Guardians Rumors

Mariners Return Rule 5 Pick Jose Flores To Indians

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 25, 2011 at 1:29pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they returned right-hander Jose Flores to the Indians (Twitter link). Seattle had to offer the Rule 5 pick back or keep him on the 25-man roster all season long and Cleveland accepted Flores back and assigned him to minor league camp.

The 21-year-old, who signed with Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent in 2005, posted a 12.27 ERA in four relief appearances this spring. He has a 3.92 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 79 minor league games, but has yet to pitch above Class A.

Cleveland could re-obtain another Rule 5 pick before long, as the Pirates may not have roster space for infielder Josh Rodriguez. Oddly, the Mariners still have two pitchers named Jose Flores in their system even after today's transaction.

Indians Sign Jesse English

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2011 at 6:43pm CDT

The Indians have signed left-hander Jesse English to a minor league deal, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (Twitter link). English became a free agent in November when Washington outrighted him off its roster.

The 26-year-old southpaw made his Major League debut last season, posting a 3.86 ERA in seven relief appearances with the Nationals. English was a sixth-round selection of the Giants in the 2002 amateur draft, and he has a 3.95 ERA and a 9.7 K/9 rate in 139 career minor league games, 69 of them starts.

Quick Hits: Marlins, Indians, Boras, Quade, Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 4:37pm CDT

Links for Thursday as the Braves name Brandon Beachy their No. 5 starter…

The Marlins released outfielder Chris Lubanski according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Lubanski, the fifth overall pick in 2003, hit .293/.361/.538 for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate last year.
Indians president Mark Shapiro (@MarkShapiro) and GM Chris Antonetti (@IndiansGM) are now on Twitter. If you aren't following @mlbtraderumors, you're missing out and you could become follower number 70,000.
After an anonymous player ripped Scott Boras in ESPN the Magazine, the agent defended himself, telling Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he does tend to players even when their careers slow down. "Call Rick Ankiel. Call Andruw Jones. Call Alex Cora. Call Barry Zito," Boras said. "Our commitment to the player is extreme."
Cubs manager Mike Quade tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald how he learned to become a teacher.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America examines a number of out of options position players who are hoping to establish themselves in 2011. Check out MLBTR's list of out of options players here.
As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark explains, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is bringing a 'why not us' attitude to the Pirates in sometimes unconventional ways.

Indians Notes: Durbin, Rodriguez, Tomlin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 6:25pm CDT

A round of Indians-themed links as Cleveland plays Kansas City in Arizona…

As Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer explains, Indians reliever Chad Durbin was surprised to take a paycut this year given the robust market for relievers. "I didn't think my year dictated it should have been that way. I'm not saying I needed three years for 12 [million] – that's ridiculous – but we were fishing for whatever we could get," Durbin said.
The Indians expect the Pirates to return Josh Rodriguez, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Rule 5 pick would be a welcome addition to one of the Indians' top affiliates.
In a mailbag for MLB.com, Jordan Bastian explains that Josh Tomlin appears to have a good chance of cracking the Indians' rotation.
On the infield, Jack Hannahan has a chance to be the Indians' Opening Day third baseman, Bastian reports.

Jensen Lewis Clears Waivers

By Tim Dierkes | March 22, 2011 at 12:14pm CDT

TUESDAY, 12:14pm: Lewis cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

MONDAY, 9:13am: The Indians placed reliever Jensen Lewis on waivers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Non-roster invitee Jack Hannahan is expected to make the team, so the Indians will need to open up at least one 40-man roster spot.

Lewis, 27 in May, posted a 2.97 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 0.2 HR/9, and 30.4% groundball rate in 36 1/3 big league innings last year. He has stronger peripherals in Triple-A, where he posted a 2.67 ERA in 30 1/3 frames. Arbitration eligible as a Super Two player after the 2010 season, Lewis signed for $650K. Typically such contracts are not guaranteed, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote yesterday that Lewis' is.

American League Links: Orioles, Francisco, Indians

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 21, 2011 at 10:25pm CDT

Links from the Junior Circuit, as Bartolo Colon comes closer to earning a spot in the Yankees' rotation…

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun previews the Orioles' Opening Day roster and checks in on some 2010 Orioles who have since joined other organizations.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas asks whether the Rangers made a mistake when they traded Frank Francisco for Mike Napoli. Rangers GM Jon Daniels says Francisco was "very good" out of the bullpen when healthy, but notes that Francisco isn't completely healthy at the moment. The right-hander is set to visit Dr. James Andrews.
The Indians are almost ready to announce their starting rotation, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Meanwhile, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer says the Indians didn't draft well enough from 2004-07.

Jason Davis Ends Comeback Attempt

By Mike Axisa | March 19, 2011 at 8:47am CDT

It's been eight years since Jason Davis was the Indians' number two starter behind CC Sabathia, but his comeback attempt with those same Indians came to an end yesterday. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports (on Twitter) that Davis, who was in camp on a minor league deal, ended his comeback attempt after just a week.

Davis, now 30, didn't pitch at all in 2010, taking what was termed a "mental break." He last appeared in the big leagues in 2008 with the Pirates, and has battled control problems in recent years. In his last 96 1/3 innings (that includes his time in Pittsburgh plus a Triple-A stint in 2009), he walked 53 batters and struck out only 38. Davis finishes his career with a 4.82 ERA in 461 innings, having played for the Tribe, Mariners, and Bucs.

Phillies Notes: Utley, Polanco, Knapp

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 18, 2011 at 9:01am CDT

The latest on the Phillies, before they take on their intra-state rivals far from Pennsylvania…

The Phillies' goal with Chase Utley is to avoid surgery at all costs, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
As Olney points out in a column at ESPN.com, this is the point in the spring where injuries have a good chance of impacting Opening Day rosters.
The Phillies say they aren't worried about Placido Polanco, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The infielder, who is dealing with a hyperextended elbow, practiced yesterday and won't play in a game for at least two days.
Former Phillies prospect Jason Knapp tells Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he was healthy when Philadelphia sent him to Cleveland as part of the summer 2009 Cliff Lee trade. Knapp, still just 20, has recovered from shoulder problems to re-establish himself as one of Cleveland's top prospects.

Offseason In Review: Cleveland Indians

By Tim Dierkes | March 16, 2011 at 8:44am CDT

The Indians are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League/International Signings

Austin Kearns, OF: one year, $1.3MM.
Orlando Cabrera, 2B: one year, $1MM.
Chad Durbin, RP: one year, $800K.
Total spend: $3.1MM.

Notable Minor League Signings

Adam Everett, Nick Johnson, Travis Buck, Doug Mathis, Anthony Reyes, Luke Carlin, Jack Hannahan, Paul Phillips

Trades and Claims

Acquired P Joe Martinez from Pirates for a player to be named later or cash considerations
Acquired IF Matt Lawson and cash considerations from Mariners for P Aaron Laffey

Notable Losses

Josh Rodriguez, Jose Flores, Aaron Laffey, Andy Marte

Summary

Chris Antonetti's first offseason as Indians GM marked the second year in a row the team spent about three million bucks on free agents. As opposed to the Pirates and Orioles, the Indians were not willing to spend money on free agent placeholders.

The Indians flipped Kearns for Yankees prospect Zach McAllister last summer, and that might be the plan if any of the veteran signings are having decent years at the trade deadline and the team is struggling. Durbin (pictured) is a solid reliever, and getting him for $800K is good value. I liked the minor league deals for Johnson and Buck, as both have upside and opportunity if they can get healthy.

Can the Indians become the surprise contender of 2011? The offense will ideally be elevated by full seasons from Grady Sizemore, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Carlos Santana. Position player reinforcements could arrive in the form of top prospects Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, Nick Weglarz, and Cord Phelps. But even if we optimistically grant the Indians an above-average offense, to contend they'd need breakout performances from pitchers such as Justin Masterson and Carlos Carrasco, a strong debut from Alex White, and improvements from several of the relievers behind Chris Perez. It's a lot to ask.

The Tribe's farm system ranks seventh in baseball, according to Baseball America, which praised the club for having best 2010 draft of any team. They're stocked at both the lower and upper levels of the minors. This is a club that will get better in a hurry, even if 2011 is not the year.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Central Notes: Royals, Chisenhall, Theriot, Brewers

By Zachary Links | March 14, 2011 at 6:58pm CDT

Let's take a look at some items from both the AL and NL Central..

Royals manager Ned Yost told the Associated Press that he would like to have two left-handers in the bullpen to start the year, though he won't have two southpaw relievers just for the sake of it. For the time being, it sounds like Kansas City will look for an answer in-house, starting with their newest acquisition Robert Fish.
When asked if service time factored into the decision to demote Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians GM Chris Antonetti said, "That's certainly not the case," tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
After being dealt from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, Ryan Theriot says that he's looking to play the way he did in 2008, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach. In '08, Theriot posted a slash line of .307/.387/.359 for the Cubs.
Chris Cwik of Fangraphs wonders if the Brewers' acquisition of Zack Greinke has left them too thin in some areas.

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