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Chris Antonetti

Antonetti, Chernoff Discuss Indians’ Payroll, Francona, Lindor

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Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff held their season-ending media event this afternoon, discussing numerous topics with The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell, The Athletic’s Zack Meisel, and other reporters.

As has become a trend during these wrap-up events in 2020, there was much discussion about how the economic uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the Tribe’s payroll going forward.  While Antonetti said “we don’t have a specific number for a payroll at this point,” no implication was given that the Indians would increase spending in such a “daunting” financial environment.

“The reality of the finances in baseball in 2020 is that the industry lost billions of dollars and as a team we lost tens of millions of dollars.  That puts us in a really difficult financial position that will take us years to recover from,” Antonetti said.

Pre-pandemic, the Indians had a projected payroll of just under $100MM for the 2020 season and that number could drop significantly given the amount of money coming off the books.  Cesar Hernandez, Oliver Perez, and Sandy Leon are all free agents, and Cleveland holds club options on Carlos Santana and Brad Hand for 2021.  If all five of those players departed, the Tribe would save approximately $39.5MM in salary, though obviously the team would be left needing to fill multiple roster holes.

Francisco Lindor represents Cleveland’s biggest obligation, as the shortstop is arbitration-eligible for the third and final time and will earn a raise on his $17.5MM salary for 2020.  Given his rising price tag, Lindor’s name has swirled in trade rumors for months, and this offseason could represent the Tribe’s last chance to get a significant trade return on his services.

While Antonetti said “I don’t think I ever take that view” that Lindor is a surefire trade candidate, the executive did say that there hadn’t been any more extension talks with Lindor’s camp since negotiations broke off during Spring Training.  “What has happened with the pandemic has added an entirely unexpected layer of complexity as to what the future may look like.  So we haven’t even started to wrap our head around what that may look like,” Antonetti said.

Perhaps more tellingly, Antonetti also made multiple comments about the approach the smaller-payroll Indians have taken to put a consistent winning team on the field.  “I think we’ve made consistent decisions over the course of the past few seasons to infuse young talent to position us to sustain that competitiveness….And had we not made some of those decisions, we’d be in a much worse position right now heading into 2021,” Antonetti said.

“I think we can afford any individual player.  It’s less about that.  It’s about how do we build a team that’s capable of contending? And how do we allocate resources in a way that gives us the best chance to win as many games as possible?”

While Lindor’s Cleveland status may be up in the air, one person who is expected to return next season is manager Terry Francona.  Due to both gastrointestinal problems and surgery to correct a blood-clotting problem, Francona missed 46 games during the regular and both of the Tribe’s playoff contests, with first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. stepping in as interim manager.  It isn’t yet known if bench coach Brad Mills or hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo will also be back in 2021 — both coaches opted out of the 2020 season.

In other notable news, Antonetti implied that Jose Ramirez would remain as a third baseman, which creates a few ripple effects for the Tribe.  For one, it will put the focus on acquiring a second baseman (whether re-signing Hernandez or adding someone else) this winter, rather than widening the search to third basemen and moving Ramirez back to the keystone.

It also means that top prospect Nolan Jones could move off third base and see time as a first baseman or corner outfielder.  “We have talked to him a little bit about the possibility of adding some positional versatility,” Chernoff said.  “He’s out at our fall programming in Arizona now and will mix in potentially at some other spots.”

Jones played shortstop in high school and shifted to third base in the minor leagues, though there have been long been whispers that first base or the outfield might be his eventual position.  A second-round pick in the 2016 draft, Jones has hit .283/.409/448 over 1453 minor league plate appearances, reaching the Double-A level in 2019.  The cancelled minor league season robbed Jones of his first taste of Triple-A ball, but he did work out at the Indians’ alternate training site all summer as part of the team’s 60-man player pool.

Indians Notes: Kluber, Bauer, Antonetti, Plawecki

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On this day in 1920, Indians pitching legend Early Wynn was born in Hartford, Alabama.  Wynn spent ten of his 23 Major League seasons with the Tribe, a stint that saw him rack up 164 of his 300 career wins in an Indians uniform and led to Wynn wearing a Cleveland hat on his Hall Of Fame plaque.

The latest from the modern-day team…

  • The Indians haven’t dropped their asking price on either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi writes, as the Tribe is still looking for “Chris Sale-level return” for either starter.  As a refresher of Sale’s move from the White Sox to the Red Sox in December 2016, Chicago landed arguably baseball’s best prospect (Yoan Moncada), another blue-chip pitching prospect (Michael Kopech) and two other solid minor leaguers (outfielder Luis Alexander Basabe and hard-throwing righty Victor Diaz).  Sale came with three years of team control, in the form of one guaranteed contract year and two option years that the Red Sox have since exercised at very reasonable prices, given Sale’s ace-level production.  Kluber’s contract is also only guaranteed through 2019 with two club option years, though Kluber is also five years older than Sale.  Bauer is only slightly older than Sale was at the time of the trade, though Bauer is only controlled via arbitration for two more years.  Despite the differences between Sale and Kluber/Bauer, Cleveland’s trade ask isn’t unreasonable, though it’s hefty enough that there hasn’t appeared to be much movement towards a deal (if the Tribe trades either pitcher at all).  “There are no signs of recent progress” between the Indians and the Dodgers, who have been often linked to Kluber and Bauer in trade rumblings this winter.
  • If Kluber or Bauer are moved, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes a trade could happen later in the offseason, after free agent arms like Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, and Derek Holland come off the board.  “I don’t believe the Indians will enter Spring Training without having made one more big move,” Pluto writes, arguing that the team still needs significant lineup help, particularly in the outfield.
  • The Tribe did check one notable item off its list today by acquiring catcher Kevin Plawecki from the Mets.  Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti discussed the trade with MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and other reporters, saying that the playing time split between Plawecki and Roberto Perez likely wouldn’t be determined until Spring Training, though Antonetti feels Perez would likely get the majority of at-bats and youngster Eric Haase will still be in the mix.  “We felt this was an opportunity to acquire another Major League catcher that could help absorb some of the burden in losing Yan [Gomes],” Antonetti said.  He also hinted at more potential deals in the coming weeks, noting “conversations throughout the league have intensified” since the start of January.

Ohio Notes: Lorenzen, Antonetti, Upton, Mesoraco

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Here’s the latest from both Buckeye State teams…

  • Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen suffered a Grade 1 strain of the teres muscle near his throwing shoulder, and will be kept from throwing “for several days,” manager Bryan Price told media (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay).  Lorenzen’s injury isn’t as severe as the similar issue that kept Brandon Finnegan out of action for half of the 2017 season, though it does seem unlikely that Lorenzen would be ready to go by Opening Day.  The 26-year-old was attempting to win a spot in Cincy’s rotation but struggled to an 8.38 ERA over 9 2/3 Spring Training innings.  Between those poor results and now this injury, Lorenzen is sure to resume his old role as a late-inning weapon out of the Reds bullpen.
  • The Indians don’t have much payroll on the books beyond the 2019 season, but president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand not to expect the team to make any splashy signings next winter.  “That’s not the reality of our team-building,” Antonetti said.  “We are one of the smallest markets in professional baseball….We’ve had incredible support from our ownership in which we’ve spent well beyond our revenues as we’ve gone through this competitive period.  But we can’t build teams through free agency.  Our success model is we need to draft and acquire players that are younger and help provide the right environment for them to grow and develop because that’s going to be the nucleus of our team.  We’ll use free agency to complement that group, but not to build that group.”  The Tribe is poised to exceed the $100MM payroll mark for the third straight season (all record highs for the organization) in pursuit of a World Series, with the Edwin Encarnacion signing standing out as an uncharacteristic move for the smaller-market team.  Any future spending isn’t likely to reach nearly the heights of 2016-18, however, and it could be more internally-focused, such as trying to sign in-house players (i.e. Francisco Lindor) to extensions.
  • After releasing Melvin Upton Jr. yesterday, the Indians could potentially re-sign the outfielder to another minor league deal if he can’t find a contract elsewhere, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes.  Manager Terry Francona said that the team chose to let Upton know prior to his opt-out date that the veteran wouldn’t be making the team, so Upton could have extra time to explore his options.  Cleveland already has several outfielders ahead of Upton on both the MLB and minor league depth charts, though there are enough question marks at the position that Upton could provide some extra experience at Triple-A.
  • In another piece from John Fay, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco said that he is finally feeling healthy after three injury-ravaged seasons.  “I feel great.  I don’t have to worry about health.  I work on my swing, work on my catching, play ball,” Mesoraco said.  After breaking out with a huge 2014 that earned him a four-year, $28MM extension after that season, Mesoraco has since played in just 95 total games due to hip, shoulder, and foot injuries.  The lack of durability cost Mesoraco the starting job as the Reds catcher, but he is prepared to contribute anyway he can as Tucker Barnhart’s backup.

Indians Notes: Santana, Spending, Alonso, Kipnis

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Indians GM Chris Antonetti told reporters today that the club was in on Carlos Santana until the very end (hat tip to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). It seemed that Santana’s reps kept the Tribe informed through the entirety of Santana’s free agency, but in the end, things just didn’t work out for Cleveland. This news comes as another sign that Santana wanted to remain with the Indians if possible; the first baseman also wrote an emotional goodbye letter to Tribe fans in which he stated, “I cried once it sunk in that I would no longer be suiting up for and living in the City of Cleveland.” Ultimately, he signed a three-year, $60MM contract with the Phillies. Santana came to Cleveland in the Casey Blake trade prior to the 2008 trade deadline. Though the Dominican Republic native came up as a catcher through the minors, his most recent years have been spent as a first baseman. He hit .249/.365/.449 during his time with the Indians, and provided them with 23 fWAR. The club will now hope that new signee Yonder Alonso can replace his fantastic patience in their lineup.

More from the Indians’ camp on the day the Alonso signing was announced…

  • Bastian also tweeted some words from Antonetti about the club’s spending plans for the remainder of the offseason. It seems as though the Alonso signing may be the Tribe’s most significant of the winter, though they’ll reportedly continue to explore their options. “We’ll continue to be active,” the Indians GM told reporters. “We had a certain amount of flexibility heading into the offseason that we had to use judicially, and this will represent the vast bulk of that flexibility. The cost of retaining the nucleus of our team is more expensive.” Indeed, the Indians have a number of expensive arbitration-eligible players. MLBTR projects that Trevor Bauer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Danny Salazar and Cody Allen alone will cost the club nearly $30MM, and there are still smaller salaries to account for within their arb-eligible group.
  • Antonetti isn’t worried about Alonso’s ability to sustain a high level of production, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. The Indians GM cites his control of the strike zone and escalating average exit velocity across the past three seasons as evidence of a “purposeful adjustment”. It’s worth noting that there’s a healthy amount of skepticism in the industry over whether the former top prospect’s .266/.365/.501 season was a true breakout or a career year. As Evan Davis of FanRag Sports writes in a detailed piece, there’s reason to believe certain adjustments could yield sustainable results over the long-term, including a 9.1-degree spike in average launch angle that led to a .385 xwOBA in the season’s first half. However, Davis also points out that his second half was far more pedestrian; Alonso’s xwOBA and wRC+ both plummeted to levels more indicative of his previous self.
  • One of the remaining items on Antonetti’s docket is to speak with Jason Kipnis about a position plan, Bastian says in yet another tweet. Antonetti told reporters that it’s possible Kipnis could be a contingency plan for Michael Brantley in left field if the two-time All-Star isn’t ready for Opening Day. As Anthony DiComo of MLB.com notes, Antonetti’s words make it seem all the more likely that Kipnis will open the 2018 season in an Indians uniform.

Chris Antonetti, Brian Cashman On Andrew Miller Trade

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With the American League champion Indians set for their first World Series appearance since 1997, team president Chris Antonetti revisited the crucial July trade that brought ace reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland.

On acquiring the left-hander from the Yankees, Antonetti told Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com, “There is excitement about coming to terms for a guy that we targeted. At the same time, there was a pit in your stomach because we knew we were trading really good players. That is a hard thing for us to do. There is that dichotomy.”

The Indians faced serious leaguewide competition for Miller’s services, but they ultimately landed him after agreeing to part with a package that included outfielder Clint Frazier and southpaw Justus Sheffield – two highly regarded prospects. The negotiation for Miller was “excruciating,” said Antonetti, who engaged in 100-plus conversations and texts with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman from late June until the deal went through July 31.

“We felt a unique circumstance with Andrew; with all the elements he brought to the table, it was worth paying a very steep price,” commented Antonetti.

Miller has been worth the price so far, having carried his regular-season brilliance into the playoffs. The 31-year-old won ALCS MVP honors after throwing seven shutout innings and striking out 14 without issuing a walk in the Indians’ five-game elimination of the Blue Jays. Previously, in Cleveland’s three-game ALDS sweep over Boston, Miller tossed four scoreless frames with seven strikeouts and two walks. Miller has recorded between four and eight outs in each of his six playoff appearances this year, which is what the Indians had in mind when they were attempting to acquire him.

“We envisioned using him like we are,” revealed manager Terry Francona, who discussed how the team would deploy Miller with Antonetti and pitching coach Mickey Callaway prior to the trade.

Before Cashman dealt Miller, he had to convince Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner that it was the right path to take. With the Yankees hanging around the wild-card race, Steinbrenner wasn’t on board with moving Miller after the club had already dealt closer Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs. That changed when the Rays swept the Yankees in a late-July series leading up to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, paving the way for the end of Miller’s year-plus run in the Bronx.

“Once the medicals cleared for both sides, then it was a pit in my stomach that I have the most difficult job of all in calling Andrew Miller,” said Cashman. “Andrew, he didn’t want to go anywhere. He loved playing here. Andrew was everything you want. Unfortunately, we had a lot of areas that need to be addressed, so unfortunately he was part of that type of solution.”

Given that Miller is under team control through 2018 at a reasonable $9MM per year, the Yankees “needed two twin firstborns” to deal him, Cashman quipped. For his part, Antonetti told Marchand he’s “confident that the guys we traded away will make a big impact with the Yankees.”

That may indeed prove true for Frazier and Sheffield. In the meantime, Miller has made an enormous mark on the Indians, who are four wins away from their first championship since 1948. Miller and the Tribe will face the Cubs and his former New York bullpen mate, Chapman, in a battle of franchises that own the majors’ longest championship droughts. If the Cubs are going to break through for the first time since 1908, their best bet is to jump on the Indians early in games and avoid Miller, the 2016 postseason’s most dominant force.

AL Central Notes: Soria, Indians, Cueto, Glass

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The Tigers have contacted Joakim Soria’s agent about a possible return to Detroit, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports, though they’ll be one of several teams in the mix for his services.  The reliever-needy Tigers have a distinct need for a solid bullpen arm, but Aroldis Chapman probably isn’t a fit since Detroit aren’t keen on dealing from their just-rebuild farm system to match the Reds’ high asking price for the ace closer.  Here’s some more from around the AL Central…

  • Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (via Twitter) that he will look into trading a starting pitcher in order to improve elsewhere, though it’s not necessarily something that he’d like to do.  The Tribe received a lot of interest in their young starters last summer; Carlos Carrasco drew particular attention and Cleveland in fact almost dealt him to the Blue Jays.
  • While the Indians may not be able to spend big on free agents, what they can offer is playing time at third, first or in the outfield, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (Insider-only link).  This might be significant in helping the Tribe land a lower-tier free agent veteran; Olney suggests the likes of Juan Uribe, Justin Morneau, Mike Napoli and Will Venable as possible fits.
  • Johnny Cueto’s agent, Bryce Dixon, also Duquette and Bowden (Twitter links) to discuss his client’s free agency.  Dixon expressed confidence that teams will see that Cueto his healthy after viewing his medicals, and if Cueto had been hurt, he wouldn’t have been able to deliver such strong results for the Royals in two of his postseason outings.
  • Royals owner David Glass deserves credit for standing behind GM Dayton Moore during tough times, Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com writes.  Moore’s tenure is the fourth longest among current general managers behind Brian Sabean of the Giants (now executive VP of baseball operations), Brian Cashman of the Yankees, and Jon Daniels of the Rangers.  Those executives, however, enjoyed either quick success or quicker returns on rebuilds than Moore, as the Royals didn’t even post a winning record until Moore’s seventh full season running the team.
  • Joe Mauer will be 36 when his current contract expires in three years, but the Twins first baseman tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he hasn’t given any thought about retirement at that time, only that he “probably” wants to play “as long as I can.”

MLBTR’s Zach Links also contributed to this post

Indians Promote Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff

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3:53pm: Bastian tweets that from an operational standpoint, little will change with the Indians. The new titles reflect the way in which the team has operated for several years, per Antonetti.

11:06am: The Indians have announced a widely-anticipated series of front office promotions. Chris Antonetti will move into the newly-minted position of president of baseball operations, with Mike Chernoff stepping into the general manager role.

To an extent, the move was precipitated by the departure of former president Mark Shapiro. But Antonetti will remain atop the baseball operations department rather than stepping into Shapiro’s broader, business-oriented role, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian notes on Twitter.

Antonetti, 41, served as the Indians’ GM for five years after a lengthy stint as Shapiro’s right-hand man. Among his most notable achievements are a series of appealing extensions, many of them with high-performing players that the organization acquired at a discount. Under Antonetti’s leadership, Cleveland has locked up Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, and Carlos Santana on the position player side as well as Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco among its pitchers.

The club that Antonetti compiled this year fell somewhat shy of expectations. After a 2013 playoff berth and 85-win campaign last year, the team’s array of excellent starters made it a popular pick to reach the post-season. Instead, the club landed at 81-80, though it did manage a late run at Wild Card relevance.

There’s still plenty to like about the team’s young talent, even if it didn’t reach its ceiling this season. In addition to those noted above, players such as Francisco Lindor, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Cody Allen are all controlled for the foreseeable future.

Tasked with turning that impressive core into a consistent winner will be the 34-year-old Chernoff. The Princeton grad has been with the organization since 2003, but drew plenty of interest from other organizations that were seeking general managers. But he and the team rebuffed those overtures, preferring instead to structure this internal promotion.

Cleveland also announced that it would account for the upward movement of Chernoff with another internal move. Former director of baseball operations Derek Falvey will become the assistant GM in the new front office structure.

The front office combination has some flexibility to work with despite a generally meager spending capacity. The organization has yet to crack $90MM in Opening Day payroll, but has a decent bit of uncommitted potential cash over the next several seasons — even after committing future salary to the significant players listed above.

Angels GM Candidates Include LaCava, Hazen, Atkins, Eppler

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When former general manager Jerry Dipoto left the club in the middle of the summer over an apparent lack of compatibility with manager Mike Scioscia, it became apparent that the Angels could have a unique GM search on their hands. The team has been increasingly active recently and is said to be hopeful of making a decision within a few weeks’ time.

Here’s the latest on the Angels’ search for a new leader of their baseball operations department, with updates on the preliminary interview process added as information is reported:

  • Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava interviewed for the Angels’ GM vacancy today, reports Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter). LaCava has been an AGM with Toronto since 2007 and also currently holds the title vice president of baseball operations. He’s been strongly considered for GM openings in the past, and he even (reportedly) turned down an offer to become the Orioles’ GM back in 2011.

Earlier Updates

  • Red Sox AGM Mike Hazen will interview with the Angels as soon as today, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Hazen has long been considered likely to head up a baseball ops department at some point. His name has also come up with regard to Boston’s own internal GM opening.
  • Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris has also been given an interview for the post, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. He joins Klentak and Servais as internal candidates who have reportedly been given a chance to sit down with the top-level brass.
  • The Angels interviewed Indians VP of player personnel Ross Atkins today, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Atkins has been in the Cleveland organization for quite some time, and has occupied his current post since a promotion last year. Indians AGM Mike Chernoff has received more press as a possible GM hire, though he also seems to be an internal promotion candidate if current Cleveland GM Chris Antonetti takes the vacated president’s role. Antonetti has previously noted that Atkins holds the promise of a future general manager.
  • We learned yesterday that Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler had his interview with the Halos, as had been widely expected. Eppler has been tabbed by some as the leading candidate, and is reportedly interested in the position — despite any possible limitations of authority owing to the presence of Scioscia — due in part to his ties to Southern California.
  • Los Angeles is said also to have conducted interviews with its own assistant general managers, Matt Klentak and Scott Servais.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Utley, Angels, Zobrist, Zimmermann, Giants, Execs

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In his latest notes column for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal looks at the failed attempt to acquire Chase Utley made by both the Angels and Cubs. Anaheim “blew it” by not adding Utley, opines Rosenthal, as the Halos had more playing time to offer than the Dodgers but didn’t pull the trigger on a deal despite only having acquired “complementary hitters” in July. (That seems harsh, as there’s no guarantee that the current iteration of Utley is anything more than a complementary piece himself.) As for the Cubs, they initially showed interest while Utley was still hurt, but Utley wasn’t comfortable being traded while on a rehab assignment, says Rosenthal, so the Phils waited to put him through waivers. By the time he returned, Howie Kendrick had been hurt in L.A., creating a match with the Dodgers.

Some more highlights from the column…

  • As others have noted, the Angels’ GM opening is a tough sell to prospective candidates because Arte Moreno is more involved than the average owner, and Mike Scioscia has more power than the average manager. One rival general manager described the Angels’ GM role to Rosenthal as such: “You take all of the beatings (from Moreno) and you’ve got no power (due to Scioscia).” Jerry Dipoto resigned from his post this summer due to reported clashes with Scioscia.
  • The Blue Jays tried to trade for Ben Zobrist, but the Athletics’ asking price was Matt Boyd plus other pieces, Rosenthal hears, which was too steep for GM Alex Anthopoulos. Boyd was ultimately one of three pieces used to acquire David Price from the Tigers.
  • Rosenthal reports that the Giants are likely to pursue right-hander Jordan Zimmermann as they look to bulk up their rotation this offseason. However, he notes that the Wisconsin native may prefer to return to the Midwest. Zimmermann ranked eighth on the most recent edition of MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, though he’s had a couple of rough starts since then.
  • The Giants may also consider attempting to unload the final year of Angel Pagan’s contract this winter. Pagan is slated to earn $10MM next season in the final season of a four-year, $40MM contract after playing in just 167 games from 2013-14 and struggling at the plate in 102 games to this point in 2015. San Francisco could use Gregor Blanco in center field in the event that they’re able to move Pagan.
  • The recent trend of teams promoting an assistant GM to GM and a current GM to president (as the White Sox and Giants have done) could continue this offseason as teams try to prevent their top AGMs from departing for GM vacancies elsewhere, Rosenthal writes. The Rangers could promote Thad Levine to GM (and presumably elevate Jon Daniels), for instance, and the Cardinals could promote Mike Girsch (presumably promoting GM John Mozeliak as well). And, should Mark Shapiro end up with the Blue Jays, the Indians could bump Mike Chernoff to GM and make Chris Antonetti president (Cleveland previously did his by moving Shapiro from GM to president and Antonetti from AGM to GM). Levine, Girsch and Chernoff could all attract interest from other teams this winter.

Antonetti Talks Trade Market, Dickerson, Maronde

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Entering the All-Star break, the Indians find themselves at .500 and in third place in the AL Central, trailing the Tigers by 7.5 games. Before Cleveland’s 3-2 win over the White Sox, GM Chris Antonetti chatted with reporters for 25 minutes. Here are the highlights (MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian has the complete transcript) :

  • Antonetti hasn’t decided whether the Indians will be buyers or sellers at the Trade Deadline. “We’re exploring a lot of different things, opportunities to improve our team for the balance of this season and then position us better moving forward, too. We’ve spent a lot of energy on fits for acquiring guys that we’d have control over beyond this year, not just guys that would just be here for the balance of the year.“
  • The Indians’ trade strategy is muddied by the fact there isn’t one glaring weakness on the roster. “It’s actually one of the interesting challenges that we have,” Antonetti said. “So, for us to improve, we need to improve upon a higher standard. And, in some cases, we’re counting on guys that we’ve already made commitments to rebounding. So, it’s a little bit of a different dynamic for us as we look to try to improve our roster.“
  • The Indians will “potentially” explore the trade market for starting pitchers. “The one thing we continue to believe is we have quality Major League starting pitchers,” said Antonetti. “Anytime you acquire a guy, you have to think about who it displaces from the team and the rotation, in that case. You have to have a high degree of confidence that it’s an improvement.“
  • Antonetti traded for Chris Dickerson because his ability to play all three outfield positions and his success against right-handed pitching is a nice complement to the club in the wake of Michael Bourn’s hamstring injury. Antonetti added he had interest in Dickerson as a free agent this past offseason, but couldn’t commit at-bats to him at the time.
  • Yesterday, the Indians acquired Nick Maronde from the Angels. Antonetti has liked the left-hander “for quite a while” and acknowledged the 24-year-old has had “some trouble throwing strikes, but we think that there’s significant upside there and a guy worth taking a chance on. “
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