Remembering When Starting Pitching Brought Confidence To Guardians’ Fans

As recently as 2018, fans of the Cleveland baseball team were spoiled by their starting pitching. The rotation consisted of Corey Kluber (who won 20 games that year), Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Trevor Bauer, and a rookie fifth starter named Shane Bieber.

At the time, we thought going into every game, the Indians had a legitimate chance to win because they had the edge between the two starting pitchers.

Even into the pandemic season of 2020, Terry Francona’s starters were at the top of the sport. Bieber emerged as a Cy Young winner that season, and he was backed up by Carrasco, Clevinger (before he was traded), Aaron Civale, and rookie Triston McKenzie.

Baseball people started to refer to the “Cleveland Pitching Factory”, with the organization seemingly able to crank out starter after starter. Heck, it happened last season when McKenzie went down in spring training, Zach Plesac proved ineffective, and Cal Quantrill was hurt, the Guardians simply went to the farm and called up Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams.

Apparently, this season the factory has been shut down for repairs or something, because the organization is scrambling to put an effective starting pitcher on the mound each and every night.

It was certainly curious when the organization released Quantrill after the season rather than pay him through arbitration, where he figured to make about $6 million, not a lot of money for a guy who can give you innings.

The right-hander has pitched to a 3.58 ERA in Colorado this season logging a staff high 73 innings. By the way, those innings would also lead the Guardians’ staff.

The only pitcher signed over the winter was Reds’ castoff Ben Lively, who has been a savior for this year’s staff.

Bieber was lost to elbow surgery after two starts, leaving a huge void in the rotation, which coming into the season consisted of him, the three rookies, and McKenzie, who missed most of last year with an elbow issue.

Of the trio of first year arms called up last year and thought to provide the backbone of the rotation going forward, only Bibee has been close to his ’23 form, with a 3.73 ERA in 70 innings with 76 strikeouts and 19 walks.

Williams has missed all year with an elbow issue, but hopefully can return soon. Allen has made his 13 starts but has a 5.57 ERA.

McKenzie has not pitched like the guy who put up a 2.96 ERA in 2022. He has allowed a league leading 14 dingers (tied with his teammate Logan Allen) and also leads the league in walks with 36 in 62.2 innings of work.

Right now, the rotation has more holes than an old guy’s socks. And there were no solutions at hand.

Xzavion Curry has made three spot starts, one very good, the other two being “meh”. The ERA of the pitching staff at Columbus is 5.46 and the best starter down there is journeyman Connor Gillispie, who has a 5.02 ERA, although he has 60 strikeouts in 57.1 innings. He’s 26 years old.

The bullpen has taken on a heavy burden for the big club to get off to this 42-22 start. How long can they sustain the success pitching all of these innings? Could they do it all year? Sure, but based on the past, eventually it is going to catch up with them unless the starters start carrying their weight.

As we said, Lively has been a savior and Bibee has been solid. Carlos Carrasco has been a nice story in his return to the franchise, but he can’t be trusted to get through a lineup a third time.

McKenzie needs to throw strikes and he and Allen need to keep the ball in the yard.

More likely is the front office is going to have to overpay to bring in an arm. With the Cleveland bullpen, they may be able to get a guy who can soak up innings and keep the team in the game.

The rest of the team is doing too well for the rotation to be a burden.

How Do Young Players Get Time On A Contender? Produce.

The Cleveland Guardians have a conundrum when it comes to playing young players. While conventional wisdom would say you need to give guys coming up from the minor leagues time to fail first, when you are still in a competitive situation, that luxury isn’t there.

We have heard the refrain before and still hear it when it comes to players like Nolan Jones and Will Benson, although the reasons for trading both of those guys were related to the 40-man roster.

The latest young Guardians’ player that engenders this debate is Gabriel Arias. Arias came over to the organization in the massive haul that was the Mike Clevinger deal from the Padres and was rated as a Top 100 Prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus

Arias is a defensive wizard. He is a shortstop by trade, but has shown the versatility to play other positions very well. He played first base in the playoffs a year ago and has been playing quite a bit of right field this season.

However, he’s never been an elite hitter. His career OPS at the AAA level is 768, mostly because he has had issues controlling the strike zone with 188 strikeouts and 64 walks in 806 plate appearances. His OPS for his minor league career is 735.

Those issues have carried with him in the big leagues, where this year he is hitting .187 with a 606 OPS, and 50 punchouts in 154 times at the dish.

By contrast, Tyler Freeman has a career OPS in the minors of 813, carrying a .312 batting average and a 785 OPS in AAA. His credentials say he’s a better hitter than Arias.

Arias started getting some regular playing time starting May 16th and hit home runs in starts on May 18th and 19th, in the latter game it was a dinger which gave the Guardians the lead in extra innings vs. the Mets.

From May 18th through June 3rd, a span of 15 games, Arias went 12 for 40, a .300 batting average with eight walks and eight strikeouts. That’s promising.

From June 4th through today, Arias has received 34 at bats and recorded just three hits (.088) with six walks and 12 whiffs.

As we said earlier, if the Guardians were the Oakland A’s or Kansas City Royals, they could just ride out Arias’ (or any young player’s) cold streaks and hope they come out better for it. They just don’t have that option right now.

A team in contention for a playoff spot needs players who can contribute when called upon. Is that fair? No, it isn’t and frankly, we believe the Guardians’ brass would agree with that.

And make no mistake, with Jose Ramirez still in his prime, the front office should be feeling pressure to win and win now.

Two other young players, Tyler Freeman and David Fry, haven’t had nearly the opportunity afforded Arias, who the organization was trying to create ways to get at bats, but they’ve produced when called upon.

Freeman has only had more than one at bat in consecutive days twice this season, but he’s hit .290 in 62 at bats. Fry has only had more than one at bat two days in a row once but has contributed a big three run HR vs. San Diego and two game winning hits (June 24th vs. Milwaukee and Tuesday night vs. the Braves).

And Fry strikes out a lot too, fanning 13 times in 44 plate appearances.

So we ask, if you were Terry Francona, who would you play when an opportunity arises? That’s what trying to get young players at bats while contending looks like.

Does The Guardians’ Front Office Succeed In “Big Trades”?

The other day we talked about the possible trade of Cleveland Guardians’ starting pitcher Shane Bieber. One of the reasons some folks say the Guards should deal Bieber is that they always do well in these types of trades.

Do they? Let’s take a look at the last three major transactions the Cleveland front office has made.

When evaluating the move, we aren’t going to focus on the performance of the player the Guardians traded away, simply going to talk about the return.

The latest move was dealing Francisco Lindor to the Mets along with Carlos Carrasco for Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, and two minor leaguers, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf. At the time of the deal, we said the key for Cleveland was Gimenez, who turned into an All-Star last season, and seems like a very good player at the least.

Rosario is a journeyman, likely playing his last season with the Guards. He’s a starter here, but there has been plenty of debate as to whether or not he should be.

We’d give Cleveland a slight edge, mostly because Gimenez has emerged as a potential star.

Then we have the Mike Clevinger deal, which considering he was probably Cleveland’s third starter (behind Bieber and Carrasco) at the time of the deal, was a tremendous haul.

Two of the pieces acquired, Austin Hedges and Owen Miller, have already moved on. Josh Naylor has been excellent, an everyday middle of the order bat, and a team leader. Cal Quantrill is currently out with a shoulder issue, but he’s a solid third or fourth starter on a good team.

We have our doubts about Gabriel Arias, tremendous with the glove, but struggles at the dish. Perhaps another solid piece is coming in lefty Joey Cantillo, currently at AAA, but at the AA level had a 2.13 ERA in 93 innings with 134 strikeouts.

This was a big win for the Guards. They got an impact bat, and solid starting pitcher and possibly more to come in Cantillo

The other trade was moving Trevor Bauer in a three team move to Cincinnati. The return was Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes, and two minor leaguers, pitchers Scott Moss and Logan Allen (not the one currently with the Guards).

At the time, we thought the deal was made more for the following season than it was for 2019, a year Cleveland won 93 games and missed the playoffs.

Just four years later, there is nothing left from this deal.

Reyes provided pop for two and a half years here, but we are sure the organization wanted him to be the middle of the order slugger the Guardians are still looking for. He experienced a drastic fall off in production last year and is currently with Washington at the AAA level.

Puig finished the season with Cleveland and moved on. We don’t think Terry Francona and he hit it off. Although he didn’t hit for the power that was expected (slugged just .423), he did get on base to the tune of a .377 OBP.

Allen was a solid prospect but had a 5.45 ERA in 69.1 innings with the Guardians. He’s currently with the Rockies organization and has a 6.70 ERA in AAA. Moss isn’t pitching in professional baseball to date this season.

The Guards certainly didn’t win this one.

Our conclusion? The Guardians have done alright for themselves in these deals but haven’t “killed it”. Gimenez and Naylor are big parts of the current team, with the former having the possibility of being a multi-time all-star.

Make no mistake though, the Cleveland front office has done a solid job getting back good players for potential free agents they have no plans to sign. However, they still haven’t received the slugger they seem to have trouble developing, nor have they received a top-of-the-line starting pitcher.

Tribe Should Have Heeded Tito’s Adage

Terry Francona has always said when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more. It’s too bad his bosses didn’t heed his advise.

We know the Indians have traded away a lot of pitching over the last two and a half years, moving former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, and then Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger in deadline deals in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

The organization has done a tremendous job developing young pitchers. The current (if healthy) top of the rotation features three pitchers drafted in 2016: Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, and Aaron Civale. Going into spring training, the fourth and fifth spots appeared to belong to Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie.

We wrote at the time that outside of Bieber, none of those guys had more than 300 big league innings under their belt, and it would be wise to trade for or sign at least one experience arm.

Pitchers like Tijuan Walker (6-3, 2.38 ERA with the Mets), Jake Odorizzi (2-3, 4.08 ERA with Houston), and Tyler Anderson (3-8, 4.75 ERA with Pittsburgh) among others all were available shortly before spring training started. And none of them signed for huge amounts of money, always a consideration for the frugal Cleveland franchise.

Perhaps the organization got too caught up in the success of Bieber, Plesac, and Civale, all of whom seemed to have very little growing pains coming up to the bigs. Or more realistically, the ownership would not allow for the signing of a veteran hurler to add another proven arm.

Quantrill had command issues in spring training (he’s still going through them), so he went back to the bullpen, because of that and the fact that Logan Allen pitched extremely well in Arizona.

When the regular season started, Allen couldn’t keep the ball in the yard, and McKenzie, who opened as the 5th starter, couldn’t throw strikes.

They tried 24-year-old Sam Hentges, 24-year-old JC Mejia, and 25-year-old Eli Morgan, none of whom had any major league experience, and none were experiencing any great success in the minors.

When Bieber got the call in 2018, he was 6-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 13 starts at AAA and AA. Plesac came up in 2019 out of necessity due to injuries, but he was 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA in 10 starts in the high minors. Civale was 7-1, 2.43 in 13 starts in ’19 when he got the call.

By contrast, Hentges didn’t even pitch in the minors this year, nor last season due to the pandemic. His last minor league season was spent in Akron in ’19, where he went 2-11 with a 5.13 ERA.

Mejia had made two career starts above Class A in his life, both this year, before getting called up. He was 3-1 with an ERA just over four in Hi-A ball, in 2019, pitching just 33 innings.

Morgan made four starts this year at Columbus (4.67 ERA) and made 19 starts in AAA two years ago, with a 3.79 ERA.

We understand the organization didn’t think the latter trio was ready for the big league rotation now, but they left themselves no room for error.

And when Plesac went down on May23rd, the Tribe could’ve signed a free agent not currently in anyone’s organization and they would be ready now to help the team over this hurdle.

Rick Porcello, Cole Hamels, and Anibal Sanchez are just three pitchers still unattached, and another Homer Bailey, just signed with Oakland. Could any of those guys have helped? There is no way of knowing, but at the very least, they could have bought time for the youngsters.

They could’ve made a trade as well, although we would like to think Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff tried. It is well documented the organization has a ton of middle infielders regarded as good prospects. Move one of them for a starter who can soak up innings without taking the team out of a game early.

Perhaps the Indians can whether the current storm and stay in the race for the playoffs, and if they do and come up just short, they could point to these games pitched by men who weren’t ready to handle the job.

The point is the front office (including ownership) should have listened to their skipper. Heading into spring training, the pitching staff was very inexperienced. They pretended it wasn’t an issue.

Time To Give Miller A Shot.

When you are hitting .212 as a team through a quarter of the season, you should be looking for offense wherever you can.

That’s why the debate on is there a place on the 26 man roster for Owen Miller is getting ridiculous. Miller has played shortstop more than any other position on the diamond during his minor league career, but if the organization is concerned about his defense, there are many other places where the Indians can use his bat.

First, we aren’t claiming Miller is the second coming of Babe Ruth. However, he is a career .317 hitter (830 OPS) during his professional career, so he has hit wherever he has played, and while we understand spring training numbers don’t mean much, but he hit there as well.

In 12 games at Columbus thus far, the right-handed hitter is batting an incredible .442 (23 for 52) with a homer and seven runs batted in. The only down stat is 13 strikeouts in 56 plate appearances, although he hasn’t fanned more than 86 times in any minor league season to date.

It would be more difficult to come up with a reason NOT to bring him up.

As to where he should play? Well, there are a few suggestions, but we’d pencil him in everyday at first base, where Jake Bauers and Yu Chang have combined to hit .171 with two home runs and 12 ribbies.

You could keep him at SS, where Andres Gimenez failed at the plate (534 OPS) and although Amed Rosario has had a couple of decent games at the plate, he is still hitting just .231 with a 629 OPS.

Since we like Rosario better than the Bauers/Chang platoon, that’s why we’d put Miller at that spot, and basically check back in after 20-25 games to see how he is doing.

He isn’t a power hitter really, but the Tribe ranks 8th in the American League in home runs now. What the Indians really need is a guy who gets hits and gets on base, they are second from the bottom in the AL in on base percentage and Miller has a minor league career .375 on base percentage.

When you think about it, if he came up and hit .250, that would be an improvement for the Tribe offense, and quite frankly his minor league pedigree says he will do better than that number.

We subscribe to the “can’t do any worse” theory, and Owen Miller, who came over in the Mike Clevinger deal last season, can’t be worse at first base than who Terry Francona writes in the lineup every day right now.

Is it an ideal situation to bring up a player who has played just 12 games at the AAA level? Of course not, you would like to see him get more at bats at that level. But it has been done before. Fernando Tatis Jr., although a much better prospect than Miller, never played at that level.

And for old school folks (like me), former Tribe manager Mike Hargrove came up to the Rangers after playing in A ball. If you can hit, you can hit. Since the Indians are starving for some consistency from anyone not named Jose Ramirez at the plate, it’s time to give Miller a shot.

This isn’t to say Owen Miller is the savior, we don’t want to put that kind of pressure on the young man. We are saying he’s likely better than at least one player in the lineup the Tribe is putting out there on a daily basis.

An All Too Familiar Refrain From Indians

Even when you know bad news is coming, it still can make you sad when you hear it.

That’s how we felt when Cleveland Indians’ president Chris Antonetti spoke on Tuesday and talked about the “daunting” financial reality of the team.

He also spoke about the “reality” of the financial loss the Indians suffered during the shortened 60 game schedule, losing money from ticket revenue, concessions, and parking about other things.

So many things go through our heads on this.

First, we understand this was a difficult season for every major league baseball team. We are sure they didn’t make as much money as they usually make.

On the other hand, they didn’t have to pay any player his full salary either and the costs of travel were also greatly reduced because there were fewer trips as well as shorter ones.

The Cleveland Indians are definitely not the only team who can make these claims.

Secondly, since the off-season just started and the team has just introduced some new season ticket options, this seems like an odd way to solicit potential ticket buyers.

Your team president pretty much told everyone the payroll will be trimmed again, and one of the team’s best players will likely be traded. We are sure this news isn’t making anyone reach for their checkbooks.

We understand that the ownership is being honest, in fact, brutally so, and are trying to be transparent about the financial state of the franchise. However, there is a difference between being truthful and beating someone over the head with the truth.

It’s likely the supporters of the team know what the owners want to spend on players with the trades over the past few years of Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger, as well as the loss of Michael Brantley to free agency.

In theory, many people thought those moves were made to free up money to spend on either younger impact players. That didn’t turn out to be the case.

We know and understand the Cleveland Indians cannot spend on players the same amount of money that the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers spend. But why can’t they spend what the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Milwaukee Brewers can?

And although we don’t live in those cities, so we don’t know the message the ownership provides to the fans, we would doubt it isn’t the constant “woe is us” message Indians’ fans receive from the ownership here.

We would agree with declining the club option for Carlos Santana and although we would pick up Brad Hand’s option with the hope of trading him, he wouldn’t be terribly angry if they simply let the southpaw go when the World Series ends.

Unfortunately, it seems like the same modus operandi will be in place. The Indians will trim these salaries and not spend them on players to help the remaining players.

Remember, this isn’t a rebuilding situation for the Tribe. They made the playoffs from 2016-18, missed in 2019 even though they won 93 games, and made the post-season this season.

They have a cadre of young, controlled starting pitchers, led by 25-year-old Shane Bieber, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner. Their best two position players are 27 and 26, and both would rank in the top 25 players in the sport.

Why wouldn’t you want to make a push and try to bolster the roster around these players? Maybe the Indians will be better in 2021, but it puts a lot of pressure on everyone, including apparently many young, inexperienced players to perform at a very high level.

This is probably just the first in what should be many such talks from the Indians’ organization telling their customers not to get high expectations.

It’s a dreadful situation if you are a fan of the Tribe.

Who’s Tribe’s #2? Might Just Be Plesac.

Prior to the Major League Baseball trade deadline, there seemed to be a clear pecking order to the Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation.

Shane Bieber, who is the favorite for the American League Cy Young Award in this COVID shortened season is the clear ace, and would start Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs if and when Cleveland qualifies, unless he was needed to start a game so the Tribe could qualify for the post-season.

Right now, by our calculations, the magic number is 15 to clinch a berth in the eight team field.

Before the megadeal with San Diego, it would have figured that Mike Clevinger would pitch game two.

After all, Clevinger was 26-12 over the past two full seasons, and a 2.90 ERA and 376 strikeouts in 326 innings. And in his lone playoff start, he pitched five innings in Game 3 vs. Houston in the 2018 Division Series, allowing just one run, striking out nine.

So, although we don’t want to put the cart ahead of the horse, who takes the ball in the second game, and perhaps most pivotal game of the first round best of three series, a game in which the Tribe could advance or have to win to force a deciding game.

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron Civale would have been the odds on favorite, but since his complete game win against Pittsburgh, he hasn’t pitched as well.

Prior to that start, Civale pitched 25 innings to a 3.60 ERA, allowing 25 hits. Four of the ten earned runs he allowed came in a game against the Tigers, where he gave up three runs early before settling down.

In his last three starts, he’s allowed 10 runs in 18 frames, a 5.00 ERA. His usual impeccable control has been reduced as well. Before the Pirates start, the right-handers had struck out 26 hitters, walking just three.

The last three starts have yielded 17 whiffs against six walks, and 20 hits allowed. There has been a lot of traffic on the basepaths.

Terry Francona could also pick veteran Carlos Carrasco, who has rebounded from a tough three start stretch by allowing just a single run in his last two starts, spanning 12 innings, with 13 strikeouts and five walks.

Carrasco has made two very good post-season starts, the first in game three of the ’17 Division Series vs. the Yankees (5-2/3 scoreless innings, seven whiffs), and the other in game two of the ’18 ALDS against Houston (5-1/3 innings, two runs) where he left the game with the lead.

However, the guy we would consider is Zach Plesac, who stuffwise might rank right behind Bieber. The second year right-hander, who missed time because of his ill advised night on the town in Chicago, has a 3-1 record and a 1.32 ERA.

He’s allowed just 23 hits in 34 innings, striking out 34 hitters, while walking just two. He’s faced the White Sox, one of the league’s best hitting attacks twice, pitching 14 scoreless innings, fanning 18 batters, while walking just one.

He is scheduled to start in Minneapolis this weekend, so we may have a clearer picture of what he can do after that start. If he can control the Twins bats, he could emerge as the game two starter once the post-season starts.

That’s amazing because when the season started, Plesac was the #5 guy in the rotation. But starting with his first start against the White Sox, an eight scoreless inning performance with 11 strikeouts, he’s shown a great improvement from his rookie year.

Obviously, there will be 3-4 starts remaining for the rotation depending on how Francona, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carl Willis want to line it up for the playoffs. However, Plesac has thrown his hat into the ring for the second spot in the rotation.

Just another surprise in this crazy 2020 season.

Tribe Got Talent, Just Not What Was Needed

The Cleveland Indians did pull off a deal before the Major League Baseball trading deadline, in fact, it was a mega-deal, perhaps the biggest in the game.

It was the type of deal a rebuilding team makes, the kind that accelerates the process of returning to the post-season.

However, the Indians currently reside in first place in the American League Central Division. We are sure the Twins and White Sox, the other two teams vying for the division lead are thrilled that the Tribe dealt their #2 starter, Mike Clevinger, to the San Diego Padres.

Team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff got a lot of talent in the transaction, they usually do. But the Indians need help right now. And once again, this seems like a trade made for the future.

Clevinger and OF Greg Allen and a player to be named later to San Diego for OF/1B Josh Naylor (whose brother was the Tribe’s first round draft pick in 2018), P Cal Quantrill, C Austin Hedges, and three minor leaguers who were in the Padres’ top 15 prospects according to Baseball America, SS Gabriel Arias (#9), LHP Joey Cantillo (#11), and INF Owen Miller (#15).

Cleveland has a glaring weakness in the outfield, where they collectively have a batting average under .200, but didn’t address it with a proven bat.

We like Naylor, a left-handed hitter, but he has 289 big league at bats. He does have great numbers away from Petco Park, a lifetime 807 OPS, and his reputation is that of a guy who works the count and doesn’t strikeout a great deal. He should get time in LF. He hasn’t faced a lot of southpaws (51 AB’s), but has 16 hits in those opportunities.

Quantrill, a right-hander, should claim a spot in the Tribe bullpen, and could convert to the rotation next spring. A former 8th overall pick in 2016, he has a 2.60 ERA in 17 innings this year, with 18 whiffs.

Hedges is 27 and has been around for six seasons in San Diego. He’s an excellent defensive catcher, which is what the Tribe wants in the position, but can’t hit. He has a career .199 average (616 OPS). He’s not eligible for free agency until 2023.

As for the prospects, Arias and Cantillo haven’t played above the Class A level. Arias has some pop in his bat (17 HR last season), but strikes out a lot (over 128 in his last two minor league seasons). Cantillo is a power arm, with 144 punchouts in 111 innings in 2019.

Miller is older (23) and has a lifetime minor league batting average of .307 (808 OPS), and primarily is a second baseman. He probably would have been at the AAA level this year, if there was a minor league season.

Still, fans should be disappointed that Naylor was the only thing done to correct a huge weakness on a contending team, especially when the Indians gave up perhaps the best pitcher on the market. While Clevinger was the Tribe’s #2 starter, he’s an ace for most teams in the league.

Meanwhile, Cleveland still has a gaping hole in CF, and apparently, the organization spun the wheel and it landed on Oscar Mercado, who will get another opportunity according to some.

The Indians made a deal from depth, because they can replace Clevinger with Zach Plesac, who will start Tuesday night in Kansas City and they still have Triston McKenzie in the rotation. And they have Adam Plutko, Scott Moss, and Logan Allen, among others in reserve.

However, they didn’t get the professional bat they desperately needed, and that’s why there is a tinge of regret in the move. Perhaps Naylor fills the void, but again, no one will know right away.

What the Tribe did was add more prospects to an already strong farm system, particularly at the lower levels. And while Arias has some ability, Cleveland is filled with prospects who play middle infield spots, including four of their top ten players.

Remember the old kids game, Kick the Can? That’s what it seems the organization is doing, kicking the can down the road of contention. They are getting like the Browns in terms of promising to try to be all in next season.

It’s a strange move by a team in first place. Instead of making a deal to put them over the hump in 2020, the Indians looked toward 2021 and beyond.

A Good Week For The Tribe, Will It Extend To Monday?

It is August 29th, and the Cleveland Indians are in first place in the American League Central Division. You can’t ask for more than that.

And after a tough weekend at home against the Tigers a few days ago, losing two out of three, and then a dismal first game of a key series against Minnesota, the resilient Tribe came back, won a game where ace Shane Bieber struggled early, and then brought Mike Clevinger back in the rubber match.

Clevinger struggled at the outset too, but the last four innings he pitched Wednesday night were as well as he threw the ball all season, and Tyler Naquin delivered a huge hit to trigger a three run rally in the bottom of the 8th, and Cleveland took the key series.

In the past few seasons, the Indians have gone on long winning streaks, a 14 game skein in 2016, and of course, the 22 game stretch in late 2017.

They’ve done it again, this time winning 10 straight on the road, dating back to a 2-0 frustrating loss to the White Sox on August 7th.

So, the Tribe sits at 21-12 on the season, in a year with eight teams making the playoffs, so a .500 record gives you a chance for the post-season, and you would think 35-25 gets you in for sure.

Based on that, if the Indians go 14-13 the rest of the schedule, which is just over the break even mark, they will hit that mark.

According to Baseballreference.com, the Tribe has a 99.9% chance of making the post-season, and if they have one of the four best records in the AL, they will host all three games of the series.

Right now, Cleveland has the third best record in the league, just two games behind Oakland for the best mark.

There is plenty of speculation concerning the Major League Baseball trading deadline, which comes Monday afternoon at 4 PM. However, there is no debate on what the club needs to address at that deadline.

It’s hitting particularly in the outfield. Outside of Tyler Naquin, the numbers are ugly so you may want to divert your eyes:

Domingo Santana: 11 for 70, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 590 OPS
Oscar Mercado: 5 for 45, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 278 OPS
Delino DeShields: 12 for 43 (not bad), but just one extra base hit, and a 656 OPS
Jordan Luplow: 5 for 40, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 505 OPS
Greg Allen: 4 for 25, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 598 OPS
Bradley Zimmer: 6 for 37, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 603 OPS

Clearly, help in needed. Have all of these guys received a clear shot? No, but the abbreviated 60 game schedule makes that impossible. Also, that none of them have been productive has hurt as well. Terry Francona might have been able to stay with some of them longer if others were hitting.

Can Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff find someone to help out Naquin in terms of production?

Seriously, when it comes to CF, anybody you bring in would be an upgrade over the quartet of Mercado, Zimmer, DeShields, and Allen. As for LF, Luplow has shown signs of life, particularly against southpaws, but let’s face it, Santana has been a disappointment.

Sandy Alomar Jr. said yesterday Naquin will get some opportunities vs. LHP, but perhaps it’s time to give Daniel Johnson another shot. The rookie was 1 for 12 with five strikeouts, but maybe getting some reps at the alternative site helped him.

We know the Tribe has pitching depth, both in starters and in the bullpen. They also have depth in middle infielders, although that would have to involve a player to be named later type deal.

Cleveland has 13 pitchers in their top 30 prospects (according to Baseball America), including some arms we’ve already seen (Triston McKenzie, Logan Allen, and James Karinchak). They also have 11 middle infielders, including Yu Chang, currently on the big league roster.

They also have Bobby Bradley and Jake Bauers, who seems to have fallen out of favor with the organization.

What will the front office do? We will find out in less than 48 hours. Tribe fans will be on the edge of their seats waiting.

Tribe’s Vaunted Rotation Is No Longer…Right Now

Just two weeks ago, the Cleveland Indians had a starting rotation that was remarkable. All five members were capable of dominating the opponents’ hitters.

Led by Cy Young Award candidate Shane Bieber, the Tribe pitchers blew through the first 17 games of the regular season without giving up more than four runs.

Then came the night of August 8th, when Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger decided to go out onto the mean streets of the Windy City, and had to be quarantined when they violated the protocol Major League Baseball and the Indians put forth in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

In the 11 games since the trip to Chicago, the Cleveland pitching staff has allowed more than four runs six times.

Carlos Carrasco hasn’t pitched well in his last three starts. Adam Plutko has been hit hard in his last two. So, right now, the dominance in the starting staff depends on Bieber, Aaron Civale, and a youngster who has one major league start in Triston McKenzie.

Can Carrasco return to form? Of course, Sandy Alomar Jr. discussed how the veteran is trying to make some adjustments and Alomar alluded to how Cookie is not moving the ball up and down in the strike zone.

Still, in his last 12 innings, over those three starts, Carrasco has allowed 10 earned runs (7.50 ERA) and has walked nine hitters, and given up three gopher balls.

Plutko, who to be fair, entered the season as the sixth starter/long reliever, has had issues getting through the batting order a second time in his three starts, pitching 10 innings and allowing 11 runs (9.90 ERA) and has just four strikeouts.

Does the front office really want to depend on the 23-year-old rookie in McKenzie, a guy who hadn’t pitched in a competitive game since 2018 before dominating the Tigers last Saturday night? That’s one helluva gamble.

And with the Cleveland offense struggling on a nightly basis to score runs, anything less than outstanding pitching seems to spell defeat for the Indians. That puts a heck of a lot of pressure on the two holdovers from the beginning of the season, Bieber and Civale.

Those two have been tremendous. As stated before, Bieber is a candidate for the Cy Young Award, going 5-0 with a 1.11 ERA in his six starts, striking out an ungodly 65 hitters in 40-2/3 innings.

Civale has been very good too, with a 3-2 record and a 2.91 ERA in 34 innings. He threw a complete game against Pittsburgh in his last start.

So, why we understand the move the organization made in putting Clevinger and Plesac on the restricted list first, and then sending them basically to the minor leagues, the fact is, the performance of the staff has suffered without them.

Therefore, it seems like time to smooth things over with the rest of the roster and get at least one of the two back with the big club right away.

Plutko is scheduled to make his next start against the first place Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night, and based on his last three outings, it would be a stretch to find a fan looking forward to that matchup.

What seemed like a historically great starting rotation has sprung leaks, and it is not due to injury. If the Indians want to make another deep post-season run, they should understand having one or both of these pitchers back is a necessity.