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Angels Have Shown Interest In Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco

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11:06pm: The Angels and Indians are “currently in discussions” regarding Kluber, but the Halos are facing competition from other teams, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. As Fletcher notes, if this trade happens, Kluber will reunite with former Indians pitching coach and current Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway.

8:05pm: The Angels lost the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes to the Yankees, but now the rotation-needy club could be zeroing in on a different high-profile starter. They’ve shown interest in Indians right-hander Corey Kluber, per reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The Angels have also looked at fellow Indians righty Carlos Carrasco, according to Sherman.

The 2019 campaign was an unexpectedly rough go for both Kluber and Carrasco, who had been excellent in prior seasons. Carrasco missed a large portion of the season after a leukemia diagnosis, but he made an inspiring return as a reliever at the start of September. Meantime, Kluber sat out the final few months of the season after suffering a fractured right forearm May 1. Before that, the two-time Cy Young winner limped to an uncharacteristically bloated 5.80 ERA over seven starts and 35 2/3 innings.

Although last season was a struggle for Kluber and Carrasco, their track records suggest they could make for appealing targets for teams that don’t reel in any top free-agent starters. However, it’s not clear whether the Indians – longtime playoff contenders – are willing to part with either hurler. If they’re looking to shave salary and pivot toward a rebuild, though, dealing either could make sense. The 33-year-old Kluber could be a stopgap for an acquiring club, as he has just one more guaranteed season on his contract. He’ll earn $17.5MM in 2020, after which his employer will have to decide on an $18MM club option or a $1MM buyout for ’21. Carrasco, 32, is due $37.5MM through 2022, including a $3MM buyout for ’23.

Whether it’s Kluber, Carrasco or another starter(s), it does seem the Angels will have to make at least one more addition to their staff to join the just-acquired Dylan Bundy, Shohei Ohtani, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning. That should hold true even if the Angels manage to pick up a big hitter like Anthony Rendon or Josh Donaldson, the two best position players left on the board and a pair of players who have drawn their interest.

Chad Pinder Attracting “Significant Interest”

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6:14pm: As of now, the Athletics are uninterested in trading Pinder, Slusser tweets.

3:24am: Oakland Athletics utility man Chad Pinder is drawing trade interest around the league, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. Pinder, 28 in March, was a second round draft choice of the A’s in 2013 out of Virginia Tech. He’s been a role player for Bob Melvin’s A’s in each of the last three seasons, though he saw more playing time than ever last season.

It’s understandable that Pinder would attract trade inquiries, as he’s the type of player managers love because of his versatility. While making appearances at every position besides pitcher and catcher in each of the last two seasons, he truly has proven comfortable everywhere, with left field garnering the greatest portion of the defensive timeshare at just over fifty-five percent of his career innings. The infield is mostly spoken for in Oakland due to the presence of Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien and Matt Olsen, but with Jurickson Profar now in San Diego, Pinder could be in line for a semi-regular role at the keystone, where he’s been tabbed for right around 13 starts per season since his debut. Franklin Barreto, Jorge Mateo and Sheldon Neuse are the greatest threats to a regular role at second for now, though there’s plenty of time for Oakland to make a move.

There aren’t many teams that couldn’t use a Swiss Army knife like Pinder. The Indians, for one, have long had their eye on him, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He bring defensive value in the outfield corners, where the A’s play him most, but he’s also coming off the worst offensive showing of his career – a mere 87 wRC+. This on the heels of a 114 wRC+ season in 2018. His BABIP slipped to a career low, so there could be some positive regression coming, but his walk rate also dropped back to 5.4% after a rise to 8.1% the year before, which prompted much of the excess offensive output. Strikeouts aren’t a huge problem for Pinder, but he simply doesn’t have any one skill strong enough to make up for a below-average walk rate. He has decent enough pop, but the .240/.290/.416 line he put forth in 2019 isn’t going to cut it, even for a part-timer.

Even so, the A’s like Pinder quite a bit, and it would take a good return to prompt a trade, per MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos. He is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter, however, figured to make around $1.8MM. The cost-conscious A’s are always willing to be creative with their payroll, but the flexibility and security Pinder provides the roster far outweighs the meager salary he’ll be due his first time through the arbitration process.

Dodgers “Pessimistic” On Rendon, Still Talking Lindor With Indians

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2:31pm: While the likelihood of an arrangement isn’t known, the Dodgers are engaged in “serious” and ongoing talks with the Indians regarding star shortstop Francisco Lindor, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The report suggests that the Cleveland organization wants a prospect package that includes top talents Gavin Lux and Dustin May, each of whom reached the majors late last year. Whether the demand is for both to be included isn’t entirely clear.

2:00pm: The Dodgers are increasingly “pessimistic” as to their chances of striking a deal with top remaining free agent Anthony Rendon, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The L.A. org just missed out on Gerrit Cole and could now see its other major target slip away.

What’s the mean for the market on Rendon? Rosenthal reiterates several other recent reports indicating that the Nationals are unlikely to bring back their star third bagger. The Rangers and Angels appear to be the leading contenders to secure the services of the smooth-swinging 29-year-old.

As for the Dodgers, if indeed they fall out of the Rendon bidding they’ll presumably keep moving down the line of options. The club is said to have interest in Josh Donaldson, Madison Bumgarner, and several other possible free agent and trade targets.

Indians Interested In Jose Peraza

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  • The Orioles and Indians are two of the four teams that have shown interest in infielder Jose Peraza, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). The Reds non-tendered Peraza last week on the heels of an unproductive season, but he’s only a year removed from a respectable showing. The 25-year-old’s also controllable via arbitration through 2022.

Indians Notes: Aiken, Ramirez

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  • Southpaw Brady Aiken is taking time off from baseball, and the Indians are unsure whether he’ll resume his career when the spring rolls around, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Aiken’s a two-time former first-round pick, but his career hasn’t gotten off the ground to this point, in part because of injuries. He wound up with the Indians in 2015, when he went 17th overall, a year after the Astros made him the first selection in the draft. However, Aiken elected against signing with Houston, which chose now-superstar third baseman Alex Bregman at No. 2 in 2015 with the compensatory pick it landed for failing to reel in Aiken. Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Aiken hasn’t advanced past the Single-A level thus far.
  • Sticking with the Indians, president Chris Antonetti indicated Monday the team’s preference is for Jose Ramirez to remain at third base – not move to second – in 2020, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. If that proves true, the club could “maybe add at second,” Antonetti stated. The Indians don’t look primed to spend a lot this winter, but there are plenty of satisfactory free-agent second basemen whom they should be able to afford.

Indians Disinclined To Deal Francisco Lindor

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The Indians “prefer not to deal” star shortstop Francisco Lindor this winter, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Though his name his been through several rounds of the rumor mill, it seems the 26-year-old will remain in Cleveland — at least for the time being.

This report matches up with other recent chatter surrounding Lindor, who was said to be carrying a massive price tag on the market. Understandably, the Indians aren’t willing to make a deal that delivers anything less than a bonanza back.

It has been fair to wonder whether the Indians would put real effort into structuring a deal involving Lindor. The club wasn’t able to gain traction in prior extension talks. He’s now projected to earn $16.7MM entering his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility. That’s a pittance for his production, but with Lindor closing in on the open market it seemed the small-market organization was positioned to listen to offers.

There could still be chatter surrounding Lindor (as well as some other huge names) over the coming days, weeks, and months. But if the Indians are indeed disinclined to make a deal, it’ll be incumbent upon other organizations to come forward with offers strong enough to spur interest on the part of an otherwise unwilling Cleveland organization.

Of course, even if Lindor stays put for the rest of this winter, it’s far from a guarantee that he’ll make it to free agency in an Indians uniform. Future circumstances will dictate the course of events, but Lindor would surely feature as a trade candidate next winter — if not sooner.

Indians, Beau Taylor Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Indians and catcher Beau Taylor are in agreement on a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to spring training, according to a team announcement from Friday.

Taylor has spent the majority of his career in the Athletics’ organization, although a late-season designation saw him latch on with the Blue Jays for a spell last year. He’s received a scant 30 at-bat audition in the majors since the beginning of 2018 but is a .258/.355/.372 hitter with 41 home runs in over 2400 minor league at-bats.

For the tribe, this represents a reasonable depth signing at a position where extra bodies are always at a premium. The club already moved to acquire Sandy Leon this offseason as a complement to Roberto Perez, and now Taylor will presumably serve, along with Eric Hasse, as a high-minors insurance piece.

Inside The Indians' Pitching Development

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  • The Indians’ homegrown pitching has been the backbone of the team’s success in recent years, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (subscription link) looks at how the organization has been able to turn the likes of Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and other relatively unheralded — none were drafted before the third round by the Tribe or other teams — arms into top-flight hurlers.  Ruben Niebla, formerly the minor league pitching coordinator and now the big league team’s assistant pitching coach, has been a key figure in the system of finding what works for each pitcher, getting the pitcher to buy into the strategy, and then tailoring that development through all levels of the pitcher’s trip up the organizational ladder.  “That communication is vitally important to us, that we make sure we have continuity and the same message as he goes through. There’s no confusion. It’s clear,” Niebla said.

Indians Re-Sign James Hoyt

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After being dropped from the Indians’ 40-man roster in advance of the non-tender deadline, righty James Hoyt has landed back with the Cleveland organization. Full terms aren’t known, but the contract does come with a MLB roster spot.

The 33-year-old Hoyt hasn’t yet proven he can deliver results in the majors, but has had no trouble getting swings and misses from big-league hitters. He has averaged a 16.8% swinging-strike rate at the game’s highest level, allowing him to carry an excellent 104:26 K/BB ratio over eighty frames. Hoyt has also allowed 14 long balls in that span.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the Indians can coax some quality MLB frames out of the slider-heavy hurler. He spent the 2019 season shifting from a four-seam to a two-seam heater — at least, as identified by pitch-tracking software — which may have helped him to limit International League hitters to three home runs in 42 Triple-A frames. But Hoyt did go on to surrender a pair of dingers in his 8 1/3 September innings in the majors.

Indians Appear More Interested In Dealing Kluber Than Lindor

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  • We’ve heard a lot of chatter surrounding a certain Indians star shortstop, but relatively little on the club’s former (and future?) ace starter. That may not reflect the real state of play within and among front offices. ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan cites multiple executives for the proposition that the Cleveland organization is working harder on structuring deals for Corey Kluber than in sorting out a blockbuster involving Francisco Lindor. As we explained in ranking Kluber 17th among the winter’s trade candidates, it’s all but impossible to know what to expect from the former Cy Young winner. Kluber ought to be well rested after a freak arm fracture ruined his 2019 season, but he had struggled in early action before the injury. He’s not cheap — $17.5MM in 2020 and $18MM via club option for one more year — but would be an outright steal at those rates if he’s anything like his usual self upon his return.

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