In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR. Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams. You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.
So far, we’ve done the White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles. The Indians are next.
We’ll start by removing Cesar Hernandez, Oliver Perez, and Sandy Leon from consideration since they’ll be free agents after the season. Carlos Santana has a relatively pricey $17.5MM club option, so we’ll remove him as well. Roberto Perez has more affordable club options on 2021 and ’22, so we’ll include him in the poll. I’m only going to lock in these five players:
Francisco Lindor
Mike Clevinger
Shane Bieber
Jose Ramirez
Brad Hand
That means you get most of the control here, as you can choose 10 of the following 26 players:
Greg Allen
Logan Allen
Christian Arroyo
Jake Bauers
Bobby Bradley
Carlos Carrasco
Yu Chang
Adam Cimber
Emmanuel Clase
Aaron Civale
Delino DeShields
James Hoyt
James Karinchak
Jordan Luplow
Phil Maton
Oscar Mercado
Tyler Naquin
Roberto Perez
Zach Plesac
Adam Plutko
Franmil Reyes
Jefry Rodriguez
Domingo Santana
Nick Wittgren
Hunter Wood
Bradley Zimmer
With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below, select exactly ten players you think the Indians should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft. Click here to view the results.
Roberto Perez is good
Fluke
How do you classify Perez as a fluke? He was the backup to Yan Gomes for five years and last year was his first year as the regular catcher. He’s never gonna wow people with his offensive counting stats but what makes him valuable to the team is his defense.
Fluke as in his hitting success is not sustainable.
If they keep the magic ball he might be able to repeat it.
ok 13 year old
ok dude with a profile picture of Rougned Odor punching Jose Bautista in the face
Name calling aside, I have to disagree with 13 y/o. Perez is the best defensive catcher in baseball IMO, and even if he lacks a good hitting ability, he still has some pop. Add terrific defense to okay hitting, and you’ve got a starting catcher. I’m not going to get into every stat right now because I really don’t feel like it lol.
They’re not asking him to win the Silver Slugger every year. If he hits .240 to .250 with 15-20 homers, plays his usual stellar defense, and keeps the pitching staff in the top 5 in ERA then that’s just what they expect of him.
What are you even talking about? Nothing about Perez’s game ISN’T sustainable.
He’s never been a strong hitter for average, so there’s no concern about flukes there. He walks a lot, has decent power, and is an elite defender.
Prior to last year, it seemed the only hits Perez got were in late innings to give them the lead. His offense was surprising to the upside last year. But he is one of the best in league defensively and working with pitchers. They locked him up cheap too and that is why you keep him. If he was available, would easily be swiped.
Civale
Mercado
Reyes
Maton
Bradley
Allen, Logan
Cimber
Luplow
Karinchak
Rodriguez
Maton but not Wittgren?
Personal preference
Definitely not cimber
Are we not aware that Carlos Carrasco is a really good pitcher on a really cheap contract? I know he struggled with cancer last year but I don’t think that is going to murder his effectiveness going forward.
Also Berto is a lock.
I’d argue for Clase too. Yeah the PEDs thing sucks but he throws 99 mph cutters.
The only reason to put Lindor on this list would be assuming that this expansion draft would happen this offseason. Give that he would be entering his last arb-eligible season and that he would likely command well north of $20M, you could reasonably argue that no expansion team would touch him for that price and therefore you could leave him unprotected as well.
We are assuming it would happen this offseason, yes.
Even if an expansion team was scared away by his salary, which I don’t think would be an issue, they would still draft him for trade purposes and I’m sure the Indian’s don’t want to just give him away.
Not so sure I agree. Lindor is the kind of face of the franchise superstar any team would love, especially one just budding and looking to win over fans and sell jerseys for the first time. Skipping on Lindor in an expansion draft would be bad PR imo.
Lindor would be taken if for nothing else trade purposes. You could get two or three guys for him that may be better than any you’d draft in the expansion draft
where is Clase?
Good point … I would have protected Clase even with the suspension ahead of Wittgren I believe
yeah id imagine one would have to even with suspension and injury issues. still quite young and potentially good.
That’s a mistake on my part…I had been taking the players from each team’s 40-man roster, but he’s not on it at the moment due to the suspension. I added him now.
Thank you for updating the poll & it appears allowing people to vote a 2nd time (so Clase votes can be properly counted).
I know I was able to vote a 2nd time & vote Clase instead of B Bradley…
yeah, figured that was the reason. thanks for adding him Tim.
It wont allow me to vote again even though Clase was not available the first time … I would definitely vote to protect Clase and id let go of Carrasco …
For the Indians … wouldn’t Mercado and Reyes be almost locks?
they should be, but my guess is they are just moving towards a more-options approach by popular request.
Who cares ?
i do for your information
Wow, okay here we go.
Reyes
Santana
Wittgren
Wood
Logan Allen
Mercado
Karinchak
Luplow
Plesac
Perez
Tons of good players on this list, but let’s go through the prospects. Karinchak, Wood, and Logan Allen are all pitching prospects I’ve heard good things about. Karinchak is the only one I’ve seen pitch, and he has a disgusting curveball. I expect huge things from him. Perez is the best defensive catcher in baseball, if you’ve seen this guy frame pitches, he’s immaculate. Plus he has some pop, and he’s affordable, heck yeah I’m keeping him. I’m personally high on Plesac, and I expect him to come on to the scene like Bieber did last season. Luplow mashes lefties, he’s so underrated. Santana is affordable, despite being terrible in the field. Same can be said for Framil. Mercado is a no-brainer, he’s one of the bright young guys nobody talks about. Finally, Wittgren is a reliable arm in the pen.
That was a lot.
hard one for sure. id say Logan Allen, Chang, Civale, Emmanuel Clase, Mercado, Naquin, Plesac, and Reyes are locks, and from there I think Karinchak, Bradley, and Luplow contend for the final spots. id hate to lose Bradley simply because he is a solid trade asset, but Luplow (and i admit this begrudgingly) might continue to be a useful, cheap OF piece, and Karinchak’s power out of the pen is undeniable.
honestly the poll results suprise me a bit. to see Carrasco so high up given that he is getting older and is more expensive then most if this list surprises me. i get the idea that CLE will want to do well by him after the cancer last year, but I dont know if they will given their typical financial situation.
I understand your point. Cookie has trade value if he shows health & the ability to pitch at a good level again but he has to prove it.
I think he was more value to Tribe thru various means (PR/ elder statesman on pitching staff/ possible future trade chip) then the Tribe would get by exposing/ losing him in an expansion draft to protect someone else
Carrasco is only owed $34M over the 2020-22 seasons … not a terrible amount for a pitcher entering his age-33 season.
Clase was definitely missed on the vote list as he had time in the majors with Texas last season.
Help in the minors (not yet with major league time) includes: Triston McKenzie, Scott Moss & Daniel Johnson (all 3 on the 40 man roster already) along with Nolan Jones, Eli Morgan, Nick Sandlin & other arms for the bullpen.
My protection list:
E. Clase*
F Reyes
O Mercado
R Perez
J Luplow
J Karinchak
A Civale
Z Plesac
C Carrasco
L Allen
Since Clase not listed I substituted B Bradley so 1B was covered (along with LH power)
Mad Thinker, my list is exactly the same as yours. I struggled, but chose Luplow over Naquin. Logan Allen was my final pick of the prospects because you can not have enough pitching and Logan Allen is a former top 100 prospect. With the Indians success with pitching, I am anxious to see if Allen can become a lefty starter in our future rotation.
I also agree with you about protecting Carrasco. He is a team leader and a positive clubhouse guy for a organization that will always depend on younger players.
Allen, L
Cookie
Civale
Karinchak
Mercado
Perez, R
Plesac
Reyes
Maton
Bradley
I will be making a change. Eliminating Maton, replacing with Zimmer.
And now that Clase is available, exchange with Zimmer.
I went with Franmil Reyes, Roberto Perez, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Tyler Naquin, Jordan Luplow, Jake Bauers, Oscar Mercado, James Karinchak and Jefry Rodriguez.
I chose the pitching and defense….and Reyes big bat.
Only 10? I’ll go with:
Carlos Carrasco
Emmanuel Clase
Aaron Civale
James Karinchak
Oscar Mercado
Roberto Perez
Zach Plesac
Franmil Reyes
Nick Wittgren
Bradley Zimmer
Carrasco, Clase, Karinchak, Luplow, Mercado, Naquin, Perez, Plesac, Franmil, Wittgren, and either Civale or Plesac.
Most of these are no brainers, but one of Civale or Plesac gets left off because of their starting pitching depth.
Expansion teams would be hot after any decent starting pitcher so whomever is left exposed of Civale/ Plesac/ Plutko gets selected away.
An argument could be made for not protecting Naquin/ Zimmer in order to hoard as much pitching as possible. IF one of Naquin/ Zimmer was lost, the Tribe still has Mercado/ Reyes/ Luplow along with Daniel Johnson & others in the minors to cover the OF…
I agree, but the Indians also can’t build their roster with other teams in mind. They could survive losing one of those guys, while their outfield isn’t nearly as deep. Talent-wise, those pitchers are better, but it goes deeper than that.
Going off of that, I left Zimmer unprotected because he just isn’t very good. I protected Naquin though.
Carrasco
Clase
Civale
Karinchak
Mercado
Perez
Plesac
Reyes
First eight are no brainers
Allen L.
Luplow
Taking these two over relievers with 0/1 options left and mediocre outfielders who are running out of time to succeed,
You could talk me into Bradley over Luplow pretty easily.
Daniel Johnson and McKenzie are on the forty man and have to be considered for those last two spots as well.
Actually under the draft rules only those with major league service time have to be considered. While on the 40 man DJohnson, TMac, JCMejia, Scott Moss have zero service time so they wouldn’t need to be protected.
Looking at poll results 24 hours in, I see Zimmer with a nearly 50 voted lead over Jordan Luplow for the 10th & final protection spot. The top 9 spots make sense (especially since Clase in those 9) but the last spot leaves me confused.
Can someone explain why they voted for Zimmer over Luplow?? I would appreciate some insights why some made this choice..
Luplow is probably better served in a platoon in a corner OF slot. Zimmer seems to have a higher ceiling if he stays healthy, and as a burner could man CF full time.
PolHammer – I’ve seen you comment enough to understand you are a knowledgeable Tribe fan. But I wonder if people realize that Luplow is younger than Zimmer & the Tribe has additional yr of control with Luplow (compared to Zimmer)..
I am not holding Zimmer’s play-style (or resulting injuries against him) but in his healthy time he has shown difficulty making consistent contact & strikes out at an alarming rate. Luplow might never be more than a platoon bat but he hits for more power, makes better contact & is serviceable in the field.
IF Mercado wasnt around I might lean in Zimmer’s direction but the fact is Mercado is around & there are more options coming thru the minors. That extra control yr likely helps bridge time until one of them is able to take over full time..
So I’m looking at the survey and top 10 vote getters in alphabetical order: L. Allen, Carrasco, Civale, Clase, Karinchak, Mercado, Perez, Plesac, Reyes, and Zimmer. What do y’all think?
Those of you who included Cookie – you do know he has leukemia? It’s not going away. I believe it makes him to big a risk for another team. Need to include Plutko. It’s all about starting pitching.
Thanks, but I’m certain everyone here voting knows all about Carrasco and his ailments. I would be extremely shocked to see him in a uniform other than the Tribes from here on out. Also, you do realize this whole poll is all hypothetical right? Lastly, have you seen Plutko’s numbers? Without numerous injuries last year he wasn’t getting those starts in the majors. He’s going on 29 and I see him closer to the guy out of options and hoping he clears to an AAA assignment and relied on as depth as opposed to the one of only 10 guys you choose from a list to protect. It is all about starting pitching, just the other starting pitchers.