LaPorta optioned to AAA, Gomez called up to start tonight
Per Tom Withers of the Associated Press. LaPorta's demotion is perhaps more symbolic than anything else — but even so, it's pretty stunning. LaPorta can be recalled at any time by putting Choo on the DL, a move that hasn't been made yet. Otherwise, he can be recalled on Sept. 9. No option is used as long as he's recalled by Sept. 18.
9 months ago
Jay
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Yes it is, or at least it should be. Maybe it’ll provide a little prospective for him and he figures something out; however, I somehow doubt it and that just sucks.
Fear the Fedora.
by MooneysRebellion on Aug 30, 2011 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow. Embarassing for him, considering how few healthy sticks are in the clubhouse right now.
How will Big Jim teach him now?
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Here’s hoping LaPorta finds the room in the Columbus clubhouse where the Cliff Lee/Dave Huff demotion dust is stored.
Doesn’t work all the time as Marte did about 14 lines of the stuff back in 2009.
by stuart dean on Aug 30, 2011 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
9/9 is the 1st day he can come up
You may run like Hayes, but you hit like shit.
by valhallas_own28 on Aug 30, 2011 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions
We couldn’t wait two days to just stop starting him? Really? Haaaate this move. We need his options. He just became even more worthless without this one.
"I want to be playing at the end of October or the end of September -- not just at the beginning of April." —Grady
He doesn’t burn the option if he down less than 20 days, correct? He can come back up in 10 days after roster expand.
Fear the Fedora.
by MooneysRebellion on Aug 30, 2011 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Cool.
This move would seem to be to send a message: This ain’t the SEC. Time to put it together.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s either a way to send a message, or he was given something to work on. You don’t option a bat down when your team is as thin as it is right now, so it’s one of the two. Hopefully something clicks when he is down there. Sometimes a different set of eyes watching you can pick out a mistake someone has missed.
You may run like Hayes, but you hit like shit.
by valhallas_own28 on Aug 30, 2011 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Ugh, *fewer
My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw
by Turkmenbashi on Aug 30, 2011 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I missed it. I’m sending myself to Zanesville to sharpen my eye before returning to this board.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Updated the original post to reflect:
- He can be recalled anytime simply by putting Choo on the DL.
- No option is used as long as he’s recalled by Sept. 18.
The really interesting thing here is that they did this instead of putting Choo on the DL.
I have no doubts that they did it to wake his ass up. Good points both of these. The first one is a brilliant way of using a loophole, and the second was swimming around my brain as I posted but couldn’t quite remember if I had it right.
"I want to be playing at the end of October or the end of September -- not just at the beginning of April." —Grady
Really interesting, and further evidence that the change in GM really has made a difference in “business as usual” with the Tribe. I’m ambivalent about what’s been going on—Fukudome, Jimenez, Thome, and now this. I don’t like the risk, but it’s kind of refreshing that we’re not as predictable as we used to be.
by ken from alexandria on Aug 30, 2011 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions
That sends a big message there. What could be at max 2-3 days of Choo at the tail end of his minimum 10 day stint is worth more than 1-2 weeks of LaPorta. Ouch.
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Well, let’s think about that for a minute. LaPorta’s value over replacement has been almost exactly zero this season. It’s been less than that for the last few months. But as Antonetti has said, the question for the club is always, who is the literal replacement rather than the theoretical one?
It’s basically Marson and Duncan, right? So how does that add up?
Well if it is Marson the difficult part is quantifying his defensive value. Once again using literal replacement point made by Antonetti, Marson’s defense behind the plate would be even more valuable since Santana seems to be at least below average and possibly replacement level (defensively speaking of course) behind the plate.
I think your assessment of Santana is a bit hyperbolic.
The defensive difference between Santana and Marson is something but not huge. Probably isn’t a big difference between Santana and LaPorta defensively. Just did some quick math, I think it’s maybe 4-5 runs over the rest of the season. That is a huge number as defender comparisons go, by the way, but not huge in the context of the whole game.
Of all the current major league catchers Santana has likely played the position the least amount in his career (or at least near there). I don’t think it takes a leap of faith to assume that he’s not in the top half of the league defensively. How bad is he, at this point in his development, compared to the rest of the bottom half of catchers is difficult to tell.
Albeit limited, some defensive statistics support this point. Defensive Runs Saved has him at -4 and in the bottom quarter of the league.
WE LOST THE TRADE!!! DOLAN SCRWED UP!
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
in other news, Grady is starting his rehab assignment tomorrow in Akron
You may run like Hayes, but you hit like shit.
by valhallas_own28 on Aug 30, 2011 4:09 PM EDT reply actions
That is good news, for a change. With all our outfielders going down we could use anything we can get from him.
by Buckeye Brad on Aug 30, 2011 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
we could use anything we can get from him
Probably lots of whiffs and grounders to the right side, but, it’d be nice to see his name in the lineup and Zeke pushed back to PR duties.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow, of all the random times for me to pick to go to an Aeros game…
My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw
by Turkmenbashi on Aug 30, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
save us
I like ex-Phillies prospects.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 30, 2011 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions
My grandmotber is delighted. In typical irascible old lady crank form, she has players she hates. LaPorta is one of them. “He has nice hair but he’s useless. Just useless. Needs the wakeup call!” We’re on 77N rig ht now to head to the game, in fact. Teeny iPhone keyboard hard to type on.
how great would that be for an opponent’s scouting report on him?
He has nice hair but he’s useless.
You are reading my signature.
by rolub on Aug 30, 2011 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
No, that would be this.
He has nice hair buthe’sbatting average is a useless metric
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Aug 30, 2011 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Is anyone interested to see that film? I have no desire at all to catch it.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I’ll definitely watch it
My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw
by Turkmenbashi on Aug 30, 2011 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I like that both you and Turk used the phrase “I’ll watch it”, I think it definitely differs from “yeah I’ll go see it”, much more passive, kind of like if I happen to be doing work on my laptop in front of the TV and the remote is three feet away from me at the time and Point Break comes on TBS, I’ll watch it.
I cannot imagine how it could be even mildly entertaining.
Formerly fwembt, now co-moderator of Banners on the Parkway
I’m actually interested in seeing how they make that book in to a movie. It has good writers working on it so it can’t be that bad.
by Buckeye Brad on Aug 31, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Right. I said the same thing when I first heard about facebook movie, and I ended up kind of liking it.
Aaron Sorkin could turn your grandma’s tea party into a pithy, entertaining flick.
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Though he’d make sure your grandmother, mother, and sister don’t have any major lines
by APV on Sep 1, 2011 5:09 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
The Demi Moore character in A Few Good Men is one of the worst-written characters I’ve ever seen in a good movie.
by Jay on Sep 1, 2011 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I find it hard to separate the acting and writing there
by APV on Sep 2, 2011 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions
No, b/c there’s only one Berkman
Fear the Fedora.
by MooneysRebellion on Aug 30, 2011 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I LOVE IT WHEN YOU CALL ABOUT BIG POO-MA.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions
BURKMENBASHI
My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw
by Turkmenbashi on Aug 30, 2011 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Berkhnama
My watch is broken... it's stuck on Tribe Time
#suckitLaw
by Turkmenbashi on Aug 30, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Is there an easy way for someone to explain “Options”? How are we not exercising an option on LaPorta by sending him down to Columbus so long as he’s back by September 18th? (And why wouldn’t he be, with their season ending well before that, save the playoffs). I realize it probably doesn’t matter for Laporta, just trying to learn something.
Il faut d'abord durer.
An option isn’t used up as long as a player spends fewer than 20 days in the minors, total for the season.
Just when I thought I was starting to understand the options rule.
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Aug 30, 2011 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions
I was out of the country. Never mind, my bad. I’ve gotta go do some homework.
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Aug 30, 2011 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions
No, but I did find this from BP, which helps a lot.
"Lotta heart in Cleveland." - Ian Hunter
by Denver Tribe Fan on Aug 30, 2011 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks. But a player who is out of options can’t be sent down, even if there’s a “guarantee” that they’ll be there for fewer than 20 days, correct?
Il faut d'abord durer.
Yeah. I’m serious. It sure looks to me like mgmt. is upset with his performance. He must have some friction built up with mgmt to do this to him. He goes down to AAA, looks like a prospect, and the Twins pick him up. Mgmt. doesn’t have to deal with an uncoachable player. That’s my conspiracy theory of the day…
Because that’s what teams do with their PTNBLs, right? Send them to AAA instead of dealing them to another team?
"I want to be playing at the end of October or the end of September -- not just at the beginning of April." —Grady
Twins get to pick from a list. If he’s in AAA he might hit the ball and draw interest again as a prospect.
Please site your source. Not trying to fight. I’m curious. I searched and could not find a definitive not on the 40 man about this trade.
First, there’s no way he’s on the list.
Second, the Indians aren’t going to trade a guy out of spite or frustration. That is, they may trade him, but they’re not going to trade him for even less than his present, depressed value.
Third, you don’t sell low on a power prospect who’s going to turn 27 soon.
Unless you’re the Brewers. Hey, wait!
"I want to be playing at the end of October or the end of September -- not just at the beginning of April." —Grady
hope to God he isn’t. As much as watching LaPorta’s ABs makes me want to vomit, he is still a potential of those “core” guys. Will he ever turn into the guy we thought we were getting for CC? No, probably not. But if we trade a guy with even the POTENTIAL of being a solid or even very good starter (which, knock on wood, I think he could still be. Even though he absolutely blows now, he has shown he can hit the cover off the ball if he gets the right pitch. I know he’s had 2 years, but it’s too soon to ship him off for 2 months of Jim Thome
He’s not a core guy and frankly never was all that likely to be one. He had good potential as a power hitter but never looked like a great all-around hitter. With no real defensive value, I always had him pencilled in as a solid contributor and probably not a core player.
I initially envisioned a Josh Willingham kind of career for LaPorta. I think it’s still possible, but that’s probably a best-case scenario at this point.
Except Wiggi can play all over the diamond.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 31, 2011 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions
HEYO! let’s hope this sends a message to him that he needs to stop swinging at curveballs low and away and allowing fastballs to get blown by him. This is where Jim Thome might be able to help him.
Thome is a lefty who batted (yes, batted) .316 in AAA and .337 in AA. By the end of his age-26 season, he’d already hit 265 extra-base hits in the majors, half of them home runs, which is well over three times what the righty LaPorta has accomplished.
They aren’t the same type of hitter, and they aren’t of a similar caliber of talent, and nobody ever said Thome would make a great hitting coach anyway. I doubt very much Thome is the guy to help LaPorta.
I don’t think LaPorta’s problems are personal or professional. I think he doesn’t have the ability to hit big-league pitching, while he may at some point develop that ability, I doubt Thome can impart it to him.
Didn’t someone say that watching Thome in the minors was like watching a man playing amongst boys?
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Don’t know what anybody said.
Age 20 in AA, 895 OPS. That’s a big prospect.
Age 22 in AAA, 1026 OPS. That’s a big-leaguer and future All-Star.
Yep, Charlie.
You’re going to thank me for posting this. Then you’re going to do what I just did: Search for about a hundred 90s highlights, where the stadium was absolutely rocking.
Then he just wasn’t being original…and after researching it further, perhaps I got my story mixed up. I swear that it was Simmons, but he had his heart attack while being a GM in ‘93, so he couldn’t have given that report while working for the Tribe…I don’t know.
I actually got to observe the start of how Simmons got hired by the Tribe. I think it was in ‘94. I was in KC and got to the park early for BP. I was right behind home plate and saw Simmons sitting near me. I was able to eavesdrop on a conversation between him and Hargrove. I don’t remember much except at the end, Hargrove told Simmons that he should stick around until tomorrow, because “John was coming to join the club”, and that he should talk with him.
After BP ended, I was heading to my seat and I saw Simmons near an exit to the concourse. I asked for an autograph and told him that it would be nice to see him back in baseball. Two days later I read in the transactions that he was hired by the Tribe.
by TribeJay on Aug 30, 2011 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think he doesn’t have the ability to hit big-league pitching
This has gone from a whisper in the back of my head to close to a “prove me wrong” this year.
Seriously. We’ve been given no indication that he’s lazy or “uncoachable” or whatever.
He probably already gets the “message” and is probably far more frustrated by his career so far than we are.
According to Bastian, Acta said that it is more roster based then performance. Acta did say that Laporta needed to work on his plate discipline, he said that he should be a walks/power hitter and right now the walks aren’t there.
I parsed Acta’s intial comments on roster vs. perf as regular political butt kissing.
After that, he got into the meat of the issue and said that the coaches up here have spent a lot of time with him, and now maybe a new set of eyes is needed in AAA. Coaching hasn’t helped his issues. Maybe there isn’t major league talent there to coach?
I don’t disagree that he is quite possibly at levels of frustration equal to or greater than that of anyone on this board, in the Indians front office, at the University of Florida, in his church, or among his parents and siblings.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t have any problem with the move. He’s really been struggling, and maybe it is a wake-up call.
I agree with others that he has gotten more of a chance than Marte did. However, I went through his 2011 game logs to see how many times he’s gotten 4 plate appearances in 4 consecutive calendar days. The answer is zero.
That is a bit of a cherry-picked number. There were several instances where he was close, and his injury and lack of performance (hitting lower in the order) is partly the reason…as is Santana’s defensive struggles compared to Marson.
So I’m not going to argue that he hasn’t had more chances than Marte did (even though I’m in the minority believing that Marte is more responsible for his failure than anyone else). And I’m not going to claim that LaPorta deserved more chances than Marte. But claiming that LaPorta has had every chance in the world this year is probably overstating it.
Well I’d say the plate appearance thing has more to do with batting in the bottom third of the order and on a team that has been terrible offensively for a while now (i.e. your top of the order hitters aren’t getting more than 4 at bats all that much).
As I noted, it has something to do with that, but it has more to do with him not being in the lineup at all…look at the game logs.
Looking at the game logs I see that he played in every game from April 5th through April 18th averaging 3.9 PA a game (basically if he had one more game with 5 PA instead of 4 he would have averaged 4 PA through that time).
He’s appeared in 97 games, has 349 PAs, averaging 3.59 PA a game and is hitting .238/.289/.404.
He’s not Albert Pujols, he doesn’t (nor didn’t) deserve to be starting every game and getting four at-bats a game. He had a legitimate opportunity for a young player to demonstrate progress offensively and he hasn’t. As Acta said, he’s not walking enough (i.e. not patient and better with his batting eye) and it isn’t getting better. There’s no justification for playing a player that is providing at or below replacement level on a contending team more than what they have played LaPorta.
Just tweeted:
LaPorta walk rate was 9.3 for April-May, but only 1.7% for June-July-August.
That’s totally outrageously awful.
American League hitters with 330 or more PAs Swinging Strike Pct (ranked from highest on down):
1.) Miguel Olivo C 18.8%
2.) Mark Reynolds 2B 15.8%
3.) Matt LaPorta 1B 14.0%
American League hitters with 330 or more PAs Contact Pct (ranked from lowest on down):
1.) Miguel Olivo C 66.0%
2.) Mark Reynolds 2B 66.4% (ISO .264)
3.) Adam Dunn DH 70.1% (ISO .125)
4.) Matt LaPorta 1B 72.5% (ISO .166)
More to your point about the walk rate, but going a little further, he’s been terrible at making contact, and he’s not making up for it with enough XBHs or HRs like Mark Reynolds is able to do. He’s closer to 2011 Adam Dunn, though thankfully not that bad.
It would be interesting to see this broken down into in-zone and out-of-zone. Unfortunately, I lack the talent, experience AND work ethic.
The swinging strike percentages aren’t broken down that way, at least as I see it. But for contact rate, his in-zone contact percentage is only higher than Reynolds, Napoli, Olivo, Dunn, and Cruz.
For out-of-zone contact, he’s 18th worst out of 106.
Not good. I guess I was interested to see if his low contact rate was more a product of swinging at too many bad pitches, meaning that there is reason to believe that if he becomes more selective he could substantially improve his contact abilities. Unfortunately, it seems he can’t even make contact on strikes. Awesome..
Yeah it’s not a pretty picture when he can’t hit the pitches over the plate all that well. There’s a chance that his low contact rate on outside of the zone pitches is basically throwing him for a loop on his zone swings as well (think of it as he’s missing so bad on the outside zone pitches that he’s so fixated on not making that same mistake that he is not focused on the next pitch that ends up in the zone) or maybe he’s screwed as a prospect/player.
LaPorta is still the most likely candidate to be our 1B next season, and the point about him being 27 is a good one. If he has one good season in him, it’s likely to be next year. And what do we do if he is good? We sell.
He’s not going to be gifted the spot. They will probably take a flier on a veteran with a minor league contract and make him battle it out in ST.
Even if he wins the spot, He’ll be on a short leash.
Are there any other 1B prospects in the minors?
by JulioBernazard on Aug 30, 2011 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions
we graduated all of our hitting prospects
I like ex-Phillies prospects.
by Gradyforpresident on Aug 30, 2011 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
only re-animated zombie Beau Mills (.284/.331/.497, 17 HRs, split between AA/AAA, though much lower at AAA)
by APV on Sep 1, 2011 5:15 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeesh, look at that split between his batting average and his on-base percentage….Um, that’s basically Matt Laporta.
It’s better than LaPorta lately, though.
Having said that, calling Mills “reanimated” is misleading in the sense that his career was barely alive in the first place.
by Jay on Sep 2, 2011 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions
He was a first round pick…and he did put up an .880 OPS with 21 HRs in his first full season while at Kinston
by APV on Sep 2, 2011 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions
The way Antonetti rolls, I fully expect to be all-in on Prince. The problem is I don’t think he could fit through our window of contention.
Rather scared. Inquiring about dog.
Do you honestly think we make a run at someone that will command that type of money? Not trying to combative, just curious.
No I don’t. I’d like to think we might fill a gaping hole at first (plus take advantage of the fact that the big-spending Yanks, Bosox, Phillies, Detroit, et al. won’t be bidders) alas, I merely wrote what I believed was an uncompromising juvenile jab at Fielder’s, um, portliness.
Rather scared. Inquiring about dog.
Honestly, I don’t see how it is beyond New York to go after Prince. I mean, c’mon, they need a DH, too.
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Nothing is beyond New York…except Cliff Lee.
By the way, what are the mid-range options for 1st this off-season?
Rather scared. Inquiring about dog.
Not sure if this is the complete list, but this is the run down.
Lance Berkman (36)
Russell Branyan (36)
Jorge Cantu (30)
Michael Cuddyer (33)
Prince Fielder (28)
Ross Gload (36)
Brad Hawpe (33)
Out of the attainable players, Cuddyer looks the best. Blech.
Eric Hinske (34) – $1.5MM club option with a $100K buyout
Casey Kotchman (29)
Mark Kotsay (36)
Derrek Lee (36)
Xavier Nady (33)
Lyle Overbay (35)
Carlos Pena (34)
Wily Mo Pena (30)
Albert Pujols (32)
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Can’t say I like this move, though I guess with all the injury problems a roster shuffle might have been necessary and LaPorta was the expendable player. While La Porta has been a poor hitter, (89 wRC+), Marson has been a substantially worse hitter, (69 wRC+). That, and my eye test tells me Santana plays a worst first base. So, the only upside to doing the Santan to 1b, Marson in catch, and LaPorta hanging around to pinch hit is a better defensive catcher, and I don’t think Santana is such a bad catcher that its worth suffering such an offensive downgrade from LaPorta to Marson.
The only other option that comes to my mind is putting Hannahan on first, keep Santana behind the plate, and let Chisenhall learn 3rd. Hannahan is actually hitting better than LaPorta (wRC+ 92), and has a reputation as an elite defender. Hopefully, his reputation at 3rd base can transfer to 1st base. Wait, is Chisenhall injured? I cannot even keep track anymore.
I think the point with LaPorta is that his hitting has collapsed. WIth a 590 OPS since May 20, are you sure he hits worse than Marson at this point?
Santana is not consistent behind the plate, although I don’t really worry about him long-term. Marson is pretty special as a defender.
OPS by month:
April 818
May 701
June 640
July 629
August 626
Are you sure that 590 number since May 20 is correct? Hey it certainly could be if he didn’t hit a single thing for the last 10 days of may, I suppose.
Regardless, pretty terrible…. all we ask is that he be average! Or even slightly below average while he is cheap!
Don’t most of the SPs seems to prosper with Marson calling a game as opposed to ’los?
by JulioBernazard on Aug 31, 2011 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, having Santana catch Ubaldo is asking for a kick in the rear. Sandy needs to get him on a hardcore defensive regimen this off-season.
Matt LaPorta is the bane of my existence.
Unless he’s going to be the 1B going forward.
by JulioBernazard on Aug 31, 2011 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions
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