Indians CEO: Front Office, Acta’s Jobs Are Safe
Speaking at a charity event on Thursday, Indians CEO Paul Dolan told reporters (including Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer) that he had no plans to relieve manager Manny Acta, general manager Chris Antonetti or team president Mark Shapiro of their duties.
"We all have a lot of work to do, but their jobs aren't at stake in this,'' Dolan said. "As I sit here today, I have no intent to make any changes. I have to understand what's happened. I'm not going to have that understanding today. Hopefully, sometime in this offseason, we'll be able to assess and move from there.''
"We had a team threatening to make the playoffs that has collapsed. We have to understand what happened, and I'm not going to make judgments on that right now. It's going to take more time to assess what we have, what we need, and what we're capable of doing.''
The comments echo statements made by Dolan on August 9, though the Indians' slide has gotten worse since, with 10 losses in their last 12 games. The Indians are 7-26 since July 18, a stretch that included an 11-game losing streak and an ongoing eight-game losing streak. The Tribe were close to contending in the AL Central and wild card races and didn't make any major acquisitions before the trade deadline, though Dolan didn't think that was the season for the collapse.
"I doubt it was demoralizing to the team,'' Dolan said. "Most teams I know are glad when they're kept together like that. We were very aggressive in looking for something that could help the team. I'm not convinced, given what's happened, that anything we might have done would have made a material difference.''
Shapiro and Acta are both under contract through the 2013 season and Antonetti already said that Acta will return as manager next year. Antonetti's contract reportedly runs through at least the 2014 season, according to the Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto. Since all of these deals are relatively close to completion already, it stands to reason that Dolan would give his staff another year to right the ship, especially since the Tribe weren't expected to be much more than borderline contenders this season anyway.
Central Notes: Indians, Astros, Tigers
Here is the latest from baseball's two Central divisions…
- "It's no secret, we're going to need to improve our offense," said Indians manager Manny Acta to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer when asked what his team needs to improve in 2013. "We're going to have to find a solution in left field, we're going to have to find a solution at first base and we're going to have to find a solution at DH. That's pretty obvious. And the third base situation is not determined either."
- The Astros acquired 15 prospects in their midseason trades following today's Kevin Comer pickup, and Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle points out (on Twitter) that ten are pitchers. You can see all of new GM Jeff Luhnow's moves with our Transaction Tracker.
- Lynn Henning of The Detroit News wrote about the Tigers' network of scouts, including those responsible for covering pro leagues, amateur leagues, and players overseas.
Orioles Acquire J.C. Romero
The Orioles have acquired J.C. Romero from the Indians for minor league infielder Carlos Rojas, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com (all Twitter links). The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Baltimore in May, but exercised his opt-out clause in July.
Romero, 36, signed a minor league contract with the Indians last month. He allowed nine runs in eight innings for the Cardinals earlier this season, and has pitched to a 2.74 ERA in 23 Triple-A innings since. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says (on Twitter) that Romero could have opted out of his contract with Cleveland on Wednesday, but they weren't ready to call him up.
Rojas, 28, hit .226/.285/.248 in 147 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He spent some time in the Cubs' farm system earlier in his career and has never been called up to the big leagues.
Indians Release Jose Lopez
The Indians have released infielder Jose Lopez, according to the team. Lopez was designated for assignment last Tuesday.
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. Lopez signed a minor league deal with the Indians last December.
Quick Hits: Astros, Braves, Indians, Choo, Marlins
The Braves beat the Mets at Citi Field tonight to remain atop the Wild Card chase in the National League. Atlanta found their way into the playoff chase as expected, but with a different cast of characters than planned. Here's today's look around the league..
- The Astros announced that they have named Mike Elias their new amateur scouting director in a press release. Bobby Heck, who filled the same role since October 2007, will not have his contract renewed. Elias worked with Astros GM Jeff Luhnow in the Cardinals' front office.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gives Braves GM Frank Wren credit for not only managing to plug the rotation's holes on the cheap, but making it as formidable as it was supposed to be when the season began. While it's unknown how well free agent pickup Ben Sheets and recent acquisition Paul Maholm will hold up, both have looked strong through seven combined starts. Regardless, both pitchers will cost the Braves less than $4MM in 2012.
- Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer looks at how the Indians can position themselves to contend in 2013. Hoynes suggests that the Tribe starts by parting ways with Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore, who are both eligible for free agency at the end of the year. Beyond that, he writes that trading Shin-Soo Choo could bring Cleveland some solid pieces in return. So far, the rightfielder has rebuffed the club's efforts to keep him in the fold beyond next season.
- Carlos Lee has done exactly what the Marlins hoped he would when they acquired him from the Astros last month, tweetsJuan Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. In 32 games with Miami, Lee has a .291/.382/.355 slash line and an OPS not far off from what he posted in Houston earlier this year.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Vizquel, Chavez, Hafner
There are currently 52 starting pitchers on the disabled list, and it’s costing teams money as well as production, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). Executives estimate teams will spend $500MM on injured players this year, so let’s hope they took out some insurance. Here are today’s links…
- Blue Jays infielder Omar Vizquel wants to manage at the MLB level next year, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The 45-year-old 11-time Gold Glove winner said he'd like to manager close to his Seattle area home or for a team with which he has pre-existing ties. As Morosi points out, Mike Matheny and Robin Ventura are doing just fine this year despite their relative inexperience managing professionally.
- Orioles outfielder Endy Chavez will report to Triple-A early next week, according to MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter links). Chavez decided to stay in the organization instead of electing free agency, and the Orioles expect him to be back with the MLB team by the time rosters expand in September.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wonders if Travis Hafner’s tenure with the Indians could be over now that he’s on the disabled list and his contract is about to expire.
Indians Release Derek Lowe
The Indians announced that they released Derek Lowe. They designated the right-hander for assignment ten days ago and had until today to trade or release him.
Lowe is willing to start or relieve, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). There's a sense that Lowe will return to the National League Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported yesterday. The Cubs aren't interested and the Red Sox will pass.
Lowe, 39, posted a 5.52 ERA with 3.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 119 innings with Cleveland this year. He earns a $15MM salary, but the Braves and Indians are responsible for all but the pro-rated MLB minimum at this point.
Indians Notes: Radinsky, Dolan, Acta
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
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
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.