Tribe Is Next Cleveland Team To Go “All In”

Edited to reflect Jonathan Lucroy voiding the deal to Cleveland

After the Cavaliers broke the drought for titles in Cleveland, we joked about how there is a new world order for sports.

That was never more evident than the past 12 hours when the Indians, yes, the Cleveland Indians, looked at the landscape around baseball, looked at their roster, and said we are going to try to go to the World Series and win it for the first time since 1948.

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff traded from their now deep farm system, and received the probably the best position player available and also the best relief pitcher on the market in catcher Jonathan Lucroy and southpaw Andrew Miller.

We have been harping about the Cleveland bullpen since the beginning of the season, and Miller, because he is signed through 2018, was the best bullpen arm on the market.

Since Miller became a reliever with the Red Sox in 2012, his highest ERA has been 3.35, and in his year and a half as a Yankee, he has struck out 177 batters in 107 innings pitched.

And he saved 36 games for New York a year ago.

Terry Francona should have no more worries when guys like David Ortiz, Eric Hosmer, etc. come to the plate in a late game situation any more. He has the best lefty bullpen arm in the game at his disposal.

Our guess is Tito will use Miller and Cody Allen as “co-closers”, meaning if there are tough lefty matchups in the 8th, Miller will pitch, and if there are tough right-handed hitters, Allen will go first.

That will move Bryan Shaw to the 7th, which puts less of a burden on one of the best starting rotations in the game.

And in the post-season, it could be invaluable as we’ve seen with the Royals the past two seasons.

There is no question the Indians gave up a lot of promising young players, but every single one of them hasn’t done a thing at the big league level.

And the Tribe dealt from strength. Clint Frazier is the player we wanted to part with least, but we figured either him or Brad Zimmer would have to go for Lucroy.

Justus Sheffield is a prime arm, but the Tribe didn’t give up Mike Clevinger, and still has Adam Plutko and Cody Anderson to help the rotation if need be.

Cleveland has a plethora of bullpen arms in the minors too.

Even though the deal with Milwaukee fell through, it shows the front office realizes the catching spot is a source of concern, and they are willing to do something about it.

They also understand the need for another quality bat to lengthen the lineup and compete with the Bostons, Torontos, Texas, and Detroits of the league.

Our guess is that Antonetti and Chernoff address both spots before 4 PM Monday afternoon.

The Indians want to get back to the World Series for the first time in 19 seasons. They are probably the favorite right now to do just that.

For Tribe, The Time For A Big Move Is Now

When the Dolan family took over ownership of the Cleveland Indians in 2000, Larry Dolan told his fan base that the team would spend money when it was appropriate.

Many Tribe fans are still waiting for that day.

While we aren’t sure about the money situation, it is time for the front office to go for it at this year’s trading deadline, with the Indians sitting at 57-42 and a 4-1/2 game lead in the American League Central Division.

In the Dolan era, there have been four instances after 2001 where the Indians entered August in a full fledged pennant race.

The 2005 squad had a 51-48 record after 99 games, but remember that was the year the White Sox got off to a hot start, so really at that point in the year, the Tribe was hoping for a wild card spot.

No major moves were made unless you consider dealing Jody Gerut for Jason Dubois a big move. The Tribe came up one game short at the end of the season.

The closest situation to this year was 2007, the last time the Indians won the division. They were 58-41 at this point in the season, and GM Mark Shapiro dealt catching prospect Max Ramirez to Texas for Kenny Lofton, who did make an impact the rest of the year and in the playoffs.

Manny Acta’s 2011 team got off to a good start (30-15) and were 51-48. The Indians made a big deal moving their top two pitching prospects (Drew Pomeranz and Alex White) for Ubaldo Jimenez.

The new pitcher struggled the rest of the year, and the Indians didn’t make the playoffs or even finish .500 for that matter.

In 2013, Cleveland’s most recent playoff appearance, the team was 52-47 and GM Chris Antonetti made one move, getting situational lefty Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis.

Of course, the team ran a 21-6 record in September to a spot in the wild card game, where they lost to Tampa Bay.

This year is different from the others though.

Only in 2007 was were the Tribe considered one of the best teams in the American League, and at that time, the farm system was a desert in terms of developing solid major league players.

Remember that from C.C. Sabathia to Lonnie Chisenhall, Cleveland’s first round picks were busts. None of them, save for Jeremy Guthrie (released by the team) ever had a meaningful major league career.

This time, the Tribe system has many young players that organizations’ covet and have some surplus to deal to get back a substantial player who can help the major league team right now.

They also need to gain the trust of the fans in Cleveland too.

This may irritate the legions of people who swallow everything the organization feeds them, but many fans in the area feel like the front office doesn’t make winning the highest priority.

A big move for an impact player will show those fans the Indians want to be the next team from Cleveland to have a championship parade downtown.

And if that sells some tickets in the process, than so be it.

There is no move in major league baseball that guarantees anything, all you can do is increase your chances to get to the World Series. And we certainly do not want to mortgage the franchise’s future to do that.

The time for the Indians to make a move that does just that is right now.

You just have to pull the trigger.

Tribe Can’t Mortgage Future Either

It is funny to listen to fans of the Cleveland Indians these days.

Granted, 68 years of waiting for another World Series title will make you irrational and downright crazy, especially when the franchise is poised to make such a run this season.

This is particularly true in terms of the July 31st trading deadline. There are many people willing to give up prospects, and a lot of them, to get a piece guaranteeing a spot in the Fall Classic.

But baseball doesn’t work that way. In fact, there is no move out there that will cement the American League pennant this season. That’s the nature of the game.

The farm system is deep enough to move one or two prospects for players who can help this season, without a doubt.

Remember, though, there were people who wanted the Indians to trade Francisco Lindor in 2013 to make a run at the post-season. The front office (and us, patting ourselves on the back) saw his special talent and realized he shouldn’t be moved.

We see the same short-sighted thinking in terms of the major league roster, particularly when it comes to Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis.

Since both players have contributed greatly to the success of this year’s edition of the Tribe, we are already hearing media and fans alike talking about extensions for both players. Usually around a three year deal.

This would be a horrific mistake.

Napoli has made himself a big part of the Tribe clubhouse, and is having his best season since 2013. And that’s terrific, but he’s also 34 years old and will turn 35 on Halloween.

A three year deal, which would probably cost the Indians over $10 million per season, would have the first baseman/DH in Cleveland through his age 37 season.

If he has his 2014 season (.248, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 789 OPS), do you want to pay $10-12 million for that? Neither does the Cleveland front office.

The same applies to Davis, who will turn 36 years old sometime during the post-season (October 19th). Davis has probably played more than the brass thought when they signed him last winter, but he has also helped in a big way.

He has already achieved a career high in home runs (9) and should also reach a career high in walks (he has 23 now, his high is 29).

If either player were willing to sign another one year deal, with a club option for a second season, we would do that, but after the solid 2016 seasons they’ve had, our guess is someone will give them a better contract than that.

Remember, the Tribe’s core is Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and Lindor, with players like Clint Frazier, Bradley Zimmer, Yandy Diaz, etc. on the way.

The Indians could be set for another long run at the top of the AL Central Division, just like the one in the 1990’s. It doesn’t make sense to be hampered by some bad contracts.

The smart move for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff is to find a couple of other players in similar situations to Napoli and Davis this off-season, and give them one year deals. It’s simply a less risky proposition for the front office.

If the powers that be on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario play their cards right, they will be a contender perhaps through the end of the decade.

Fans can’t think about that, but the management has to.

Last Night Reminds You Tribe Needs Help.

The Cleveland Indians have a comfortable 6-1/2 game lead in the American League Central Division, yet last night’s contest was one of the most frustrating in recent weeks.

The Tribe had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning against the Twins when some curious decisions were made, albeit some of them by the constraints of the roster.

Trevor Bauer wasn’t sharp in the six innings he worked and gave up a run on back-to-back two out hits in the last frame he worked. He was also over 100 pitches for the night.

But Terry Francona sent him back out for the seventh, even though the Tribe is coming off the All Star break and the bullpen is rested.

Based on what happened in the inning, it looks like Tito and Mickey Callaway wanted Bauer to pitch to Joe Mauer, because as we all know, Cleveland doesn’t have a lefty in the bullpen right now.

Bauer gave up a deflected single to the leadoff hitter, Edwardo Nunez, and then walked Mauer to put the tying run on base with no one out.

Our question would be why not have Jeff Manship or Dan Otero come in and start the inning clean. As it was, Manship was victimized by a error by Carlos Santana, and gave up a single to Brian Dozier to tie up the game.

Otero came in and got out of the two on, nobody out situation without any more runs scoring.

Our point is since Bauer wasn’t sharp, he should’ve called it a night after six innings of work. And this isn’t a second guess, we are stunned he came out for the seventh.

Not that T.J. House was setting the world on fire (he allowed six hits in 2-1/3 innings), but you need a southpaw in the bullpen. Francona got burned in the Yankee series bringing in Otero to face Brett Gardner with a 5-3 lead, only to see the slap hitter bang a three run triple to give New York a lead.

And that the Twins tied the game made Francona use Bryan Shaw for two innings on the second night of back-to- back appearances, meaning he likely cannot be used today.

The next odd decision came in the bottom of the 7th, with a man on first and two outs, when Francona sent Erik Gonzalez to the plate in his first major league at bat in a tie game and a runner on first, over Tyler Naquin, who had two hits on the night, and if 5 for 20 in his limited at bats vs. lefties.

Yes, Fernando Abad, the Twins’ reliever is tough on left handed hitters, but why take the bat out of Naquin’s hands in favor of a rookie in his first career at bat in the bigs?

If Tito would have had Juan Uribe on the bench and used him in that situation, there is no question. We would have had less of a quizzical expression had he used Abraham Almonte there. But Gonzalez?

Again, this is why the Indians need bullpen help.

They don’t have a reliable lefty to get tough left-handed hitters out. They also need more people that Francona trusts, because he clearly doesn’t want to use anyone but Allen, Shaw, Otero, and Manship in high leverage situations.

It is incumbent for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to do something quick. The Indians don’t want to give the Tigers or Royals any hope of getting back into the race for the division title.

Why Tribe Will Win The Central

All winter long, we have been critical of the off-season for the Cleveland Indians’ front office.

They did make a lot of sound, solid moves, but we questioned whether or not they did enough to get the squad back to a win total in the upper 80’s or low 90’s, so they could return to the post-season.

After careful consideration, we think they have and Terry Francona’s crew will win the AL Central Division in 2016.

By the way, we aren’t homers and don’t predict the Indians to win every year either. We think the last time we did make that pick, it was 2007-08.

Certainly, we know the Indians have the starting pitching to do it, perhaps the best rotation in the American League, and maybe in the sport when you figure the lack of DH in the National League, and that the AL is better overall.

The rotation is strong enough that a pitcher who threw 176 innings for the Tribe a year ago, Trevor Bauer, will apparently start the ’16 season in the bullpen.

And T.J. House, a big factor in 2014 and a very good prospect, Mike Clevenger, will open the season in Columbus.

We all know the key for the Indians in 2016 is the hitting, can they score enough runs to avoid losing a bunch of games because they score three runs or less, which they did in half of their games a year ago.

It is ridiculous to think Francisco Lindor will hit .313 as he did in 99 games a year ago, but if he hits .270, that’s an improvement over what the Tribe got from the spot in the first half of the ’15 campaign.

Team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff appear to have taken some dead spots in the lineup from a year ago, and have put players who should be able to help at the plate in their places.

While we like Giovanny Urshela’s potential, the fact remains last year he had a 608 OPS, way below average. This year, Juan Uribe, who had a 737 OPS will be the primary third baseman, with Jose Ramirez, who we think will breakout this season, getting time there as well.

And if Uribe doesn’t hit (he is 37 years old), Urshela had a solid spring at the plate and should improve on his offensive ability.

Tyler Naquin and Rajai Davis should do better than what Michael Bourn gave Cleveland until he was dealt to Atlanta in late July, and the platoon of Lonnie Chisenhall and another vet, Marlon Byrd should do better than the Brandon Moss/David Murphy/Jerry Sands trio in RF.

And we believe that Mike Napoli will be the best of the veterans the front office brought in this winter, and Yan Gomes is ready to pick up where he left off in 2014, before being hampered by injuries.

Those additions will augment Michael Brantley, who hopefully will be back by the end of April, and Jason Kipnis at the plate

The only concern we have is in the bullpen.

Cody Allen should be fine, but we worry about Bryan Shaw and wonder if the heavy workload finally catches up with him.

We also worry about Jeff Manship, because let’s face it, in his seven years in the big leagues, he’s had three good months, the second half of last season.

On the other hand, the Tribe has depth in the organization with bullpen arms. Shawn Armstrong and Austin Adams are ready to contribute if someone fails.

Lastly, there’s the Francona factor. Although we may disagree with him strategically at times, he knows how to use each player to the greatest advantage.

That cannot be underestimated.

It will be an Indians summer at Progressive Field in 2016. And if they can get off to a good start, people will start returning to be a part of the excitement.

Tribe Wants Good Start? Maybe Get Younger

It would seem appropriate on Super Bowl Sunday to write something about football today, but for fans of the Cleveland Browns, that game is a myth, something along the lines of a unicorn.

So, instead, with spring training starting in less than two weeks (how great is that to say), we will discuss the Cleveland Indians, a time with a chance to make the playoffs in 2016.

Unfortunately, that chance is slimmer than it could have been if the front office would have been more aggressive this off-season, instead of its normal philosophy of “wishin’ and hopin’.

There is no doubt the Indians have a championship pitching staff, their starting rotation is one of the five best in major league baseball, and may very well be #1.

But team president Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff didn’t do Terry Francona any favors by signing two players with plenty of age on them, Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis, as the only additions to the lineup.

And of course, rumors have them pursuing another aging veteran hitter in Juan Uribe.

This isn’t to say none of these guys can help the Tribe, in fact, we believe Napoli in particular could be a big help this season, but as a whole, the rampant conservatism that permeates the front office was en vogue again this winter.

In our opinion, one of the reasons the Indians get off to slow starts is they begin the season playing veterans who don’t have much left, and by the middle of May or early June, the management finally realizes that and replaces them with younger, more productive players.

Last year, it was Michael Bourn (Nick Swisher was hurt). Francona wrote Bourn’s name in the lineup 95 times last season, and his 608 OPS dragged down the offense. We would have moved the centerfielder after his ’14 season showed he was declining.

In 2014, Ryan Raburn was struggling after an excellent ’13 campaign, and he and Swisher, who was struggling physically, hampered the offense.

And don’t forget the Indians started playing better when Asdrubal Cabrera was traded and Jose Ramirez was inserted as shortstop.

Also, remember Orlando Cabrera, Jack Hannahan, and Johnny Damon?

That’s why we would pass on Uribe and let Giovanny Urshela and Jose Ramirez platoon at third base. What are the odds that Uribe will be much better than the two youngsters, who will probably improve with regular playing time.

It’s also why if Tyler Naquin hits .420 (or thereabouts) in the Cactus League, we would have him make the Opening Day roster and give him regular playing time.

After all, the Tribe’s current starting outfielder consists of 35-year-old Davis, a journeyman in Abraham Almonte, and Lonnie Chisenhall, who in his brief major league career has demonstrated wild inconsistency.

We would rather see Naquin than Collin Cowgill, Shane Robinson, or Joey Butler, because Naquin will get better. It’s hard to see the other three doing that.

And if one or all of them go to the minor leagues, you have a fallback if the rookie struggles in the bigs.

The fear in Cleveland is that a young player will be ruined by early career struggles. We believe if the rookie is tough mentally, he will overcome that.

Remember, Francisco Lindor was hitting around .210 after his first month in the majors. Was he crushed by it? No!

We understand that Lindor is a special talent, but why not give more young players a chance?

It may just help the Indians get off to better starts to seasons.

This Year’s Tribe Trial? Old Vets On 1 Year Deals

It seems that every off-season, the Cleveland Indians’ front office looks at their club and decides to conduct a science experiment.

The science involved is sabermetrics, and they seem to be always trying a different “theory” in terms of making the team successful for the upcoming season.

While they have put together three straight winning seasons (last year is kind of up for debate because they played only 161 games and finished one over .500), their victory total has declined since Terry Francona took the Indians to 92 wins in 2013 and a berth in the wild card game.

Over the years, GM Chris Antonetti took a look throughout baseball and saw the majority of pitchers were right-handed, and decided to make his team left-handed hitting dominant.

While the Indians were successful vs. righties, the problem became situational southpaws came out of the opponent’s bullpens and other teams decided to adjust rotations to throw lefties against Cleveland, with great success.

After the Tribe was burned by the signings of Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, two players in their early 30’s when inked, the Indians’ front office seems to be staying away from the long term deals to free agents.

Actually, this theory has merit. Don’t you think the Angels would love to get out of the Albert Pujols deal right now? And we know Boston would love for some team to take Hanley Ramirez and/or Pablo Sandoval off of their hands.

If you sign a player over 30 to a long term deal, you are paying top dollar for a player’s declining years. After a year or two of doing that, teams get tired of it.

The best free agents to sign are guys who hit that position in their mid-to-late 20’s, let’s say from age 27-29. That way you still get some prime years at big cash.

The problem is the players and agents are now looking for agreements which last six or seven years. This means it is inevitable that you will be paying big money to a player when he is no longer producing at an optimum level.

We totally understand why the Indians, and their payroll constraints, either self imposed or market imposed, stay away from the free agent process.

This year’s plan du jour is to improve the offense, which was a major trouble spot in 2015, with a series of veteran free agents, giving them non-threatening one year contracts.

1B Mike Napoli will play all of the 2016 season at 34 years old. The problem with him is his OPS has declined each of the last three seasons (842, 789, 734). Cleveland hopes his second half resurgence with Texas is the player they will get this season.

Rajai Davis is 35 years old, and although his OPS rose since he started playing in Detroit, he is a platoon player with an OPS vs. lefties at 798, but only a 654 figure against right-handers.

And there are rumors the Indians are talking seriously to another veteran, 3B Juan Uribe, who will turn 37 in March. Uribe is a good clubhouse influence and was well respected with the Dodgers and Mets last season.

He is starting to slow down a bit, with his OPS dropping 40 points last season.

If signed, his presence will allow the Tribe to start Giovanny Urshela at AAA to begin the season.

Signing these guys is a gamble, because if they don’t produce because age is catching up to them, then the Indians are in the same boat they were in last season. Actually, a little worse because Michael Brantley will likely miss the first two months of the season.

The Indians could have just went out and acquired a solid middle of the order bat, and they still might, although it isn’t likely.

They chose this latest experiment.

That can’t make the fan base all warm and fuzzy.

If Tribe Is Done, They Didn’t Do Enough.

Earlier this week, Indians’ president Chris Antonetti announced the signing of free agent 1B/DH Mike Napoli to a one year contract, and then said the Tribe is pretty much done when it comes to adding talent this off-season.

Let’s hope he is being coy.

Because if the front office is finished with the roster for the 2016 season, they haven’t done enough to improve the offense.

Getting Napoli and Rajai Davis are okay moves, and in a vacuum, you can’t complain about either player, especially because they were both brought in on one year deals.

Cleveland was 11th in the American League in runs scored last season, and will be missing their best hitter, Michael Brantley, for at least the first six weeks of the season.

Yes, we know that Francisco Lindor will be with the team all season, and Yan Gomes, a Silver Slugger winner in 2014, will hopefully be healthy for the entire season.

That will help the offense without a doubt.

Still, the Tribe didn’t get the impact bat, they so desperately need. They have a lot of players who will be put in the middle of the order in Cleveland, but for good offensive teams, they would hit somewhere between 6th and 9th.

That can work, but it requires every hitter in the lineup to have a solid season. There can’t be more than one spot where you aren’t getting offense.

We feel they will be better offensively in 2016, but not enough to put the Indians in the 90+ win conversation they need to win the division and avoid the one and done wild card game.

There is no question they have the pitching to contend and stay in the race. They finished 2nd in the AL in ERA, and their top four rotation hurlers might be without peer in the league.

But without better hitting, the Indians are going to lose too many games, 2-1 and 3-2. Games where they get excellent starting pitching and waste it.

Why not do something about it?

In a sport without a salary cap, it is funny to hear discussions about the Indians and talk about a $90 million payroll ceiling. Let us remind you that it is a self imposed figure.

There is nothing to prevent the Dolans from spending more than that figure except their own economical restraints.

Right now, the market is flush with free agent outfielders, and Terry Francona would have to start Davis, Abraham Almonte, and Lonnie Chisenhall out there if the season started today.

The Indians may have played the market correctly, and may be able to get a quality outfielder at a lower year commitment, something that is preferable for a smaller market team.

There was talk yesterday that Justin Upton may take a one year deal with Texas. And you know there is nothing bad about a one year contract.

So, the price tag for guys like Yoenis Cespedes and Gerardo Parra may not be as high as originally thought, and the trade value of players like Marcell Ozuna and Carlos Gonzalez may also be coming down.

We hope the Indians can take advantage of this and go out and get another solid bat to help length the lineup.

We hope that Antonetti was just being coy with the media and his people are still working feverishly to upgrade the hitting.

The Cleveland Indians can’t waste another year of excellent pitching without making the playoffs.

That would be a shame.

There’s A Long Way To Go, But C’Mon Tribe!

Baseball’s winter meetings are a beacon in a long winter without the sport we love.

The meetings are filled with activity, rumors, and teams trying to cure weaknesses for the upcoming season.

Except if you are a fan of the Cleveland Indians, who seem to view the conference as a necessary evil.

To be fair (please don’t jump on us Indians’ social media), there is plenty of time for president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff to do something to improve the product on the field for the Indians, but it would be nice to get something done now.

The Tribe is trying to sell some six pack tickets for the 2016 season, and to be sure, it would be easier to move some seats if the ballclub generated some excitement.

Instead, we have another year of hearing about improvements to Progressive Field, which the real fan doesn’t care much about.

Look, although baseball is a sport and success is shown in the standings and getting to the post-season, the Tribe is also in the entertainment business and nothing sells in Cleveland like winning.

It is no secret that the Indians need to improve the offense, especially since it appears Michael Brantley, their best hitter, will miss at least the first month of the 2016 season.

And while the front office and Terry Francona have pointed out they don’t want to move one of their starting pitchers, unless they sign a free agent (unlikely), how else will they get the stick they need.

Yes, if you make it to the post-season, you need to have lockdown pitching, however, unless you can score runs, it is difficult to make it to the playoffs.

The Giants have won three World Series in the last six years, but in two of the three other years, they didn’t make the playoffs because they didn’t score enough runs.

They ranked last in the NL in 2011 and 10th in the National League in 2013 in runs scored.

Unless the Indians can get at least one legitimate hitter this winter, Tribe fans can look forward to a lot more 2-1 and 3-2 losses, and folks telling everyone what the team’s record is when they score three runs or less.

All they have done so far is bring in retreads like Shane Robinson (lifetime 615 OPS), Collin Cowgill, who hit .188 last season (633 career OPS), and Joey Butler (742).

That only excites the people who clamor for these low risk type signings, because after all, you might catch lightning in a bottle.

So far, it’s back to the “wishin’ and hopin'” mentality.

That doesn’t sell tickets, and then the front office will wonder why despite three consecutive winning seasons (although last year is kind of an asterisk because of the rainout), attendance continues to wane.

Fair or not, the perception around this city is the Indians aren’t serious about winning.

Perhaps the worst thing to happen to this regime is the Royals going to back-to-back World Series, and going all in to get there each season.

Tribe fans look longingly at the Royals and ask “why not us?” Did they mortgage their future, perhaps. They look at having another 2-3 year window to grab another title.

Why can’t the Indians’ front office look at their pitching staff and realize if they can get to the playoffs they have a good chance.

Instead, they basically do nothing.

Yes, there is still time for the Cleveland Indians to get the bat they so desperately need.

Meanwhile, their fan base, although loyal, keeps getting smaller and more impatient.

Tribe Needs To Be Bold

While the baseball hot stove league has just barely started, it is sure to heat up soon.

The winter meetings take place next week and that is usually the place where the major moving and shaking takes place.

Going into the off-season, the Cleveland Indians were thought to be a team that could be very active this winter.

They have a solid pitching staff, and some depth as well, so the thought is out there that president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and new GM Mike Chernoff could swing some deals to bring a ballclub that finished 11th in the American League in runs scored a much needed jolt for the offense.

They did swing a minor deal getting Kirby Yates from Tampa, a right-handed reliever who has swing and miss stuff.

However, he did give up a whopping 10 home runs in a little over 20 innings pitched in 2015, so obviously the front office is looking for Mickey Callaway to work his magic with him.

But what about the offense?

The only rumors involving hitters involve older players on the downside of their careers, guys like the Yankees’ Brett Gardner and free agent outfielder Shane Victorino.

We hope these are just reporters using old information to dredge up some stories, because if the Tribe is looking at guys like these, they are on the usual Dusty Springfield approach, Wishin’ and Hopin’ (look it up, it’s a good oldie)

We have said it before, but if the Tribe is going to dramatically improve the offense, they can’t do it by adding only spare parts. They have to get a middle of the order bat, and that means moving a starting pitcher.

We have advocated that guy should be Danny Salazar for a variety of reasons.

That’s why the Indians have to go against their normal operating procedure and be bold, without giving up the farm.

We saw a piece on Marlins’ OF Marcell Ozuna, who would be a good get for the Indians, and the article said giving up Salazar for him was too much.

That’s what Antonetti and Chernoff have to guard against.

We may find out this winter, if the conservatism that has ruled the franchise over the past 10+ years was Mark Shapiro or the way the ownership wanted things.

If the Indians come home from the meetings with a guy like Victorino or Gardner, then we have our answer.

We still believe the new regime will do more. The time for boldness is this winter.