Indians Notes: Cabrera, Salcedo, Shapiro
Some Indians tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince..
- The Indians believe that they have the long-term financial flexibility to investigate long-term deals for their emerging core players such as Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo. Both players will be arbitration-eligible at season's end and eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
- In other Choo news, the South Korea native is facing a deadline from his country to enlist in the military. The 27-year-old is hoping to receive an exemption but has a backup plan in case he is denied, writes Castrovince.
- The Tribe's interest in Edward Salcedo appears to have been overstated. To Castrovince's knowledge, they have not been linked to him since two years ago, when a Dominican newspaper reported that they signed the shortstop.
- The promotions of Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti are "unsurprising" to Castrovince. He writes that while some fans are upset with the promotion, one must consider the financial constraints the two men have had to work with in recent years.
Olney’s Latest: Atlanta’s Potential Trade Partners
ESPN.com's Buster Olney chimes in with some players and teams that could matchup in a trade with the Braves, who could dangle Javier Vazquez and/or Yunel Escobar as bait. Most of the rumors are just Olney's own speculation, but let's round 'em up anyway.
- The Red Sox have liked Escobar for a while, but don't match up very well for a trade.
- Olney mentions that Jacoby Ellsbury might be the only fit since JD Drew is owed a ton of money and Jason Bay will be a free agent after the year, but that wouldn't work for Boston since they would then need to find another centerfielder.
- Olney speculates that the Red Sox could use their young pitching to engage a third team in a trade, mentioning that Matt LaPorta, Shin-Soo Choo and Corey Hart could be a good fit.
- Boston could eat some of the money left on Julio Lugo's deal to give Atlanta a stop-gap shortstop should they deal Escobar.
- The Red Sox are not interested in Jeff Francoeur.
- If Milwaukee and Atlanta discussed a Vazquez-Hart swap, the Brewers would likely have to kick in another piece.
- The Twins could offer one of their many outfielders in exchange for Escobar. Delmon Young might not be enough to entice the Braves, but Michael Cuddyer or Denard Span could be.
- The Dodgers would love to add Vazquez to their rotation, but Juan Pierre probably wouldn't be enough given his lack of power.
- The A's could package Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera, both free agents after the season, for Escobar, who would step in as Oakland's shortstop of the future.
Indians Agree To Terms With Nine
The Miami Herald reports that the Indians agreed to terms with nine players today.
Among the nine were Shin-Soo Choo, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Josh Barfield, Wyatt Toregas, Jon Meloan, Adam Miller, Anthony Reyes, and Tony Sipp.
Odds and Ends: Choo, Inge, Lohse, Francona
Let’s round up some rumors and links.
- Not only is Shin-Soo Choo out of options, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and may have to join the South Korean military.
- Brandon Inge sat out a demanding drill on Friday, causing Tom Gage to wonder if trade talks are ongoing. Dave Dombrowski spoke on the topic recently, saying all the right things about Inge.
- Kyle Lohse is not interested in a minor league deal or playing in another country. He’s still waiting by the phone though.
- Funny anecdote involving J.P. Ricciardi’s son.
- Terry Francona was extended through 2011, with club options for ’12 and ’13.
- Kenny Williams and Billy Beane: opposites attract. Given their strong relationship, perhaps the Sox could look to acquire Mark Ellis during the season if the current options fall through.
- Wow – Scott Rolen would’ve accepted a trade to the Phillies. The Phils discussed him internally but decided not to pursue it.
- The Giants briefly considered Sean Casey, who is "really good at life" according to Aaron Boone.
Odds and Ends: Kelly Johnson, Nathan, Crede
Time for some early Monday odds and ends.
- Remember how White Sox GM Ron Schueler embarrassed Cubs GM Ed Lynch in 1998 by acquiring Jon Garland for Matt Karchner? Rany Jazayerli sees a parallel to that heist with the Royals’ acquisition of Daniel Cortes as part of the July ’06 Mike MacDougal trade.
- Mike Berardino’s blog continues to entertain; this time with a Dan Miceli story. Ah, knife fights with siblings. Who among us can say they haven’t had one or two?
- Buster Olney learned from Braves GM Frank Wren that Kelly Johnson has been the team’s most asked-for player in trade talks this winter.
- The look on Kyle Kendrick‘s face is priceless.
- Extension talks with the Twins and Joe Nathan have gone dormant. Nathan still thinks the gap can be bridged but wants it done before the season begins.
- Andy Marte and Shin-Soo Choo are both out of options; when Choo comes back from elbow surgery a month into the season one of them could be traded.
- Henry Schulman says the White Sox may accept prospects from the Giants for Joe Crede.
- Derek Lowe is entering his walk year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the Dodgers yet.
Tribe Trades Broussard For Choo
Ben Broussard was reunited with his former platoonmate Eduardo Perez today. He was dealt to the Mariners for outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. Broussard and Perez will combine to make a lethal combo, just as they did at first base for Cleveland.
More teams ought to assemble this sort of sweet platoon. The combined efforts of Broussard and Perez this season come out to a .316/.358/.550 line, including 22 HR and 63 RBI. The .908 OPS is roughly equivalent to what Carlos Lee has done this season. The difference is that Broussard and Perez, or as I like to call them, Brourez, take up two roster spots and make $4.2MM less. By the way, I had no idea going in how hard it would be to come up with two players’ combined OBP. Did you know the denominator includes sacrifice flies but not sac bunts, and intentional walks are not part of OBP? I learn something every day. I figured it was just all walks plus hits divided by plate appearances.
Anyway, the decision to ditch Carl Everett and get a decent DH in there was long overdue. And Mark Shapiro snagged a well-rounded 24 year-old prospect in Choo.