i don’t see it either. i’m in your camp with regards to just send one of these guys down to akron if you can’t find the playing time for all of them in columbus. someone, somewhere is going to get hurt too. any guy you can stash in the minors that has any history of any potential, i say keep them while you can. there’s a world of difference between finding space for marte on the 25-man and finding space for him, aubrey, head and all our catchers between 2 minor league levels.

Hello dgcambridge,

I wouldn’t be that quick to write off Head; Head’s stock would seem to be on the rise (in relative terms for a 25-YO player) after both his 2007 and 2008 seasons have him moving in the right direction offensively. Additionally, according to Lastoria, Head is considered an above-average defender at both 1B (the best in the system, according to Lastoria) and RF.

I think that versatility, along with his putting up better numbers over the last two seasons, has put him on the radar screen, not in terms of being a cornerstone, but in terms of being a solid complementary player.

For one thing, Head is ahead of Mills and Weglarz (provided he’d play at 1B, which is unlikely at this point, but still a possibility at some point, being that was his position in HS) in the pecking order, being that Head will likely be at AAA Columbus to begin 2009.

For another thing, what the Indians are trying to do with Ryan Garko, Head has already been doing for around a season or so now – play 1B and the OF (and being that Head projects to be above-average in RF, he very likely would be above-average in LF as well), so I think Head could become a better version of Ryan Garko in terms of versatility, being that Head would provide better defense than Garko at both positions.

The key for Head this season is to continue to show improvement at AAA Columbus; of course, a breakout season (say 25-30 HRs) in terms of power would be helpful to him, but even if he only puts up around 15-20 HRs and around a .300 BA or so, that might be valuable enough to have the Indians consider him as being part of their future plans.

At the very least, it could give the Indians more options to trade either Head or Garko (provided he rebounds from his inconsistent 2008) at the trading deadline or in the 2009 offseason.

Another thing to consider in regards to Head – the depth he can provide at several positions on the field (1B, RF, LF, DH) could prove quite useful in case there are problems or delays with guys like Hafner, LaPorta, Francisco, Brantley, Choo, Garko, etc. Therefore, I think at this point he profiles more than “just a guy” – he was “just a guy” 1-2 years ago, but I think now, he has cracked the door open enough where, if he can put up another solid year or better, I think he’ll be more of a factor in the Indians’ plans than you are implying; I don’t think Head getting 30 ABs at the ML level this season is out of the question. That is probably why Castrovince thinks Marte could get cut before Head this spring (and Castrovince might have been referring to being removed from the ML roster, not being cut entirely from the organization). And, as mentioned, Head is moving in the right direction (improving), unlike Marte (struggling over that same time period), who is also 1.5 (or maybe 2.5, as I thought his birthday was in October, not November, as TheBaseballCube lists it) months OLDER than Head.

In terms of keeping both of them in the organization, I can agree with your logic about keeping them both around, but I think Head might be considered the more “valuable” player at this point, due to the reasons I mentioned above. At this point, Marte is more of “just a guy” than Head is, due to their recent history and versatility.

Just my 2 cents.

That was popular long before 2004.

You know, you just don’t want to say it.

Knee surgeon.