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Indians Notes: Radinsky, Dolan, Acta

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The Indians announced a significant change to their coaching staff today following an 11-game losing streak that all but eliminated the team from playoff contention. They have replaced pitching coach Scott Radinsky with Ruben Niebla on an interim basis. Niebla had been the pitching coach at Triple-A Columbus since 2011 and has worked in the Cleveland organization for 12 years. Here are more notes on the Indians from Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer…

  • Indians CEO Paul Dolan told Pluto that the team’s recent losing streak was “so dismal” and "the most disappointing stretch of baseball" since the Dolans bought the team before the 2000 season.
  • The Indians rank last in MLB in attendance (they average 20,321 fans per game) and their finances are “not particularly good” this season, Dolan acknowledged. The Indians are open to minority investors, but the franchise is “not for sale,” Dolan said.
  • Indians president Mark Shapiro and general manager Chris Antonetti never brought up the subject of firing manager Manny Acta, Dolan said. However, the CEO declined to comment on the future of Acta or others beyond 2012. "We assess everyone at the end of every season," Dolan told Pluto. "As painful as this has been, I don't want to get into some knee-jerk reactions.” 
  • Antonetti recently told reporters Acta would return in 2013, but there’s no guarantee of that right now. Dolan wants to see how the team performs between now and the end of the season.
  • Shapiro has a contract through 2013 and it’d be a shock if he were replaced, Pluto writes.
  • Antonetti’s contract isn’t up at the end of this season, Dolan said. Pluto has heard it runs at least through 2014.
  • In case you missed it, the Indians will release Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo today.

Indians To Release Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo

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The Indians will release Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo today, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (on Twitter). The club has one more day to make a move involving Derek Lowe.

The Indians removed Damon from their roster six days ago, after he posted a .222/.281/.329 batting line with four home runs in 224 plate appearances as a left fielder and designated hitter. The club designated Accardo for assignment five days ago after he posted a 4.58 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 26 appearances.

Damon hasn't heard if any contenders are interested in signing him, but he wants to keep playing, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter links). The Red Sox will pass on Lowe for now, Cafardo reports.

Minor Moves: Knapp, Diaz, Rodriguez

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The latest minor moves… 

  • The Indians announced that they released right-hander Jason Knapp (Twitter link). Knapp was a key part of the 2009 trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Phillies, but injuries have sidelined him, and he hasn't pitched since 2010. The 21-year-old had a 3.63 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in three professional seasons from 2008-10.
  • The Angels released catcher Robinzon Diaz and right-hander Francisco Rodriguez from their Triple-A team, according to the Pacific Coast League. Diaz, who last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2009, has a 285/.309/.437 batting line in 166 plate appearances at Triple-A this year. Rodriguez accumulated more walks than strikeouts and posted a 6.35 ERA in 51 innings with the Salt Lake Bees. He appeared in ten games for last year's Angels team and posted a 4.37 ERA in 43 games for the 2010 team.

Indians Designate Jose Lopez For Assignment

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The Indians announced that they designated infielder Jose Lopez for assignment. The move creates roster space for right-hander Frank Herrmann, who has been recalled from Triple-A. The Indians, losers of ten consecutive games, recently designated veterans Derek Lowe and Johnny Damon for assignment.

Lopez appeared in 66 games for the Indians this year, playing third base and seeing some time at first and second. The 28-year-old posted a .249/.272/.366 batting line in 224 plate appearances. He earns $800K this year after signing a minor league deal with Cleveland last December.

Quick Hits: Victorino, Greinke, Longoria, Nats

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The Indians have lost nine games in a row, but they don’t plan on reacting to their struggles by making a managerial change. General manager Chris Antonetti said Manny Acta will return as the team's manager in 2013, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The team already exercised Acta's 2013 option last September. Here are today’s links…

  • Shane Victorino hasn't been with the Dodgers long, but he'd like to stay there long-term, in part because of the proximity to his parents in Hawaii and family home in Las Vegas, writes ESPN's Mark Saxon.
  • The Dodgers and Angels could bid against one another for Zack Greinke when the right-hander hits free agency this coming offseason, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. The Angels intend to keep Greinke, and the Dodgers are prepared to spend on elite pitching, as evidenced by their claim of Cliff Lee.
  • Olney points out that Kyle Lohse is positioning himself for a solid free agent contract, and suggests he could approach Mark Buehrle’s four-year, $58MM contract. Lohse is older than Buehrle and doesn’t have the same history of durability, so I will personally be surprised if Lohse gets a four-year deal or an annual salary of $14MM.
  • Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew McCutchen provide their respective teams with considerable value, relative to their contracts, but Evan Longoria has the most team-friendly contract in MLB, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes (Passan's not considering pre-arbitration eligible players). The Rays announced that they will activate Longoria from the disabled list for tomorrow’s game.
  • The Nationals announced that they agreed to sign four international free agents: right-hander Ramses Rosario and outfielders Aldrem Corredor, Darryl Florentino and Luis Guzman.

AL East Notes: Valentine, Thome, Lowe

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The Orioles defeated the Mariners tonight to draw within a half game of one of the American League's Wild Card spots. In what most consider to be a shocking season, the second-place Orioles trail the Yankees by 5 1/2 games following New York's loss to the Tigers. Here are some links pertaining to the division…

  • "We are not making a change at manager," Red Sox principal owner John Henry told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford via email. Henry wrote that managers often get too much credit and also too little credit for what happens on the field.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier tweeted a quote from Red Sox GM Ben Cherington that echoed Henry's sentiment, though Cherington stopped short of saying how long Valentine's Boston tenure would last (Twitter links).
  • Orioles DH Jim Thome was told to refrain from baseball activities for 30 days, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. With an early September return questionable at best, he may be more interested in coming back for another season, according to Ghiroli (Twitter links).
  • An Orioles team official told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the team doesn't have interest in Derek Lowe, who was recently DFA'ed by the Indians (Twitter link). Cleveland is said to be exploring trade options for Lowe.

Central Notes: Overbay, Indians, Pirates, Burnett

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Some links pertaining to baseball's two Central Divisions, which are currently led by the White Sox and Reds…

  • The Reds aren't interested in Lyle Overbay, general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Jocketty mentions Overbay's defensive limitation and says his team likes Xavier Paul. Overbay was released by the D-backs earlier today.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti is exploring the trade market for both Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Antonetti feels there's a chance that he can complete trades within their respective 10-day windows. Cleveland recently designated Damon and Lowe for assignment.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Antonetti is happy with the job Manny Acta has done and expects him to be the Indians' manager in 2013. Antonetti did concede that the front office and coaching staff may have over-evaluated the roster's talent in Spring Training.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says he is actively monitoring the waiver wire and will make claims to improve his team or block others from improving theirs, writes Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • The Pirates haven't explored an extension with A.J. Burnett as of yet, Huntington told reporters including the Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel (Sulia link). Huntington says the team's focus is currently on making the playoffs.

Indians Claim Fabio Martinez

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The Indians announced that they have claimed right-hander Fabio Martinez off of waivers from the Angels. The Indians optioned Martinez to Class A Carolina, where they plan to convert him to a reliever. 

Martinez had been pitching at Class A Inland Empire this season, his sixth as a professional. The 22-year-old posted a 10.72 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 12.7 BB/9 in 22 2/3 innings, all as a starter. He has a 3.90 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in his minor league career. Martinez has two options remaining after this year, according to the Indians.

Quick Hits: Lowe, Cubs, Antonini, Rangers, Indians

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Links from around baseball as Saturday becomes Sunday..

Indians Designate Jeremy Accardo For Assignment

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The Indians have designated Jeremy Accardo for assignment, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move will allow Cleveland to recall left-hander Chris Seddon who last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Mariners.  Seddon will take the hill for the Tribe tomorrow against the Tigers.

Accardo, 30, has a 4.58 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 26 appearances this year for the Indians.  For his career, the right-hander has a 4.27 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in eight seasons with the Giants, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Indians.

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