Hold On! Tribe Trying To Restructure, Not Blow It Up

The Cleveland Indians were in the news over the past weekend and extending into today after it was reported the team would be willing to trade some veteran players, not including Francisco Lindor and/or Jose Ramirez.

Many fans took this to mean Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff were going into rebuilding mode. This could not be further from the truth.

Of course, the team also declined to make qualifying offers to Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller, or Cody Allen, the Tribe’s primary free agents.

We have talked about the fact that the Indians’ offense was very top heavy in 2018, largely dependent on Lindor, Ramirez, and Brantley, and the latter doesn’t look to be on the roster next spring.

Combine that with the payroll in ’18 was as high as the franchise can have, and you can see some restructuring of the roster has to be done.

If you look at the every day lineup from the end of last season, outside of Lindor, Ramirez, and Greg Allen, everyone else was over 30 years old, which means improvement isn’t likely, so we are sure the Indians want to get younger.

The issue is that among the Tribe’s top ten prospects (from Baseball America) show the only position player who played above the AA level last season was 1B Bobby Bradley.

So, there is no help on the horizon from the minor leagues.

While we are sure the front office would love to move Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Kipnis, or Yonder Alonso, our guess is there wouldn’t be much of a return for that trio, it would pretty much be a salary dump for low level prospects.

So, you have to look at players who you can sell high on, and that brings us to Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Yan Gomes.

There is no question the strength of the Indians is their starting pitching, and they brought up a rookie into the rotation this season in Shane Bieber, and their top prospect is another starter in Triston McKenzie, who was at Akron last season.

Both Kluber and Carrasco are under reasonable contracts for the next two years, so they would have huge value for teams looking for starting pitching.

We believe you should A). Deal from strength, and B). Better to trade someone a year too early than a year too late.

Kluber is going to be in the top three in the Cy Young Award voting this year, the fourth time in his career that will be the case. However, he did show signs of wear and tear as the season went on.

Keep in mind, he has thrown 200 innings or more five consecutive seasons. His strikeout rate was the lowest since before his first Cy Young season in 2014. Is he starting a decline? That’s what the organization has to ask themselves.

His salary jumps from $10 million to $17 million this year and basically stays there through 2021 on club options.

Carrasco has less wear and tear on his arm (only one 200 inning season) and is still making under $10 million in 2019 and 2020.

Carrasco might fetch more in a deal for that reason.

Gomes is 31 years old and is coming off perhaps his best season in the major leagues. It would be a good baseball move to try to trade him at his peak.

This current group perhaps went as far as it could in 2016, and the organization gave them two more shots to win a title.

The front office knows they need to address the offense and they need some younger position players who have an upside.

The core remains the same. The Indians are still trying to get better for 2019. They aren’t starting the rebuild.

Looking At Tribe Roster Options For ALDS

One week from now, baseball’s post-season will be upon us, although the Cleveland Indians will not start the Division Series against the defending champion Houston Astros until Friday, October 5th.

The roster for that series is unknown, as is how many pitchers the Tribe will carry for the best-of-five set against the Astros.

We believe Terry Francona, Chris Antonetti, and Mike Chernoff will go with 11 pitchers in that series, and will use four starters, with Corey Kluber going in Game 1.

And four starters is the way to go too. We have heard people talk about using Carlos Carrasco and even Trevor Bauer as relief weapons in the first round, but really, wouldn’t you want those two giving you 15-21 outs instead of let’s say, 7-9 outs?

You have heard national media talk about how dangerous the Indians are because of their starting pitching, so why use guys on short rest, or use rookie Shane Bieber as a starter so you can use a pitcher who has started all year out of the bullpen?

Seems like you are weakening a strength.

As for the bullpen, which we project will have seven pitchers, the obvious choices are Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, and Brad Hand. Oliver Perez deserves a spot too, but with Houston being right-handed hitter dominant, do you keep the veteran southpaw?

Yes, because right handed hitters are 3 for 42 vs. the southpaw who comes at hitters with a variety of angles and deception.

Who fills the other three spots?

Right handed batters have a 599 OPS on the season vs. Adam Cimber, and his sidearming style should be good for use as a ROOGY. He will probably make the squad.

That leaves Dan Otero, Neil Ramirez, Josh Tomlin, and Jon Edwards vying for two spots.

All four give up a lot of home runs, the lowest home run rate per nine innings belongs to Otero, who although it seems like he gives up a lot of long balls, he’s actually done it at a lower rate than the others.

Remember though, Edwards’ work is based on just 7-2/3 innings since he was just called up on September 1st.

If you want punch outs, then Ramirez (11.2 strikeouts per nine) and Edwards (11.0) are the guys you want.

Otero has the lowest OPS vs. right handed hitters (280/424/704), with Ramirez next best at 294/450/744.

Based on the numbers, Tomlin seems to fit only if loyalty is an overwhelming factor. The veteran has allowed 3.3 homers per nine, has the lowest strikeout rate (5.6) and righty hitters have an 811 OPS against him.

That would leave five bench players (assuming Josh Donaldson at 3B, Jason Kipnis in CF, and Melky Cabrera in RF). Roberto Perez will be the backup catcher, and no doubt Brandon Guyer will make the roster to face Dallas Keuchel.

We also believe Greg Allen will be there for defense in the outfield and Rajai Davis (not that we agree with this) will be there as a pinch running option.

This would seem to leave the last spot between Yandy Diaz and Erik Gonzalez. Diaz has been platooning at first base with Yonder Alonso, but he has tailed off since a hot start.

If you don’t keep Gonzalez, you have no backup shortstop except for Jose Ramirez, which based on Francisco Lindor’s durability, may not be a factor.

Our guess is Diaz makes the roster.

The official announcement date will be a week from today, and a lot can still happen, particularly in the bullpen.

Then we will see how accurate our thinking was…

The Tribe’s Giant Leap of Faith

Well, we certainly can’t say Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff played it safe, can we?

The Cleveland Indians’ front office took a giant leap of faith that Josh Donaldson’s injured calf will be healthy enough to get through two months in acquiring the former American League MVP just prior to the September 1st deadline.

Donaldson hasn’t played in the big leagues since May 28th, yet the Tribe management is willing to blow up the existing lineup for a player hitting .234 with a 757 OPS this season.

Ironically, Donaldson’s last two home runs for the Blue Jays came on May 3rd, at Progressive Field in a doubleheader against the Indians, hitting them off of Nick Goody in game one, and Adam Plutko in the nightcap.

In his three previous seasons, his lowest OPS was 939 in 2015, his first year in Canada, when he won the MVP, leading the AL in runs scored, runs batted in, and belted 41 home runs.

His career post-season numbers, in 31 games, are a .292 batting average, 4 home runs, 13 RBI, and an 836 OPS. Even in the ALCS loss to the Indians in 2016, Donaldson still was 6 for 18 with a dinger.

When he is ready to play, and that’s not a given, it appears the Tribe will move Jose Ramirez to second base, and Jason Kipnis will move to the outfield for the second straight fall.

That’s a drastic departure because Terry Francona said a few weeks ago that he wasn’t going to move Ramirez to the keystone to get Yandy Diaz’ bat in the lineup.

With Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez in a bit of a tailspin, it was clear the Indians’ offense needed a boost. Greg Allen was hot for awhile, but our fears that he still isn’t reliable were shown to be true.

That doesn’t mean Allen doesn’t have a future, because we believe he does.

The Tribe outfield defense isn’t great anyway, so it appears management will punt on it totally to get Kipnis’ recently rejuvenated bat in the lineup, with Ramirez moving to second.

When will the transition start to take place? It is thought that Donaldson needs some more minor league at bats, so will Francona wait until Donaldson is ready to play in the majors, or will he get valuable action at their new positions for Ramirez and Kipnis.

When Kipnis is in center, our guess is he will play five or six innings, and if the Tribe has a lead, Greg Allen will take over.

It has been reported that Kipnis is not real happy about having to move to the outfield, and this is where Francona needs his greatest strength, his relationship with his players.

If Donaldson is healthy, there is no doubt his presence in the lineup makes the Tribe batting order more potent. The offense has been top heavy all season long, with the team not getting a lot of production past the fifth spot in the order.

Donaldson’s presence lengthens the order, potentially dropping Yonder Alonso into the 6th spot, and if Kipnis keeps hitting, the lineup has some depth.

The biggest selling point Tito has is it makes the team better, and if winning is the ultimate goal in that clubhouse, this move helps.

Still, it’s a huge gamble because of Donaldson’s calf. We have seen what Lonnie Chisenhall’s problem has done to his career over the last year, so there is no guarantee it won’t flare up on the newest Indian.

Antonetti and Chernoff have pushed all the chips to the center of the table again. Now, the question is will their new hand be a winner?

Tribe Still Needs To Help OF, Bullpen Before September.

It has long been said that the Major League Baseball season is a marathon not a sprint, and certainly playing 162 games over a six month period is not an easy task.

(FYI, if the schedule would be shortened in the future, the only acceptable length to us would be 154 games)

Over that length of time, there certainly is a physical toll on the players, and the Cleveland Indians have been reminded of this over the past two weeks.

First, DH Edwin Encarnacion went on the disabled list with a left bicep issue which may or may not have resulted from changing his swing after he was hit on the hand by a pitch during the last game before the All Star break on July 15th.

Then, the Tribe’s best pitcher this season, Trevor Bauer, was hit on the ankle by a line drive Saturday night, and has a small stress fracture, an injury that will put him on the shelf for awhile.

So, with the August 31st waiver deal deadline coming up, we were wondering what Chris Antonetti can do to put the finishing touches on the Indians’ roster before the end of the month.

Offensively, because of Leonys Martin’s unfortunately health issue, the Tribe could still use another bat and/or glove in the outfield. Greg Allen has done okay since recalled to take Martin’s spot, but he still should be in AAA learning.

His platoon partner in CF, Rajai Davis is better once he’s on base than getting on base, with a .294 on base percentage and 604 OPS. His OPS vs. lefties, against whom he gets the bulk of his playing time, is just 544. Not exactly what you would call a platoon advantage.

In rightfield, Brandon Guyer has started hitting southpaws like he did when he came to Cleveland in 2016, but his partner, Melky Cabrera, has become a singles hitter who plays poor defense. If Terry Francona has the lead after the 6th inning, Guyer goes in for defense.

Certainly, Lonnie Chisenhall’s return would help, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Remember, that the front office picked Coco Crisp and Jay Bruce in the past two seasons in August, and both made an impact down the stretch for the Tribe.

The other area we would like to see an addition is in the bullpen because you can never have enough good relief arms in the post-season.

Right now, with the game on the line, Terry Francona feels very confident in Brad Hand. Andrew Miller still isn’t the Miller we came to know in 2016 and early ’17, but that may be a matter of building up arm strength.

Cody Allen is still having control problems, not walking people as much as falling behind hitters, and gives up too many home runs for our taste.

Oliver Perez has been very good in his loogy role, but it doesn’t seem like Francona has figured a role yet for Adam Cimber.

Neil Ramirez helped when the relief corps was really scuffling, but lately has had issues keeping the ball in the park. And Dan Otero can get a key ground ball, but this year has given up a lot of hits, and more homers than usual.

Getting another reliable arm would seem to limit the use of the latter two pitchers in high leverage situations.

The recent past says the front office will do something to bolster the roster heading down the stretch. Just exactly what will they do?

Time For Tribe Front Office To Recover From “Slump”

Perhaps the executive branches of professional sports teams have hot streaks and cold spells just like players. If you agree with that premise, then the front office and management of the Cleveland Indians is in a bit of a slump.

It started in the off season, when the team predictably lost two relievers, Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith in free agency. However, president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff didn’t really address the losses in the winter.

Sure, they brought in a collection of guys on minor league contracts, but no one with a proven track record. Because of Andrew Miller’s injury, this has resulted in having the statistically worst bullpen in baseball.

Miller being out has caused Terry Francona to have no bridge to Cody Allen for much of the season. Only in the last month have Neil Ramirez and Oliver Perez, released by the Yankee organization, stepped up to give the Tribe some relief in the 7th and 8th innings.

Worse, the bullpen situation, or lack of it, have caused Francona to extend his starters, and Corey Kluber is already having some knee issues. Hopefully, that’s the extent of the effect as the season continues.

Austin Jackson was also a free agent not pursued by the Indians after a season where he hit .318 overall, and torched left-handers to the tune of a .352 batting average and 1.013 OPS.

Look, we agree that Jackson was unlikely to produce the same way in 2018, but the issue was the front office wound up picking up Rajai Davis to take his spot with the team. Unfortunately, Davis has never been outstanding vs. lefties, a career 759 OPS against southpaws, and this year that figure has dropped to 523.

Spring training also caused some curious decisions, most notably not making Yandy Diaz more versatile. Diaz played 21 games in LF and nine games in RF last season in Columbus, but in the spring, they focused him at third base, a position he was never going to play in Cleveland with Jose Ramirez there.

Diaz has little to prove at the AAA level after hitting .350 there last season, and this season has a .415 on base percentage in Columbus. The Tribe could use some outfield help, and they could also use someone at the bottom of the order who doesn’t make outs.

It doesn’t seem like the organization has any plans for Diaz, despite hitting .263 last year and getting a lot of time down the stretch last season.

These aren’t second guesses, either. Most fans of the team wondering aloud during the winter and throughout spring training just what was the front office doing. Most felt because of the weak AL Central, the brass had until the end of July to fix things.

Well, that date is drawing near, and the fear is there are too many holes on this roster to fix them all within two weeks.

But the front office has a chance to redeem itself after the slump that has continued since the end of last season. The time to strike is now.

The bullpen is the glaring need and we do not believe it will be fixed simply with Andrew Miller’s return. Hopefully, Ramirez and Perez keep pitching well, but holdovers Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, and Tyler Olson aren’t inspiring any confidence.

The offense could be solved by simply bringing up Francisco Mejia (who was recalled yesterday) and perhaps Diaz as well and putting them into the lineup. On the other hand, neither are proven at the big league level, and the Indians need to correct the current top heaviness in the batting order.

If the front office pulls off a couple of solid moves that work within the next two weeks, no one will remember the past eight months. However, they can’t just ignore the issues this team has despite a big division lead.

Why Tribe Shouldn’t Move Top Prospects

The Cleveland Indians seem to have a firm hold on the American League Central Division, leading by 7-1/2 games mainly because no one else in the division can play .500 baseball.

Coming into this season, winning the Central was kind of a foregone conclusion, and no doubt the organization feels like it has bigger fish to fry. This makes the July 31st trade deadline very important.

What kind of splash can president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff make by that date?

While many fans feel the window of opportunity is closing on the Indians, we do not feel that way. As long as you have Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, etc, you will have a chance to compete for a championship.

We all know the Tribe cannot spend money like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, or Dodgers. That doesn’t mean they can’t compete for free agents, but it does mean they aren’t going to have a $200 million payroll anytime soon.

If you want to keep players like Lindor and/or Ramirez, who the organization drafted or signed as a free agent, develop them, and watched them turn into among the best players in the sport, and still be competitive, you must have a productive farm system.

That’s why we would be very careful about trading valuable prospects for players who could leave after two months.

It’s also why we would not want to move Francisco Mejia, who we believe will be an outstanding big league hitter, perhaps on the level of Lindor, Ramirez, or Michael Brantley.

To have a player like that, under club control for six years before free agency, helps you spend the money you will need to come up in a few years to keep Frankie Lindor an Indian for the majority of his career.

That’s why prospects are perhaps more important to the Indians than they are to many teams also looking to add pieces at the deadline.

This does not mean Cleveland will not make a deal. Two years ago, they moved one of their top prospects, OF Clint Frazier, to New York for Andrew Miller, who was not eligible for free agency for 2-1/2 years.

That’s why relief pitchers like San Diego’s Brad Hand (signed with a club option through 2021) or Baltimore’s Mychael Givens (not a free agent until 2022) make sense for the Tribe.

They would be willing to move a good prospect for either, but we still wouldn’t include Mejia or starter Triston McKenzie because they have the potential to be elite performers.

The Indians still have some good prospects that would make sense for them to deal, most notably three guys whose primary position is shortstop: Erik Gonzalez, Yu Chang (22 years old–715 OPS at Columbus), and Willi Castro (21 years old–670 OPS at Akron).

This trio isn’t playing in Cleveland any time soon with Lindor on the roster.

Yandy Diaz, an on base machine, is another potential trade chip, although we would prefer that the Tribe find a place for him on the big league roster.

One of the trio of Shane Bieber, Adam Plutko, and Shao-Ching Chiang could be moved, so could slugging 1B Bobby Bradley.

The point is the Indians have prospects to offer without giving up their two best guys.

As we said before, the front office might be willing to move one of these top prospects, but it should be for a player they will be able to have on the roster for more than the last two months of the season.

In our opinion, the Tribe need to hold on to players like Mejia to control the future payrolls.

Tribe Looks To Be Waiting For July To Make Moves

With spring training starting in two weeks, it would be fair to say the Cleveland Indians have had a very quiet winter.

Sure, they’ve been in the news in terms of losing players, as Carlos Santana signed as a free agent with the Phillies, Bryan Shaw went to Colorado, Jay Bruce to the Mets, and Joe Smith departed for Houston.

The front office did sign Yander Alonso to replace Santana at first base, banking that Alonso’s power surge last year is sustainable.

After never reaching double figures in home runs during the first seven years of his career (his high was 9 in 2012 with San Diego), Alonso crushed 28 dingers in 2017.

He slugged .501 last season after never reaching the .400 mark during his career.

If changing the launch angle of his swing can be carried forward, then the Indians have Santana’s replacement, at least vs. right-handed pitching, against whom he had a 900 OPS a year ago.

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff obviously feel the platoon of Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer or perhaps Yandy Diaz can handle rightfield, after all the Tribe was in first place before they dealt for Bruce.

In the bullpen, the organization is banking on Nick Goody to step up and hoping perhaps a non-roster invitee such as Alexi Ogando, Preston Claiborne, or Neil Ramirez can emerge like Jeff Manship, Ryan Webb, or Scott Atchison have in recent years.

We believe the Indians feel comfortable in their place in the division, after all they won the American League Central Division by 17 games a year ago, and will use the first three months of the 2018 season to see what they will need for the stretch drive.

This means the July 31st trading deadline will be more important to Cleveland than the off-season was.

Management is banking on a return to form from Jason Kipnis to boost the offense, and this is a solid move. The second baseman has had an OPS over 800 in three of the four years prior to last year’s injury plagued campaign.

If Kipnis has was is an average season for him (.268, 17 HR, 74 RBI, 762 OPS) that will add offense for Terry Francona.

Don’t forget Chisenhall was having an outstanding season before missing most of the last two months. The former first round pick was hitting .288, slugging .521, and had a career high OPS of 881.

We are unsure about replacing Austin Jackson, who had a rebirth in Cleveland (.318, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 869 OPS in 89 games) with Melvin Upton Jr., who didn’t play in the big league during 2017.

Upton does have a career 760 OPS vs. southpaws, but hasn’t hit over .250 in the bigs since 2008, and is prone to striking out.

As for the bullpen, we think Antonetti and Chernoff will do what they did in ’16 and see what relievers come available as the season progresses.

Remember, that’s how Andrew Miller came to the Tribe. If you can get a bullpen piece of that magnitude to go with Cody Allen and the big lefty, you will be well suited for an October run.

This strategy also will show what you have in players like Diaz, Upton, Kipnis, and Francisco Mejia and Triston McKenzie.

And who knows, another minor leaguer may emerge as a piece other teams will covet.

Remember, the Cleveland Indians didn’t squeak into the playoffs last year, they had the best record in the AL. Even a slight regression puts them in a great position going into 2018.

Kipnis Back To Second Makes Sense

The news didn’t make a lot of headlines, but the Cleveland Indians announced over the weekend that Jason Kipnis would likely be the Opening Day second baseman in 2018.

That puts the infield alignment, save for newcomer Yonder Alonso at first base the same as the one the Tribe used in the 2016 World Series, with Jose Ramirez moving back to third, and of course, Francisco Lindor at second.

It does weaken Cleveland’s up the middle defense. Ramirez is a far better defender at the keystone than Kipnis, including turning the double play.

However, we never liked the idea of trading Kipnis after last season’s injury plagued season in which he hit .232 with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in (705 OPS).

We understand the veteran’s salary takes a huge jump this season, going from $9.2 million last year to $13.7 million in ’18, making him a candidate to be moved if Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff wanted to create payroll space for another player.

And another off-season would make Kipnis virtually untradeable going into the 2019 season, with his salary jumping again to $14.7 million.

But, the second baseman should be a good candidate for a bounce back season coming up, if he remains healthy. Keep in mind he suffered a shoulder issue during spring training and then had hamstring woes as the season came to a close.

Although Kipnis turns 31 in April, last season saw him have the lowest OPS of his career (640 in 2014). Three of his five full campaigns have resulted in OPS over 800 for the season.

You would have to figure he would come close, if not surpass, that mark again in 2018.

This move also clears up one of the question marks the Indians still had as spring training approaches, who will play third?

So, the biggest question now becomes whether or not Michael Brantley can open the season in left field, and if he can’t who plays there? Also, how does Yandy Diaz fit on the roster?

Our guess is the organization will take it slow with Brantley, so as to not cause any setbacks with the ankle, and they would be fine with a debut around May 1st.

As for Diaz, who really needs and deserves a chance to get extended playing time in the big leagues (after all he hit .350 with a 914 OPS in AAA last season), perhaps he fits in as a platoon partner at first base, as Alonso has struggled vs. southpaws, or in the outfield.

Remember, the Indians still have Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte on the roster too.

Don’t forget Guyer has an 828 OPS for his six year career vs. left-handers.

Even with Kipnis moving back to second, the Indians are still missing a power bat in the lineup.

Santana has been replaced by Alonso, but who replaces Jay Bruce? Lonnie Chisenhall had an 881 OPS in half a season with the Tribe, compared to Bruce’s 808 figure. But Chisenhall isn’t a guy who gets pitched around often.

We would classify the Opening Day lineup for the Cleveland Indians right now as still fluid. However, deciding Jason Kipnis is returning to second clears it up a little bit.

Even if they stand pat on position players for the rest of the winter, there will still be tough decisions for Terry Francona, particularly in the outfield.

Slow Moving Player Market Frustrating Tribe Fans

Spring training opens in about six weeks for the Cleveland Indians, and there are still questions surrounding the roster of the defending American League Central Division champs.

Off-season transactions throughout the sport are moving at a snail’s pace, except for relief pitchers, and the Tribe has lost two of them, Bryan Shaw to Colorado and Joe Smith to Houston.

A third, southpaw Boone Logan is rumored to be heading to Milwaukee, although the Indians probably believe they have filled that spot late last season with Tyler Olson.

So, the front office needs to find some bullpen help for a manager who loves plenty of arms in the ‘pen in Terry Francona.

There are still some options on the free agent market, but none are as accomplished as Shaw and Smith. So, creativity may be needed by GM Mike Chernoff and president Chris Antonetti.

The bigger hit to date may be offensively with the loss of Carlos Santana to the Phillies, and an impending departure of late season hero, Jay Bruce.

Will the slow market allow the Indians to retain Bruce? The longer he stays unsigned, you have to believe his demands will come down. Will they come down to an area where the Tribe is comfortable?

When you are a contending team, you can’t have a lot of unproven players in your everyday lineup.

Right now, third base is a question mark and so is centerfield, despite Bradley Zimmer’s debut a year ago. Zimmer has no track record, and had some swing and miss issues in 2017, so to say the team doesn’t need a back up plan is a big mistake.

We would like to think Yandy Diaz is the frontrunner at the hot corner, but the skipper frequently makes comments about his glove (despite good defensive metrics in the minor leagues), and he loves the defense of Giovanny Urshela, whose bat is suspect.

Right now, the lineup just isn’t long enough, but there is still a long way to go before the players start arriving in Goodyear.

We understand fans don’t like the inactivity, but really, outside of the bullpen movement and the Yankees trading for Giancarlo Stanton, what teams in the AL have done anything?

That’s right. Nobody else has made a significant move, at least among the upper echelon of the Junior Circuit, and that’s where the Indians live right now.

Even though the Tribe has Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Edwin Encarnacion, besides the questions we already listed, they still have Jason Kipnis coming off an injury plagued, off year for him.

Michael Brantley didn’t play for much of the second half, and is coming off surgery on his ankle.

Lonnie Chisenhall missed a good portion of the season after the All Star Game, and Brandon Guyer was pretty much a non-factor either.

And don’t forget last year’s big surprise, Austin Jackson, is a free agent, and may not be back with the team.

Remember, this winter, player movement is moving at a glacial pace. At some point between now and the middle of February, that will pick up.

With the slow movement could come bargains, which is to the advantage of the Cleveland Indians. Something to keep an eye on in the next six weeks.

Tribe Bullpen Will Need Revamping

One of the strengths of the Cleveland Indians the past several years has been their bullpen, but right now it could have a revamped look in 2018.

Sure, the back end of the relief corps is still anchored by Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, which means the 8th and 9th innings are taken care of.

The problem right now is the bridge between the starting pitchers and that dynamic duo for the last two innings.

Terry Francona has lost one of his main guys in rubberarmed Bryan Shaw, and another reliever who came aboard at the trade deadline a year ago, Joe Smith, will also not be back.

On a lesser note, Shawn Armstrong, who was kind of the swing guy between the big leagues and AAA a year ago, was traded to Seattle.

Francona said at the end of last season that it may take two pitchers to take the place of Shaw, who appeared in an American League leading 79 games in ’17, and has led the AL in games pitched in three of the last four seasons.

It is hard to see the replacements for Shaw and Smith on the current roster.

Nick Goody, picked up in a minor deal with the Yankees about a year ago, is probably the next hurler on Tito’s pecking order. Goody was 1-2 with a 2.80 ERA in 54-2/3 innings in 2017. He did strikeout 72 hitters last year, so he has swing and miss stuff.

Dan Otero is a guy Francona leans on early in games, so perhaps he could used in the 6th and 7th innings. The righty was 3-0 with a 2.85 ERA in ’17, but he is more of a sinkerballer with only 38 whiffs in 60 innings.

Zack McAllister is another option, but Francona seems to be hesitant to use him in high leverage situations because he’s basically a one pitch pitcher.

Perhaps Danny Salazar, with his electric stuff and durability issues, can be moved to the bullpen, but no one knows how his arm will react to this change in roles, and can he be effective over the long haul.

There doesn’t seem to be any in the minor leagues ready to step in and contribute either, but then again, no one saw Goody as a legitimate option heading into spring training.

We are sure the front office is looking at either a deal or free agent options for the ‘pen too.

Since the current management team has been in place, the Tribe has found guys like Scott Atchison, Otero, and Goody in free agency or in minor deals, and they have provided great help in relief.

We mentioned former Indians’ farmhand Hector Rondon previously as an option. He had closer experience with the Cubs.

However, until the replacements have success when the games count for real in April, you have to wonder about them.

And you have to wonder if and when they gain Tito’s trust. The skipper has a clear pecking order in his bullpen with certain guys pitching when the Tribe has a late lead, and the rest being relegated to pitching when the Indians are behind.

Based on the performance of the front office over the past five seasons, we have trust they will find arms to replace Shaw and Smith.

But there will certainly be a different dynamic in the Cleveland bullpen next season. New relief toys for Terry Francona.