their careers like the Tribe did this season with Scott Atchison.

How can the Indians do this? Well, it could start with spending more cash.

While the ownership gets credit for spending on Swisher and Bourn before the 2013 season, there isn’t really evidence of that.

The Cleveland payroll was at $78.4 million in 2012, according to thebaseballcube.com. After adding the two high paid free agents, the payroll for 2013 was $82.5 million.

The fans were led to believe the Indians were able to spend more because of the selling of Sportstime Ohio and the new network television contract.

The payroll for 2014 was slightly less than ’13 ($82.1 million) and that’s with the Swisher and Bourn contracts escalating. Keep in mind, the team dealt two of the four highest paid players (Justin Masterson and Asdrubal Cabrera) in late July too, although it has been reported Cleveland paid off Cabrera’s deal to get a better player (Zach Walters?) in return.

Meanwhile, small markets like Kansas City ($91 million) and Minnesota ($85 million), both division rivals, outspent the Tribe.

We have said this before and we will reiterate, we understand that the northeast Ohio market probably can’t support a $100-$110 million payroll for the Indians, but there is no reason the Tribe payroll can’t be around $90-$95 million.

That would allow them to add another solid major league player or two, and maybe more if they can find a taker for a declining player like Bourn, if the Indians would pay part of his remaining salary.

So, it terms of the comment that the ownership spent on Swisher and Bourn, quite frankly, the facts don’t really support that.

This group of Indians has a solid core of younger players, it was the second youngest team in baseball after the all-star break. Guys like Brantley, Gomes, Santana, Chisenhall, and Kluber give Antonetti a good foundation, but you cannot stand pat like they did at the trading deadline.

The Indians can’t depend on their usual strategy of wishing and hoping.

Here’s hoping they will be bold this winter and not their usual modus operandi of being cautious.

Yes, Tribe Has Good Young Core, but Can’t Sit Out the Winter

Well, the Cleveland Indians kept it interesting for a little while.

They hung in the race for a post-season spot until the middle of September, but last weekend’s sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers means there will not be consecutive post-season spots for the first time since 1999, and it is time to look forward to the 2015 season.

We understand that Terry Francona and the players will not make any changes to the lineup or the starting rotation until the Tribe is officially eliminated from playoff consideration, which probably won’t happen until the weekend, but we can still speculate on what needs to occur prior to spring training in February.

The Indians do have a good young core of players. They can build on several solid position players in Michael Brantley (who will turn 28 next May), Carlos Santana (29), Yan Gomes (28), Lonnie Chisenhall (26), and we believe Jason Kipnis (28) will rebound next year based on his track record and the fact he was battling injuries this year.

They also have Jose Ramirez (23), who has impressed this year since playing everyday after the Asdrubal Cabrera trade, and of course, Francisco Lindor, one of the game’s best prospects.

The organization will likely do the service time game with Lindor, which would be a mistake if he shows in spring training that he is ready to play everyday at the big league level. Too often, the Tribe gets off to slow starts because they don’t keep the correct players on the Opening Day roster.

The starting rotation is also very young with a lot of room to get better. Staff ace Corey Kluber will be just 29 years old in 2015, and he is joined by Carlos Carrasco (28), Danny Salazar (25), T. J. House (25) and Trevor Bauer (24) to form a rotation with a lot of upside.

However, Francona has said in the past that when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more. Therefore, the front office cannot stand pat with the rotation and should look to bring in some reinforcements during the winter. You have to think at least one of those guys will not perform up to this year’s standards next season.

The one area that will need to be addressed in the off-season is the bench, which was a key component of last year’s squad, but had a huge drop off in ’14. We know Jason Giambi won’t likely be back, but GM Chris Antonetti should also look to replace Ryan Raburn and Mike Aviles, both of whom haven’t produced offensively.

Raburn is under contract for 2015, so that may be a challenge, but whenever Francona has wanted to rest a regular or an injury keeps a starter out of the lineup for an extended period of time, there has been a drop off in the offense.

Perhaps David Murphy can fit in as the fourth outfielder if Antonetti comes up with another alternative in right field.

And you really can’t use young players in bench roles because they don’t know how to handle it. It is better to find veterans who used to play everyday that can accept not doing that anymore or guys who have made a living playing in a reserve role.

It is difficult to be productive playing sporadically, and it is a challenge to find guys who can hit while getting 200-300 at bats in a season.

Yes, the Indians future does look bright, or at least it isn’t dismal. However, Chris Antonetti can’t afford to stand pat like he did last winter. They have to improve this club in order to avoid the wild card race and win the American League Central Division.

The bigger question is whether or not they will do just that.

Lack of Home Runs Killing Tribe Attack

In yesterday’s 12-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, four visiting batters (Kole Calhoun, David Freese, Albert Pujols, and Howie Kendrick) all hit home runs.

In the home dugout, Terry Francona had to be jealous.

Why?

Because that kind of power hasn’t been seen for the Indians in a month. In fact, no Tribe player besides Carlos Santana and Lonnie Chisenhall have went deep since Zach Walters’ two run shot in the 10th inning on August 26th at Chicago.

And former Oriole manager Earl Weaver would cringe at this statistic: No Indians’ player has hit a three run homer since Santana went deep off of former Tribe pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez on August 16th.

No wonder Francona’s team has trouble scoring runs.

Without power, offenses are dependent on scoring by getting multiple base hits in an inning or a mixture of walks and hits. That may work if you have a lot of hitters batting in the .270 range.

Once again, the Indians do not.

Among the regulars, only Michael Brantley, Chisenhall, and Yan Gomes have batting averages over .280. So, even if you get a couple of men on base, you are likely dependent on someone hitting around .250, meaning they get a hit one out of every four times up, to come up with a big hit.

The lack of offense puts a lot of pressure on a pitching staff.

Somehow, Cleveland remains in the top half of the American League in runs scored, currently ranking 7th in the junior circuit. This is despite the team scoring more than four runs just once since the calendar turned to September.

Someone has to step up and soon if the Indians are to stay relevant in the wild card race, and their presence in that situation is a day-to-day proposition to be sure. All it would take is consecutive losses to a team like the Indians are facing tonight, Minnesota, and any chance of making the playoffs will be doused.

And they need to have the ability to score without piecing together several hits and/or walks, and to score with one swing of the bat.

The Tribe has played eight games this month and have received no homers from Brantley (last one: August 16th vs. Baltimore), Gomes (last HR: August 18th), and Jason Kipnis (last HR: July 31st) in that period.

Note that these guys are usually hitting in the middle of the Cleveland batting order, anywhere from 3rd to 6th. And this isn’t to denigrate the years that Brantley and Gomes are having, as both are among the most productive hitters in the game at their position.

The point is that no one has stepped up and helped out, most notably Kipnis, who is suffering through a horrible season.

Walters filled the void for awhile, hitting six bombs, but recently has shown his true Russell Branyan tendencies by striking out at an incredible rate (28 times in 76 at bats).

Chisenhall has mixed in a couple of home runs, but Michael Bourn and Jose Ramirez aren’t known for power, and David Murphy is just coming off an oblique strain.

The other players getting playing time from Francona aren’t long ball threats either, guys like Tyler Holt and newly acquired J.B. Shuck.

This might be the most convincing argument to giving minor league slugger Jesus Aguilar an extended shot in the lineup. He’s a threat to hit one out.

There is no question the Cleveland Indians need to start scoring if they want to remain in the race. However, without the threat of the home run, it will be a very difficult task, indeed.

This Year, the Bench is Killing the Tribe

One of Terry Francona’s best attributes as a manager is his patience. We have always said that fans are quick to dispose of players, but GMs and managers can’t pull the trigger on someone after two bad weeks, particularly in baseball, where the season is a six month grind.

Francona gives his players the benefit of the doubt, particularly when their track record shows a level of production. For example, when Carlos Santana was hitting .140 at the end of May, the skipper stuck with him.

Over the last two plus months, the switch-hitter has rewarded Francona’s faith in him by hitting almost .300 and hitting 15 home runs.

This year, it could be that the very thing that endears Tito to his players is costing him ball games.

Francona likes to keep 13 pitchers on his roster because he likes to use his bullpen and he doesn’t want to tax anyone’s arm, so as to not let them become ineffective by overuse.

Last year’s “Goon Squad” has gone from an integral part of the team to a gaping hole on the roster. And that is a huge problem considering on most nights the Indians only have three position players on the bench.

Ryan Raburn has received a lot of criticism for a drastic fall off in performance and is one of the chief reasons for the Tribe’s struggles vs. left-handed pitching. Raburn hit .308 with 7 homers against southpaws a year ago. This season, he’s hitting .188 with all three of his dingers against lefties.

Overall, he had a 901 OPS in 2013, and has a 528 OPS in 2014.

Raburn hasn’t hit all season long, and his manager has kept thinking he would come around, but the reality is, the season has around six weeks remaining and every at-bat Raburn seems to be a waste.

Aviles wasn’t as effective as Raburn in 2013, but he was a valuable reserve, hitting .252 with 24 extra base hits in 361 at bats.

This year, the jack of all trades defensively (he has played 2B, 3B, SS, and all three outfield spots), has dropped to just 14 extra base hits in 262 plate appearances. His OPS has dipped from 650 last year to 595 in ’14. If you are under 600, you are a dreadful offensive player.

Yan Gomes was part of that group last year, but he earned his way into the starting lineup. With Santana now at first base, the backup catcher role has been taken by first George Kotteras, who contributed offensively with three home runs, but wasn’t good defensively, and now by Roberto Perez, a rookie who done okay with 9 hits in his first 31 at bats.

What has made the lack of bench production worse has been the poor hitting of a few regulars, most notably Nick Swisher, Jason Kipnis, and Michael Bourn. Even if Francona wanted to ease them out of the lineup, there isn’t anyone earning additional playing time like Gomes did last season.

Help could be on the way though.

Jose Ramirez has shown improvement since the trade of Asdrubal Cabrera, but he is pretty much playing everyday now.

Tyler Holt and Zach Walters both contributed in yesterday’s doubleheader, and should get more playing time based on their success against Arizona.

In any event, while many people fixate on the poor seasons by Swisher, Bourn, and Justin Masterson as the reason for the Indians’ inconsistency in 2014, don’t forget to include the reserve players. They haven’t come close to matching what they did in ’13.

That hasn’t made Francona’s job any easier.

Tribe’s Biggest Enemy: Consistency

The numbers say the Cleveland Indians should be going after a pitcher.

After all, the Tribe ranks 5th in the American League in runs scored, while the pitching staff’s ERA is 11th out of the 15 AL squads. Sounds simple, right?

However, we believe that GM Chris Antonetti should be looking for a starting pitcher and a bat to help the offense as well. Why? Because, even though Cleveland is in the top half of the league in scoring, most of the hitters in the lineup are inconsistent to say the least.

Outside of Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes, the Indians’ batters go through streaks of being either real hot or real cold.

That’s mirrors the team’s hitting, either they score 5 or 6 runs a night for a week or so, or they go through periods like last week when they get one hit in back-to-back contests. There is no consistency to the Cleveland attack.

Let’s take Jason Kipnis for example. Since the beginning of last season, here are his monthly batting averages: .200, .261, .419, .272, .250, .287, .234, and .255. So, in the last eight months, last year’s All-Star representative has two good months and one unreal one.

He’s supposed to be one of the Tribe’s best players.

How about Asdrubal Cabrera? His monthly breakdowns are as follows: .226, .278, .204, .221, .242, .220, .274, .243. That would equal two solid months and the balance being mediocre.

Carlos Santana is a key to the Tribe offense because he’s one of the few Tribe players capable of hitting 20 HR in a season. His last two seasons break out this way: .389, .200, .250, .294, .240, .271, .151, .169, .308. You get the picture.

We understand that not everyone can be steady as she goes, and we certainly know that Brantley and Gomes have periods where they go 1 for 14 and 2 for 19 too.

But that isn’t 1 for 44, like the streak David Murphy just ended.

When Kipnis, Cabrera, and Santana are all going well, the Indians’ offense is very productive, the problem is when you have those months where the three aren’t producing, it’s a tough team to watch.

And that’s why the runs scored statistic is misleading. Yes, Cleveland ranks high in the league in scoring, but they also are among the leaders in games in which they score less than three runs in a contest.

The inconsistency also extends to the starting pitching, where Corey Kluber and really, Trevor Bauer can be counted on the provide the same type of outings every time they take the hill.

Yes, Josh Tomlin threw a one-hitter against Seattle. In his other four starts his June 12th, the “Little Cowboy” has pitched 20-2/3 innings, allowing 18 runs.

Justin Masterson’s struggles are well-documented, as he has pitched less than five innings in four of his last seven starts. He really has had only one quality outing since May 3rd, that being a seven inning, one run performance against the Angels.

So perhaps Antonetti’s biggest challenge is to bring in some players who are steady, guys who Terry Francona can count on a nightly basis. Maybe it’s a solid .270 hitter, or a starter who can provide six or seven decent innings per start.

They may not have to be all-star type players. Just ones whose performance isn’t up and down like an elevator.

The times when the Tribe players are all hot are a joy to watch, but too often it is followed by a losing streak. That’s why they have sat around the .500 mark for most of this season.

Francona Has Success, But He Does Make Mistakes Too.

When Terry Francona arrived here in the fall of 2012 to take the managerial job of the Cleveland Indians, it was considered shocking to many baseball fans, including ones right here on the North Coast.

This is a guy who broke the “Curse of the Bambino”, leading the Boston Red Sox to the world championship in 2004, their first since 1917, and then followed it up with another in 2007.

He took the job because of the relationship he had forged with Tribe president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti when he worked in the Cleveland front office in between piloting the Phillies and Red Sox.

The shock turned to adulation when Francona took the Tribe to the playoffs in 2013, winning 92 games and losing in the Wild Card game to Tampa.

There is no doubt the Francona has earned his reputation as a good manager, and his style is forging a trusting relationship with his players. He never rips them in the media, and he treats them like men, which is how anyone would want to be treated.

He recently pointed out that his patience had turned to stubbornness when he finally removed slumping hitters Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana from the #2 and #4 spots in the lineup.

There is certainly no question Francona has more patience than most fans would ever have, and really, he has to. Most fans would take players out of the lineup after two bad games.

Still, Tito is a baseball manager and not everything he does turns to gold, nor does it mean that the person who makes the criticism wants the Tribe to have a new skipper.

This was brought to light during the first game in Boston, when with two outs and first base open in a game the Indians were trailing 1-0, Francona let right-hander Josh Tomlin face lefty swinging slugger David Ortiz.

Yes, we know Ortiz was 0-for-10 lifetime against Tomlin, but he also said prior to throwing one pitch, that the right move was to put the big slugger on.

Two pitches later, Ortiz hit a two-run homer and a 1-0 deficit was now 3-0. And the way Boston starter Jon Lester was pitching, it seemed the game was over.

The next night, Francona brought Cody Allen, who everyone agrees has been a tad overworked this season into a game with Cleveland trailing 9-3. The thought obviously was to get the closer some work since he hadn’t pitched since the previous Sunday.

Allen gave up a dinger to the first batter he faced and wound up throwing 21 pitches in a game he didn’t need to throw in.

The point is this, even though Tito has enjoyed tremendous success, he’s still a baseball manager, and that means he is not perfect.

This season, he has overused his bullpen at times. We have no qualms in trying to win any game you have a chance, but there are games the Tribe is losing where he will use Bryan Shaw and even Allen to keep the Indians within one of two runs. The way his relief corps in set up, he doesn’t have that luxury.

He should use guys like John Axford, Carlos Carrasco, and others in those situations and if they can’t get the job done, they should be replaced.

Francona has also fallen into the veteran skippers’ plight, that is, not being confident in young players. When Jesus Aguilar was sent back to Columbus this latest time, Tito said thought the rookie never got comfortable here. Perhaps that’s because he was playing once every five days.

He could’ve played him everyday in place of slumping hitters like Jason Giambi and Ryan Raburn, neither of whom hammered the ball when they were in the lineup, but he felt more comfortable with the vets.

He needs to realize that, yes he won 92 games with these guys last year, but this is a new season, and the way this team is put together, they need production from every player on the roster.

There is no question that Terry Francona is the best manager the Tribe has had in a long time. However, he’s human. Not every move he makes is golden. That’s just baseball.

We hate the second guess, but there are moves that deserve questioning.

When Swish and Santana Get Back? Play ‘Em

The Cleveland Indians have won six in a row and have climbed back to the .500 mark for the season. Of course, since they are going on a 10 game trek and they have one of the worst road records in the game, that record may be short-lived.

But for the time being, things are looking good in Tribe Town, and naturally casual baseball fans are quick to infer that the team’s hot streak coincided with Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher going on the disabled list.

That leads, of course, to the conclusion that when both players are healthy, Terry Francona should keep them on the bench and leave the status quo.

Upon further review, that’s a dumb argument.

First, because Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting .361 and is currently tied for fifth on the team in RBIs and is hitting left-handers, he’s staying in the lineup everyday even when the two switch-hitters return to the active roster.

The two players who have gained time because of the injuries are Jason Giambi and Ryan Raburn who are sharing the DH spot, and Mike Aviles, who has been filling in at third base with Chisenhall playing 1B.

Neither Giambi nor Raburn have been particularly productive at DH, with Giambi just 5 for 35 on the season, albeit with 2 HR, and Raburn is still in a season long funk at .207 with just 1 HR.

While Santana is hitting only .159 on the season, he does have a .327 on base percentage, compared to Giambi (.250) and Raburn (.262). That means Santana is making outs 6-7% less times than do the men currently replacing them.

Giambi can be productive if his starts can be limited to once or twice per week. His production seems to ebb when he is playing every other day, which has been the case over the past week.

Raburn hasn’t been productive at all to this point in the season.

On the other hand, Aviles has been very productive in 2014, ranking third on the Indians in runs batted in right now, and he’s batting .274 on the year, although he doesn’t walk much, and doesn’t have much power. His OPS is just 673.

That’s only 42 points behind Swisher, who by most accounts is off to a terrible start, hitting just .211. Still, his on base percentage is at .311 meaning he also makes less outs than Aviles, who sits at .297.

Francona will find time periodically for the veteran who can play 2B, SS, 3B, and LF, and most of that time will come against southpaws because the Indians lack right-handed hitting.

While the Indians have been hitting well and winning with two regulars on the shelf, there is no question they would be much better off with a productive Santana and Swisher, and you can make a very good case that even with tough starts for the pair, they have been slightly better on offense than the players who have replaced them.

Now, no one is saying Francona should put either player back into the middle of the batting order, it wouldn’t hurt if he put them in the lower half of the order until they get going again, and for Santana, he could stop the experiment at the hot corner and use him at 1B when he’s not catching, with Chisenhall going back to third.

Don’t confuse the winning as meaning Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher aren’t important to the success of the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe has been winning with solid starting pitching, excellent relief by the overworked Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen, and some timely hitting from Michael Bourn.

Getting two switch-hitters with the track record of Santana and Swisher back will only help the Tribe attack.

Current Tribe Roster Won’t Get it Done

Yesterday, we heard a radio personality talking about the players on the Cleveland Indians having to show management whether or not they should be buyers or sellers at the trading deadline that occurs on July 31st.

That kind of talk is way too premature to be sure.

While there is no doubt Terry Francona’s ballclub is struggling with consistency, the fact of the matter is the Indians are sitting just four games out of the second wild card spot, despite their 24-28 record to date.

We have said this a few times before, but the American League is a jumbled mess right now and it is likely to stay that way through July, meaning teams should be trying to improve themselves.

Houston doesn’t look like a contender and the next two months should drop a couple of other teams into the also ran class, but it appears there could be as many as 10 teams in the AL vying for the five playoff spots.

Still, the radio guy has it all wrong. It’s up to the front office to make a move to make it a moot point. They need to do something to insure the Tribe is in the mix after the all-star break.

They don’t have to do anything right now. There is still a little time for the players currently on the roster to show some improvement.

But the starting rotation is springing leaks like a sun-baked hose, and the bullpen is starting to show some wear and tear because the rotation has struggled.

Offensively, the Indians are very inconsistent; scoring three runs or less in half of the team’s games in 2014. That’s not going to lead to a lot of victories, nor does it enable the Tribe to get on the winning streak it needs.

If GM Chris Antonetti would be forced into being a seller at the deadline, what does he have to attract talent?

Asdrubal Cabrera, a good trade candidate because of the presence in the organization of SS Francisco Lindor, is a free agent at the end of the year, lessening his market value.

Justin Masterson is also a free agent when the season ends, but he is not pitching well at this point. It is doubtful you could get a top prospect in return.

The players who are performing well, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, and Jason Kipnis (assuming he plays to his usual standards) were just signed to long-term deals. The Indians’ management wants them in a Cleveland uniform for a long time.

One player who could draw some interest is Carlos Santana, but first he needs to get his hitting back to normal levels.

As a catcher, he was an elite type hitter. As a corner infielder, hitting 25 HR and knocking in 80 runs with a lot of walks isn’t really special.

He’s tried to convert to the hot corner, but with Lonnie Chisenhall’s emergence, he is forcing his way into the lineup at that spot.

At first base, the Indians have high priced Nick Swisher and the one right-handed power hitter they have in the minor leagues, Jesus Aguilar, also plays the position.

You would think Santana could fetch a right-handed hitter or a middle of the rotation starting pitcher in return, and perhaps the Tribe would be a better club.

If the front office wants to improve the current version of the Cleveland Indians, they need to be proactive, and not sit back and wait.

It’s the position change, not his start of the season slump, which has rendered Santana tradeable. The Indians should be looking if dealing the switch-hitter can get them what they need to make the post-season once again.

Not Many Solutions for Tribe Problems

The Cleveland Indians are struggling.

Optimistic people will tell you they are only 3-1/2 games out of a wild card spot, thanks to the bunched up American League standings, but watching them play tells you it doesn’t look like they can put together any kind of winning streak soon.

The defense is atrocious, the hitting is mostly weak, and right now, three of their starting pitchers have an ERA of over 5.00.

That isn’t exactly a recipe for success.

The past weekend series against Oakland can be set aside in this discussion because it could just be a matter of playing a team when they are red-hot, which the A’s are. Still, the Indians’ difficulties have been going on all season long.

Are their any solutions for GM Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona?

The simple answer is not really. The Tribe needs the veteran players with track records to start playing to those career numbers. Because there is no immediate help in the farm system and Antonetti isn’t the type of GM to make rash deals.

This lineup isn’t scoring runs and it probably isn’t going to as long as Carlos Santana bats .150 and Nick Swisher bats .200. Those two players have to get it going.

As for the people who want the latter out of here, Swisher has no trade value right now with the way he is hitting and playing defense, and his expensive contract.

One move Francona can make is to start moving Swisher off of first base where his defense has been terrible to be nice. Put Santana back at first, a position he is more familiar with, because perhaps learning a new position has affected the switch-hitter’s batting.

Getting Jason Kipnis back from the disabled list will no doubt help the hitting, although Mike Aviles has done a fine job at 2B in his absence. With Kipnis back, Aviles can go back to the part-time role he excels at.

After a hot start, he has slumped a bit, which is the norm for the veteran. He hits best in a limited role.

The Indians consider Jesus Aguilar a marginal prospect, but his right-handed bat is needed by the big club, which is overloaded in terms of guys who swing from the left side.

As for the pitching staff, Trevor Bauer is getting the start tonight, replacing Danny Salazar. However, Zack McAllister and Justin Masterson need to start pitching better as well.

The struggles of the starting rotation are definitely affecting the bullpen, which is starting to show signs of wear and tear.

If something happens to one of the starters, and Masterson is looking like a guy with a sore arm (loss of velocity and command), right now, Salazar is the only option, and he did not pitch well in his first AAA start.

Losing Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez without replacing either one in the off-season has robbed the organization of its depth at starting pitcher.

So, there aren’t many alternatives except to play better. No one wants to hear that among the fans, but we can’t see any blockbuster deals on the horizon, mostly because the Tribe doesn’t have anyone with huge market value.

Asdrubal Cabrera is an above average major league shortstop and Francisco Lindor is Cleveland’s best prospect, but the former is a free agent at the end of this season, so you won’t get much in return.

If you deal anyone else, there isn’t a player to replace him.

That’s what happens when you don’t draft well for a decade.

So, Tribe fans have to hope the veterans get back to their usual levels or it will be a long summer.

Either way, it’s not the best scenario if you are a baseball fan in Cleveland.