Should Tribe Trust These Guys?

Outside of Opening Day, the next best day for starved baseball fans is coming this week when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

By the way, if you happen to be going to Goodyear, Arizona, the forecast for this week is in the 80’s, a drastic departure from what we have experience in Cleveland this week.

The Indians are definitely a contender for a playoff spot in the balance American League, where pretty much everyone, save for perhaps Oakland, could be in the post-season.

It has been well stated that we wish the Tribe front office had done more to improve the ballclub this winter, particularly since they have one of the premier starting rotations in baseball, but even still if the hitting can generate enough runs, Terry Francona’s team should be in the mix heading into September.

However, there are some players we think the Indians may be putting too much faith in heading into spring training. Here they are, and our reasons for saying this.

Rajai Davis. One reason is that Davis is 35 years old and his game is built on speed. But the OF’s OPS languished under 700 from 2010-13 while playing for Oakland and Toronto.

The resurgence in the last two years comes from great numbers in Comerica Park where the speedster had a 785 OPS in 2014, and then shot up to 823 last season.

Can Davis put up respectable numbers without playing half his games in the Motor City? That’s something to keep an eye on in the early part of the season.

Carlos Santana. Fans around town are split on the switch-hitter, but can the Tribe brass count on him for a rebound season that the offense desperately needs?

The former catcher will turn 30 a couple of days after the season opens, and his production has declined each of the last two seasons, dropping 40 points in OPS in both seasons. Most of that drop comes from his slugging percentage, which was that of a middle infielder last season.

He will get a lot of at bats at DH in 2016, and if the power numbers don’t return to 2013 levels, Francona will be searching for a replacement very quickly.

Abraham Almonte. The Indians are putting a lot of faith into their play in August and September a year ago, and the switch-hitting centerfielder was a significant part of that success.

After two dismal seasons in San Diego, Almonte put up a 321/455/776 line in less than 200 at bats with Cleveland. That’s way above any kind of numbers he put up in the major leagues before that.

But he’s the primary guy in center coming into the season. That should make everyone who follows the Indians very nervous.

Jeff Manship. We have seen him mentioned by some as a major piece in the Cleveland bullpen and frankly, we aren’t buying it.

GM Mike Chernoff is still searching for relief help, which is why he signed Tommy Hunter on Friday, and also traded for Dan Otero and inked Craig Stammen to a minor league deal.

In Francona’s world, you can never have enough relief pitchers.

Manship was incredible a year ago, with an 0.92 ERA in 39 innings of work.

But do not forget for a minute, that the right hander never had an ERA under 5.00 in any shot in the bigs before last season.

Perhaps he found something to make him a reliable major league reliever, but more likely, he will regress to the mean, and that means he could be in Columbus to open the season.

There are other question marks, like Lonnie Chisenhall in RF, and is MLB Network’s Mike Lowell correct about Mike Napoli finding his bat speed in Texas last season.

While the AL doesn’t have a lot of mediocre squads, filling some of these maybe with positive would make us feel better about the ’16 Cleveland Indians.

However, if the players we mention come through? It will be a fun summer at Progressive Field.

Tribe Wants Good Start? Maybe Get Younger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Excited About Tribe Winter Moves? Not Us

There are some people in this city who look at the Cleveland Indians through rose colored glasses.

They are baseball’s model organization, the small market team with the smartest front office in the sport.

Some of these people work at the ballclub’s flagship radio station, others are media members who are charmed by the genuine, good people who work in the Tribe’s baseball operations department.

Others are fans, usually of the younger persuasion, who see the organization building a young core of talent and feel optimistic for the future.

Heck, they get excited by the news of Josh Tomlin, a back of the rotation starter at best, signing a club friendly, multi-year contract extension.

When Tomlin inked the deal yesterday, social media was flooded by people telling us what a wonderful deal it was. To us, it was “meh”.

We see their side of the argument. We too are excited by Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and one of the best starting rotations in all of major league baseball.

That’s the half filled view. Looking on the bright side of things.

We can’t give them that benefit of the doubt simply because of that dominant pitching. Our opinion is if the Indians can get to the post-season, their arms could carry them a long way, but they have to get there, and we don’t think they can score enough runs to accomplish that.

Terry Francona’s squad still have a lot of holes in the everyday lineup. We see big question marks at 3B and the entire outfield, depending on how long Brantley is out of the lineup.

Yes, getting Mike Napoli looks like a solid move. He upgrades the defense at first base, but outside of the second half of last season with Texas, he’s not the player he was with Boston three or four years ago.

He is 34 years old after all.

And Rajai Davis would be a nice pick up as an extra outfielder. Unfortunately, he looks like the starter in LF until Brantley returns.

Also, why do we have the feeling that the Indians will rush Brantley back from his injury, and because of that, he may have an off year? Probably because they did the same thing with Kipnis and Yan Gomes each of the last two years.

Would anyone be truly surprised if both players struggled in 2016? If they do, how does Francona get his club to put more runs on the board.

Our problem is that Tribe management always has the strategy that if everything goes right, we can win the AL Central, but the reality is, it rarely happens that all factors fall in our favor.

That’s why this off-season was the perfect time to make a bold move for a hitter in their prime. Yes, we understand that it is difficult because if you sign a free agent, you likely will have to pay for the player when he is past his prime.

And making a trade carries a risk because the player you move may wind up being better than the guy you get.

That’s one of the reasons we say the Indians operate in fear. They deal in mostly low risk, high reward moves, but many times they get players who don’t have much left.

This would have been a perfect time to strike and put this team in a position to win the division and avoid wild card game.

It may work out, but why not eliminate some of the “hope” factor. It’s okay to put a team out there that doesn’t need a luck factor to win.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They chose this latest experiment.

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

Tribe’s Signing OK, Still Need More

The Cleveland Indians finally entered the real hot stove league yesterday with the signings of free agents Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis to one year contracts.

First, there is no such thing as a bad one year deal, because even if the player is outright terrible, the Tribe will be out of it after the 2016 season.

We like the Napoli signing better, because he’s been more productive throughout his major league career (lifetime 837), and although he had a bad first half in 2015, he rebounded to post a 908 OPS after being dealt to Texas.

And he’s a solid defensive first baseman, much better than Carlos Santana.

Yes, he does strike out a lot, but he also has a career on base percentage of .355, meaning he also can take a walk.

We have problems with high strikeout, low walk players, such as Zack Walters.

Jim Thome and Travis Hafner fanned a lot, but they also draw tons of walks.

Davis is a good depth player, and can hit lefties, but he’s an aging speed guy whose increase in OPS over the past couple years seems to have come from playing half the time in spacious Comerica Park.

His road OPS in each of the last two seasons is below 700, meaning he wasn’t a good offensive player on the road.

And he is not a good on base percentage player either.

The Tribe will probably use him in a platoon role, and maybe he can help there, but our guess he will have to be used sparingly to be effective.

While both signings are fine on their own, the Indians still need a middle of the lineup presence to be a good offensive team.

Right now, the Tribe has a lot of guys who should be hitting in the #2 and #6-#9 spots in the order, but someone will have to hit leadoff and someone has to bat fourth.

Mike Hargrove said it well when he was the manager here. If you have a leadoff man and a cleanup hitter, the rest of the batting order takes care of itself.

Right now, the Indians have neither, meaning Terry Francona will have to put someone ill fit for those spots in there.

Really, Jason Kipnis should be hitting either #2, #3, or #5 or #6, but he is forced to be used at the top of the order.

Only Michael Brantley hits where he is best suited among the top five batters. He is the best hitter and bats third.

Guys like Carlos Santana and Napoli should hit sixth or seventh in a good batting order.

And putting them in a spot for which they aren’t suited makes them a failure in fans eyes.

That’s why you probably have to move a starting pitcher to get that kind of middle of the order bat.

Although we would prefer to not move Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier in one of these deals, we wouldn’t hesitate to use any other prospect for the right player.

For example, we like Mike Clevenger’s potential. However, the reality is he has not thrown one pitch in a major league game. He might be a very good starter someday, but then again, he might not be.

One thing we do know is the Indians have a very good starting rotation and some depth in that area. So, you have to take advantage of that and sooner than later.

And just because other teams went for it last year and failed (San Diego, the White Sox), doesn’t mean the Tribe shouldn’t either.

The Royals won the World Series and signed Kendrys Morales in the winter and traded for Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist at the deadline.

It is doubtful they’d have won without those players.

Yesterday’s signings help the 2016 Indians, but the front office shouldn’t think this team is ready for Opening Day.

There is plenty of work to do.

Tribe Can’t Be Conservative in Helping Offense

It is almost a universal belief that the Cleveland Indians need to upgrade their offense this winter.

The Tribe ranked 11th in the American League in runs scored, and scored three runs or less in almost half (79) of the games they played in 2015.

They have only three everyday players with an OPS over 800: Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, and rookie of the year runner up Francisco Lindor.

As a contrast, the World Champion Royals had five such players, and a sixth, Ben Zobrist, joined them during the season.

We have written shortly after the season ended that the Indians should be looking to upgrade offensively at five different positions: 1B, 3B, CF, RF, and DH.

We are sure the supporters who are fans of Carlos Santana will say that we are crazy, but the switch-hitter will be 30 years old in 2016 and his numbers have declined each of the last two seasons.

The reality is Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, and Terry Francona would be happy is at least two or three of these spots will be upgraded offensively.

While many fans like the job Lonnie Chisenhall did in RF after returning from the minor leagues (756 OPS, .288 batting average), over the entire season, his OPS was under 700.

That said, he is the player out of the five positions that we would consider as an everyday guy in 2016.

The real question though is how can the Indians accomplish this improvement?

We can all agree that the front office is not going to commit to a huge free agent deal to get a solid bat.

Therefore, we can rule out anyone on the high end of the free agent market.

Actually, we can rule out the entire free agent market because we wouldn’t pay between $7-$10 million on flawed players like Austin Jackson, David Freese, and the like.

So, it would appear to us that the only way to get the kind of bat the Tribe desperately needs is to trade one of their starting pitchers.

If the next Ted Williams fell into Cleveland’s lap for a minor league prospect, of course that would be the first option. However, that’s not likely to occur.

In order to get a quality hitter, a professional hitter, the organization is going to have to pony up.

It would be nice to continue to have four or five quality starting pitchers who are proven commodities, but you may still have that with the depth the Indians have accumulated over the past few years.

And if the front office is going to ink players like Jackson or Freese and tell you they’ve improved the hitting, they are lying to themselves.

One guy who may be affordable and could help, at least against right-handed pitchers is free agent John Jaso.

Jaso, 32, is a platoon bat however. He’s a lifetime .274 batter against right-handed pitching, with a 797 OPS.

He had a 839 OPS last season with Tampa Bay.

It would be fine to get some pieces like Jaso to help, but only if you can get someone who can hit in the middle of the order, especially with Brantley out of the lineup probably until the middle of May.

But you are going to have to give something significant in return.

The question is will the Indians’ front office have the stomach to make such a move

Tribe Starters Fine, But Bullpen Needs Overhaul in ’16

A week ago, we talked about how the past few weeks for the Cleveland Indians should eliminate any notion in the front office’s collective minds that minor tinkering is all the Tribe needs heading into next season.

The offense ranks in the bottom third of the American League and there is no question that should be the primary area of concern this winter.

On the other hand, the pitching staff currently ranks 2nd in the AL in staff ERA, and ranks in the top three in the league in most of the major categories (hits allowed, strikeouts, least walks) and leads the AL in complete games.

The preference would be the leave the pitching staff alone, particularly the starters, because if you are statistically one of the best staffs in your league, why would you make any moves.

However, pitching staffs can be volatile from year to year, and in order to get the bat the Indians so desperately needs, you may have to give up a starting pitcher.

And the Tribe, despite the adage that when you think you have too much pitching, you go out and get more, has some depth in the rotation.

Without question, the big four of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer, are pretty durable, and in spite of Bauer’s inconsistent second half, are pretty darn good.

You also have Cody Anderson and Josh Tomlin, both of whom were great after they got healthy after the All Star Game.

Add in T.J. House, who was solid last year, but injured for most of this year, and prospects Mike Clevenger (acquired from the Angels a year ago for Vinnie Pestano) and Adam Plutko, and you can see there is hope for the future.

And perhaps Gavin Floyd will be back as well.

If you have to trade one of the starters, which one should go?

Bauer would be a popular choice, but he’s also the youngest of the quartet, and based on his second half, probably has the least market value.

Kluber would bring the most in return, but he figures to have a bounce back season in 2016 and we would still say in an elite starter.

We would dangle Salazar because we think he is the most mentally fragile. He may improve this with experience, but he doesn’t seem to battle his way out of trouble when things start to go bad.

The bullpen should be rebuilt because outside of closer Cody Allen, the relief corps was inconsistent down the stretch. Zack McAllister has a dominant fastball, but needs to be able to throw a breaking pitch for a strike.

Bryan Shaw seems to be suffering from the huge workload he has had over the past two years, and would seem to have decent trade value.

The rest of the ‘pen is filled with guys that Terry Francona doesn’t have a great deal of faith in, although we would keep Kyle Crockett because he’s demonstrated in the past that he can be effective vs. left-handed hitters.

There are some options in the minor leagues too that haven’t received a decent shot at the major league level. Shawn Armstrong deserves a shot, and the club could take a good look at Jeff Johnson and Josh Martin as well, and there be plenty of veterans available as well in free agency.

The pitching staff is the strength of this team. Unfortunately, the offense wasted a great job by the staff in 2015.

The Pro and Cons on Tito’s Managing

Ever since Terry Francona became the manager of the Cleveland Indians after the 2012 season, he has more or less been the face of the franchise, which is kind of unusual for the manager of the team.

He came to the team with the cache of winning two World Series titles in Boston, breaking the infamous “Curse of the Bambino”, the first world title in Beantown since 1918.

And in his first season with the Tribe, he took a team that finished with 68 wins in ’12, and led them to a spot in the Wild Card game, leading the Indians to 92 victories, a whopping 24 win turnaround.

Last season, Francona had his squad in contention until the final weekend of the regular season, finishing with 88 wins, the first consecutive winning seasons for Cleveland since 2000-01.

There is no question Tito is a player’s manager. He keeps everything in the clubhouse for the most part, and his players love that. And from reading the book about his years in Boston, he likes to have veterans around to police the locker room, feeling constructive criticism means more coming from one’s peers than always from the skipper.

So, there is no question here, that the atmosphere Francona has created in Cleveland has a great deal to do with changing the culture, and contributes to the team’s success.

Even this year, it would have been understandable if the Tribe would have folded its tent, especially when they fell 10 games below .500 in early August.

However, they have roared back into the fringe of contention and as we enter play tonight they are 4-1/2 games out of the second wild card, and only three games back in the loss column.

The point that this team never gives up is the strongest recommendation we can make for Francona’s managing style.

In terms of in-game tactics and lineup construction, well, that’s another story.

Last week, in a key game against Kansas City, trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning, the Indians got the first two runners on base. Francona then pinch hit Mike Aviles for Jerry Sands, and anyone watching the game knew a bunt was coming.

We could see the strategy if it were a tie game (a fly ball would win it), or even down one run (can score tying run with an out). However, down two runs, it is a horrible mistake.

You had three outs remaining, and you gave one up on purpose.

Aviles did bunt, and didn’t advance the runners. Soon, the game ended in a 2-0 defeat.

The Indians lead the American League in sacrifice bunts with 44, a statistic that drives sabermetric people crazy. We kind of agree. Giving up outs is crazy.

Francona no doubt has his favorites, and it usually a veteran player. He has somehow given Aviles almost 300 at bats, despite a 623 OPS, a mediocre figure by any standard.

And his lack of usage for newly acquired Chris Johnson, a career .300 hitter vs. left handers, seems odd too. If we were in charge, Johnson’s name would be in the lineup everyday right now, with Giovanny Urshela struggling.

We have addressed Francona’s stubbornness in the past, his patience has developed into that at times.

His recent bullpen strategy has developed into that lately, as set up men Zack McAllister and Bryan Shaw have struggled since the beginning of August, yet the skipper hasn’t tried any alternatives.

He’s also been tentative in bringing along young players save for Francisco Lindor and Urshela, but that’s because he had no alternatives.

If he does, the young guy, whether it be Tyler Holt, Jesus Aguilar, or even Zack Walters (not a fan) gets sporadic at bats, which usually results in no production.

We would agree that the clubhouse presence is more important to this team than the lack of strategic performance, at least for this organization.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t drive us up the wall.

Does Tribe Need Tito To Be Tougher?

Cleveland Indians’ manager Terry Francona has a public persona that is all about being a player’s manager.

He seems to run a loose ship, letting the players play and very, very rarely takes one of his guys to task in the media. We assume that he does discuss mistakes with his squad privately, and we only say that because we are not in the locker room.

In reading the book about his tenure in Boston, Francona is very protective of his players, and depends on veterans to help police the locker room, something he doesn’t seem to have right now with the Indians.

Jason Giambi fulfilled that role in the clubhouse the last two seasons.

However, we have seen several things over the past few weeks that makes it appear Francona may need to get tougher with his troops at least privately. And some of these mistakes, most in fact, were done by veterans.

Francona has been publicly critical of Carlos Santana’s defense at first base recently, and when asked why Chris Johnson was getting most of the time at first instead of Santana, Tito replied that he told the player he needed to be the best defensive player at that position to be out there.

It is no secret that Santana has been subpar defensively all year.

We understand that the Tribe has had a disappointing season, and we are in the “dog days” of the season, but we have seen other mental errors by older players that should be addressed, particularly with young players like Francisco Lindor and Giovanny Urshela being on the roster.

It doesn’t seem like a good example is being set.

While many alluded to the horrible call on the double play ball in Saturday’s game, and it was a complete joke, no one is discussing the base running by Jason Kipnis.

Kipnis was on third after Lindor’s single moved him there with one out.

Why wasn’t Kipnis running on the ball Michael Brantley hit to first base in that situation? You have to at least get a run if the Yankees were going to turn two on the play.

Brantley beat the play at first, so there were still first and third with two out. It was a bad baserunning mistake.

Perhaps not as bad as the one the next day by Mike Aviles, who tagged up on a fly ball to left by Carlos Santana and didn’t slide to try to elude a tag on the throw to the plate. We aren’t sure Aviles would have been safe had he went to the ground on the play, but he certainly would have had a better chance.

With the Tribe struggling to score runs all year, these are glaring mistakes, and they are mental errors, not physical ones.

Then we have yesterday’s game in which apparently the Indians forgot that Cubs’ starter Jon Lester doesn’t like to throw to first with a runner on.

Cleveland didn’t have many base runners, they had just six hits and a walk on the day, but they didn’t attempt a stolen base until Lester left, and he was replaced by former Indian farmhand Hector Rondon.

Again, we don’t know what happened in the clubhouse, but we hope Francona addressed these blunders with his ballclub.

It’s one thing to have a poor record, it’s another to appear to be going through the motions.

Looking Toward ’16 During Last Six Weeks

The Cleveland Indians are currently holding auditions for the 2016 season, all able-bodied players in their system should have a chance to state their case to be on next year’s Opening Day roster during the last six weeks of the season.

If the Tribe were putting an ad in the sports pages, that is what it would probably look like.

You would have to think that among the everyday players, only Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes are for sures to be here next April. Although, Francisco Lindor is making a pretty good case for himself as well.

However, with players who do not have a track record should be required to earn their spot. So, if Lindor came to Goodyear not in the best shape, or he hits .150 in the exhibition games, it’s not a guarantee that he makes the squad.

Our guess is that Carlos Santana will be moved elsewhere because the Tribe doesn’t want to pay him $8 million next year for the production they have received. And we believe Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn will be free agents after the 2015 campaign.

Chris Johnson will likely be back because of his $9 million deal for 2016, but that’s a tradeable deal so that is not etched in stone.

Giovanny Urshela has been impressive defensively, but we aren’t sure he will hit enough to play everyday. And if Jose Ramirez continues to hit like he has since his call up, Terry Francona will have to find a spot for him, unless, of course, GM Chris Antonetti uses him to bring back a legitimate bat.

So, the tryouts are really at the following positions: 1B, 3B, CF, RF, DH.

Even if Lonnie Chisenhall hits well down the stretch, the front office cannot be fooled by that. Chisenhall was tremendous in the first half last season, but hasn’t done much since.

Fans will get a good look at players like Jerry Sands and Abraham Almonte in August, and many at bats will be given to guys like Tyler Holt, Jesus Aguilar, James Ramsey, and Zack Walters in September.

Can Sands be the Tribe’s version of J.D. Martinez?

Can Holt and Aguilar contribute if given steady playing time, something they haven’t received in any of their big league stints?

Can Almonte and Ramsey at least be steady enough to hold down the fort until Bradley Zimmer arrives in Cleveland?

Can Walters ever make contact?

There is no doubt Antonetti will need to find some veterans to fill in at the beginning of the year, but those players should be given one or two-year deals, at mid-range dollars.

The team’s foray into the big time free agent market should be over.

Most all-star type players don’t hit the market until they are past 30 years old, so what you are buying is the player’s declining years. Even Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols isn’t the same player he was in St. Louis, and the Angels will want to get out of that deal soon.

If we were the brass, we would start working on a 10 year deal with Lindor, so he will be here through age 31. We will that strongly about his talent, and because of his unproven talent, it would not cost the franchise $200 million to do it.

Think of the deal Evan Longoria signed in Tampa during his first year with the Rays.

So the positions that are open will need to be filled with either youngsters or whatever return you get in dealing Santana and/or Ramirez, and/or some pitching.

Even if the Tribe doesn’t want to move a starter, they have some bullpen depth, and should really open next year with at least three new faces in the relief corps.

And yes, we would consider moving Cody Allen for the right price. As former GM John Hart once said, closers grow on trees.

The organization cannot be fooled by any success the Tribe has over the last six weeks. They have several spots to fill before the 2016 season begins.

As we said before…let the auditions start.