Sunday Roundup
by Ryan on Mar 11, 2007 6:35 PM EDT
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PrintLee to start season on disabled list. Anthony Castrovince, indians.com
The biggest story of the spring thus far. The Indians had gone into the season with some depth, and they'll have it tested right away. The conventional wisdom says that Fausto Carmona will enter Lee's spot in the rotation, though both Adam Miller and Brian Slocum remain possibilities.
The details of the injury and the timetable for his return:
Thanks to that delay, the 28-year-old Lee, even in the best of scenarios, wouldn't be able to complete his preseason throwing program in time to be ready for Opening Day. Head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff said the total rehab program should take four to six weeks.
This injury beats home the adage that you can't have enough pitching, and that also teams have to plan for the worst while hoping for the best. If Paul Byrd had been traded, the Indians would have been going into the season with CC Sabathia, Jake Westbrook, and three pitchers with less than a season of MLB service time between them.
Indians infield: Oh, to be young and in glove. Paul Hoynes, PD
Hoynes takes a look at how the Indians' young infield (if you consider Ryan Garko the eventual first baseman) came together:
Not really.
"We were just trying to improve our defense," said Tribe General Manager Mark Shapiro.
The key here isn't that the Indians weren't looking to get younger, they were looking to get better. That the starting infield could all be 26 or younger was a very happy accident. The Indians control all four players through at least 2011.
Eleven games into spring training, the results have been promising.
The most pleasant news of Spring Training has to be Jhonny Peralta's improved range. He's also hitting well, but I'm loathe to declare his swing fixed until the regular season. Defense, though, is something that shows just as well in March as it does in April, and Peralta's looked vastly better. He'll have to stay consistent, but if he can, the Indians should be better defensively at three of the four infield positions. And that's a big improvement to a team that had one of baseball's worst defenses in 2006.
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Re: Sunday Roundup
In many ways, the youth of the IF is a bit of a tribute to Shapiro, whether it works or not. He made the Crisp and Kouzmanoff trades and gave Peralta his shot. 1B is still a work in progress but Garko shows some promise. We might miss Omar but, all in all, it looks to be decent work by the GM. He has taken a lot of shots from fans and the papers but the IF outlook has far greater potential than the Tribe has seen for several years.
I think there is another story that is surprising. Rivas is not the dog I had heard he was at Minnesota and other places. I am not sure he is the eventual winner of the utility slot but he has outperformed Luna and poor old Joe Inglett. His biggest competition is a pickup I thought should have been cut from the 40, Rouse.
My last kudo goes to indiansfan who stuck by Francisco. I still think Snyder is a much better prospect but I also think Francisco has proved he is worthy of a ML shot. :)
Re: Sunday Roundup
Oh, don't get me wrong - Peralta's improvement is a big deal, but Lee's injury is the biggest headline. "Lee Injured!" is a bigger story than "Peralta's Range Improves!!"
My last kudo goes to indiansfan who stuck by Francisco. I still think Snyder is a much better prospect but I also think Francisco has proved he is worthy of a ML shot. :)
At this point, I don't even know about the prospect part. Francisco's had success at the AAA level, and Snyder hasn't gotten there yet. Both players will be 25 years old. Snyder's ceiling is definitely higher, but I'm relatively sure that Francisco is going to have a career, and I'm not sure about Snyder.
Re: Sunday Roundup
But, I feel that Peralta's improvement in the field will make more difference in the team standings than the Carmona/Lee starting change for a few games. But that's just my opinion!
As indiansfan and I argued ad nauseum, this is a best prospect list, not a "who will be a mediocre ML player list". Both of the things you point out could actually happen and would not change the prospect status one iota, IMHO. Sometimes, a prospect list is just a prospect list. I will concede gladly, and already have, that Francisco would be nice as a 4th OF and possibly the best replacement for Michaels or Blake if the need arises. Doesn't change a thing for me! :)
Re: Sunday Roundup
by rustyparts on Mar 12, 2007 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Re: Sunday Roundup
by Rayman @ Let's Go Tribe! on Mar 11, 2007 10:06 PM EDT reply actions
Re: Sunday Roundup
Re: Sunday Roundup
For one thing, there seemed to be a manifest lukewarmness towards both Inglett and Luna, as evidenced by the obsessive emphasis on backup-must-be-a-good-shortstop, which obviously neither of those guys is, and the desire to get Garko onto a roster that also has five outfielders.
I never really looked into Rivas, but I always thought Rouse was a threat. This front office has been wrong before, but they don't do things for no reason, and they would not take a 40-man spot so lightly as to go all the way through the Rule 5 with a non-prospect on the roster who had no chance to make the team out of Spring Training. They just wouldn't.
Re: Sunday Roundup
by Rayman @ Let's Go Tribe! on Mar 12, 2007 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Re: Sunday Roundup
You, and Shapiro, were right about Rouse. As I said earlier, I would have cut him instead of Guthrie since I hoped there might be a market for Guthrie. :)
Re: Sunday Roundup
by rustyparts on Mar 12, 2007 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Thanks, indianinkslinger!
indianinkslinger - thanks for the kudos! :-)
I always thought Francisco was a bit underrated - albeit being a bit older than the ideal age, his production has always been solid; as I've said before, you'd wish that you could see Francisco's production out of Gutierrez's bat, as I think most would expect to see that type of production from Gutierrez, but to this point, we haven't.
I agree that Snyder has more potential, and like I mentioned before, I've backed off a bit on my criticism of Snyder because I wasn't aware that his cornea was reshaped by that eye infection he had a few years ago. I'm hopeful that that was the main reason his strike zone judgment has been poor the last few years, but even with the new contacts and before Spring Training started, I'd figure he'd still have to work hard at improving his discipline and contact skills, and based on some of the reports from ST where he appeared to be overmatched, I still say he has considerable work to do in that area to have any realistic chance of realizing his potential, so I still have my doubts about him, but I'm a bit more hopeful than before 2007 started.
As for Francisco and Gutierrez, I think either could bring a decent prospect, so perhaps one of them will net us something. If both of them are still here, it should be an interesting OF quartet at Buffalo - Choo, Gutierrez, and a combination of Francisco/Snyder for the 3rd and 4th OF spots?! That should be interesting to follow if that turns out to be the case.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Re: Sunday Roundup
Your Buffalo OF appears to assume that both Crowe and Barton will be in Akron at the start of the season. We may be closer to having six guys ready for the Buffalo OF, if not for a trade, a conversion to 1B, and/or lots of DH time.
Re: Sunday Roundup
Re: Sunday Roundup
Snyder and Mulhern would have been promoted to AAA if they weren't blocked last year, and the same thing could be said of Crowe and Barton this year. Hopefully they'll shrug it off and force their way to the next level, but even a stellar performance might have difficulty being rewarded. Kouz hit .400 for most of last year and pretty much still had to wait in line before getting promoted.
Re: Sunday Roundup
Mulhern may be more of a 1B option than OF, but he needs to rebound from his AA performance last year - .268/.335/.438 with 123 Ks and only 40 BBs in 452 ABs. However, I'm hoping like many others, that a healthy Aubrey emerges at 1B for Buffalo.
I read that those Crowe & Barton would...
Hello kov,
That's what I've read from various sources; personally, I would have had those two start at AAA and left Snyder back at AA, since I'm still not sure he can handle AAA with that relatively weak BB/K ratio.
However, maybe Snyder's new contact lenses and being challenged with a AAA promotion will allow him to show he still has a chance to contribute at the ML level, in some role at least.
Crowe could probably use more work at the AA level, though admittedly, his numbers are lower due to his 2B experiment, so I'm guessing that it will probably take him only a few months at most for him to be ready for AAA.
As for Barton, I don't think he needs much more AA time either; it will be interesting to see what they do with that OF logjam - things were pretty crowded even before Choo and Gutierrez were ticketed for AAA Buffalo. Hopefully, we can get something of decent value in a trade involving one or two of them.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Real Crowded at AA too
Buffalo is not the only OF that's crowded. Akron is pretty cramped as well. I almost hope we don't get Goleski back even with his power potential. Jordan Brown is certainly in the Akron OF and I am not sure there is much benefit to Constanza returning to Kinston. I am just not sure if they have room for him at Akron.
Who would you trade and to whom? On the list of Florida prospects (I consider them most likely), only the IF Coughlin(sp)really looks like much of a fit. We probably have three players who could be made available. Given the spring performances of Gutierrez and Francisco, I think I would go with Michaels but that has some risk. At this point, I would even consider a decent 1B/3B prospect in return and look at Sanchez but there does not look like many really good deals to be made. :)
Re: Real Crowded at AA too
I'm fairly certain Goleski won't make Oakland's 25. Travis Buck is their golden boy and has been getting all the recent AB's at Goleski's expense. It all depends how much the Cleveland brass want him back - odds are Oakland will offer a trade in order to keep Goleski. Personally I hope we do get him back, he's the only guy with 30 HR potential we had in the system.
As far as a trade, let's say Florida figures out they don't have a decent CF and ask about Gutz. What if Michaels gets hurt? Who would be the first callup to platoon against lefties and back up CF? Even tough he's more valuable to them, he still has value for us. Florida has been stockpiling good young pitching, that's their surplus. I'd have to get a good young pitching prospect if I'm going to give them a solution to CF, someone like Sean West or Gaby Hernandez.
Re: Real Crowded at AA too
Re: Real Crowded at AA too
If Goleski is going to hit 30 in the show, I think there will have to some legislation banning breaking balls and offspeed pitches. The lad has some power, to be sure, but he probably has as many holes as Mulhern.
Maybe he improves, but his history would not leave you with that impression. :)
Re: Real Crowded at AA too
Agreed!
Yes, I know the Akron outfield is crowded too - Brown, Constanza, Crowe, Barton (there might be one more I'm forgetting,) but reports had said that Crowe and Barton would likely start at AA Akron to begin 2007, so I think either one of the other two will start back at High-A Kinston to begin 2007 or will share time in the OF with one of the others.
Also keep in mind that Brown and Head could both split time at 1B (Brown was a 1B I believe, as well as an OF.)
Regarding who to trade and to whom, I wouldn't really worry so much about getting an IF prospect rather than getting the best prospect we can get, at any position. I don't think that getting a decent IF prospect is going to solve our backup IF situation, plus Rivas and Rouse look better than we might have anticipated.
Therefore, whoever we trade (I'm guessing either Francisco or Gutierrez,) I would trade him for the best prospect we can get at any position (it can be a pitcher, an IF prospect, or an OF prospect.)
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Re: Agreed!
Ordinarily I would agree with you. However, I don't believe that any of these three will bring a pitcher or OF who is a better prospect than what we have. It doesn't make sense to me that any team will trade us a better OF prospect than what we give them and I really don't think the Tribe needs anoter B-/C+ pitching prospect.
I think your point is valid but if it's my money, I go for need instead of the best when we won't be getting an A/A- prospect. Either Rivas or Rouse might make the team but that hardly solves our depth problem in the IF. I think Rivas even has an out clause pretty soon. Except for Cabrera, our Buffalo IF is really bad. Akron and Kinston really have absolutely nothing above a C and few of those. You can find pitching, catching and OF depth at all those clubs. Sorry but I have to go for the practical. :)
Re: Agreed!
Maybe it's a lot to ask, but I'd trade Gut and/or Francisco to get a player who could be decent at 3B in the majors and is willing to start the season at Buffalo.
I see your point, but keep this in mind!
I can see your point about not getting a great prospect for any of those three, BUT that also means that we likely won't get a stellar IF prospect either. If we can get a better IF prospect than an OF prospect, I'd do it, BUT if we can get a better OF prospect than an IF prospect, I'd do that also.
Keep in mind that just because we only get an OF prospect that is equivalent or close to equivalent to a Francisco or Gutierrez doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing IF those guys have additional options and/or are at a lower level and show some promise. I think I'd still rather take the highest prospect because if we get a AAA veteran or mediocre prospect, how much help can we really expect from a player of that caliber - I really don't think he'd be of much help if the need would arise for him to be brought up to the Majors, thereby, not really solving the backup middle IF problem any better than Rouse or Rivas would, and if I'm trading a guy like Francisco or Gutierrez, I'd rather get a MI prospect or player who would be better than Rivas and Rouse in return for either of them.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
What I was looking for was an A ball IF with some ceiling. I don't think we are going to get a high ceiling AA, particularly at 3B. I agree it is weak unless Hodges is as good as the great minds project. I figured that once Kouz was traded and Whitney moved to 1B the Tribe was making room for him. There certainly isn't a MI with as much projection. Rodriguez is probably the closest and he doesn't look ready for Hi A to me.
Even 1B has something. I assume Whitney is earmarked for Kinston which makes me believe Head is going to Akron since Mulhern is maxxed there. Where is Aubrey in all this? Only the shadow knows!!
Right now, I acknowledge the points that you both have made. I do believe it is in the Tribe's long term interests to focus on the organizational shortcoming in MI at AA and A. :)
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
I really hate to put a trade rumor into the forum but one of my posting buddies sent me a "heads up". He is usually a reliable poster, not a specious rumor monger. I am wondering if anyone, anywhere in this forum has heard anything like this.
The Indians' purported trading partner is the Angels. This is supposedly a direct result of Angels' shopping as a consequence of the Mathews' situation. There is interest in Tribe OFs, presumably Gutz being the primary target but not limited to him. The Angel players that are being discussed are Kotchman, McPherson who probably enthuse kos and indiansfan more than me. The third name is the most intersting to me, a AA MI/utility player named Sean Rodriguez. He is not a great contact hitter but has some pop and is projected to 2B/3B although he plays SS now.
Even though there is some reasonable basis for this given each teams organizational strengths and weaknesses, it doesn't seem likely the Angels would use a near rookie CF when they are legitimate contenders and have the prospects to pry a ML OF of some stature out of Tampa. As "reasonable" as the above trade looks qualitywise on the surface, the trading partner doesn't seem to be a great match with their money and aspirations.
Has anyone heard anything? :)
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
OTOH, it'll cost a lot more to acquire Baldelli or Crawford (if that's who you were referring to). Gutierrez could simply be insurance if the Matthews situation blows up. And it's no secret that the Indians would love to get their hands on a better utility infielder, which the Angels have depth in.
From what I've read, it doesn't look like Rodriguez is seen as a true shortstop, though he seems to have some versatility (could play in the outfield, as well as second and third). He's only had 67 at-bats in AA and AAA, so in some respects he's behind Asdrubal Cabrera. So he probably wouldn't fill the major-league utility role.
One other thing to keep in mind about the Angels!
indianinkslinger - very interesting trade rumor; personally, I'd have some interest in Kotchman, not so much in that I think he will put up star numbers like a Ryan Howard, but he could be solid, more like a Lyle Overbay, with above-average to excellent defense over at 1B. McPherson doesn't really excite me - to me, I see a slightly better version of Russell Branyan - too little contact and too many Ks for me, plus I felt he was a bit rushed. I'm not sure he'll recover from that.
As for Rodriguez, I have heard his name before, but don't know that much about him. As Ryan said though, if he's behind Cabrera, then he won't help us with the MI utility role in 2007 anyway.
Regarding the validity of the rumor, keep in mind that Angels GM Bill Stoneman does not seem to like trading too many prospects from his stacked farm system, so the possibility of his going after Gutierrez moreso than either Baldelli or Crawford might be true since he knows that the price for Gutierrez will be considerably cheaper than trying to acquire either Baldelli or Crawford (especially Crawford.)
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Re:
I've wondered that myself!
I was wondering the same thing; it seems experts aren't as enthused with Kotchman as they once were, as most seem to think now that he's not likely to hit for much power (why I think some reports are suggesting he might be more like a Lyle Overbay offensively rather than a Mark Teixeira or Derrek Lee offensively.)
Plus, it seems Kotchman has a bit of an injury history as well - not as bad as Aubrey's, but still, he's been hampered with injuries over the last few years, so that too is probably why many experts aren't quite as high on him as they were, say, 2-4 years ago.
Just my 2 cents. :-)
Re:
Sean Rodriguez
"Like Belliard back in the day, he's sort of squat and not especially athletic, so he's not a scout's prospect."
One more...
"He's young and provides power at positions where it's hard to come by, but in this organization, he's blocked. Sprung, he could have a career as nifty as Belliard's or better."
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
I wasn't really thinking of this year when I thought I liked Rodriguez. Any comparison to Belliard, which I had not seen before, really turns me off. After his name came up, I checked BA and they had a bit more optimistic approach than Belliard. I was just hoping to get a AA IF with some upside so we have some depth.
I agree that Baldelli or Crawford is going to cost a lot more. If they are looking for short term protection, then that might be good for the Tribe. But it sounds to me like they intend to terminate Mathews' contract, if they can. That would leave them some money to spend and the Angels aren't shy about that.
It doesn't sound like anyone else has really heard this rumor so it is probably just smoke. I suppose there are conditions that could make this likely but do they really exist? :)
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
by The DiaTriber on Mar 14, 2007 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
by The DiaTriber on Mar 14, 2007 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Re: I see your point, but keep this in mind!
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Alberto-Callaspo.shtml
He was part of the Angels logjam last year until they dealt him away to the Diamondbacks. Now he's part of their logjam, not as well thought of as Stephen Drew and trapped behind Orlando Hudson at 2b. Hudson is only on a one year deal but he's still only 29 and I don't think he becomes a free agent until 2009. Add to the mix Danny Richar and Emilio Bonifacio and Callaspo seems pretty obtainable.
Callaspo has only played a little bit of SS, but he's just about ML ready and reads, to me, like a solid utility player at his floor. If it were me, I'd probably forget Rivas, Rouse, Inglett, and Luna and try to get Gutz or something like him to AZ for Callaspo. Of course, AZ doens't really need OFs either, but I can dream...
Callaspo will probably produce like any of the aforementioned illustrious 4 this year and has a substantially more upside.
What about Tony Pena!
Re: What about Tony Pena!
I don't know much about Pena, but his minor-league totals don't look too impressive (113 K's to 21 BB's in Richmond in 2005 as a 24-year-old), but I get the feeling that there may be more names like his that are out of options come Opening Day who may be available.
by The DiaTriber on Mar 14, 2007 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Re: What about Tony Pena!
Re: What about Tony Pena!
Re: Sunday Roundup
Lee's injury seems to be a slight one, leaving him still on track for 30 or so starts this year. I can't think of a better scenario (other than Byrd being the one injured) for Fausto to continue to get more ML exposure in the role he is best suited for - starting pitcher. He will be as prepared as any of the starters, going thru the same segue from ST to real games, get a few starts in and then go down to Buffalo. If everyone stays healthy, he'll bookend the year with another stretch in the bigs. That's fine w/ me.
Actually my only real concern performance wise in camp so far has been Fernando Cabrera. Where is the guy that was so dominant at AAA? Where is the guy who was a lock to be closer? He is having exactly the same problems he had last year, but without World Baseball as an excuse. He just doesn't look good on the mound, and if he keeps it up it will be a long time before he sniffs the 8th inning, much less the ninth. He no longer has the luxury of a stint in Buffalo to get in the groove, and they will not give him the reps he needs if he does not perform. With a slew of guys knocking on the ML pen, he has to actually earn his keep this year.
Re: Sunday Roundup
Re: Sunday Roundup
Ugh.
Anytime your wind-up can be confused with JD (falling off the mound, out of control, overthrowing, etc.), things are not going well.
by The DiaTriber on Mar 12, 2007 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Re: Sunday Roundup
Re: Sunday Roundup
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