Trevor Bauer’s New Strategy, Same As the Old Strategy
July 26, 2019Dawg Check: Browns Training Camp Days 2, 3, and 4
July 29, 2019Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to improve the probability of the 2019 Cleveland Indians winning the World Series. Identifying talent gaps within the current set of position players and pitchers is of utmost importance. Any additions from outside the organization must be administered by July 31 as a moratorium on trades after said deadline will commence forthwith. As always, should you or any of your Tribe Force be caught or killed by the specter of public opinion, the Traveling Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This window will self-close in five seconds.1
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures! I can’t see another way!
By now, most have realized the folly of prognostications claiming requirements of removing high-tier players as the only means available for the improvement of the ballclub. Hand is an essential component of a bullpen without any other elite-capable arm for 2019 and 2020. Bauer could be considered a luxury for an organization touting as many potential high-level starters, except for the current health status of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Jefry Rodriguez, and even Aaron Civale. The rehabilitation having not completed for these pitchers has left the likes of Adam Plutko to have pitched the fifth-most innings.
I can neither confirm nor deny details of any operation without the Traveling Secretary’s approval.
- Mychal Givens (RP) of Baltimore Orioles per Ken Rosenthal
- Domingo Santana, Seattle, outfield
The famously silent trade assassins of the Indians front office have left little trace of their work.2 Scouring communication networks only popped up a solitary name in recent weeks– Mychal Givens– until Domingo Santana’s name was noted as a person of interest early Sunday. The fireball throwing relief pitcher and hefty slugger might well be in the sites of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff. Just as likely, it is a diversion for their true targets. Previous moves on Carlos Santana, Oscar Mercado, and Jake Bauers were not heard of before they happened, after all.
It should surprise no one that the first reports on the trade of outfielder Ruben Cardenas to the Tampa Rays for relief pitcher Hunter Wood and infielder Christian Arroyo were to announce the trade. The Tribe seems to have taken advantage of Wood– 25 years old– and Arroyo– 24 years old– being out of options in 2020 with a top-heavy Ray-system blocking them as Cardenas was not considered a top prospect a year removed from being selected in Round 16 of the 2018 MLB Amateur draft. At worst, Wood provides another bullpen arm, while Arroyo– a former Top 100 MLB prospect who was the centerpiece of the Evan Longoria trade– provides another challenger to the starting second base position in 2020.3
Are you questioning my loyalty or my ability?
- Yasiel Puig, Cincinnati, outfield
- Justin Smoak, Toronto, designated-hitter
- Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles (AL), outfield
- Jose Iglesias, Cincinnati, infield
- Scooter Gennett, Cincinnati, infield
- Nicholas Castellanos, Detroit, outfield
Many names mentioned in May here at WFNY could still be targets. The Indians continue to underwhelm at the designated-hitter position with among the worst outputs from the position in the entire American League. The outlook has not been much better when considering second base as the Tribe has accumulated statistics wallowing in the bottom third of MLB. Despite recent success, there remains worry that comes with the inconsistency of youth in the outfield. Adding at least one additional bat to the lineup seems necessary to ensure adequate October production. Another relief arm would be welcomed as well.
What’s done is done when we say it’s done.
Fate whispers to the Indians’ front office “A trade storm is coming.” And, the Indians’ front office whispers back “I am the storm.”
This week’s reading list
There is a ton of good baseball content being written about the Indians. WFNY will look to highlight some of the best stuff here each week.
WFNY
Everybody Else
- Matt Lyons of Let’s Go Tribe thinks Yasiel Puig is perfect for the Indians
- Craig Edwards of FanGraphs notes the season of improbabilities in Cleveland
- Hamstring tightness might factor in here, but Gage Will of EHC shows Naquin can still mash a low pitch.
- All credit to the fine folks of Mission Impossible. [↩]
- Tom Withers reports that Jose Pereza of the Reds was discussed with Cincinnati before the Indians started catching up to the Twins. [↩]
- Note: the expectation is that Arroyo does not play anymore in 2019 as he has a forearm injury. [↩]