The Indians have signed Julio Lugo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dionisio Soldevila of the AP (on Twitter). He's an ACES client.
Lugo, 36, spent last season with the Braves, signing a minor league deal in May and getting released in September. In between, he hit .231/.286/.365 in 58 minor league plate appearances and .136/.208/.136 in 48 big league plate appeances. Lugo gives the team some infield depth along with Jose Lopez and Andy LaRoche, who signed minor league deals with Cleveland earlier this offseason.
Anybody sure there are enough free agents left? Seems like the tribe wanna get all of them. Did they release they’re entire Triple A team?
Well some of the Newark Bears still remain or The Somerset Patriots, I hear they have a few diamonds in the rough.
The Clippers are sure going to be good….
Not even
Wouldn’t be on account of this deal. Lugo couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat.
Still not on par with the Lakers. Oh wait…
Julio Lugo is so 2006. Get with the times Tribe!
Pirates fans say it with me “HE WAS OUT” and “KILL JERRY MEALS”Â
Man it really sucks how the Pirates lost the division by a single game, too…
Momentum has everything to do with it.
“Momentum” doesn’t cut a legitimate division contender down to a team that finished 18 games below .500.
This
No, not entirely. The Pirates don’t have the pieces to compete in the short-term, but they had a promising season that conspicuously fell apart on them after that game. It doesn’t matter at all where the team finished the season, they were in contention when that call was made (blown) on July 27. The Pirates entered play the following day tied with the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals a game and a half back of the Brewers in the Central. Momentum carried the Cardinals from a 7.5 game Wild Card deficit on September 1st into the playoffs on the final day of the season. Momentum also cut the Pirates out of contention ever-so-swiftly and they ended the season in a fashion everyone would like to forget. Teams play to win every day because every game counts and you never know how things will turn out. On July 27 the Pirates were as legitimate contenders as the Cardinals.
“On July 27 the Pirates were as legitimate contenders as the Cardinals.”
I do not have the words to express how patently untrue that sentence is. The Pirates were never legitimate playoff contenders last season. They were always a fourth place team that had a bit of a good streak in the first half that was inevitably met with a bad one in the second half. That is how teams like the Pirates work, especially with all the young, raw, untamed talent they have. Maybe in a couple years they can sustain some kind of run, but it was never going to happen last season.
Good streaks are what turn mediocre teams into good ones. We all expected the Pirates to end the season poorly, but we also all expected them to begin it poorly as well and they surprised everyone with how well they played in the first half. What people believe about a team’s ability to have continued success is irrelevant. The Rays had a “good streak” and people didn’t expect a solid team like Boston to collapse like they did – it wasn’t inevitable given how hot they had been previously.
The Pirates will not be considered legitimate contenders until Cole and Taillon and Bell develop and Alvarez adjusts to major league pitching, but if they manage to find themselves in contention late in the year, who are we to say that its inevitable they will fail eventually?
If the Pirates somehow find themselves in contention at the end of August, that’s a much different story, but every year there are young teams that everyone said would be bad who get off to a hot start and then peter off.
I know there were people who saw the Pirates’ early season run as a hint that they might end up in contention but I was never among them. In my eye, they were always a team destined to fall eventually in 2011.
To return to the original point, a fall that dramatic, from first to fourth, from winning to 18 games below, was not the result of a single play in a single game. They were going to fall out of contention regardless, because it was far to big a slide.
In my mind, the point is that umpires need to be held to the highest of standards, because important calls will not always be unimportant to the playoff picture. For Meals’ sake, he’s lucky the Pirates didn’t end the season as the Braves did.
I certainly think we can all agree on that point. There’s woefully little accountability for umpires in this league.
If the Pirates somehow find themselves in contention at the end of August, that’s a much different story, but every year there are young teams that everyone said would be bad who get off to a hot start and then peter off.
I know there were people who saw the Pirates’ early season run as a hint that they might end up in contention but I was never among them. In my eye, they were always a team destined to fall eventually in 2011.
To return to the original point, a fall that dramatic, from first to fourth, from winning to 18 games below, was not the result of a single play in a single game. They were going to fall out of contention regardless, because it was far to big a slide.
 Asdrubal Caberara is going to be traded, only reason why they would sign another shortstop
 (hint the sarcasm).
Whoa, I totally missed the sarcasm in your comment.
They totally should trade him. His value will never be higher than it is right now.
 His real name is Benny Martinez and he is 37 years old.
He’s still alive? This really is just for a minor league player in case of injury right?
this is really pathetic. they throw their hat in the ring for beltran, but pick up crap like slowey, spilboroughs, accardo, and lugo instead. why not go after oswalt, hawpe, or carlos pena ?Â
Hawpe would be a good idea, but too bad he signed with the Rangers yesterday.
Nevermind that Carlos Pena is off the market as well.
What does spending minor league money on Lugo have to do with spending $8MM+ for Oswalt? This signing can pretty much only be classified has good or neutral
Lugo, “36,” couldn’t hit his way out of a ice-block with a blow torch.
Wasn’t aware you had to hit an ice block with a blow torch…
that’s… ineffective?
I see the indians found 1 more at the bottom of the trash can.
Also when they traded for Slowey and Dolan also received 1.25 mil to put in his wallet and not into the team also.
The Indians owners the Dolans have now become the Sanford and Son of the major league baseball owners.
He’s awesome. He can get tagged out at the plate and be called safe in the 18th inning.
lugo comeback player of the year hits 280 12 home runs wait and see lol
You’re asking a lot from a 36-year old who has 80 homers in 12 seasons, and wasn’t even pursued by the Orioles after 2010.
The Indians just make me sad.
Lugo and Laroche are just insurance policies…..in case the young guys falter (Chisenhall, Kipnis, etc…and are only some of the Indians non-roster invitees to camp this year…..add in Jose Lopez, Ryan Spilborghs, Felix Pie, Fred Lewis, etc and you can see the protection they have garnered to ensure they have MLB experienced backups…Lopez can play 2B, 3B, and 1B….Laroche 3B or 1B, Spilborghs, Lewis, and Pie OF…..Lugo- SS 2B or 3B…….just a smart move to have experienced backups in the wings…..in case of injury or lack of productivity…..some of these players should make opening day roster as utility guys and they are good ones to have…..
Update: This deal has since fallen through. Lugo is still a free agent