Guards Weathered The Storm, Now Back To The Division

After concluding a series at home against the Oakland A’s on June 12th, the Cleveland Guardians started what appeared to be a brutal stretch of games, starting with a nine game trip.

Through the end of June and going into the beginning of July, Terry Francona’s squad was going to play Minnesota eight times, and also have three game series against the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.

If this group of Guardians wasn’t up to being a contender, surely, we would see it during over that three weeks of contests.

Coming into the last of those games today, Cleveland has acquitted themselves very well, going 7-9 thus far.

They took two of three from the Los Angeles, and five of eight against the Twins. They were swept at home by Boston, but two of those games very good games, and the offense went ice cold for a week during this period, which didn’t help.

Following today’s game against the Yankees, the Guards go back into the division pretty much through the end of the month, with only series against Boston and Tampa at the end of July interrupting the Central Division battles.

Cleveland is currently 17-11 vs. the AL Central as of today. However, they have to maintain that kind of play going forward.

Through July 25th, when they arrive at Fenway Park, the Guards have a seven-game trip to Detroit and Kansas City, followed by a homestand that will take them into the All-Star break. They will play a pair of four game sets against the White Sox and Tigers, and then have another quartet of contests (including a doubleheader of course) in the Windy City.

If they continue to play well in the division, that will seem to ensure Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be buyers at the trade deadline. The division would certainly still be in play, with the Guardians, Twins, and White Sox vying for what might be one spot, as the division winner.

In reality, it probably doesn’t make a difference either way. The organization has a glut of young players currently on the 40-man roster, and really doesn’t have room for all of them.

Look at the infield for example. Andres Gimenez might wind up making the Midsummer Classic roster this year, so he should be in the team’s plans going forward. So, what does that mean for Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and even Owen Miller.

We have been on record as saying we believe Arias is the one to be moved and being called up this past weekend doesn’t do anything to make us feel differently.

We feel that way because Arias’ strikeout to walk ratio in the minors doesn’t seem to fit in with the current hitting philosophy of the organization. Plus, his recall is curious. He’s been injured for much of the season and was hitting under .200 for the year at AAA.

And the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, save for Emmanuel Clase, needs an upgrade. We’ve seen in the series against Boston and New York, there have been games where the starters have kept it close, but the bullpen allowed the game to get out of hand.

We understand the Guardians’ front office want players who will under control for a few years, so they won’t be looking for rentals. But if they can help this year’s team by giving up organizational depth, they almost have to do it.

They have a lot of baseball to play, but they’ve weathered a difficult part of the slate. With divisional games and some rest due to the All-Star break coming up, it’s not a stretch to think Cleveland will be in the thick of a post-season race.

Doing Something New Wouldn’t Be Bad For Guardians

It is pretty clear by now that the Cleveland Guardians aren’t making any major moves to improve the offense or the bullpen heading into the 2022 campaign.

There appeared to be some free agents to be had on affordable one year contracts, players like Tommy Pham (who signed with Cincinnati), Andrew McCutchen (Milwaukee), or even Anthony Rizzo (Yankees). The Guardians passed on all of them.

Since they made that decision, hopefully they understand that last season’s offense was not up to the levels a good major league should have, and they are willing to do something different.

For example, we hope beyond hope that Bradley Zimmer and/or Oscar Mercado are not going to be getting regular playing time. We really wonder if they should be on a major league roster at all.

Let’s hope Terry Francona and the decision makers are willing to try something different.

One huge question is who will flank Myles Straw in the outfield.

There has been talk about using Amed Rosario in left field as well as shortstop, but we hope this is just spring training discussions. Rosario is an average shortstop at best with the glove and we doubt moving him back and forth between two positions will make him better.

We aren’t enamored of Rosario’s hitting (no walks, little power) but if the front office wants him in the lineup every day, just put him in left field and be done with it.

Shortstop is the most important defensive position on the diamond, and we feel it would be better if the same person, hopefully a good defender played it day in and day out. Perhaps someone like Andres Gimenez or maybe even rookie Gabriel Arias.

We would like to see Steven Kwan get a chance right from game one in Kansas City on April 7th. A left-handed hitter, the 24-year-old has demonstrated an ability to get on base, a .380 on base percentage throughout his minor league career. And that’s the biggest need this team has offensively.

Why not find out about Oscar Gonzalez too? Also 24 years old, the right-handed hitter belted 31 home runs between Akron and Columbus last season. He doesn’t walk, and never really has in his minor league career, but he’s also batted .281 in the minors. He doesn’t appear to be an all or nothing swing for the fences guy.

And giving that duo time in the outfield would free Josh Naylor to move to first base, his natural position.

With the news that James Karinchak will miss the opener, the bullpen has to be considered a problem. Who will pitch the eighth inning in front of Emmanuel Clase?

We hope Francona doesn’t lean on his pitcher of comfort, newly signed Bryan Shaw. We don’t have a problem signing the veteran, but having him pitch the 8th, that seems a little ambitious.

Right now, we would guess it would be Trevor Stephan, who spent the entire season with Cleveland last year as a Rule 5 selection. Nick Sandlin would be in the mix, but he has not appeared in a game in Arizona just yet.

Flame throwing southpaw Anthony Gose likely has the team made, but there will be plenty of bullpen spots open, particularly with the extra roster spots granted to each team because of the shortened spring training.

There will be a lot of opportunity for young guys, unless the front office signs an available veteran.

There isn’t a benefit to trotting out the same players who couldn’t get it done last season with the hope they will improve greatly. Those guys have long enough track records to show improvement isn’t likely.

Embrace playing the young guys. Find out about them. And maybe, you’ll find some solid young players.

We’d Like To Be Watching Baseball, But…

We should be watching or listening to a baseball game today. Mind you, not one that counts, but the thoughts of Opening Day would be dancing in the heads of any baseball fan.

Instead, the sport is still dealing with a lockout, not a strike, as many in the media have portrayed the absence of players in Florida and Arizona. The owners are causing this.

We do understand their reasoning, they lose leverage if the season started and the players decided to walk out let’s say, August 1st.

However, the lockout started in early December and the owners basically sat on their fat wallets and didn’t have any negotiations until the calendar turned to 2022.

So, fans of the grand ol’ game are left watching the snow fall or melt (hopefully) instead of seeing how the Cleveland Guardians will be answering the questions they have concerning the roster that starts the regular season, no matter when it starts.

By the way, we are sure there will be a flurry of trades and free agent signings (probably not by the Guardians) as soon as an agreement is reached. We are sure general managers have been talking to agents and other front office executives throughout the lockout.

What will Terry Francona do at the keystone positions? Amed Rosario hit well enough last season, but his defense was wanting. Does he move to second base, or is he traded? Does Andres Gimenez take over at short in ’22 with the battle taking place at second, between Owen Miller, Yu Chang, and Richie Palacios.

In the outfield, who plays the corner spots flanking Myles Straw? Veterans Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado would seem to have an edge because of experience but to us, most of that experience has not been pleasant for the fans because it has been filled with outs, and lots of them.

Where does Josh Naylor fit in? First, the Guardians have to determine if and when he can play, and once he can, does he stay in the outfield or does he become part of the first base competition.

How does the rest of the bullpen shake out? We are sure some arms will sign minor league deals to come to camp and compete for spots to join Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, and likely Anthony Gose, Nick Sandlin, and Trevor Stephan among the relief corps.

And who becomes the backup catcher behind Austin Hedges. Sandy Leon will be in camp, but hopefully another backstop is brought in as a non-roster invitee to compete.

The biggest thing we are missing is watching the top prospects in the Cleveland farm system getting opportunities in exhibition.

We would be keeping a particular eye on Palacios, OF Steven Kwan, SS Brayan Rocchio, and SS/2B Tyler Freeman.

In our opinion, Kwan and Palacios should get a real shot of not only making the team out of camp but getting some regular playing time.

And yes, we know typically that’s not how Francona and his staff operate, but we can always hope, right?

Instead, we aren’t watching any baseball and may not for the foreseeable future. And that’s a shame. With all that is going on in the world, we could use some diversion.

Unfortunately, we are held hostage by a bunch of people who don’t appear to even like baseball.

And that’s the saddest situation we can think of.

Tribe Needs Some Help For Back Of Bullpen Trio

Terry Francona has been the manager of the Cleveland Indians since 2013, and the other night became just the third skipper in the history of the franchise to achieve 700 victories.

In the next several weeks, he will pass first Mike Hargrove (721) and then Lou Boudreau (728 and the last manager to pilot a World Series Champion for the Indians) to become the all-time winningest manager in franchise history.

At this point, we know how Francona likes to manage. He is famously patient with his players, particularly veterans with track records. Sometimes, this is frustrating for the fan base, but many times, his patience is rewarded.

We also know how he handles his bullpen. He has a caste system, trusting certain pitchers when he has a lead late in games, with most of the other arms being used when the Tribe is trailing. When Cleveland had their great run from 2016-18, if the team had a lead late, everyone (fans and opponents) knew they were going to see a combination of Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller, and Cody Allen.

And because all of those guys were outstanding, the plan usually worked.

This year is no exception. Shaw is part of this triumvirate as well, this time joining Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak to form an excellent back end of the ‘pen.

Shaw’s resurgence has been remarkable. He was released by Seattle last season after two bad years in Colorado, but has rebounded to pitch in 21 games, throwing 20 innings, allowing just six hits, and has a 1.35 ERA with 23 strikeouts and a save.

Clase, who missed last season on suspension, has been in 23 games, and has a 0.83 ERA and 8 saves. He’s given up some hits, but those are mostly groundballs that have found their way threw the infield. He was unhittable early in the year, but has been more human as of late.

And Karinchak has a 1.59 ERA and an unreal 42 whiffs in 22-2/3 innings and he has 6 saves in 24 appearances.

The biggest question as this season rolls on is can the heavy workload put on this trio allow them to hold their effectiveness throughout the season?

Coming into Saturday’s play Karinchak ranked tied for third in appearances with 24, trailing only Yasmeiro Petit of Oakland (26) and Jake Brentz of Kansas City (25). However, the A’s have played four more games than Cleveland. The Royals have played the same amount of games.

Moreso, Clase ranks tied for eighth in games pitched at 23. Of the top ten in the AL in appearances, Oakland, Kansas City, Houston, Los Angeles, and Detroit all have two members. There are 16 pitchers involved because of the tie for the eighth spot.

Behind Shaw in appearances for Cleveland, the next most is Cal Quantrill, who the Indians say they are stretching out in an effort to help out the starting rotation, which has suddenly sprung some leaks. Nick Wittgren has pitched in 16 games, followed by Phil Maton (15) and Trevor Stephan, who is kind of a “innings eater” in blowout losses with 14.

The hope is Francona can gain some confidence in some other relievers, perhaps Nick Sandlin or Kyle Nelson, or even Wittgren or Maton to ease the burden off the primary late inning trio.

We understand, with the Indians’ offense ranking near the bottom of the league in runs scored, when they have the lead, the skipper feels he has to win that game. Therefore, he uses his best guys. Unfortunately, if the team is winning, it results in a lot of use for the primary guys.

Unfortunately, the Indians have only won four games this season by five or more runs, and the last of those was May 8th. That’s a lot of close wins, and it also means no rest for Karinchak, Clase, and Shaw.

The Indians can’t afford for one of that trio to start fading due to overuse. That very well could be the key to the Tribe’s season.

Once Tribe Gets The Lead, The Bullpen Locks It Up

We feel fairly certain opposing managers in Major League Baseball won’t be thrilled with the news that the Cleveland Indians might have another bullpen weapon in rookie Nick Sandlin.

Now, we don’t want to get too carried away with three appearances totalling 4-1/3 innings, but the hard throwing sidearmer seems to have made quite an impression on Terry Francona, Carl Willis, and Reuben Niebla.

With last Thursday game in the balance, Francona brought in the rookie in a 3-0 game in the bottom of the sixth with two Kansas City Royals on base, and six time all star Salvador Perez at the plate. Perez hits cleanup for the Royals.

Sandlin induced a double play grounder to get two quick outs and then followed up by getting Jorge Soler on another ground ball. He pitched a three up, three down seventh, including two strikeouts, turning the game over to James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase to close it out.

Generally, guys who throw from the side don’t get it up to home plate at 95 MPH, so it gives Francona an option to show opposing a different look late in games.

The Cleveland bullpen had already taken the look of a “if you aren’t ahead after six, it doesn’t look good for you” relief corps through the first 30 games because of the performances of Bryan Shaw, Karinchak, and Clase.

Shaw is a remarkable story. He already ranks 8th on the Indians’ all time list for appearances with 391, and should be at least 6th by the end of the season. He was a mainstay of Francona’s bullpen from 2013 through 2017, pitching in 378 games, and led the American League in appearances 2014, 2016, and 2017 before departing for Colorado and a big contract.

He suffered through two bad seasons with the Rockies, a place not known to be kind to pitchers, and then pitched in just six games with Seattle last season, allowing 12 runs in six innings.

When he signed with the Tribe before spring training, there were plenty of comments, mostly negative. We thought what the heck, maybe he could regain his regular form after pretty much a year of inactivity.

He’s rewarded the Indians’ trust by being the man Francona calls on to pitch the 7th. He has a 2.03 ERA in 13 games, striking out 14 in 13-1/3 frames. The only down statistic is his eight walks.

Karinchek is putting up unworldly numbers right now. He allowed a HR to Hunter Dozier last week perhaps just to prove he is human, as he has allowed just 3 hits in 15 innings for the season, striking out two batters per inning. And his control, an issue in the past, has been excellent to date with just three walks.

He has been so dominant, he ranks 4th in WAR for the Indians at this point of the season, behind Jose Ramirez, Shane Bieber, and Aaron Civale.

Clase, with his 100 MPH cutter, has been more dominant than his numbers indicate, and his numbers are good (1.26 ERA and 15 K’s in 14-1/3 IP). He’s allowed 15 hits in those innings, but only six of those have been classed as line drives. The rest are ground balls that have gone either through the infield or been fielded but the batter beat the throw to first.

He’s also walked just three batters on the season.

We haven’t even mentioned Cal Quantrill (2.12 ERA), Phil Maton (16 strikeouts in 11 innings), and Nick Wittgren, who after a couple of shaky appearances has allowed just a single run in his last five outings.

And Rule 5 draftee Trevor Stephan hasn’t been in a game since April 28th.

The starting pitching gets a lot of the headlines because they keep the Indians in almost every game. But once the Tribe gets the lead, it’s very tough to get it back because of the bullpen. And if Sandlin continues to do what he did in KC, it’s a nightmare for opposing hitters and managers.

Previewing the ’21 Tribe

This week is the week baseball fans have been looking forward to all winter. Opening Day of the 2021 season starts on Thursday, April 1st.

The Cleveland Indians have made the post-season in five of the last six seasons, and in 2019, when they didn’t, they still won 93 games.

Can they do it again in 2021?

Why they can make the playoffs. Zach Plesac joins Shane Bieber as a second ace of the starting rotation and the rest of the young pitchers keep the Indians in every game, much like last season. Logan Allen’s strong spring training translates into a solid regular season.

The back end of the bullpen, led by James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, and Nick Wittgren, make Terry Francona’s team unbeatable if they have a lead after six innings.

Offensively, Jose Ramirez has another incredible season at the plate, comparable to the recent seasons where he finished in the top three of the MVP voting. Josh Naylor fulfills the expectations everyone seems to have for him and becomes a guy who can put up an 800 OPS.

Andres Gimenez does a solid job at the plate, and shows why he was the correct choice to take over at shortstop because of his glove.

Eddie Rosario hits like he always has at Progressive Field, putting up 30 HR and knocking in 100 runs, and Franmil Reyes shows more consistency than ever, belting 35-40 homers.

Why they won’t make the playoffs. The inexperienced young starters don’t hold up over the entire 162 game schedule. Aaron Civale continues the struggles he had in the latter half of the 2020 campaign, and Triston McKenzie can only give the big club about 50 innings.

The offense simply can’t score enough runs to win games, and Jose Ramirez gets pitched around in any situation where the opposing team can avoid him.

The pitching isn’t help by poor outfield defense. Naylor shows he’s the best option at first base, as the other candidates for the position, first Jake Bauers, then Bobby Bradley struggle to contribute at the plate.

Reyes continues to be streaky at the plate, with periods where he is red hot, followed by several periods of 0 for 20 and 2 for 44 mixed in.

The bullpen is spotty, Karinchak struggles with his control enough that Terry Francona can’t trust him in tight games, which because of the hitting, the Indians are involved in a lot of.

And Gimenez struggles enough at the plate that Amed Rosario moves back there vs. lefties, making the defense struggle at another spot.

The Indians won’t be a bad team this season, in fact, we don’t think they will be below the .500 mark. However, an awful lot of things will need to go right for them to make the playoffs. The inexperienced rotation (remember, no one besides Bieber has pitched more than 250 innings in the big leagues) has to be very, very good.

That means two other members in the starting rotation (Plesac, Civale, or based on spring training, Logan Allen) have to be of all star caliber. And the bullpen has to be excellent as well, with Karinchak and Clase overpowering hitters.

We believe you need seven solid bats to have a good lineup, and right now, the Tribe has Ramirez, Eddie Rosario, Cesar Hernandez, and Franmil Reyes. We think Naylor can be another, but can two others step up?

It will be an interesting season for sure, as we watch Gimenez and Naylor develop, and also look at the progress of the players at the AAA and AA levels, once minor league action starts.

We figure somewhere in the neighborhood of 83-85 wins. They will be a competitive team, but won’t have enough to make the post-season in 2021

Tribe Pitching: Talented, But Lack Experience.

Last week, we took a look at the questions regarding the everyday players for the Cleveland Indians, a group that ranked 13th in the AL in runs scored and has substracted Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana.

This week, we look at the team’s strength, the pitching staff, which led the league in ERA in the shortened 2020 season, led by Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. Still, there are questions for the Indians on the pitching mound.

Really, when you think about it, why shouldn’t there be? In the past two seasons, the front office has traded Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, as well as Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger. That the Tribe still has a solid staff speaks to the way the organization develops pitching.

Outside of Bieber, the most innings thrown in the big leagues by the candidates to join him in the rotation are the 217 thrown by Adam Plutko, who if he makes the team out of spring training will likely be either the fifth starter or working out of the bullpen.

The other spots behind Bieber figure to be Zach Plesac (171 big league innings), Aaron Civale (131), Triston McKenzie (31), and Cal Quantrill (135). That’s a lot of inexperience. None of that quartet have pitched the number of innings a regular rotation starter throws in a normal 162 game schedule.

While we like Plesac a lot, and McKenzie and Quantrill have electric stuff, we do have concerns about Civale, who faded last season after a complete game win over Pittsburgh. In his last 40 innings in 2020, he gave up 28 earned runs, a 6.30 ERA.

They do have some depth in this area, but it is young, unproven depth. Left-hander Logan Allen, who came over in the Bauer deal in ’19, has had a couple of cups of coffee in the bigs, but has thrown just 38 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He will be 24 in May.

Another lefty who came in that deal, 26-year-old Scott Moss, has yet to make his debut, and has only four AAA starts, but did have a 2.96 ERA for three teams in 2019. And yet another southpaw is Sam Hentges, who suffered through a 2-13, 5.11 ERA at Akron in 2019, but is well regarded by the organization.

You also have righty Eli Morgan, 24, who had a 3.39 ERA across three levels in 2019, making one AAA start.

Our bet is Plutko opens the season as the fifth starter, with McKenzie. Moss, and Allen getting some starts in Columbus to open the year. Plutko is out of options, so this delays the decision the organization has to make on him.

In the bullpen, closer Brad Hand left via free agency, so it appears James Karinchak will assume that role in 2021. The rookie fanned 53 in 27 innings in 2020, and even earned his first big league save. He did walk 16, but when he can throw strikes, he is basically unhittable.

A PED suspension in spring training did not allow us to see the other young Tribe arm with electric stuff out of the bullpen in Emmanuel Clase. The right-hander had a 2.31 ERA with Texas in 2019, and reportedly throws a 100 MPH cutter. Frankie Lindor said he was nasty when the Indians faced the Rangers in ’19.

The rest of the bullpen will include veteran reliable Nick Wittgren, Cam Hill, Phil Maton, and perhaps some of the guys who don’t make the rotation.

Wittgren has pitched to a 2.99 ERA in two years with 88 strikeouts in 81 innings with the Indians. Hill was solid as a rookie in ’20, although he ended the year with a couple of rocky outings, and Maton became Sandy Alomar’s go to guy late in the season, and probably got overused.

There is also Kyle Nelson, a rookie lefty who made just one bad appearance a year ago, but has fanned 176 hitters in 122 minor league innings.

We would like to see the organization bring in one more veteran arm (we always like Tijuan Walker), to take some pressure off of the youngsters.

We know that won’t happen because of the financial limitations the ownership has put on the front office.

The rotation could be among the league’s best, but there are a lot of questions in terms of experience. That’s a big worry for us in evaluating the 2021 Cleveland Indians.

A Realistic Plan For Tribe

Over the weekend, the Indians payroll (or lack of it) was in the news again, as the front office worked through the media to justify the reduction of the money being paid to players.

The situation noted was Tampa’s letting pitcher Charlie Morton leave via free agency, although we would say not paying a 37-year-old starting pitcher over $10 million isn’t quite the same as what the Tribe is doing.

First, using the term “reducing” when it comes to players’ salaries in Cleveland is being gentle. When you go from $130 million in 2017 to something projected to be under $70 million in 2021 should be categorized as “gutting” the payroll.

And that figure is with Francisco Lindor on the team. If he is traded, which seems like a certainty, the likely number could be closer to $50 million.

Unfortunately, the owners of the Indians don’t want to address the situation publicly. We understand if Paul Dolan were to speak to the media, he would use the pandemic, attendance loss, blah, blah, blah, and no one would press him (nor would he give you a truthful answer).

It is curious how the virus hasn’t affected teams like the Padres, White Sox, and Nationals from appearing like they want to add talent this winter, and the Royals have been making moves as well.

We were challenged on social media, since we have a huge problem with this salary cut being done during a period where the Indians have made the playoffs in four of the last five years, and won 93 games in the season where they didn’t qualify.

We get that the Indians cannot spend with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers, but a payroll of $100 million shouldn’t be out of the question.

Based on this, signing Lindor to a multi-year deal between $25-$30 million per year would put the projected salary figure in the $80 million range and you now have the foundation of two superstars in their prime (with Jose Ramirez) and one of the best starting rotations in the game as a basis of contending.

Besides, as we’ve seen this week with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, you can always trade a star player in the middle of a contract if you decide it’s not working out.

While we would be interested in playing younger players in ’21, we would spend money, preferably one year deals on some hitters to help the lineup transition to a younger look going forward.

We would like to plug in Daniel Johnson in CF, and see if Owen Miller and/or Yu Chang could hold down 2B, but we would provide Terry Francona with some options.

If you are contending, there is a limit to how much you can watch young players struggle. On the other hand, if the lineup is producing runs despite the struggles, a team can be more patient with young players.

FYI, we didn’t include Nolan Jones because he’s only played a half year at the AA level, and it appears he will also be making a position switch.

We would look at adding guys like a Nick Markakis, Robbie Grossman, or Tommy LaStella as low cost free agents (you might have to wait until late January or early February to see if asking prices come down). They could tie you over in a corner outfield spot or at second base if the young guys aren’t ready.

We would also add another bullpen arm. We would go into camp with James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase being the primary late inning relievers, but why not take a shot on pitchers like Sean Doolittle or a Hector Rondon if you can get them at a solid price.

Now, we understand the ownership doesn’t care what we would do. They would rather cry about money even though as a family they have a tremendous amount of money, more than we or any other fan has.

There is absolutely no reason for this type of dismantling of a contending baseball team. This is not an aging team and it is also not a squad on the decline in terms of the record on the field.

If you are a fan of the Indians, it’s a sad, sad time.

Signs Were There For Tribe Fans The Past Two Years

It started when Michael Brantley departed via free agency after the 2018 season. We made a compelling argument that the Indians organization was simply reallocating funds to add younger pieces with more upside.

After all, Brantley was 31 years old and missed a good chunk of 2017 and almost all of 2016 with various injuries. It would be a smart move to take the $15 million or so (he got $16 million from Houston) he would demand on the open market, and find younger players who wouldn’t be in the decline phases of their careers.

Except the front office didn’t use the money saved by letting Brantley go, they just lowered the payroll for 2019.

The following winter, the Tribe dealt two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to Texas for an outfielder that couldn’t hit and a promising young bullpen arm in Emmanuel Clase. It was a salary dump, but again, we felt you couldn’t judge the trade until you could see what the organization would do with the money saved by moving Kluber.

Except, for the most part, they put it in their pockets.

Keep in mind, both of these moves occurred before COVID-19. At that point, there wasn’t a season played without fans, or with a 60 game slate, instead of the normal 162.

The ownership was hacking away at the payroll, in the midst of a run where they were on of the best teams in the American League. They had some age on the roster, but after Jason Kipnis left via free agency and the trade of Kluber, the oldest key players on the roster were Carlos Santana (33), and Carlos Carrasco (32).

What we mean is this is not the traditional aging team that management decides should be overhauled before they bottom out. The pieces are in place. You have a pair of great players in the midst of their prime in Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor.

You have a young, controllable starting rotation starting with Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber (26), Zach Plesac (26), Aaron Civale (26), Cal Quantrill (26), and Triston McKenzie (23) to go along with the veteran Carrasco.

It would seem having a pair of superstars with an excellent pitching staff would be a good foundation to build on, right?

Instead, the organization is going to deal one of the young stars before he enters his prime (age 27-29) because they are unwilling to pay him, and rumors are out there about Carrasco being on the block too.

Frankly, as much as we like and respect Carrasco, if you were moving him to free money to sign Lindor, it would make sense. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Instead, it appears the Indians are giving up on contending for awhile. The White Sox are on the rise, and being aggressive and the Twins are the two time defending Central Division champs. Instead of trying to beat them, compete with them, Cleveland has decided to regroup.

And the only motivation for doing this seems to be saving money. We get the revenues around the sport decreased in 2020 because of the unique season, but that’s true for every other major league team.

We have said many times that we understand the Indians cannot spend like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, other teams in huge markets. But the Tribe might be around or below $50 million in 2021, about half of where they should be.

We can only think about the Indians’ teams of the 1950’s, contenders in most years, but only got to one World Series in 1954. However, that run of big success was ended by a general manager making terrible trades involving future young stars.

In both cases, it wasn’t age that ended the run, it was management. Unfortunately, no one can fire an owner. We just have to wait until some billionaire wants to buy the club and wants to win. It’s apparent the current owners do not.

The Little Known Veteran Trio In Tribe ‘Pen

With the Major League Baseball season starting Friday night, the bullpen of the Cleveland Indians appears to have a lot of uncertainty.

We know Brad Hand will be the closer, but the suspension of Emmanuel Clase for the season has the dreams of the young duo of Clase and James Karinchak setting up Hand on hold.

We still think Karinchak will play a big role for the ’20 Tribe, if he can throw strikes. If he does, he will strikeout a lot of hitters. In the minor leagues a year ago, he fanned 74 batters in 30-1/3 innings, and followed up that by whiffing eight big leaguers in 5-1/3 frames.

At this point, people know about this pitcher with a plus fastball and an electric curve.

They also know about the ageless southpaw, Oliver Perez, who will turn 39 next month, and posted a 3.98 ERA in 40-2/3 innings last year, striking out 48 and walking 12.

Perez held left-handed hitters to a .207 batting average last season, but right handers hit .286 against him.

The mirror image, so to speak, of Perez, is sidearming righty Adam Cimber. Cimber had a 4.45 ERA a year ago, but right-handed hitters did hit .244 against him. Lefties batted .296 with a 943 OPS, so Terry Francona will have to be very careful in spotting him vs. players who swing from the left side.

No doubt, it will be interesting to see how the new three batter rule will affect how Francona uses each of this pair of relievers. They may become guys brought in to get the last out of an inning.

Nick Wittgren might have been the guy Tito trust most besides Hand last season. He had 4 saves with a 2.81 ERA in 55 games, but became more prone to giving up the long ball as the season went on, allowing seven (of 10) after the all star break.

They guys no one really talks about are Phil Maton, James Hoyt, and Hunter Wood.

We remember seeing Maton in his rookie season pitching against the Indians for San Diego and was intrigued. He pitched 1-2/3 innings, allowed one hit and struck out three (Jason Kipnis, Erik Gonzalez, and Francisco Lindor).

In his first two years with the Padres, he fanned 101 in 90-1/3 innings, walking 37. He was prone to giving up the long ball, allowing 13 homers.

Last season, the bottom fell out for the 27-year-old right-hander. He pitched in 21 games, and allowed 34 hits, including six dingers. He was traded to the Indians for international slot money in July.

At Columbus, he must have figured something out, striking out 17 in 10-2/3 innings before being called up. He pitched in nine games with Cleveland, a total of 12-1/3 innings, striking out 13, and allowed just one homer with a 2.92 ERA.

There is talent there, and last year was the outlier for Maton. That’s what should get him the opportunity at the start of the season.

At 33, Hoyt is the oldest of the trio, and kicked around the minors and independent leagues for six years before getting a shot with Houston in 2016.

In 65 games with the Astros in ’16 and ’17, he whiffed 94 hitters in 71-1/3 innings, but was prone to the long ball, giving up 12 dingers, although seven of those were at Minute Maid Park.

He suffered through knee and elbow problems in 2018, pitching in just 30 innings, facing just three hitters at the big league level.

He spent most of last season at Columbus, but came up in September, throwing 8-1/3 innings, striking out 10 with a 2.16 ERA.

Francona used him in a huge spot against the Twins on September 15th, and he got five big outs in the 8th and 9th in a 7-5 Tribe win.

The long locked, soon to be 27-year-old Wood, came over from Tampa Bay last season with Christian Arroyo, and was kind of considered a throw in.

He has the least swing and miss stuff so far, accumulating only 81 strikeouts in 86-2/3 innings, and has allowed 88 hits. And he’s another who is prone to giving up the long ball, allowing 11 in those innings, including 7 in 45-2/3 innings last year.

It would seem here that if this trio can keep the ball in the park, they should be good options for Francona this season. Our thought is there are two things relievers have to do: Throw strikes and keep the ball in the park.

We feel better about Hoyt and Maton than we do about Wood. Hopefully, all three can help the Tribe bullpen in 2020.