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Latest On Indians’ Rotation Plans

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The Indians entered the offseason with enviable depth in their pitching staff, particularly among rotation hopefuls. While that led some to wonder whether trades might be considered, to this point the Cleveland organization has not shipped away pitching.

Midway through Spring Training, it seems the situation is beginning to resolve itself — at least as to how things will look when camp breaks. Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer has the latest on the defending AL Central champs.

Per Indians skipper Terry Francona, the current expectation is for Mike Clevinger to hold down a rotation spot to open the season. “He’s strong, and he should be able to be that innings-eater type pitcher,” says Francona.

Of course, Clevinger did a good deal more than eat innings last year. 2017 was a breakout effort for a pitcher who entered the season with just 53 MLB frames under his belt. Over 121 2/3 innings, including 21 starts, he posted a 3.11 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.

Suffice to say, such a campaign would secure most hurlers a starting job for the ensuing season. For the pitching-rich Indians, though, there are quite a lot of other arms to consider.

At the onset of the offseason, the biggest question surrounded enigmatic righty Danny Salazar, who has long dealt premium stuff but suffered from injury and performance lapses. He wasn’t traded, but now there’s a shoulder injury to worry about. Though it’s possible Salazar will return to pitching off of a mound in a few days, says Francona, the pitcher is “not going to be ready” for the start of the season.

That news more or less sews up a spot for Clevinger, though this organization still has some pitching decisions to make. As Hoynes writes, the club is still waiting to see how the competition plays out between Josh Tomlin and Ryan Merritt. The former has struggled with long balls in recent years but remains an elite control artist, while the latter — who is also more notable for limiting the free pass than for strikeouts — has produced good results in very limited MLB action.

In addition to deciding the outcome of that battle, the Indians will be making some interesting bullpen decisions. Tomlin or Merritt could join the relief unit, but they’ll be contending with a long list of possibilities, including quite a lot of non-roster invitees (as shown in this Indians depth chart). All told, there’s still a good bit of potential roster intrigue in Cleveland.

AL Notes: Yanks, Cashman, Rays, Angels, Tribe

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On the latest edition of his podcast, ESPN’s Buster Olney discusses a slew of interesting topics with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who looks back on his first 20 years on the job and ahead to his future in the position. Cashman doesn’t seem anywhere close to the end of the line, which isn’t surprising for someone who signed a five-year extension in December. “I’m only 50 years old. I feel that’s young,” he said. The five-time World Series champion added that he believes “there’s more chapters to write,” including potentially winning a title with a third manager (the newly hired Aaron Boone).

Asked whether there has ever been a specific turning point in terms of how he does his job, Cashman indicated that it came when now-Cubs president Theo Epstein was early in his tenure as arch-rival Boston’s GM. Cashman saw the positive impact that Epstein and sabermetrics guru Bill James were having on the Red Sox with the help of analytics, and he noticed that Boston was outdoing New York in key areas such as advanced scouting, drafting, major league signings, minor league signings and waiver claims. Around that time, he realized the Yankees “should have every tool in the toolbox,” and that “no one in baseball should have a better department in any aspect than the New York Yankees.”

After Cashman “saw a deficiency” in the way the Yankees were functioning in comparison to the Red Sox, he “went on a crusade” to improve the organization. Since then, the Yankees have revamped their pro scouting department, created what Cashman believes is an enviable quantitative analysis team, implemented a “second-to-none mental skills program” and tried when possible to copy the performance science methods of European soccer teams and Australian rules football clubs.

More from the American League:

  • The Rays have fired team physician Michael Reilly amid sexual assault allegations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Prior to severing ties with Reilly, the Rays suspended him last week after a woman with the YouTube username Brianna Rah (which isn’t her real name, per Topkin) posted a video accusing him of making unwanted sexual advances toward her when she was a teenager working at his office. She also expressed certainty that Reilly has behaved similarly toward others. In addition to firing Reilly, who had been affiliated with the franchise since its inception 20 years ago, the Rays “also alerted the St. Petersburg Police Department and Major League Baseball of this situation,” team vice president and general counsel John Higgins stated. Police are currently deciding whether to file charges against Reilly, according to Topkin. Reilly, for his part, denied the allegations, but he admitted to having “a consensual relationship with her when she was an adult.” 
  • The Angels are primed to use a six-man rotation in the wake of their much-hyped Shohei Ohtani signing, which isn’t a change that’s going to faze right-hander Garrett Richards. While the 29-year-old admitted to KLAA AM 830 (via Maria Guardado of MLB.com) that the new alignment will affect his “in-between-start routine a little bit,” he’s on board with the idea if it’s for the betterment of the team. “Whether you make 28 starts or 32 starts, you’re still going to be out there giving a significant amount to the team,” said Richards, who amassed 32 starts in 2015 but has combined for just 12 since then. Elbow and biceps issues limited Richards in the previous two seasons, but he returned in strong fashion last September to put up a 2.28 ERA/2.43 FIP in six starts and 27 2/3 innings. If Richards is able to stay healthy in 2018, he could cash in big as a free agent next winter.
  • After breaking out in 114 innings as a starter last year, when he pitched to a 2.84 ERA and recorded 9.99 K/9 against 4.23 BB/9, Indians righty Mike Clevinger has bigger plans for 2018. “I’m not even thinking about the bullpen. I want to throw 200 innings,” Clevinger told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Despite his excellent production in 2017, Clevinger isn’t guaranteed a starting spot heading into the spring, as Bastian notes. Rather, he’ll compete with Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin and Ryan Merritt to join rotation locks Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer. Should Clevinger, 27, win a place in the Tribe’s rotation and achieve his 200-inning goal, he’d accomplish a feat that’s pretty rare nowadays. In each of the previous two campaigns, only 15 pitchers racked up at least 200 frames. Kluber did it in both seasons (as well as in 2014 and ’15), and Carrasco was also part of the group last year.

AL Rumors: Indians, Orioles, Machado, Red Sox

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While it’s unclear if any deals will materialize, a slew of Indians drew trade interest at this month’s general managers meetings, according to Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. Specifically, teams inquired about a few Indians pitchers – including right-handers Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger – as well as catchers Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes. Clubs also approached the Tribe about a couple less heralded members of the organization in outfielder Greg Allen and minor league righty Shane Bieber, Pluto adds. Of those players, it’s clear Carrasco would warrant the largest return, but there’s no reason for the Indians to move him. Conversely, the Tribe would be open to dealing either Perez or Gomes, Pluto suggests, considering the team has high-end prospect Francisco Mejia waiting in the wings behind those two.

More from a pair of other American League cities:

  • The Orioles will wait until later in the offseason to discuss extensions with third baseman Manny Machado and center fielder Adam Jones, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com relays. Kubatko doesn’t expect an extension for Machado to come to fruition, which isn’t surprising given that he’s primed sign a mega-deal on the open market a year from now. Interestingly, though, Kubatko hears that Machado would prefer to play shortstop instead of third base, which could make a potential trip to free agency all the more intriguing. Machado logged 52 appearances at short between 2015-16 but has otherwise played the hot corner since debuting in 2012.
  • Closer Zach Britton, another high-profile Oriole entering a contract year, likely wouldn’t bring back a great return via trade this offseason, Buster Olney of ESPN.com observes. While the Orioles are open to trading Britton, his lack of team control, high salary (a projected $12.2MM in arbitration) and recent arm problems figure to tamp down his value, Olney writes. Still, whether it’s Britton, Darren O’Day or Brad Brach, Baltimore seems poised to move one of its most established relievers and use the money it saves on much-needed starting pitching help, per Olney.
  • More from Olney, who reports that the Red Sox and three-time World Series-winning manager Tony La Russa discussed having him serve as rookie skipper Alex Cora’s bench coach. Instead, Boston hired La Russa as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and replaced previous bench coach Gary DiSarcina with Ron Roenicke. La Russa, 73, hasn’t been part of a coaching staff since he managed the Cardinals to a title in 2011.

AL Notes: Cain, Rangers, Bautista, Tribe, Rays

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The Rangers could emerge as suitors for Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain if he reaches free agency in the offseason. Texas has “repeatedly” asked the Royals about Cain in the past, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports. Still, considering the Rangers have pressing rotation issues that will require offseason spending, Fraley casts doubt on them forking over big money for Cain. While Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez is also slated to hit the open market, they may have an in-house replacement lined up in Delino DeShields.

  • With right fielder Jose Bautista likely playing the final home game of his Blue Jays tenure on Sunday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet looks back on the team’s 2008 acquisition of the now-franchise icon and some of his most memorable moments in Toronto. When the Jays picked up Bautista in a trade with the Pirates in August 2008 (for catcher Robinzon Diaz), they were merely looking for a stopgap at third base to fill in for the injured Scott Rolen. “I’m not trying to send the wrong message – this guy isn’t like Mike Schmidt,” then-Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. “He’s not going to come out here and hit 40 home runs. But he’s a guy that can hit double-digit home runs for us in a spot where right now we need some help.” Nine years later, Bautista ranks second in Jays history in homers (287), 22 of which have come this season. Unfortunately for both team and player, the 36-year-old’s once-magnificent production began dropping off significantly last season and has cratered in 2017. As an impending free agent, Bautista will move on to a new team or retirement over the winter.
  • Terry Pluto of cleveland.com revisits the 2014 trade in which the Indians acquired right-hander Mike Clevinger from the Angels for reliever Vinnie Pestano. Clevinger has turned into a valuable starter for the Tribe this season, but when the deal went down, he was a struggling 23-year-old at the High-A level who was still working back from a 2012 Tommy John procedure. Unsurprisingly, then, Clevinger was not the Indians’ initial target in talks with the Halos. “I don’t recall who we asked for first,” president Chris Antonetti told Pluto. “It wasn’t Mike.” Nevertheless, the Indians saw enough promise in Clevinger to think he could pan out. “He was striking out a hitter an inning (58 in 55 innings). We felt with some changes to his delivery, he could throw a little harder and get more depth on his breaking ball,” GM Mike Chernoff explained. “There were some ingredients for him to succeed.”
  • Rays catcher Wilson Ramos is one start away from increasing his 2018 salary from $8.5MM to $10.5MM, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes. Ramos needs to make 55 starts this year and not end up on the disabled list with a knee injury in order to collect that money, and it appears he’ll accomplish both feats. The Rays took a risk in signing the former National last winter after he suffered ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee with less than a week remaining in the 2016 regular season. Ramos didn’t debut with the Rays until June, and while he hasn’t come close to matching the stellar offensive and pitch-framing numbers he put up in Washington last year, he has gotten better at the plate as the season has advanced. Overall, the 30-year-old has hit .263/.293/.444 in 210 PAs.

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