Lonnie Chisenhall was the first Indians prospect I felt like I truly discovered.
In 2007 I was still relatively new to the wonders of the national pastime and my knowledge of the club’s farm system was limited to say the least. So in 2008, when the Tribe selected Chisenhall with the 29th overall pick in the MLB draft, I sat up and started to pay attention.
Here was this 6’2 third baseman from North Carolina, touted as the future of baseball in Cleveland. I read every article I could find, every scouting report from every expert analyst about this left-handed hitting lad. I scoured the web to find an autographed baseball card I could purchase for an affordable price (I couldn’t). To my British ears, even his name was interesting, it exuded something distinctly American. To put it best, you aren't running into many Lonnies where I come from.
It was another three years until we saw him appear in an Indians uniform, when he was promoted to the big club in late June 2011.
The Tribe were in the midst of a stagnant season under Manny Acta and the situation at the hot corner was in need of dire attention. Veteran third baseman Jack Hannahan was mired in an awful slump and the decision was made to introduce the club’s top minor league prospect, the then-22 year-old Chisenhall. He made his debut on a Monday night in Arizona, and went 2-for-4 in a Tribe victory.
Eight years later, the Lonnie Chisenhall era that never really materialized has come to an end.
It was announced yesterday that Chisenhall, a free agent at the end of the 2018 campaign, has signed a 1-year deal to join the Pittsburgh Pirates, to roam the outfield at their admittedly gorgeous PNC Park. According to reports he is set to earn $2.75 million guaranteed with some health and performance-related clauses attached to earn more.
When I look back at his time with the Indians, unfortunately I’m left with the feeling that Chisenhall never really achieved the lofty expectations bestowed upon him over a decade ago.
In Lonnie’s defense, very few vaunted prospects do.
To this point, the 30 year-old has had a respectable career, with a batting average of .268 and 64 home runs. Chisenhall eventually transitioned from his home at third base and found unexpected success in the outfield during the second half of his career in Cleveland. In recent years he has formed an effective partnership in right field as part of a platoon, often with Brandon Guyer, and has posted a career .757 OPS against right-handers, compared to a .699 mark against lefties thus far.
Sadly, it has been these recent years when we’ve seen Lonnie the least. He has had a terrible time with his health, constantly shuffling back and forth from the disabled list. Since 2017 Chisenhall has missed significant time thanks to injuries with both of his calves, reducing him to just 111 games played over the past two seasons. When he was on the field he did relatively well (.297/.368/.503 slash line for a 127 OPS+) but Terry Francona and the Indians ultimately couldn’t rely on him. Chisenhall’s final at-bat as an Indians player came on July 1 this year, a groundout. Two days later he went on the DL again and never returned to the roster.
For me, the most disappointing aspect of his tenure in Cleveland was his inability to seriously nail down a place in the lineup for an extended period of time. Whether it be related to his performance or his injuries, it was a rare occurrence to expect Chisenhall as an automatic fixture in the lineup.
Nevertheless, I’ll look back fondly on Chisenhall’s time with the club, and will follow the next stage of his career in 2019 with the Pirates. Lonnie always struck me as a very likeable and polite man, a player you couldn’t help but like.
Best of luck to him in all his future endeavors.
