It’s Finally Here…Spring Training!

After four long months of winter, the words baseball fans have longed to hear can now be said: Pitcher and catchers report to spring training.

It is just a matter of time before exhibition games will start, and isn’t it refreshing that baseball calls them that, instead of the pretentious “preseason” games like the NFL does, and may we add charges full price for them.

Unfortunately, in Goodyear, the spring got off to a sad start as Tito Francona, the father of Tribe skipper Terry, passed away. As you may know, the Franconas were one of the several father/son combinations who both wore Cleveland uniforms.

On the field, the Indians are the two time defending American League Central Division champions, and led the AL in wins last season, compiling the second highest victory total in the history of the franchise.

So, this isn’t a club with a lot of roster questions.

Still, there are a few. Most notably in the bullpen, where Francona and new pitching coach Carl Willis have to find a replacement for the durable Bryan Shaw and another right-hander, Joe Smith.

The back of the bullpen might be the best in the sport with closer Cody Allen, and perhaps the game’s best reliever, Andrew Miller usually handling the 8th and 9th innings.

The questions on those two won’t come until after the season, as both will be free agents.

The Tribe needs to find someone who can bridge the gap from the starters to Allen and Miller. The frontrunners will be Nick Goody and Dan Otero, but if they were as good as Shaw, they would have been used more with the lead instead of him.

Both were solid last year, but neither pitched in more than 56 games or threw more than 60 innings. Shaw pitched in 79 games last season, and led the AL in appearances in three of the last four seasons.

Perhaps one of the non-roster invitees, such as Preston Claiborne, Alexi Ogando, or Neil Ramirez, or perhaps farmhands Louis Head or Josh Martin can emerge as possible candidates.

The other area of interest is in the outfield where it remains to be seen whether Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer will be healthy enough to start the season on the Opening Day roster.

Based on reports, neither is likely to be ready, so Francona needs to find a leftfielder and a platoon partner for Lonnie Chisenhall in rightfield.

In left, does the skipper use Abraham Almonte, Tyler Naquin, or Greg Allen there? A dark horse candidate would be Rob Refsnyder, a former Yankee prospect claimed from Toronto over the winter.

To be sure, the leader to platoon with Chisenhall would have to be Yandy Diaz, who hit .263 in 156 at bats, and whose high exit velocity has many experts wondering what he could be if he could hit the ball in the air.

Diaz has a ton of upside and really has nothing to prove at the AAA level, leading the minor leagues in on base percentage. He deserves a chance to get regular at bats at the big league level. Heck, he played a lot during last year’s 22 game winning streak.

And there are still rumors of a trade or a free agent signing around the Indians too. This roster could look different in a few weeks.

However, it’s good to see the boys of summer out on the field, even if it is spring. Baseball is back, and it’s only six weeks until the regular season opener vs. Seattle on March 29th.

Baseball Is Back Today!

In many respects, it seems like Game 7 of the World Series was just yesterday, and in others, it feels like an eon ago.

But today is the first exhibition game in Goodyear, Arizona for the Cleveland Indians, as they take on the team they share their complex with, the Cincinnati Reds.

It is our first opportunity to see Edwin Encarnacion in a Tribe uniform, and we also get to see the heroes of a year ago: Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis, Andrew Miller, and the Tribe’s resident superstar, Francisco Lindor.

For the most part, the opening day is pretty much set, with Terry Francona looking for one more reliever to fill out the bullpen, and he’s also looking for who will be the utility man, and Tito has mentioned that spot is up for grabs between Michael Martinez, Erik Gonzales, and Ronnie Rodriguez.

We would also assume that Michael Brantley will not open the year on the active roster, so there is probably an extra outfield spot open too.

With the Indians being the defending American League champions, the main thing to focus on this spring is the organizational depth.

To win a division, you know you will need more than 25 men contributing to the cause, so the main players to keep an eye on are the guys who will open the season in Columbus, but will probably be called upon by Francona at some point to contribute during the regular season.

So, the players we want to watch are Yandy Diaz, the 25 year old who hit .318 with a 854 OPS between Akron and Columbus a year ago, and who can play 3B and the corner outfield spots.

Watch Gonzalez, also 25 and who has a sterling reputation as a defender, but who is blocked in Cleveland by the presence of Lindor. Gonzalez hit .296 with a 779 OPS at AAA last season, and could be the bait at the trading deadline to bring a piece that Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff need for the stretch run.

We are also interested in seeing the depth in the starting rotation this spring. You know the Indians will need more than five starters throughout the regular season, so we want to watch Mike Clevinger, Cody Anderson, Carlos Frias, and Tim Conroy perform throughout the spring.

Those guys will be counted on to make starts for the big club this summer, and they will be needed to win games.

Same with the pitchers making up the bullpen depth. Francona and Mickey Callaway will need Shawn Armstrong (if he doesn’t make the team), Perci Garner, Joe Colon, and Nick Goody during the long regular season.

Luckily, the Indians have this depth, another example of the great job done by Antonetti and Chernoff.

One player we haven’t mentioned is C Francisco Mejia, who is widely regarding as the organization’s best prospect, and whom Francona has already said can be an impact hitter.

We also will be watching two outfielders who could be in Cleveland before the end of the season in CF Greg Allen and Bradley Zimmer. Both of these guys could be playing big roles in Progressive Field if they have good starts in AAA.

Enjoy the fact that baseball is back, but look at the future for this organization. The present looks very solid already.

Yes, Tribe Has Good Young Core, but Can’t Sit Out the Winter

Well, the Cleveland Indians kept it interesting for a little while.

They hung in the race for a post-season spot until the middle of September, but last weekend’s sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers means there will not be consecutive post-season spots for the first time since 1999, and it is time to look forward to the 2015 season.

We understand that Terry Francona and the players will not make any changes to the lineup or the starting rotation until the Tribe is officially eliminated from playoff consideration, which probably won’t happen until the weekend, but we can still speculate on what needs to occur prior to spring training in February.

The Indians do have a good young core of players. They can build on several solid position players in Michael Brantley (who will turn 28 next May), Carlos Santana (29), Yan Gomes (28), Lonnie Chisenhall (26), and we believe Jason Kipnis (28) will rebound next year based on his track record and the fact he was battling injuries this year.

They also have Jose Ramirez (23), who has impressed this year since playing everyday after the Asdrubal Cabrera trade, and of course, Francisco Lindor, one of the game’s best prospects.

The organization will likely do the service time game with Lindor, which would be a mistake if he shows in spring training that he is ready to play everyday at the big league level. Too often, the Tribe gets off to slow starts because they don’t keep the correct players on the Opening Day roster.

The starting rotation is also very young with a lot of room to get better. Staff ace Corey Kluber will be just 29 years old in 2015, and he is joined by Carlos Carrasco (28), Danny Salazar (25), T. J. House (25) and Trevor Bauer (24) to form a rotation with a lot of upside.

However, Francona has said in the past that when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more. Therefore, the front office cannot stand pat with the rotation and should look to bring in some reinforcements during the winter. You have to think at least one of those guys will not perform up to this year’s standards next season.

The one area that will need to be addressed in the off-season is the bench, which was a key component of last year’s squad, but had a huge drop off in ’14. We know Jason Giambi won’t likely be back, but GM Chris Antonetti should also look to replace Ryan Raburn and Mike Aviles, both of whom haven’t produced offensively.

Raburn is under contract for 2015, so that may be a challenge, but whenever Francona has wanted to rest a regular or an injury keeps a starter out of the lineup for an extended period of time, there has been a drop off in the offense.

Perhaps David Murphy can fit in as the fourth outfielder if Antonetti comes up with another alternative in right field.

And you really can’t use young players in bench roles because they don’t know how to handle it. It is better to find veterans who used to play everyday that can accept not doing that anymore or guys who have made a living playing in a reserve role.

It is difficult to be productive playing sporadically, and it is a challenge to find guys who can hit while getting 200-300 at bats in a season.

Yes, the Indians future does look bright, or at least it isn’t dismal. However, Chris Antonetti can’t afford to stand pat like he did last winter. They have to improve this club in order to avoid the wild card race and win the American League Central Division.

The bigger question is whether or not they will do just that.