Bigger Market For Kluber Or Carrasco?

When baseball’s GM meetings took place a week ago, the rumors started that the Cleveland Indians were willing to move some of their veterans, excluding MVP candidates Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

Then came word the Tribe was talking to the Yankees about starting pitchers Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco in a big time trade.

That got us thinking…who would the fans rather see moved, and more importantly, who might bring the haul if they were moved.

Certainly, Kluber has had the more accomplished career. He’s a two time Cy Young Award winner, has finished in the top three in the voting four times, and is coming off his first 20 win season.

Carrasco has been one of the sports’ best starting pitchers since 2015, winning 60 games over the past four seasons, with an ERA under 4.00 each season. He has fanned 200 or more hitters in three of those seasons.

However, Kluber is older, he’ll be 33 on April 10th, and has more miles on his arm, having thrown 200 or more innings in each of the last five seasons. It also appears to many people that his arm slot became lower as the season went on in 2018. Kluber has the longer contract, which would give potential targets cost certainty for the next three seasons.

But the deal is for big dollars, he will earn $17 million in 2019, $17.5 million in 2020, and $18 million in 2021. Those last two years are at a team option.

Carrasco is signed for the 2019 season with a club option for 2020, at a deal that is far below what his performance has merited. He is making slightly over $7 million for ’19, and has a club option for $9.5 million for 2020.

Based on this information, Carrasco might bring back more in a trade than the Indians’ ace. The lure of getting a top notch starting pitcher at below market dollars could bring a huge return from other teams.

The market would seem to be contending teams for Kluber, while Carrasco could interest teams that are building for a playoff run in 2019.

Regardless, teams that would be a good match for the Indians would be organizations that have a very good farm system, particularly with major league ready talent.

A perusal of the top farm systems in the sport show several teams that would be interested in adding a top of the rotation starting pitcher. Those teams would be the Braves, Rays, Phillies, Yankees, A’s, and Dodgers. The Tribe wants to get younger on the field and would likely be looking for a young, controllable pitcher as well.

The Indians are able to consider such a move because of the depth of the starting rotation. Let’s say Carrasco is moved. The rotation would still be comprised of Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber.

The fifth spot would be between Adam Plutko and either a decent veteran signed in free agency, or somebody obtained in the deal for Carrasco.

Not many teams have that kind of rotation depth.

By the way, we like the minor trade the Tribe made yesterday getting OF Jordan Luplow from Pittsburgh for utility man Erik Gonzalez.

As we have said for years, we don’t believe Gonzalez will ever be a productive regular because of his lack of strike zone judgment. His career strikeout to walk ratio is 79:9.

Luplow has hit .300 in AAA with a 857 OPS at that level, and is solid defensively. That resume would put him in line to start in 2019 based on who the Indians have right now.

We are sure there will be more to come.

A Tough Series Ahead For Tribe

Tomorrow afternoon, the Cleveland Indians start their quest to end a 70 year drought without a World Series title.

To make matters tougher, they embark on the journey having to take on the defending World Series titlists, the Houston Astros, in the best of five Division Series.

We could be completely wrong on this, because well, baseball, but we feel it will be a very difficult series for the Tribe to emerge victorious.

The Astros lead the American League in run differential, meaning them, not the 108 win Boston Red Sox are the best team in the AL.

The Indians’ hallmark is their pitching, particularly their starters. Their staff ERA is 3.77, ranking 4th in the American League. However, Houston led the league in that category, more than a half run per game less at 3.11.

Cleveland has scored more runs, but only 21 more than the Astros on the season.

The teams are very similar offensively. The Indians scored three runs or less 58 times, which is over 1/3rd of their games. That seems like a lot, right?

Except the Astros did the same thing more often, having 64 games with three runs or less.

Using the 350/450/800 standard for being a very good offensive player, the Indians have three such players (Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Jose Ramirez), while the Astros have two in Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.

Houston comes in as the hotter team, going 21-6 after September 1st, while the Indians went 14-14. But as we found out last year, being hot coming into the playoffs makes absolutely no difference.

As we said, both teams have exceptional starting pitching, and in our opinion, that’s what the series will come down to. Corey Kluber won 20 games this year, but at times has appeared mortal this season. His game one mound opponent, Justin Verlander, quite frankly had a better season.

The two teams met seven times in the regular season, with Houston having a 4-3 advantage.

In Houston, all three games were close. The Indians were either tied or ahead through 6-1/2 innings in each contest, and a tired starter gave up runs late. Remember, at that time, the Cleveland bullpen was having major issues.

At Progressive Field, Houston won in blowout fashion in the first two games, the latter with the Astros scoring 11 runs in the last two innings.

Even in the extra inning win the day before Memorial Day, the Tribe led 3-2 after seven, before Houston scored six in the 8th, matched by a five run rally in the bottom of the ninth by the Indians.

In that game, Trevor Bauer was left in to throw a season high 127 pitches.

So, this series could hinge on how well Allen, Miller, and Hand do. Only Allen was fully healthy at the time. Miller was about to go on the DL, and Hand was in San Diego.

If Ramirez doesn’t start hitting in this series, the offense could depend on whether or not Josh Donaldson can contribute.

The record says the Astros are better than the Tribe, but last year it said the Indians were the better team than New York.

We say it will be a great series, and these two teams are more evenly matched than it appears record wise.

If we have to make a prediction, we would go with the Astros in four. We also can’t tell you how wrong we would like to be.

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…

Star Studded Tribe Goes To Washington.

For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Indians are sending five players to the All Star Game, the Midsummer Classic for all you seamheads out there.

Corey Kluber, Francisco Lindor, and Michael Brantley are all making their third appearance on the roster, and Jose Ramirez is making his second straight start at third base. Trevor Bauer will be the lone rookie among the Cleveland contingent.

For Lindor, it should be noted that the only Indians’ shortstop who have made more appearances on the team is Lou Boudreau. That’s it. The former American League MVP was named seven times, and that was when there were only eight teams in each league.

This is only his third complete big league season, and already he has made the All Star team each year, and has finished in the top ten in the MVP voting twice, and he will likely do the same this season.

He leads the AL in runs scored this season and is the only player in the top ten of both offensive and defensive WAR in the league.

We have said it before (after the 2016 season), if Lindor plays for the Indians for ten or more years, he will be universally recognized as the greatest position player in Indians’ history.

Only four starting pitchers in Tribe history have made more All Star rosters than Kluber, who should be in the mix for a third Cy Young Award this year. That quartet would be Bob Feller, Bob Lemon (both in the Hall of Fame), Sam McDowell, and Mel Harder.

Since the beginning of 2016, Kluber has a record of 48-17 and has struck out 615 batters in 545 innings. Right now in major league baseball, there are four elite starting pitchers–Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, and Corey Kluber.

That’s how good he has been over the past two and a half seasons.

Ramirez’ election reminds everyone that he’s on the map as one of the sports’ elite players. He will join Lindor in the top ten in the MVP voting this season, and last year finished third.

Many thought he had a career year in ’17 (which would be weird since he was just 24), but he is on pace to do even better this season. This season, he has become someone opposing teams want no part of, being intentionally walked eight times already this year. He received that treatment five times all of 2017.

Brantley’s selection is a reminder that the front office made the correct decision in picking up his option for this year when many (us included) thought they shouldn’t.

He is simply one of the most consistently great hitters in the game over the past seven years, never hitting below .284 in that span, and hasn’t had an OPS under 800 over the last four years.

He may never get back to the 2014 season where he had 67 extra base hits, but he is a perfect guy to hit between Lindor and Ramirez at the top of Terry Francona’s batting order.

We are thrilled for Bauer’s selection because he has taken a lot of crap over the years, simply because he’s different from most major league baseball players.

The Indians got him in a trade with the Diamondbacks because Arizona thought he was difficult. He struggled with control issues with Cleveland, leading the AL in walks in 2015, a year in which his ERA was 4.55.

But last year in the second half, he put it together and went 10-2 with a 3.01 ERA. He has continued that performance thus far with a 2.45 ERA to date.

He is a true student of pitching, which he shares with the rest of the Tribe starters.

Congrats to the Tribe’s five all-stars! Here’s hoping they will have another national stage to perform in this fall.

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.

One Third Of The Way In, Tribe Kind Of Treading Water

On the eve of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Cleveland completed the first third of their schedule with a 9-1 win over the White Sox, a game in which Corey Kluber earned his 8th win of the season.

That win made the Tribe 29-25 after 54 games, and in the last 27 games, Terry Francona’s squad went 14-13, slightly less than the 15-12 in the first 27 contests.

The offense is back on track, jumping up to third in the American League in runs scored per game. They are sixth in on base percentage and third in slugging as a team.

Unfortunately, they are ninth in the league in staff ERA, and that’s despite having three starting pitchers with ERAs under 3.14 (Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger).

The offense has been led, or maybe a more apt phrase is carried, by Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, and Michael Brantley, who have formed a lethal top of the order.

Ramirez and Lindor both rank in the top five in the AL in extra base hits, the former is tied for second in the league in home runs, and the latter is tied for third in doubles.

And all three are in the top ten in OPS, with Ramirez ranking 4th, Lindor 7th, and Brantley 8th.

Edwin Encarnacion has gotten hot with the weather, now ranking in the top ten in the league in home runs with 14.

With Lonnie Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, and Tyler Naquin getting ready to come back from injury, Francona and the staff will have difficult decisions to make in terms of the roster.

Rookie Greg Allen is making it very tough for the decision makers. Not counted on to be a big contributor this season, the switch-hitter has hit .286 thus far, and has cut down on strikeouts over the last 11 games.

When the injured return, you have to think it will be difficult for Rajai Davis to keep a roster spot.

The problem for the pitching staff continues to be the bullpen, as 43% of the runs the Indians have allowed this season have come in the 7th inning or later. In addition, the relievers have coughed up more than a third of the dingers allowed by the pitching staff (28 of the 82) so far in 2018.

We thought Zach McAllister was prone to the gopher ball last season, allowing eight in 62 innings. To date this year, he has allowed six in 21-2/3 frames.

Although he hasn’t been primarily a reliever, Josh Tomlin has allowed a whopping 18 round trippers in 36 innings. He’s pitched in 12 games, and only NOT allowed a homer in four of them.

He leads the league in that category despite pitching 26 innings less than anyone else in the top five.

We understand the front office is aware of the problem, and brought in veteran Oliver Perez yesterday, and it may be the trade deadline before a permanent solution is sought, but until it’s fixed, it will be a very nervous time for Tribe fans in the late innings.

Yes, it’s true the Indians are 2.5 games ahead in the AL Central. It’s also a fact that the second place team, Detroit, is in rebuilding mode and isn’t even over .500 for the young season.

Cleveland was supposed to be one of the four best teams in the American League heading into the season, so from that standpoint they’ve underachieved.

On the other hand, if the Tribe fixes its bullpen, there is no reason they can’t make a deep run in the post-season with their starting rotation and hitting.

Perhaps in the next 27 games, we will start to see answers for the relief corps.

Tough Decisions Coming For Tribe.

The Cleveland Indians have played 50 games this season, and it seems like they have been in a scrambling mode since the opener in Seattle.

Yes, there have been constants. The lineup has been buoyed all season long by their version of “The Big Three”: Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Jose Ramirez. That trio are the only three players currently on the roster with OPS over 800, outside of Erik Gonzalez, who rarely plays.

The starting rotation is also been a constant as well, as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger have provided Terry Francona with a chance to win every night.

The rest of the team is in flux, with the bullpen issues being front and center. For the first six innings, the Indians look like one of the best teams in baseball. Unfortunately, they’ve allowed 43.7% of their opponents runs after the sixth inning.

That’s almost two runs per game!

No one has escaped the horribleness. Andrew Miller has been on the disabled list twice since the end of April, and when he has pitched, he’s walked 10 hitters in 14-1/3 innings.

Cody Allen struck out 92 batters in 67-1/3 frames in 2017, and for his career has fanned 11.5 hitters per nine innings. This year, that figure has dropped to 9.1, his lowest since his rookie year (2012).

The rest of the bullpen can’t put two consecutive good outings together for the most part. Just when you start feeling good about someone, they get hammered.

Zach McAllister has pitched well in May, and we thought maybe it was time to give him another look see. So did Francona, who brought him into a 7-5 game last night, only to see him give up a run in the 7th to close the gap.

Meanwhile, the front office is retreading the retreads. Oliver Drake is brought in, he is gone. Evan Marshall came up, gave up 3 hits and 3 walks in 2-2/3, was sent down, now he is back.

Neil Ramirez has allowed 7 hits, including two dingers in 2-2/3. Our guess is his next bad appearance will be his last.

And Josh Tomlin? My goodness, how can a pitcher who is allowing a home run every other inning he pitches still in the big leagues?

As for the everyday players, some decisions will have to be made soon, because the injured players will start to return.

What happens when Lonnie Chisenhall comes back? Does he platoon with Melky Cabrera in right?

And who goes when Bradley Zimmer returns? Perhaps it is Zimmer, who has fanned 39 times in 106 plate appearances.

Tyler Naquin deserves a spot on the roster the way he hit before being injured (.333 batting average, 820 OPS).

Can Rajai Davis keep his spot on the roster? A 527 OPS doesn’t really help the ballclub. And what about Brandon Guyer, who hasn’t been as effective against lefties as he was in 2016.

We could see a lot more Edwin Encarnacion at first base, especially vs. lefties, with Brantley moving to DH, so Cabrera can play LF.

Our guess is Zimmer will be the first one back, and Greg Allen will go back to AAA. That will mean Zimmer and Davis will platoon in center.

But when Chisenhall is ready, that will force a tough decision. It will be interesting to see what direction the front office goes in.

Within the next two to three weeks, the Indians roster could look totally different. And hopefully that means better.

Second Golden Age For Tribe Fans Is Now

With today being Opening Day, many fans of the Cleveland Indians remember wistfully the Tribe teams of the 1990’s, when Progressive Field, then known as Jacobs Field just opened, and the Indians were built around a powerful offense.

We all know the names: Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, Hall of Famer Jim Thome, and Omar Vizquel. They ruled the American League Central Division and went to two World Series, although they lost in both 1995 and 1997.

Now, Tribe fans are experiencing a second golden age for the franchise, with five consecutive winning seasons under the tutelage of Terry Francona. They’ve won two division titles, a wild card spot, and won the American League pennant in 2016.

Yet somehow, it feels like this group of Indians doesn’t get the respect around the city that the guys who played in the 90’s get.

We heard a radio talk show expressing surprise that Francisco Lindor was one of the favorites in Las Vegas to win the American League MVP.

It wouldn’t be a shock around the nation. Lindor is one of baseball’s best players, with two top ten finishes in the MVP voting before he turned 24 years old. He’s a gold glove winner and a silver slugger winner in less than three full seasons in the big leagues.

We have said it before, but it bears repeating. If the young shortstop plays ten seasons in a Cleveland uniform, he will be regarded as the greatest position player in Indians’ history.

Tribe fans also get to watch another of the young, exciting players in the sport in Jose Ramirez, who by the way, finished third in the AL MVP race last season.

The switch-hitter has been overlooked because he wasn’t the highly regarded prospect like Lindor, but over the last two seasons, he has batted .315 with 40 home runs, 159 runs batted in, and has 141 extra base hits.

All that while being moved around between second base and third base.

Those two give the franchise a solid base for excellence over the next several seasons.

Unlike those 90’s teams, this group has one of the major league’s best pitching staffs, led by Corey Kluber, who is the only Cleveland pitcher in history to win multiple Cy Young Awards.

A third such award puts Kluber among the all time great hurlers in the game’s history, and without question he is one of the four best starting pitchers right now in the sport.

We also get to witness a great bullpen, led by Cody Allen, and perhaps baseball’s best relief pitcher in Andrew Miller. Miller and Kluber had the Tribe on the precipice of a world title in ’16.

Since being acquired from New York at the trade deadline that season, he has pitched 91-2/3 innings, striking out 141 and allowing just 45 hits.

We haven’t even mentioned Michael Brantley, who was in the top three of the MVP voting in 2014, Jason Kipnis, a two time all star, and Carlos Carrasco, who was 4th in the Cy Young voting last season.

Oh, and don’t forget Francona, who is probably headed to Cooperstown as a manager with two world titles in Boston, and a third appearance with the Tribe.

As someone who watched this team with great interest from 1965-1994, a horrible stretch of mostly losing baseball, it was great to see a fairly quick turnaround after the original Jacobs Field group disbanded.

The Indians are back as one of baseball’s best teams. Now, about that World Series title drought…

The Tribe Will Continue To Dominate Central in 2018

If you grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, it seems funny to hear this, but since the three division format was adopted by Major League Baseball in 1994, the Cleveland Indians, yes, the team that plays right here in downtown, has dominated the division.

The Tribe won its 9th division title a year ago, and we believe they will add a 10th in 2018.

Here is a list of AL Central Division crowns since ’94:

Cleveland    9
Minnesota    6
Chicago 4
Detroit    4
Kansas City 1

However, the only Central Division teams that have won the World Series are the White Sox in 2005 and the Royals in 2015.

Here is another tidbit about the Indians’ success since Progressive Field (nee Jacobs Field) opened in ’94. Only the behemoth AL franchises, the Yankees and Red Sox, have made more post-season appearances than Cleveland’s 10 (they were the wild card in 2013).

And the Tribe’s 10 appearances isn’t too far behind the Red Sox’ 12.

Terry Francona’s squad won 102 games a year ago, and you can make a very good argument that they underachieved. Their Pythagorean won-loss record had them at 108 wins.

Surely, winning 100 games is a tremendous feat and we would not predict that happening again, but the Indians did win the division by 17 games, and have pretty much the same cast of characters returning.

You would think some kind of regression could be coming for the team’s stars, but then you remember the two best position players on the roster are Francisco Lindor, who won’t be 25 until after the ’18 season concludes, and Jose Ramirez, who will play most of the campaign at 25 years old.

If the peak of a baseball player’s career is between ages 27-29, it is scary to think those two should still be getting better.

Add in perhaps the sports best starting rotation, led by two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, and none of the top four starters are older than 32 years old, and you can see why optimism reigns for baseball fans in northeast Ohio.

Kluber won the award, but the Tribe’s #2 starter, Carlos Carrasco, finished fourth in the voting. Pretty good, eh?

Francona also has two of the best relievers in the sport at his disposal in Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Miller’s numbers are incredible, he allowed just 31 hits in 62-2/3 innings last year while striking out 95 batters, as Tito used him in the highest leverage situations.

Allen fanned 92 in 67 innings as the closer. So, when Cleveland has a lead late in a game, they usually keep it.

We also believe Jason Kipnis will bounce back from a injury plagued 2017 season where he played only 90 games. He will look more like the player who belted 23 homers and had an 811 OPS in ’17.

Yes, the team did lose Carlos Santana and replaced him with Yonder Alonso, who has had just one season of power hitting under his belt in the bigs, and that worries us.

But the Tribe could be in a position to add two bats without making a trade this season in Yandy Diaz, who hit .350 in AAA last year and had a .352 on base percentage with the Tribe in 156 at bats, and Francisco Mejia, who will be getting some time in the OF at Columbus this summer.

Mejia could very well wind up being part of the Tribe’s “Big Three” with Lindor and Ramirez.

Many have said the “window” for the Tribe is closing because Miller and Allen are free agents following this season. We don’t believe that because of the presence of Lindor, Ramirez, Kluber, etc.

The Indians teams from 1994-2001 are well remembered here, but this current run for the Tribe, the Tito Era is you will, has now spanned for five seasons, and could rival the former group in longevity.

So, sit back and enjoy. This group could bring “The Land” its first World Series title in 70 years.

Early Spring Roster Battles For Tribe

Exhibition play is a little over a week old in Goodyear, Arizona and what that means mostly is we are closer to the start of the regular season, which is now just 24 days away.

We have always maintained the perfect record for spring training is around .500, because it doesn’t give the fan bases of a bad team any unrealistic expectations, nor does it worry supporters of good teams, like the Cleveland Indians.

The best news to come out of the desert is it appears Jason Kipnis is healthy and ready to go.

We were never in the trade Kipnis camp, because he is coming off a poor, injury plagued season, so the Tribe front office was never going to get value, it would have been strictly a salary dump.

The negatives have been on the injury front where Danny Salazar likely will not be able to open the season on the big league roster, and OF Brandon Guyer has had some set backs as well, although we aren’t sure his timetable was to open the year on the active list.

Salazar’s injury simply means Terry Francona and new/old pitching coach Carl Willis don’t have to make a decision on whether or not they have to move a starter to the bullpen.

As of right now, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Josh Tomlin will make up the starting staff.

With Guyer and Michael Brantley likely to be on the disabled list to start the season, it opens up two outfield spots, with holdovers Abraham Almonte, Tyler Naquin, Greg Allen, and Yandy Diaz battling with Rob Refsnyder, Rajai Davis, and Melvin Upton Jr. to make the Opening Day roster.

Quite frankly, we think each spot will go to one in each group.

The first group has two switch-hitters in Almonte and Allen, with Naquin swinging from the left side and Diaz the right. The latter has been playing most infield, so maybe versatility wins out.

The brass knows what Almonte can do and Allen could probably benefit from some time at AAA. In the latter group, Refsnyder offers the multi-position option, while Davis and Upton are trying for one last shot at a big league roster.

To date, neither of the veterans have done much in games, but this is the Indians we are talking about, and we know Tito and his staff love veterans.

We would keep Diaz, putting him in LF to start, and Refsnyder would also get a shot because he can play both infield and outfield.

In the bullpen, the loss of Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith leave two openings, but the recent signings of veteran Matt Belisle, Carlos Torres, and the claiming of Ben Taylor from Boston would make them the leading candidates to win the job.

Torres is durable, pitching in 65 or more games in three of the last four years in the bigs, and Belisle ended last season as the Twins closer, pitching great in the second half, after solid years in Washington and St. Louis.

One reliever to watch is Nick Goody, who has struggled so far in Arizona. He doesn’t have the track record of some of the other arms, so he could find himself the odd man out if he doesn’t start pitching better.

Again, it’s early. But the players we talked about are the ones in battles to make the trip north to Seattle on March 29th.

Which can’t get here fast enough.