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AL Central Notes: Indians, Abreu, Allen

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The Indians never so much as made a contract offer to Michael Brantley before he inked a two-year, $32MM deal in Houston this offseason, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports within a broader look at the club’s struggles to retain top stars. Nightengale interviews both Brantley and CC Sabathia about their emotional departures from Cleveland as part of a piece that wonders whether Francisco Lindor’s eventual exit is anything less than a foregone conclusion. For his part, Lindor calls Cleveland “home” and adds that he hopes to stay before more vaguely stating: “When that time comes, we’ll decide.” Lindor’s long-term future has been particularly in question since Indians owner Paul Dolan ominously told fans to “enjoy him” while the team has him under control.

Indians fans will want to give the column a read not only for talk of Lindor’s future but also some heartfelt reminiscing from both Sabathia — “I cried like a baby when I was traded” — and Brantley. Both players offer nothing but fond memories of the city, the organization and the fanbase.

More from the division…

  • Jose Abreu’s contractual status with the White Sox has been an ongoing story throughout Chicago’s rebuild. While he’s long been a logical on-paper trade chip, Sox brass has maintained that the first baseman’s clubhouse presence and leadership is virtually indispensable; both sides have openly stated a desire to continue the relationship beyond his current contract, but no deal has come to pass. Now, with Abreu months from free agency, GM Rick Hahn touched on the subject again — discussing the delicate balance of cold, hard statistical value and less quantifiable intangible means of value. “That’s the more, unfortunately, clinical side of things is, ‘OK, a right-handed hitting first baseman who’s produced at this level over the last few years at this age, what do you project going forward and what’s the value of that?'” Hahn asked rhetorically in an interview with The Athletic’s James Fegan. “It’s sort of that more touchy-feely, emotional side of things in terms of knowing the value that he has in this clubhouse and the leadership skills, the softer benefits that he brings to the club, that affects your valuation of a guy like that.”
  • Since signing a minor league deal with the Twins, right-hander Cody Allen has pitched four shutout innings in Class-A Advanced Fort Myers, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out four hitters. La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that Allen has made some mechanical adjustments to use his core and legs more effectively, and the Twins will move him to Triple-A Rochester shortly after the All-Star break. Allen’s stock tumbled in 2018 and cratered earlier this season when he was released by the Angels, but he’s a known commodity for Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, who was in the Cleveland front office for most of Allen’s peak with the Indians. Whether he can return to form following his latest change of scenery is anyone’s guess, but Allen is a nice flier to have in the upper minors as Falvey and general manager Thad Levine peruse the trade market for bullpen reinforcements.

Indians Activate Francisco Lindor, DFA Hanley Ramirez

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The Indians activated Francisco Lindor from the injured list today, while veteran Hanley Ramirez was designated for assignment to clear the roster spot, per MLB Roster Moves (Twitter links).

This should come as a welcome bit of news for Indians fans, who finally have their middle infield at full health for the first time this season. Cleveland performed arguably better than expected in their superstar’s absence, as the team sits one game up on the AL Central with an 11-7 record. While the team stayed afloat, offense from the shortstop position was abysmal without Lindor, as his understudies hit a combined .069/.139/.097 – that’s a full -1.0 fWAR in 18 games (-43 wRC+). Replacing that production with anything close to Lindor’s career .288/.350/.487 ought to provide a significant boost to a Cleveland offense that ranks 28th with a .266 wOBA.

For Ramirez, thus ends a second straight disappointing season for the 35-year-old Dominican. He appeared in 16 games this season, hitting only .184/.298/.327 with two home runs. The former highlight-reel shortstop has been relegated to designated hitter duties, from which he simply does not provide Cleveland with enough utility to warrant a roster spot. If this spells the end for Ramirez’s major-league career, he would finish as a career .289/.360/.486 hitter with 271 home runs and 1,834 hits across 7,127 plate appearances in 15 years.

Francisco Lindor To Begin Rehab Assignment

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Jason Kipnis is already returning to the Tribe’s 25-man roster, but there’s more promising news coming out of Cleveland as superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor gets set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus, per MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (via Twitter). As MLBTR readers no doubt remember, Lindor first hit the injured list with a calf strain before compounding that injury with a high left ankle sprain, depriving the game of one of its brightest young stars so far in 2019.

The AL Central’s reigning champs (three years running) have more-or-less held serve thus this season without their MVP candidate, though they’re not exactly tearing the cover off the ball at 3.47 runs per game. Their 8-7 record after today’s loss to Kansas City maintains a second place stalemate with Detroit, who both trail division-leading Minnesota (8-4).

Credit the Indians for not panicking despite missing their middle infield to start the year. Granted, such patience was afforded them because they preside over what’s been the worst division in baseball the last few seasons. And though their 2019 record versus their familiar foes so far (4-7) might suggest a looming divisional struggle, most do not portend the sort of white-knuckle competition facing other playoff hopefuls throughout the majors. And while the Royals and White Sox are more-or-less counted out already, Detroit has played better than expected despite injuries to their pitching staff, while the Twins remain a difficult team to project given their high volume of castoffs (C.J. Cron, Blake Parker) and reclamation projects (Jonathan Schoop, Michael Pineda, Martin Perez), as well as both young stars looking to bloom (Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Jose Berrios) and aging stars staving off decline (Nelson Cruz).

Still, the Indians’ ragtag lineup held things together through the first few weeks and now look to hit the ground running with the additions of veterans Carlos Gonzalez and Jason Kipnis this week. Stand-in Brad Miller is no longer with the club after his DFA earlier today, while Lindor’s primary understudy Eric Stamets survived the first round of cuts despite carrying a speaks-for-itself .059/.154/.088 line through 40 plate appearances. Given Lindor’s career .288/.350/.487 and 5.7 average annual fWAR, the Indians no doubt eagerly anticipate his return.

AL Notes: C. Davis, Lindor, Sano

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Beleaguered Orioles first baseman Chris Davis entered Saturday without a hit in his previous 54 at-bats, the longest streak in major league history. But the former star’s nightmarish skid ended with a first-inning, two-run single off Boston’s Rick Porcello, giving Davis his first hit since Sept. 14, 2018. Davis later went on to collect two more hits and another pair of runs batted in during what wound up as a 9-5 victory for the Orioles. While Davis was one of Baltimore’s best players Saturday, he has delivered startlingly few valuable performances since 2016, the first season of a seven-year, $161MM contract that now looks like one of the worst investments in baseball history. Once a premier slugger, the 33-year-old Davis has slashed a hideous .198/.294/.388 (83 wRC+) with minus-0.8 fWAR since signing his current deal.

Davis appears to be a sunk cost for the rebuilding Orioles, who owe him roughly $108MM more and will pay him through 2037 because of deferrals, yet there’s no urgency on their part to get rid of him. Rookie general manager Mike Elias told Dan Connolly of The Athletic (subscription required) on Friday that the Orioles are “absolutely” planning to keeping Davis, adding that “he’s on this team and it’s no secret the fact that we have a large and long commitment to him, so our focus is going to be on getting the best performance out of him that we possibly can.” Elias went on to explain to Connolly that the Orioles, with the help of analytics guru Sig Mejdal and hitting coach Don Long, are “just going to do as much as we can incrementally to get him into a better place.”

More from the American League…

  • The Indians have played this season without their top performer, shortstop Francisco Lindor, who’s on the mend from a calf sprain and a high left ankle sprain. Fortunately for the Tribe, it appears Lindor’s progressing toward a return. After running the bases the past two days, the 25-year-old will work out with the team Sunday, and he could embark on a Triple-A rehab assignment Monday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. When Lindor went down in early February, the Indians surely knew finding a capable fill-in for the three-time All-Star would be a difficult task; however, they likely didn’t expect their shortstop situation to be this dire in his absence. Replacements Eric Stamets (minus-35 wRC+ in 40 plate appearances) and Max Moroff (minus-58 wRC+ in 23 PA) have stumbled to a league-worst minus-0.8 fWAR thus far.
  • Twins third baseman Miguel Sano is slated to begin modified spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., during the middle of the upcoming week, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Beyond that, the Twins are hoping Sano – who’s working back from a right Achilles injury – will begin a rehab assignment in early May, according to chief baseball officer Derek Falvey. The Sano-less Twins have primarily turned to $21MM free-agent pickup Marwin Gonzalez at the hot corner, but the former Astro’s season has gotten off to an inauspicious start.

Injury Notes: Indians, Lindor, Brewers, Jeffress, Yankees, Andujar

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Lower-body injuries have kept the Indians’ starting middle infield – shortstop Francisco Lindor (high left ankle sprain) and second baseman Jason Kipnis (right calf strain) – from taking the field this season. The latter is making progress in his Triple-A rehab assignment, though there’s still no timetable for his return, Mandy Bell of MLB.com writes. Lindor, who’s out until at least late April, is only doing light workouts at the moment, but “he’s getting better every day,” manager Terry Francona said. The Indians will reevaluate Lindor during the upcoming week, Bell reports. The absences of Lindor and Kipnis have forced the Tribe to deploy Eric Stamets, Brad Miller and Max Moroff as their main middle infielders. Unfortunately for Cleveland, those three have produced abysmal results, having combined for a paltry four hits (three singles and a double) in 57 plate appearances.

  • Barring any setbacks in his Triple-A rehab stint, reliever Jeremy Jeffress will rejoin the Brewers next weekend, according to manager Craig Counsell (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The return of Jeffress, who hasn’t debuted this year on account of right shoulder weakness, will be a welcome one for a Milwaukee team that lost fellow late-game option Corey Knebel to season-ending Tommy John surgery last week. The reigning National League Central champions have nevertheless rolled to a 7-2 start, though their bullpen has lacked a complement to the untouchable Josh Hader. Jeffress filled that role with aplomb in 2018, during which he notched a near-spotless 1.29 ERA with 10.45 K/9, 3.17 BB/9 and a 56.4 percent groundball rate in 76 2/3 innings.
  • Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar expressed optimism earlier this week that he wouldn’t need to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. Manager Aaron Boone was similarly enthusiastic Saturday, George A. King III of the New York Post relays. While Boone acknowledged that surgery remains an option, he left open the possibility that this injury won’t lead to a long-term absence and added, “We are optimistic just because of the strength he is showing in all his testing.’’ Andujar’s still not swinging a bat, but whether he returns will depend more on how well he throws when he’s cleared to do so, per Boone. Without Andujar and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the injury-stricken Yankees have turned to veteran second baseman DJ LeMahieu to man third and Tyler Wade to handle the keystone. LeMahieu has thrived in the early portion of a two-year, $24MM contract, whereas Wade has been in over his head thus far in 2019.
  • Left-hander CC Sabathia, yet another Yankee on the injured list, could rejoin the team’s rotation next weekend, Boone said (also via King). In the meantime, the 38-year-old Sabathia – who’s working back from offseason heart surgery – will throw 60 to 70 pitches in a low-level minor league game Monday. Sabathia will bump either Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga from the Yankees’ starting five. Both right-handers did well in their initial starts of the season, but neither went past the five-inning mark.

Francisco Lindor Out Until At Least Late April

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The Indians don’t expect to have star shortstop Francisco Lindor back until at least the end of April, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti revealed in a radio appearance on WTAM 1100 this afternoon (Twitter link via WKYC-TV’s Nick Camino). Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that Lindor has been diagnosed with a “mild” high left ankle sprain and won’t resume running for another week to 10 days. The Indians are expected to provide a more concrete timetable on Lindor’s return as soon as tomorrow, Hoynes noted earlier.

Lindor’s injury troubles began in February when the team announced that a calf strain would shelve him for seven to nine weeks, thus putting his availability for Opening Day in jeopardy. The 25-year-old appeared to have a chance to return on the low end of that timetable, but the team announced just prior to Opening Day that Lindor had incurred a new ankle injury in a baserunning mishap during a game on March 26.

The absence of Lindor, one of baseball’s premier all-around talents, is a brutal blow to an Indians lineup that has looked punchless thus far in the young season. Cleveland opened the 2019 campaign with Eric Stamets and Brad Miller lined up in the middle infield, Roberto Perez behind the plate and bounceback hopeful Hanley Ramirez at designated hitter.

Cleveland still has the dangerous Jose Ramirez near the top of the batting order, but they’ve struck out at a 32.6 percent clip as a team and plated just 10 runs through their first four games. Obviously, that’s a microscopic sample and not cause for panic, but the lack of proven bats around the diamond for the Indians is nevertheless glaring. With Lindor sidelined, they’ll need some combination of Jake Bauers, Tyler Naquin, Carlos Santana and the elder Ramirez to step up in the middle portion of the order. It’s possible that longtime Rockies slugger Carlos Gonzalez, currently with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, could also emerge as a candidate to join the big league roster.

Offensive question marks aside, Cleveland’s brilliant rotation and a generally weak division should still keep the club in the playoff mix. Cleveland is also fortunate to face a light schedule this month, with the only matchups against expected contenders coming in the form of a three-game set against the Braves from April 19-21 and a four-game set in Houston from April 25-28. Beyond those two series, the Indians will face the Blue Jays, Tigers, Royals, Mariners and Marlins this month.

AL Notes: Lindor, Zimmer, Indians, Orioles

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The latest from the Junior Circuit . . .

  • There’s no timetable on Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor’s return, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal. The 25-year-old three-time all-star will reportedly get a second opinion on his “mild-to-moderate[ly]” sprained left ankle Monday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the Cleveland brass trips over itself to ensure the superstar’s IL stint doesn’t linger. Touted prospect Yu Chang had spent time on the spring shelf with a minor hand injury, so the club has turned for the interim to the uninspiring Max Moroff/Eric Stamets duo to fill the void. The 25-year-old Moroff, an offseason acquisition from Pittsburgh, may be a bit out of his element at the position, though the slick-fielding Stamets is most certainly not. Neither, of course, can hope to approximate Lindor’s 129 wRC+/6.9 WAR projected ZiPS output; the club, then, would figure to spend much of the long weekend with fingers crossed.
  • Tribe outfielder Bradley Zimmer suffered a setback in his months-long rehab from mid-summer shoulder surgery, reports MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. The former top prospect felt a side twinge as he attempted a throw to home, the next apparent step in an estimated eight-to-twelve month rehabilitation process. The already-nebulous timetable has been thrown further into the fog, with no concrete return date set for the 26-year-old. Zimmer’s MLB debut, after a banner minor-league career, was inauspicious at best: in 446 plate appearances the lefty boasts just a .237/.300/.370 (75 wRC+) line, with a particularly ugly 38.6% strikeout rate in limited action last season. The wide-open Indian outfield is still mostly up for grabs – per Bell, reports have thus far been positive on the recently-signed Carlos Gonzalez, who’ll soon make his way to Triple-A Columbus once their season begins.
  • Orioles Rule 5 pick Richie Martin is likely to see “extended” action at short for the club, writes Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. The 24-year-old Martin was left unprotected by Oakland after uneven minor-league performances since 2015 debut, but the O’s have neither the talent nor the desire to usurp the former first-rounder in the near future. Drew Jackson, another Rule 5 pick who’s been long lauded for his glove, if not his bat, figures to fill the utility role for the club in the early season. Neither player had played an inning above the Double-A level before yesterday, though the club obviously has every incentive to see each premature rise through (both players would have to be returned to their previous organizations if removed from the 25-man roster at any point this season).

Indians To Select Contract Of Hanley Ramirez, Place Francisco Lindor On IL

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The Indians have announced a pair of notable roster decisions, as MLB.com’s Mandy Bell was among those to cover (Twitter links). Hanley Ramirez has been informed he’ll be on the roster, while star shortstop Francisco Lindor will begin the year on the 10-day injured list.

Neither of these moves represents much of a surprise, but they’re still notable. Ramirez will earn at a $1MM rate in the big leagues under his minors deal, which also includes incentives — the details of which remain unreported. It’s not yet known if he’ll be asked (and whether he’ll agree) to sign an advance-consent form.

Lindor was already a candidate to open the year on ice owing to a calf strain, but he’ll now need treatment on another lower-leg ailment as well. The club says that the shortstop suffered an “acute ankle sprain” in a baserunning mishap yesterday. It’s a “mild to moderate” sprain, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer tweets. His precise timeline is not yet known.

Central Notes: Tribe, Cubs, Brewers, Royals

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Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jason Kipnis will open the season on the 10-day injured list, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. It’s disappointing but not surprising news for Lindor, who’s working back from the right calf strain he suffered in early February. Kipnis is also dealing with a right calf strain, one that has forced the Indians to shut him down for seven to 10 days. Lindor’s absence will leave shortstop to the unheralded Eric Stamets, a 27-year-old with no major league experience. while Max Moroff could fill in for Kipnis. However, the Indians are in the market for second base help, according to Hoynes, who names free agent Brad Miller as a possibility. Miller opted out of his contract with the Dodgers on Thursday.

More from the majors’ Central divisions…

  • Having demoted Ian Happ to the minors on Saturday, the Cubs are looking for a center fielder via the trade and waiver markets, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. Additionally, the Cubs remain in the market for depth at catcher, Levine relays (Twitter links). Happ had been the Cubs’ projected season-opening starter in center field, but that role could now go to Albert Almora Jr. Meanwhile, lacking an experienced backstop behind Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini, the Cubs have prioritized the position in recent months. They came up short in attempts to sign Brian McCann and Martin Maldonado dating back to the offseason.
  • More on the Cubs, who announced that they’ve assigned infielder Cristhian Adames to minor league camp. The recipient of a minors deal in January, Adames had been competing for a place on the Cubs’ bench prior to his demotion. He made a case for a roster spot by slashing a stellar .386/.440/.705 with three home runs in 44 exhibition at-bats, though the 27-year-old hasn’t been nearly as successful in meaningful major league action. Adames combined for 343 PAs as a Rockie from 2014-17 and hit an unsightly .206/.283/.278 with a pair of homers.
  • Righty Jimmy Nelson, still on the mend from a September 2017 surgery to repair both labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder, felt “some elbow soreness” after throwing in a side game Thursday, tweets MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The club still believes Nelson will begin his AAA rehab stint on schedule, per McCalvy, but it’s nonetheless a concerning development for the one-time Brewer ace. Milwaukee set its early-season rotation yesterday, with the high-upside Corbin Burnes/Freddy Peralta/Brandon Woodruff trio bookended by the iffy combination of Jhoulys Chacin and Zach Davies, whom the club seem higher on.
  • Royals lefty Danny Duffy told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com this week he’d “love” to shift to a relief role eventually. For now, though, Duffy remains a starter. “We’ve had discussions, but they haven’t gone further than that. As long as I’m helping the team in some capacity, that’s all I want and that’s all they want,” said Duffy, who’s likely to start the season on the IL because of shoulder tightness. Shoulder issues were also a problem last year for Duffy, who didn’t take the mound past Sept. 4. It was an underwhelming season before that for Duffy, as the 30-year-old only managed a 4.88 ERA/4.70 FIP with 8.19 K/9, 4.06 BB/9 and a 35.4 percent groundball rate over 155 innings. Still, given the success Duffy has had as a starter (which helped him net a five-year, $65MM extension in January 2017), it’s an eye-opener that he’s so willing to change roles. Duffy has thrived in 34 2/3 frames as a reliever, though, having registered a 2.08 ERA/2.02 FIP with 11/42 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

AL Central Notes: Maldonado, Indians, Tigers

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While the Royals have spoken to Martin Maldonado since learning they’d be without Salvador Perez for the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that there’s “a gap” between the two sides, adding that Kansas City decision-makers aren’t optimistic of agreeing to terms. Maldonado surprisingly remains unsigned despite long standing out as one of baseball’s premier defenders behind the dish; given that the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish reported late last month that the holdup between Maldonado and the Mariners was simply that Maldonado was holding out for a Major League deal, it’s difficult to imagine any gap being all that sizable. Still, it appears Kansas City is content to proceed with the inexperienced duo of Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria behind the dish with Perez on the shelf, leaving Maldonado in search of another fit.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides an update on a trio of important Indians injury situations: those to outfielder Bradley Zimmer, right-hander Danny Salazar and shortstop Francisco Lindor. Zimmer, recovering from surgery on his throwing shoulder, will begin throwing to the bases this week, per manager Terry Francona. Salazar, also recovering from shoulder surgery, is playing catch from 120 feet, while Lindor is taking grounders and batting practice but not yet moving laterally while he rehabs a calf strain. Lindor, among the game’s best players when healthy, is obviously the most crucial of the bunch, but both Zimmer and Salazar could be key contributors with a return to health. Cleveland’s outfield mix looks perilously thin at present, with Leonys Martin, Greg Allen and Tyler Naquin likely in line as starters (with Jake Bauers a possibility as well, depending on whether Hanley Ramirez makes the roster as a DH). Zimmer, a former first-round pick and elite prospect, could provide a substantial boost if he can tap into his potential. As for Salazar, the hard-throwing starter-turned-reliever carries major upside for an unproven mix of Cleveland bullpen options, though his shoulder has prevented him from pitching since late September of 2017.
  • Tigers Rule 5 pick Reed Garrett, selected out of the Rangers’ organization, is vying for one of what could be as few as two open bullpen spots, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. Each of Shane Greene, Joe Jimenez, Blaine Hardy and Drew VerHagen seem likely to land spots, and righty Victor Alcantara seems a safe assumption as well given a solid 30-inning showing last season. VerHagen and fellow right-hander Buck Farmer are both out of minor league options, which could play into the ultimate structuring of the team’s bullpen, as well. McCosky chatted with Garrett and catcher John Hicks about the right-hander’s arsenal and the rapid manner in which he improved his profile — transforming from a struggling starter in 2016 to a somewhat unexpected breakout star at Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. Last year, between those two levels, Garrett worked to a combined 2.04 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 61 2/3 innings. Garrett attributes his ascension to added muscle and velocity as well as the adoption of a splitter after he’d originally struggled to succeed with a sinker/slider combination. Detroit successfully carried seldom-used Rule 5 outfielder Victor Reyes on the 25-man roster all last season, and given the status of their ongoing rebuild, it’s plausible that they could do the same with Garrett in 2019.

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