Guardians Rumors

Indians Claim Alex Young, Transfer Aaron Civale To 60-Day IL

By Steve Adams | July 26, 2021 at 2:09pm CDT

The Indians on Monday claimed lefty Alex Young off waivers from the Diamondbacks and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring right-hander Aaron Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, according to a club announcement. Young was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.

Young, 27, was designated for assignment in Arizona last week after struggling over the past two seasons. The former second-round pick (No. 43 overall) had a solid rookie season back in 2019 when he tossed 83 1/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball over the life of 17 appearances (15 starts). Young’s 20.3 percent strikeout rate that season wasn’t especially impressive, but he had strong control (7.7 percent walk rate), kept the ball on the ground at an above-average 48.1 percent clip and was generally stingy when it came to allowing hard contact. It was a generally promising debut for a 25-year-old with a strong draft pedigree.

Things haven’t panned out as hoped since that time. Young has pitched 88 innings since that time, mostly out of the bullpen (36 relief appearances, nine starts). His strikeout rate and walk rate have each gone in the wrong direction, but only by about one percent. However, Young has begun yielding hard contact in droves while surrendering more fly balls; as one might expect, he’s been immensely homer-prone since those trends began. Over his past 88 frames, Young has served up 22 home runs en route to a 5.83 ERA.

While Young’s time with the D-backs didn’t go as the organization (or the player himself) hoped, he’ll get a fresh start with a new club that has a reputation for pitching development. Young can be optioned both in 2022 and 2023, so he gives Cleveland a potential depth arm for the foreseeable future — or a potential piece to the big league pitching staff if he can indeed right the ship following his change in environs.

The move to shift Civale from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day now means that he won’t return until at least late August. We’re just over one month past Civale’s initial placement on the 10-day injured list due to a finger sprain. He was initially projected to miss four to five weeks, so the fact that he’s now shelved for a minimum of two months suggests that his rehab from that injury has not been as swift as initially expected.

With Civale and reigning Cy Young winner Shane Bieber on the shelf, the Indians have been relying on Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, J.C. Mejia, Eli Morgan and Sam Hentges to start. Despite the team’s aforementioned knack for churning out quality young pitchers, this particular group has struggled for the most part. Plesac only just returned from a broken thumb and hasn’t been as sharp as usual. Quantrill has a solid enough 3.84 ERA on the season, but he has a 5.11 ERA as a starter and a 1.88 mark as a reliever. Young could give Cleveland another option to add to that carousel, depending on how he’s used.

Indians Aren't Exploring Jose Ramirez Trades

By Mark Polishuk | July 25, 2021 at 8:46pm CDT

The Dodgers have interest in injured Royals southpaw Danny Duffy, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter). This completes the trio of NL West contenders looking at Duffy, since the Padres and Giants have also been linked to the veteran left-hander. San Francisco is known to be interested despite Duffy’s injury, and it can be assumed that the Dodgers are in the same position, considering that Duffy has been on the 10-day injured list for five days now.

Duffy is out of action with his second left flexor strain of the season, so he might not be available until at least early September, based on the timeline of his last IL visit. Since the NL West teams currently have a big lead on the rest of the National League for the two wild card positions, the Dodgers can be reasonably comfortable of reaching the postseason in one form or another, so Duffy could be saved as a late-season reinforcement. While it can certainly be argued that Los Angeles should spend its prospect capital on a healthy pitcher, the Royals’ asking price for Duffy probably isn’t very high, considering his injured status. Duffy controls his trade destiny thanks to 10-and-5 rights, and the California native might be willing to waive those rights to join a team in his home state. (If this is the case, the Angels and Athletics would also seem like hypothetical fits for a Duffy trade.)

Indians Transfer Shane Bieber To 60-Day Injured List, Reinstate Cam Hill

By TC Zencka | July 25, 2021 at 12:46pm CDT

Indians right-hander Cam Hill was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A, per Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). Hill has been out for the entire season after having arm surgery that was the result of a car accident. He made the first 18 appearances of his career last season, tossing 18 1/3 innings with a 4.91 ERA/5.43 FIP.

Shane Bieber was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Hill, per the team. Bieber has been out for 39 days with a subscapularis strain. When he went on the injured list (June 14), it was not at all clear how long Cleveland would be without their ace. The earlier’s he’ll now return is three weeks from today around August 15th.

At the time of his injury, the reigning AL Cy Young was the Major League leader in innings pitched with 90 2/3 IP. He worked to a 3.28 ERA with a 33.9 percent strikeout rate that ranked seventh in the Majors. Since Bieber went down, the Indians have fallen from 4.5 games behind the White Sox to now trailing the division leader by nine games.

Draft Signings: 7/24/21

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2021 at 7:36pm CDT

Here are the latest Day Two draft picks to sign with their teams. For more on the 2021 draft class, check out the prospect rankings and scouting reports compiled by Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, here is MLB Pipeline’s breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.

All signings were reported by MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, unless specified otherwise.

The Angels signed St. Mary’s College left-hander Ky Bush for a $1.75MM bonus, spending slightly beyond the 45th overall pick’s assigned value of $1,650,200.
The Nationals signed Daylen Lile for $1.75MM, going a bit overslot ($1,580,200) for the 47th overall pick to get the high school outfielder to forego his commitment to Louisville.
The White Sox went overslot to sign second-round pick Wes Kath, signing the high school third baseman for a $1.8MM bonus. The 57th overall selection has an assigned price of $1,243,600, but the Sox had some money to spare after going well underslot to sign college players picked within their first 10 selections.
The Athletics signed University of Virginia third baseman Zack Gelof for $1,157,400, matching the slot price for the 60th overall pick. Oakland has now signed all of its picks from the first 10 rounds of the draft.
The Royals signed 66th overall pick Peyton Wilson for an at-slot ($1,003,300) bonus. Wilson is listed as a second baseman, but Callis notes that the University Of Alabama product can also play catcher and center fielder.
The Indians signed Florida right-hander Tommy Mace for $1.1MM, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo. Mace’s bonus is above the $929.8K slot price for the 69th overall pick.
The Orioles have reached agreements with 20 of their 21 picks, with some notable overslot bonuses among the signings Eighth-rounder Creed Willems had the most eye-opening number, as the high school catcher landed a $1MM bonus that went way over the $187.7K assigned slot price for the 227th pick. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports that the Orioles also went well above the $818.2K slot price for 76th overall pick John Rhodes, who signed for $1.375MM.

Cleveland Indians To Change Name To Cleveland Guardians

By Steve Adams | July 23, 2021 at 8:53am CDT

The Indians announced in a video package on Twitter this morning that their new franchise name will be the Cleveland Guardians. It was reported last night that a decision had been reached and an announcement could be forthcoming. The name change will formally go into effect after the 2021 season.

The franchise announced early last July that a name change was under consideration, and by December it had become clear that the organization would move forward with a new name in the near future. The team selected “Guardians” from a list of nearly 1200 initial possibilities and has provided some insight into its selection process in conjunction with today’s announcement.

The new “Guardians” moniker is a nod to the eight sculptures along Cleveland’s Hope Memorial Bridge, referred to as the “Guardians of Traffic.” The name has been among the reported favorites for some time now. Others that were popular speculative possibilities included the Spiders (a callback to the late-1800s Cleveland baseball franchise) and the Rocks or Rockers (a nod to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame).

It’s not the first name change in franchise history — far from it — but it is the first in more than a century. The franchise was founded as the Grand Rapids Rustlers in 1894 and very briefly changed its name to the Lake Shores upon moving to Cleveland in 1900. After a series of one-year stints for Lake Shores, Bluebirds and Broncos, the team renamed itself the “Naps” — after star infielder Nap Lajoie — from 1903-1914.

The “Indians” moniker has been in place since that time. There were inklings of change on the horizon long before the announcement of a forthcoming name change. The organization phased out the former “Chief Wahoo” logo from its caps, jerseys and official merchandise beginning in 2019, and talks about potential names and/or branding changes predate that logo’s departure by several years.

“We are excited to usher in the next era of the deep history of baseball in Cleveland,” owner/chairman Paul Dolan said Friday morning in a press release announcing the change. “Cleveland has and always will be the most important part of our identity. Therefore, we wanted a name that strongly represents the pride, resiliency and loyalty of Clevelanders. ‘Guardians’ reflects those attributes that define us while drawing on the iconic Guardians of Traffic just outside the ballpark on the Hope Memorial Bridge. It brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While ‘Indians’ will always be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.”

Cleveland Indians Decide On New Team Name

By Mark Polishuk | July 22, 2021 at 8:00pm CDT

The Cleveland Indians have decided on a new name for their franchise, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It remains to be seen exactly when the new name will be revealed, as “a source would neither confirm nor deny” if the organization would soon be making any sort of official announcement.

It was just over a year ago that the Tribe announced that “ongoing discussions” were taking place within the organization about potentially changing the team name, and news broke last December that a name change was in the works. While owner Paul Dolan indicated in March that the decision might have to be pushed back to 2023, it now looks like Cleveland’s club will indeed have their new nickname in place for the 2022 season.

There hasn’t been any official indication of what the new team name might be, apart from Dolan stating in December that the Indians wouldn’t simply become “the Tribe” or anything else related to Native Americans or Native American culture. Reports last month stated that the franchise had a final list of name candidates, though none of the potential choices were leaked. Of course, public acknowledgement of any choices on the short list could lead to further complications in trademarking the new nickname — as Dolan said in March, “There aren’t many words in the English language that somebody doesn’t own in some shape or form. Particularly in the sports realm, that’s a real challenge.”

Close to 1100 name choices were on the Indians’ initial list, a sign of just how exhausting the process has been in landing on a new nickname for the organization. Countless more selections have been floated by fans, ranging from past names for the franchise (i.e. the Grays, Naps, Bronchos) prior to the adoption of the “Indians” name in 1915, references to other teams in Cleveland’s baseball history (i.e. the Spiders), references to local Cleveland landmarks (i.e. the Guardians or the Rockers), tributes to past players (i.e. the Dobys or the Fellers), or even references to modern pop culture (i.e. the Avengers).

MLBTR Poll: Most Dangerous Second Half Teams

By Anthony Franco | July 14, 2021 at 10:30pm CDT

With the unofficial second half of the season set to kick off tomorrow night, it’s worth taking a moment to look at the current standings. If the season were to end today, the American League postseason field would consist of the White Sox, Astros, Red Sox, Rays and A’s. The National League entrants would be the Giants, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers and Padres.

In all likelihood, though, that field will change a bit over the coming months. According to FanGraphs’ playoff odds, the probability of all ten current would-be playoff teams reaching the postseason is just 14.9%. With that in mind, we’ll turn it over to the MLBTR readership to opine on which teams stand the best chance of making a run and unseating a member of the postseason picture.

For simplicity’s sake, we’ll exclude any team with postseason odds below 3%. That rules out the Nationals, Cardinals, Twins, Marlins, Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Rangers, Pirates, Rockies and Diamondbacks.

American League

Yankees (46-43, playoff chances: 40.4%)

It has been a disappointing season to date for a Yankees team that entered the year with World Series aspirations. The lineup, one of the league’s best on paper, has been thoroughly average to this point. The rotation has been similarly middle-of-the-pack, although that was a bit more foreseeable. The bullpen was one of the league’s best early but has hit a skid recently. With all the talent on the roster, the Yankees feel like they should be better, but their +1 run differential reinforces that they’ve played at a merely OK level so far.

Blue Jays (45-42, playoff chances: 34.5%)

The Jays have had an elite offense all year. They had four All-Star position players, three of whom started for the American League. They’re among the top 5 teams in runs scored and wRC+. The pitching has been less impressive, although the rotation and bullpen are both among the top 15 units in ERA. The Jays have had some ill-timed relief issues, though. A 6-10 record in one-run games (including a 2-5 mark in extra innings) has them just three games over .500 despite the AL’s fourth-best run differential.

Angels (45-44, playoff chances: 15.1%)

There’s no doubting the Angels’ high-end position player talent. Getting Mike Trout back to join Shohei Ohtani, Jared Walsh and Anthony Rendon will make them one of the more fearsome middle-of-the-order groupings. The ever-persistent question is on the pitching staff. Angels starters rank just 25th leaguewide with a 5.04 ERA, and the relief corps hasn’t been much better. The defense hasn’t done the pitchers many favors. Despite the quality lineup, the Angels have been outscored by 26 runs.

Indians (45-42, playoff chances: 6.6%)

The Indians hung around the AL Central for quite a while despite an underwhelming offense. A strong bullpen and a trio of quality starting pitchers kept the team in games, but Cleveland lost each of Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac to the injured list. Plesac’s back, but the team has predictably sputtered without their top pitchers. They’re still only 4.5 games back in the Wild Card race, but they’ll have to turn things around against a tough schedule coming out of the Break.

Mariners (48-43, playoff chances: 3%)

Seattle’s offense has been a weak point this season. Only the Rockies have a lower team wRC+, although the M’s have hit well enough with runners in scoring position to plate runs at a near-average rate. Both the rotation and bullpen have higher-than-average ERA’s, and the Mariners -50 run differential is the worst among plausible contenders. The projections are highly skeptical they can keep up that kind of high wire act (hence the low odds), but those wins can’t be taken away and the Mariners enter the second half closer to the playoffs than anyone else in the AL discussion.

(poll link for app users)

National League

Reds (48-42, playoff chances: 22.2%)

The Reds have been the National League’s analogue of the Blue Jays. The lineup has been good, ranking sixth in wRC+ and eleventh in runs. The rotation has been solid. Bullpen issues have been Cincinnati’s undoing, as Reds relievers have MLB’s fourth-worst ERA. The Reds are 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race and four back in the NL Central and were playing well leading up to the Break.

Phillies (44-44, playoff chances: 17.8%)

The Phillies lineup has a few stars, but it’s been rather top-heavy and a middle-of-the-pack unit overall. It’s the same story in the rotation, where the back end has continued to be problematic. And the bullpen has blown a league-worst 22 saves. It has been a good core surrounding by a weak enough complimentary cast to keep the team hovering around average. That’s been a common refrain in Philadelphia over the past couple seasons, but few teams can match the Phils’ top-end talent.

Braves (44-45, playoff chances: 7.5%)

One of the more disappointing teams of the first half, Atlanta entered the year as a World Series hopeful but hasn’t gotten into a groove. The lineup has been good, although the loss of Ronald Acuña Jr. is certainly going to be tough to overcome. Starting pitching has been fine but unspectacular, but the bullpen — as with the Reds and Phillies — has been an issue in Atlanta. At +19, the Braves have the best run differential in the NL East, but a 2-6 record in extra-inning games has contributed to them underperforming in the standings.

Cubs (44-46, playoff chances: 4.1%)

The Cubs were in the thick of the NL Central race a few weeks ago. An 11-game losing streak knocked them well back in the standings, though. The current lineup still has some high-end talent, and the bullpen has been great this year. But the rotation has predictably proven an issue, and it seems likely the front office will move some players off the big league roster in the coming weeks.

(poll link for app users)

Indians’ Recent Struggles Lead To Difficult Deadline Decisions

By Anthony Franco | July 11, 2021 at 2:51pm CDT

A couple weeks ago, the Indians season seemed to hit a crossroads. The team was in a good place in the standings. As recently as June 26, Cleveland was sporting a 41-32 record, sitting only a game and a half behind the AL Central-leading White Sox. They were the only real threat to Chicago in an otherwise bad division.

The state of the roster, though, told a different story. Cleveland’s offense has underwhelmed all year, with the team’s strong run prevention keeping them in the race. The Indians were dealt a series of injuries to their top three starters — Zach Plesac, Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale — in fairly rapid succession, though. That left an unproven, inexperienced group taking the bump without the benefit of a high-powered lineup to back them up.

Not surprisingly, it’s been tough sledding for Cleveland in recent weeks. The Indians have gone just 4-10 over their last fourteen games, falling 7.5 back of the White Sox. They’re a more manageable four games back in the Wild Card race, but their skid has raised some questions about the team’s ability to stay in contention. Plesac returned from the IL this week, but the Indians are still without Bieber and Civale and continue to have questions about the lineup. FanGraphs gives the Indians just a 7.1% chance of reaching the postseason at this point, with their odds of winning the division down to 3.5%.

The front office is no doubt aware of those dwindling playoff odds. Indeed, Jon Heyman of MLB Network hears from rival executives that Cleveland has made some players on the big league roster available to other clubs in advance of the July 30 trade deadline.

It’s not clear specifically which players are on the market, but there’s no indication the Indians are planning any sort of full-on teardown. Bieber and José Ramírez would be the top two players on the trade market were they made available, but it seems highly unlikely the Indians would market those kinds of controllable stars in response to two weeks of poor play. The Cleveland front office would probably figure to listen to offers on players with less club control. There aren’t many players on the Indians roster who stand out as obvious trade chips at first glance, though.

Second baseman César Hernández looks like the team’s most plausible trade candidate. He’s hitting .226/.305/.413 and has already tied his career high in home runs (15) this season. It’s a nontraditional shape of production for Hernández, who typically hits for strong averages and reaches base at a high clip without hitting for much power. While Hernández’s profile has changed in 2021, he’s been similarly valuable as before. His 95 wRC+ this year isn’t far off his career mark (99) and is essentially unchanged from his 2019-20 production (97). Hernández is making an affordable $5MM this season and comes with a $6MM club option (no buyout) for 2022.

Cleveland would figure to welcome interest in corner outfielder Eddie Rosario. He’s making $8MM, though, and wasn’t having a particularly good year even before landing on the 10-day injured list with an abdominal strain this week. The Indians have a handful of young relievers (James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Sandlin) who would figure to draw plenty of attention, but it’s not clear the team would consider moving any of them. Veteran relievers Nick Wittgren and Bryan Shaw would probably be more attainable but wouldn’t bring back franchise-altering returns.

More broadly, the Indians are facing an interesting few months as an organization. The controllable core of Ramírez, Bieber, Civale, Plesac and Franmil Reyes looks good enough to anchor a contender. They would obviously love for Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario to produce enough to supplement that group. The farm system is regarded as one of the league’s best. It’s not inconceivable to see the Indians as a threat in the division in the coming years, even if the front office moves a couple veterans before the deadline in an acknowledgment of their increasingly slim playoff chances in 2021.

As the past few weeks have shown, though, there’s still plenty of work to be done to make the current roster a legitimate contender. The rotation is very strong at the top but the recent injury woes have exposed its lack of depth. The outfield has been a weak point for years. The catching duo of Roberto Pérez and Austin Hedges is a well-regarded defensive grouping but has offered virtually nothing at the plate, and the team’s first basemen have been the worst offensively in MLB this year. Giménez also struggled in his first crack at locking down shortstop.

There’s still a few weeks for president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and the rest of the front office to settle on a pre-deadline plan. Even if they stand pat or serve as minor sellers, the upcoming offseason will be a pivotal one to determining the franchise’s long-term direction.

Indians Acquire Damon Casetta-Stubbs From Mariners To Complete Jake Bauers Trade

By Anthony Franco | July 9, 2021 at 7:31pm CDT

The Indians have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Damon Casetta-Stubbs from the Mariners, the two teams announced. The move completes the clubs’ June 10 deal that sent first baseman Jake Bauers to Seattle for a player to be named later.

Casetta-Stubbs was Seattle’s 11th-round draft pick in 2018 out of a Washington high school, signing for an overslot $325K bonus. He has spent the past three years in the low minors, topping out at High-A in 2019 but pitching in Low-A to this point in 2021. While he’s only managed a 6.42 ERA in 40 2/3 innings this year, the 21-year-old has struck out a lofty 31.2% of opposing hitters, far and away a career-best mark. Casetta-Stubbs has issued way too many walks (14.5%), but he’s also keeping the ball on the ground at stellar 56.2% clip.

The uptick in strikeouts doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. In mid-May, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote that Casetta-Stubbs had improved his velocity from sitting in the low-90s to working in the 93-95 MPH range consistently. Longenhagen slotted Casetta-Stubbs as the #25 prospect in the Mariners system, suggesting he’s likely to wind up as a solid reliever at his peak based on his combination of quality stuff and subpar control. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster or made available in the Rule 5 draft after the 2022 season.

Bauers, meanwhile, has continued to struggle in Seattle after a poor start to the year with Cleveland. The left-handed hitter has taken 91 plate appearances as a Mariner, hitting .241/.290/.299 with a single home run.

Indians Release Rene Rivera

By Steve Adams | July 9, 2021 at 9:26am CDT

The Indians have released veteran catcher Rene Rivera, per the transactions log at MLB.com. Cleveland designated him for assignment this past weekend after activating Roberto Perez from the injured list.

Rivera, who’ll turn 38 at the end of the month, was signed to a minor league deal earlier this year and made his way to the big leagues when Perez first landed on the injured list. He logged 21 games behind the plate with Cleveland, batting .236/.300/.400 in 63 plate appearances. Rivera connected on a pair of homers and three doubles, but he also fanned in 24 of those 63 trips to the plate (38 percent).

The Indians currently have fellow veterans Ryan Lavarnway and Wilson Ramos (who recently signed with Cleveland) on their Triple-A roster, which left Rivera without much of an opportunity even in the upper minors. He’ll head back to the free-agent market and look for another opportunity. In parts of 13 seasons split between nine different clubs, Rivera is a .221/.273/.355 hitter who boasts an elite 36 percent caught-stealing rate and a generally strong defensive reputation (though his defensive marks were down during his brief Cleveland run).

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