Indians GM Chris Antonetti told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that Carlos Santana has fully recovered from last year’s knee injury and shouldn't face any limitations this season. He sure looked good when he dove to start a triple play over the weekend. Here are some highlights from Antonetti’s conversation with Speier:
- The Indians expect Justin Masterson to build on last year’s success and become a reliable major league starter.
- Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price, the prospects Cleveland acquired in the Victor Martinez deal “have a chance to contribute to [the Indians’] major league pitching staff in the near future,” Antonetti said.
- Dealing Martinez wasn’t easy, but Antonetti knows difficult trades are part of the game. “Nearly every team faces the reality that it can’t retain every player it values,” he said. “Inevitably some players will leave via free agency and some players will be traded prior to reaching that point.
- Antonetti says the Indians are on their way to becoming a championship caliber club. “The timing of our success will largely depend upon how quickly this group transitions from a collection of young players with potential to a championship caliber team that consistently produces at the Major League level,” Antonetti said.
i think it was a good idea to get rid of v-mart, becuse Carlos is even better! not to mention hagadone!
Hagadone has the stuff for sure. I was dissapointed to see him go in the Martinez deal, but it worked out for both sides. Well, it did for Boston for the year and a half of V-Mart. We’ll see how it works for Cleveland once Price and Hagadone get their chance.
On the verge of a championship, from the outside looking in, seems like they’re on the verge of getting contracted.
I know I’m a Pirates fan so I can’t judge, but I really feel for Indians fans. You can build a damn good team with all the guys they’ve given up recently, and even though getting Santana for Blake, their returns for Lee, CC, and VMart look fruitless thus far, and these guys are just getting older each year.
I’d love to see Chisenhall come up and make an impact, he’s probably be their second best hitter already, but they really don’t have anything to gain by letting him achieve super two, so it’s a crappy situation.
Our current every day CF/LF (when Sizemore returns) and our everyday 1B both came over in the C.C. trade. We have 2 pitchers in the rotation from the Lee and Vmart trades, not to mention more in the minors.
“Fruitless” would be an inaccurate description.
Yeah, a Pirates fan feels bad for a team that has two world series and seven playoff appearances since Pittsburgh’s last winning season.
Makes sense.
Way to put him in his place by mentioning the fact that the Indians lost a World Series 14 years ago. Bet that stung.
The Pirates have actually been doing a nice job of rebuilding under their new management team – mostly by dumping off spare parts like Octavio Dotel, Xavier Nady and Nate McLouth. Meanwhile, the Indians had some legitimate trade pieces in CC, Lee and V-Mart – and they just seem to be going backwards.
Yes, they seem like good pieces now. But, they’re the Pirates, and inevitably they will have to be traded away just like Cleveland has done.
You really think the Yankees or another big market aren’t going to offer McCutchen way too much for the Pirates to match once he reaches FA status? If so, you’re crazy.
While I’m not currently concerned with what may or may not happen 5 years from now, the point that you’re missing is that Pirate fans feel comfortable enough with their front office to believe they can get some good value back in trades if they do have to move some of these players. The Pirates have made some really nice moves with very little to work with. The Indians had an embarrassment of riches and managed to just turn it into an embarrassment.
The Pirates have been trading guys off every year at the deadline, yet they still don’t have a winning season in how long? The Tribe never had an embarrassment of riches. Cliff Lee was so bad in ’07 he was sent to the minors. The Tribe’s top players never hit their peaks at the same time.
Nonsense. Cliff Lee won the Cy Young in 2008. The Indians traded him in 2009. CC Sabathia won the Cy Young in 2007. The Indians traded him in 2008. That’s kind of the point. The Indians are trading off Cy Young winners. The Pirates are doing a better job trading off guys like Nyjer Morgan.
Yes, they did it twice. And, lo and behold, the guys they got in return are pretty good…and better than the Pirates.
So what are the Pirates getting for guys like Morgan? Those deals have them on the verge of .500 by now, right?
Wow. It took you two weeks to come up with that? What did the Pirates get for Nyjer Morgan? They got Joel Hanrahan. He’s currently tied for second in the NL in saves.
Here’s what the Indians got for Lee and Sabathia:
Jason Knapp
Carlos Carrasco
Jason Donald
Lou Marson
Rob Bryson
Zach Jackson
Matt LaPorta
Lo and behold, I’m thoroughly unimpressed. Matt LaPorta is probably the most impressive of the bunch, and he’s not really any better than Ben Francisco – who the Indians threw in with Cliff Lee.
The Pirates traded away a 4th outfielder and got back a solid closer. The Indians traded away a pair of Cy Young winners and got a 4th outfielder. Congratulations.
Since the Indians are my AL team, I am cautiously optimistic about their talent. The key for them to up their game is to have enough of them emerge all at once AND to be able to add through trade or free agent signing a missing piece or two. Even though I like some of what they’ve done, it’s all based on a pile of ifs. And that’s the hard part-if everyone stays healthy, if everyone develops as they are hoping while still under team control, if other teams in the division don’t up their game, if, if, if.
I don’t live in Cleveland so I can’t help their attendance. But they had two games over the weekend WITH A DIVISION RIVAL, that saw less than 10,000 in the stands. No fans, no money. No money, no players can be easily brought in. Rinse, repeat. It’s a tough situation for the Indians and baseball.
there are exactly 30 people in the stands tonight and 10 of them are red sox fans. i know it’s cold and they have a losing club this year, but it’s just pitiful to look at
This will be a make or break year for the Tribe going forward, not only on the field, but in the stands. The carryover from LeBron will fade and the Cavs will start to lose fans, making the spot for #2 team in Cleveland up for grabs (the Browns will always be #1, no matter how awful they are). If the Tribe can make strides on the field this season, the fans will start to return. It’s just going to take some time.
It’s hard not to like Cleveland. They do have some really nice pieces to build off of. However, I don’t think they are all that close to becoming some powerhouse team.
I’ll agree with previous posters that the Indians have not done a great job of acquiring talent when it comes to trading off their elite players. While they certainly received some value for Sabathia, Lee and V-Mart, it was not nearly enough.
Enough is a bit difficult to define or measure.. if by enough you mean two or three mlb rookies with star potential and serious upside, then take a look at the trades objectively:
CC Sabathia…2007 AL Cy Young Winner, traded in early July 2008 after the Indians fell out of contention in the AL Central; was offered $ 18 MM / yr for four years = rejected: Traded to Milwaukee for Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson and Michael Brantley. LaPorta completed his first full year in MLB (albeit coming off hip and toe surgery) and is the starting 1B for the 2011 season in what may be best described as a trying season. His future as an MLB starting 1B is clearly in jeopardy. Rob Bryson started the year in Low A Lake County and completed the 2010 season at AA Akron. He was 7-2 w/ a 2.53 era in 33 games, 3 starts. He 53.1 IPs, 80K’s and 23 BB’s. He is considered one of the best young right handed bullpen arms in a very deep and talented Indians Minor League System. Bryson will start the year in AA Akron. So far so good. Michael Brantley is filling in as the starting CF as Grady Sizemore continues his rehab from microfracture surgery. Brantley’s second half of 2010 and the start to his 2011 show he is going to be a fine defensive OF’er with excellent strike zone discipline.
The Cliff Lee (along with RF Ben Francisco) Trade… this 2008 Cy Young winner netted a current MOR/BOR SP (Carlos Carrasco), a starting 2b/3b (Jason Donald), their backup defensive catcher in “Sweet” Lou Marson and a future FOR/MOR SP & second best prospect in the Indians minor league system (Jason Knapp).
Victor Martinez Trade brought current # 2 SP Justin Masterson, the Indians # 11 overall prospect SP/RP Nick Hagadone (will begin the 2011 season in AA Akron) and Bryan Price, also starting in AA Akron..
In summary, the three guys traded (CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee & Victor Martinez) have all gone on to be stars in MLB. They were stars when they left.. The costs that would have been incurred had the Indians resigned all three would have increased the Indians payroll by over 125% (from the 2011 opening day payroll). A price tag the Indians cannot afford. The guys who were returned include 2/5th’s of the starting rotation, half the starting infield, a third of the starting outfield, their backup catcher and four other “pieces” that are working their way through the Indians minor league system..
What isn’t “enough” about this return?..smh..