Trade Talk: Merrifield, Castellanos & Frazier

We've entered that period of the season and that so many writers love; the impending trade deadline, and with it comes speculation and rumors, enough to feed our appetite through the dog days of summer.

Now that we have an increasingly close deadline of July 31st, teams are looking at the standings to decide if they'll be sellers or buyers. For the 50-38 Indians, there is still a lot to play for this season, so I am anticipating them to approach the trade market from a buyer's perspective, even if a move to sell one of their prized assets might be beneficial (more on that later).

With that said, let's take a look at some of the potential targets the Tribe have been linked with in recent days:

Whit Merrifield - 2B & OF 

The Royals' first-time All-Star has been the one player I've seen mentioned most often when Indians trade rumors are discussed, and for good reason.

Merrifield, a second baseman and outfielder, is a reliable presence in the lineup who excels at making contact, effectively spraying hits to all areas of the field. The 30 year-old is currently batting .306/.355/.495 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 11 home runs, 44 RBI and 13 stolen bases, and looks on track to complete another successful campaign.

In 2018 Merrifield raised his game in a big way, posting an impressive 5.2 WAR, only finishing behind the Cubs' Javier Baez among second basemen (Baez had 5.3 WAR). The star man in Kansas City slashed .304/.367/.438 for a career-high 120 wRC+ last year, with a league-leading 45 stolen bases, announcing himself on the national stage and attracting suitors around the league.

Competition to acquire him could be intense, but Cleveland should certainly be in the mix for Merrifield's services:

• He's cheap - Merrifield is on a very team-friendly contract, and isn't due to earn more than $6,750,000 a year until at least 2023.
• He's under club control for a while - signed until 2022 with a team-option for 2023. By then he'll be entering his age-34 season.

The Royals know what they have - our AL Central rivals have publicly said it would take a lot for them to consider trading him in his prime. However, with Kansas City's window to win still years away, at 30 years-old they would be wise to move Merrifield for a decent haul to upgrade their rebuilding process.

Perhaps a combination of top prospects like Triston McKenzie and Yu Chang would be enough to sway the Royals to part with their golden goose. I for one would love to have Merrifield join the team. His positional versatility is a huge asset, filling any weak spots the club could potentially face going forward.

Nicholas Castellanos - OF & DH

A move for Detroit's Castellanos would likely be short-term, as the 27 year-old is due to become a free agent after this season, but he could be the impact bat the Tribe would really benefit from.

Tyler Naquin, Jake Bauers, Jordan Luplow and Greg Allen haven't established themselves as everyday players for the Indians, and have shared left field and right field between them with mixed results. The right-handed Castellanos could come in and automatically upgrade one of these positions, despite his known defensive limitations.

So far in 2019, Castellanos has slashed .282/.342/.468 over 366 plate appearances with 9 home runs and 33 RBI. The home run total is admittedly modest but he does lead the AL with 29 doubles, so he is still displaying that extra-base power into the gaps at least.

He isn't likely to cost too much in terms of prospects, which is good news for Castellanos admirers. His contract for this season is $9,950,000 so should be a pure rental, the price you pay in an effort to win now. I think adding a productive bat such as his could help give the Tribe the push they need if they want to consider themselves a real contender in 2019.

Clint Frazier - OF

Here's where things get difficult.

To acquire Frazier from the Yankees, it's going to cost Trevor Bauer. Like it or not, the price to bring the young outfielder back to Cleveland is high.

Trading Bauer this month, with the Indians still in contention for October baseball, will result in a backlash from the fanbase that may result in mutiny. Appearing to concede defeat in the race for the playoffs by trading one of your best pitchers will not go down well, not at all.

However, if you take stock of the whole situation, it could be beneficial for everyone. The Yankees crave an excellent starting pitcher and the Indians' outfield still needs upgrading to realistically compete against the top teams.

Let's look at Bauer first. In the last 18 months he has successfully reinvented himself as the everyman of Major League Baseball, thanks to his performances on and off the field, and is widely regarded by many as the ace of the Indians' staff. His 2018 season would have almost certainly resulted in a Cy Young award if he hadn't gotten injured (2.21 ERA, 221 strikeouts in 175.1 innings, 198 ERA+).

So why would the Tribe even consider trading him? Well, Bauer will be a free agent in 2021 and it's been widely reported that the Indians won't be in a financial position to retain his services, not at the price Bauer is expected to cost. Acknowledging this, perhaps the club would be wise to cash in whilst they can, even if it does appear defeatist upon first glance.

The 24 year-old former first-round Indians draft pick would be the prize in return but Frazier has experienced mixed emotions in New York. One of their most important hitters in the early months of 2019, when the Yankees' lineup was decimated with injuries, Frazier has recently found himself on the outside looking in, relegated to Triple-A once the regular starters returned to full health. Understandably frustrated to be playing at a level he's clearly outgrown, it widely rumoured Frazier will have a new home by the end of this month.

In 53 games and 191 at-bats, Frazier has slashed .283/.330/.513 with 11 homers and 34 RBI. He would automatically take over an outfield spot, probably in left, and be expected to contribute immediately.

I think the Indians would want more than just Frazier in a deal with the Yankees, and the Bronx Bombers would have to throw in a couple of other prospects to make it happen (Jonathan Loaisiga and Estevan Florial perhaps).

Selling Bauer does not equate to throwing in the towel, and I think it's important to recognize that. Cleveland's starting pitching depth is their biggest strength, and the team have shown this year that they have guys who can be called upon. Even without Bauer, a healthy Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber and combo of Zach Plesac, Jefry Rodriguez, Adam Plutko and Aaron Civale might be enough to get by.

As sad as I would be to see Bauer leave (he's really endeared himself to me in recent times), I would be happy to welcome back Frazier and see his development for the Indians over the next five years.

Leonys Martin - Stealing History

Don't get carried away folks, but the Indians have been playing some solid baseball of late. They've gone 8-4 since the start of the month, including series wins over the Twins, Yankees and Tigers.

Both Jake Bauers and Leonys Martin have enjoyed historic success during this winning run, most notably in Detroit; Bauers and Martin etched their names into Indians history on back-to-back nights, when Bauers hit for the cycle in Friday night's 13-4 rout, and then Martin stole home in Saturday's 4-2 victory.

Today I'm going to pay special attention to Martin's ridiculous display of athleticism in the eighth inning of last night's win. For me, there's nothing in sport quite like a guy stealing home.

With the Indians holding onto a slim 3-2 lead, Martin led off the inning with a line drive into the right field corner and jogged into second base for an easy double. Francisco Lindor could only fly out to left field in the next at-bat but Martin had the presence of mind and raw speed to tag and take third base with surprising ease, no slide necessary.

Tigers reliever Victor Alcantara had only been in the game for a moment but had managed to recover and get two outs, after Cleveland rookie Oscar Mercado could only ground out. With Carlos Santana at the plate, easily Cleveland's most dangerous hitter in 2019, Alcantara had a lot on his mind as he started into his windup.

Alcantara bent down as he started his motion and Martin, alert and with a huge lead off third base, was watching the pitcher's every move. The veteran instantly spotted his opportunity. With Alcantara still staring at his feet, Martin broke for home and was hurtling down the line before the reliever was aware of what was going on.

Tigers catcher John Hicks was screaming for his pitcher to look up but it was too late, Martin was in full flow and already diving towards Hicks. Finally awake, Alcantara stepped off the mound and threw home but Martin’s hand got beneath the catcher's glove to touch home plate, and the ball rolled harmlessly away.

Martin was safe and the Indians led 4-2. It was a moment of pure inspiration from the Cuban center fielder.

Against all odds, Martin had pulled off a play rarely seen in the modern game, especially against a right-handed pitcher, who should theoretically see it developing every step of the way. That is, if they aren't staring at their feet.

Martin's historic play secured the Indians' first straight steal of home in 14 years, not since Grady Sizemore performed the feat in Toronto on 26th August 2005.

Many of us would consider stealing home a lost art. Some of the best baserunners in the game will go their entire career without ever doing it. Some don't feel comfortable and most won't risk it, not the chance of killing a rally or killing themselves - the chance of injury is significantly higher diving headfirst into an opposition catcher.

When I think of stealing home, my mind instantly conjures the image of Jackie Robinson, a master of the art, who famously stole home in the 1955 World Series against the Yankees' Yogi Berra. It is one of baseball's iconic moments - it should not be physically possible for a man to make up that much ground and succeed. For most, it isn't; the success rate for stealing home is extraordinarily low, between 20-30% this millennium.

Once upon a time, in the days of Ty Cobb, stealing home was a more common practice. The legendary Cobb set the single season record in 1912 with eight steals of home. These days it's unlikely the yearly total for all of major league baseball will surpass eight. Somehow even the husky Babe Ruth achieved it ten times in his career - it was certainly a different time! Nowadays though the game has changed; pitchers are not so elaborate in their delivery, third basemen hold would-be thieves closer to the bag, and the entire pace of the game is different, among other factors.

Thus, when you witness a steal of home in the twenty-first century, it is magic made real.

Leonys Martin, for one night at least, transported fans back in time and created history in the process. After everything Martin experienced in 2018, it's amazing for him to be playing at all, so we should rightly celebrate his historic achievement.

"How about that?!" called Indians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton, as Martin picked himself up and celebrated with his teammates.

How indeed Tom.

Don't Forget About Me: Leonys Martin

When the Indians acquired center fielder Leonys Martin from the Tigers on July 30 2018, it was not the type of trade deadline move many fans had hoped for. Martin’s addition to the roster was a very practical but unheralded move by the Indians and immediately addressed one of the team's biggest needs, upgrading their poor outfield defense.

Martin made a good first impression with his new team, batting .333 with two homers and four RBIs over his first 6 games. Thanks to an adjustment on his launch angle (16.2 degrees, compared to his career 10.6 degree mark), Martin was set to have more of an impact with his bat than perhaps the Indians had originally anticipated.

Just over a week into his tenure in Cleveland, Martin began to feel significant pain in his mid section and sadly would not feature for the Indians again in 2018. It was discovered that Martin had contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection in his bloodstream that attacked his internal organs and even his heart. The situation looked dire when Martin spent nearly a week in intensive care, fighting for his life. At that point, his baseball career was no longer the top priority - his health and a full recovery was of the utmost importance instead.

Thankfully, Martin and his doctors in Cleveland got the infection under control and in late November he was given the all-clear, and could begin the slow and steady rehabilitation process ahead of the 2019 season.

From almost losing his life to preparing for his ninth season in the majors, Martin has certainly experienced his fair share of drama during his brief time in Cleveland.

Now reportedly back to full fitness and with spring training on the horizon, Martin enters camp as one of the forgotten contributors on this Indians team. However, despite flying under the radar, he will be absolutely integral to the Tribe's defense, especially when you consider the uncertainty still prevalent in this outfield. His veteran presence and consistency will be depended on if he finds himself flanked in the corners by the relatively unproven duo of Jordan Luplow and Tyler Naquin. Unless the club make any more outfield signings or trades in the coming weeks, that's the situation Martin should expect come Opening Day.

Martin will be 31 years-old once the season begins so his status as Cleveland's everyday center fielder may change as the year goes on, dependent on performance, but for now he's surely penciled in as the starter. It is wise to temper our expectations with Martin though; he is returning from a pretty significant setback to his body, which may take longer to recover from than originally thought. Martin's prowess at the plate has never been his defining attribute but if he can hit to a league-average level from the bottom half of the lineup, then his overall contribution will be of immense value to the Indians, particularly when he costs just $3 million this year. His defensive contributions should validate his playing time alone.

2019 is essentially a second chance for Martin and his Indians career, after his brief and unfortunate start last August. The left-handed hitting Cuban is considered by most to be the consensus choice for the team's best outfielder, and in the absence of Michael Brantley (newly relocated to Houston), Martin will be essential if the Tribe harbor hopes of winning the AL Central for a fourth consecutive year.

Tribe Active At Trade Deadline

This season's non-waiver trade deadline saw a flurry of activity across the league and the Indians were in the thick of the action on Tuesday afternoon.

Cleveland made two late trades, the largest of which involved the acquisition of center fielder Leonys Martin from the Tigers, along with minor league pitcher Kyle Dowdy, in exchange for shortstop prospect Willi Castro.

The final trade saw Tribe youngsters Jhon Torres and Conner Capel sent to the Cardinals in return for center field prospect Oscar Mercado.

Let's take a look at the new additions, and a quick glance at the guys who have departed for pastures new:

Leonys Martin, CF
Kyle Dowdy, RHP

All the buzz prior to the deadline indicated the Indians were in the market for outfield help and a number of names were touted as potential options. Among the players mentioned were Bryce Harper, Adam Jones, and Andrew McCutchen, to name just a few.

What materialised was perhaps unexpected, but in reality a typical Indians move. I mean, we were never getting Bryce Harper, were we?

Leonys Martin, a 30 year-old left-handed hitting center fielder, is not exactly the splashy trade Indians fans wanted. In fact, I don't remember seeing a single article before the deadline linking him to the Tribe.

However, just because Martin isn't going to sell a lot of jerseys doesn't mean he isn't a good pickup, and the decision to add him to the roster makes a lot of sense. This is a very practical trade.

Martin is widely considered a plus defender in center field, with his great range and superior speed, and the statistics back him up: he has 3 DRS in 638.1 innings in center this year and a 7.1 UZR rating, leading to a 13.4 UZR/150, which ranks him second among qualified center fielders. I've never been entirely sold on defensive metrics but regardless of that, you can sense Martin has been brought in to upgrade the outfield defense, and he looks certain to do just that. The Tribe's outfield hasn't been blessed with outstanding fielding this year, not when they've relied on the likes of Melky Cabrera and Tyler Naquin, so Martin's defensive skills are more than welcome on the club.

With the bat, Martin is not an overwhelming presence at the plate but he's more than serviceable. He's currently batting .275 against right-handed pitchers, good enough for a 113 wRC+. His overall numbers include a .251/.321/.409 batting line (BA/OBP/SLG) and he has a total of 9 home runs, 29 RBI and 7 stolen bases. Despite the modest numbers, 2018 has been one of Martin's best offensive seasons in his career thus far, and a much improved turnaround from a miserable 2017 (a .172/.232/.281 slashline in just 49 MLB games).

Cleveland is his fourth team since he departed the Rangers in 2015, as he spent the 2016 season and the majority of 2017 with Seattle before being moved to the Cubs in late August. He then signed with the Tigers in December 2017 as a free agent.

Overall, I really like the addition of Martin and the Indians' center field situation is far better now than it was before. Martin provides a significant improvement defensively and is still a better offensive option compared to what the Indians were getting previously. Obviously he's not the power bat fans might have wanted and wished for, but he's still an upgrade and at the end of the day, the team has been improved (without having to deal away top pitching prospects too - bonus!)

Kyle Dowdy, a 6'1 right-handed pitcher, appears to be a throw-in to this trade. The 25 year-old has been a serviceable but not stellar starter in the Tigers minor league system, and has posted a combined 4.74 ERA in 95 innings between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, with 92 strikeouts and 32 walks.

Detroit received shortstop prospect Willi Castro from the Tribe, who has spent this season at Double-A Akron. He's hit .245/.303/.350 with 5 home runs and has 13 stolen bases. Castro has strong projections, with many believing he has what it takes to be a regular MLB-quality shortstop, but his path to the show in Cleveland was always going to be blocked by Francisco Lindor, so it's logical the Tribe have dealt him away via trade.

Oscar Mercado, CF

The Indians were not content with adding just one slick fielding center fielder on Tuesday, so they contacted the Cardinals and picked up one more.

The supremely athletic Mercado joins the Tribe in the midst of an impressive campaign at the Triple-A level. Mercado has been playing for the Cardinals' farm team in Memphis, and has developed into a solid looking player. He hit .285/.351/.408 for the Redbirds, with 8 homers and 42 RBI, and stole 31 bases in 39 attempts. Before he left St. Louis, he was ranked as their 10th best prospect and possible center fielder of the future. A quick gauge of fan opinion on social media indicates that the Tribe might have gotten a steal, with many St. Louis followers upset to see Mercado leave.

Mercado is a subtle but highly interesting addition, and it feels like he might not be far away from a promotion to the majors in the near-future, possibly even next season. However, with the currently-injured Bradley Zimmer already facing competition for his place in center field from rookie Greg Allen, the inclusion of Mercado makes for an intriguing positional battle in the future.

Or maybe not. With Michael Brantley, Melky Cabrera, Rajai Davis and Lonnie Chisenhall all set to be free agents at the end of this season, perhaps the front office's idea is to fill the outfield with a mixture of Zimmer, Allen and Mercado when the veterans move on. Overall, I am quietly impressed by this trade and I think it has crept under the radar. Mercado looks to be a very useful player that could feature sooner than expected.

In return for Mercado, the Cardinals received two of the Tribe's young outfield prospects, 18 year-old Jhon Torres and 21 year-old Conner Capel. Both players are still in the early stages of their development, so it doesn't feel like a huge loss in the grand scheme of things.

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Ultimately, I feel the Indians can consider this month's dealings to be a success. They had two key areas that required improvement, the bullpen and the outfield, and those areas have now been addressed. Time will tell how the results pan out but you cannot fault the front office for lack of attention; they knew what was needed and they responded.

Tribe Triumph Over Tigers

The Indians returned to winning ways this weekend, taking two out of three from their trip to Comerica Park against the Detroit Tigers, culminating in a dominant win in the rubber game on Sunday afternoon. In today's recap, I focus on one area of the team that has come under scrutiny this year, but might be cause for optimism going into August and beyond.

Options In The Outfield

Since the Indians were able to significantly upgrade their ailing bullpen with the additions of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres, the attention has now turned to how reinforcements might bolster the outfield, ranked by many as among the worst in the majors.

Perhaps the Tribe's current group had heard the rumblings that replacements might be just around the corner, as Rajai Davis, Melky Cabrera, Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer all stepped up their productivity during their time in Detroit.

For the series, Davis batted 4-for-12 and the veteran had an especially notable Sunday, with two doubles and a triple, leading the Indians to a convincing 8-1 victory. He displayed prowess with his glove as well, making a couple of nice catches in center field. Davis also took time to acknowledge my praise on Twitter after the game, so if he hadn't already earned a fan for life after that home run, well he's definitely got my eternal support now.

Melky Cabrera went 4-for-9 over the series, which included his first home run of the season and his first as a member of the Indians. In the second inning of Sunday's game and just after the Tigers had tied the game at 1-1, the switch-hitter took a Jordan Zimmermann pitch over the right field wall, and the Tribe never looked back. Cabrera also made two outstanding catches in right field as well, both of them close to the wall. Since being recalled to the Indians, Cabrera has hit .407/.429/.593 (BA/OBP/SLG) in 28 plate appearances over eight games, whilst sharing right field duties with Brandon Guyer.

Speaking of Guyer, he had an important hit of his own this series, a pinch-hit 3-run homer on Saturday to give the Tribe some much-needed breathing room in their 8-3 win. In the top of the eighth inning the Indians were holding onto a slim 4-3 lead, when Guyer connected on a fastball low and inside, and drove the ball far over the left field fence to put the result beyond doubt. Guyer, the lefty-mashing specialist, is slashing .274/.391/.562 versus left-handers this year, with 5 home runs and 20 RBI.

Last but certainly not least is Michael Brantley, who went 5-for-14 against the Tigers, including a triple in Sunday's rubber game (which opened the scoring when Jose Ramirez brought Brantley home with a sac-fly). The ever-consistent left fielder is batting .302 this year over 93 games, with 12 home runs and 57 RBI, and a 117 OPS+. So far Brantley's health issues this year have been under control, and his reliable bat and plate discipline have combined to be the effective weapon we had hoped.

Obviously, one series against the lowly Tigers does not tell the entire story. It is not like all of Cleveland's outfield problems have miraculously disappeared just because a handful of guys had some good hits during the weekend. The front office is certainly smart enough to avoid getting carried away with this small sample of success, and the outfield situation is still alarming when you look at the bigger picture. Bradley Zimmer is out for the season and Lonnie Chisenhall might be joining him, plus Tyler Naquin will miss time with a hip issue.

There's no doubt the Indians should still be looking to upgrade their outfield before the trade deadline closes tomorrow, particularly in center field, and I made that clear in my last post. However, if the management's confidence in the current group continues to grow, and guys like Davis, Guyer and Cabrera can ride these hot streaks for a while longer, then perhaps the corners don't require as much attention as some might have previously thought.

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Some other brief talking points from Detroit:

• In the Indians' sole loss on Saturday, starter Mike Clevinger struggled through 5 innings and a sickness bug that had him drenched in sweat and unable to sleep the night before. Considering he was feeling so awful, his performance was admirable, giving up just 2 runs on the back of a JaCoby Jones 2-run shot that was enough for the Tigers to squeeze out a 2-1 win. Clevinger did rack up 8 strikeouts somehow, and it was a shame the offense couldn't support him.
• Yonder Alonso had a successful trip to the Motor City, crushing 2 home runs and collecting 5 RBI over 6 hits in 12 at-bats as he tormented the Tigers' pitchers. Alonso has been very impressive since the beginning of July, slashing .325/.386/.597 (BA/OBP/SLG) in 21 games, with 6 homers and 20 RBI, with a .984 OPS.
• Corey Kluber cruised to his 13th win of the year on Sunday, thanks largely to his ability to induce groundballs. Kluber was economical over 7.1 innings, getting 10 outs by letting his defense pick up the scraps. He had 5 strikeouts as well, and was keeping Detroit hitters off balance all afternoon. This was an encouraging performance from the Tribe ace, after the concerning performances in his other post-All Star appearances.

The Indians now travel to Minnesota for a three game set with the 48-56 Twins. If the Indians are able to leave Target Field with a series win or a sweep, it should be the final nail in the coffin for their AL Central rivals, essentially extinguishing any hopes they still had of catching the Tribe. Shane Bieber will take the mound for the Indians in Monday's first game, and he will face Ervin Santana, making just his second start of the year for Minnesota after finger surgery in February ruled him out for the first half of the season.

Tribe Tame Tigers, Sweep Series

The Cleveland Indians continued their winning ways this week with a sweep over their AL Central rivals, the Detroit Tigers. The boys from Motown had no answer for the Tribe's vaunted pitching staff, and could only muster 5 runs in total. The Indians' lineup did just enough to back their starters to begin the series, before finally breaking out as the week progressed. With this sweep the Indians have now won 11 consecutive games against Detroit.

We're going to have a look at some talking points from this series:

Offense Showing Signs Of Life

Cleveland took the first two games of the series solely off the back of the long ball. With the team struggling to manufacture much offense in the freezing conditions, thankfully home runs traveled just far enough to lead the the Indians to victory.

Center fielder Bradley Zimmer got things started with his 2-run blast in the fifth inning of Monday's game, and they proved to be the only runs in the Indians' 2-0 win.

Tuesday night saw home runs bookend the Tribe's 2-1 victory, with Jose Ramirez getting a solo-shot over the wall in the first inning, and Roberto Perez ending the contest with one of his own in the eighth inning.

The offense showed some semblance of returning to normal on Wednesday night, finally recording a game with total hits in double-digits, for the first time this season. Remarkably the hometown team hit no homers that night but chose to do it the old fashioned way, with singles and doubles instead.

Thursday night saw the team really come alive, especially our most important hitters. Francisco Lindor (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI), Jason Kipnis (3-for-4, double, 2 RBI), Jose Ramirez (1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI) and Michael Brantley (2-for-4, double, 1 RBI) all had key hits in the Tribe's 9-3 rout, and the team racked up 15 hits altogether.

Despite the offense as a whole starting the season slowly (with many of our guys possessing batting averages below .200), the visit of Detroit jolted them to life. As the temperature slowly climbed each day, the bats got hotter as well, and hopefully the lineup can carry this momentum forward.

Rotation Domination

The success of this series largely hinged on the stellar performances from the pitching staff, particularly the rotation.

Corey Kluber took the mound on Monday night and was phenomenal. He had a season-high 13 strikeouts over 8 shutout innings, limiting the Tigers to 2 paltry hits and a single walk. It's gotten to the point where I expect this sort of game from Kluber every time he pitches. He's a superstar in the body of a man not interested in that sort of acclaim.

Carlos Carrasco got the start on Wednesday and, having seen Kluber's impressive outing, decided he had to go one better. These two guys had their own private battle in 2017, to test who was the undisputed ace of this staff, and I think that battle will continue this year. Carrasco pitched a complete game with 6 strikeouts, 3 hits, 2 walks, and routinely displayed his vast array of great off-speed pitches. The only run he gave up was a consolation solo-homer to Leonys Martin in the sixth inning, as the Indians ran out 5-1 winners.

After three starts each to begin the season, Kluber sits with a 1-1 record, a 1.57 ERA, with 27 strikeouts over 23 innings, whereas Carrasco has a perfect 3-0 record, a 3.48 ERA, with 14 strikeouts over 21.1 innings. Win-loss records can be so cruel (and remember kids, not necessarily a good indication of performance.)

Josh Tomlin toed the rubber for his second start of the campaign on Tuesday and, after a dreadful first performance against the Angels last week, Tomlin began the long journey towards silencing his critics. Tomlin picked up a no-decision for his 5 innings of scoreless baseball, limiting Detroit to 4 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. Tomlin is no Kluber, obviously, but for the fifth starter, this was definitely an encouraging day at the office for the 33 year-old.

Finally, Trevor Bauer secured the sweep with another impressive display, pitching 7 strong innings to pick up his first win of the year. Bauer scattered 7 hits, for 2 earned runs, gave up 2 walks but struck out 7 Tigers. I've always considered Clayton Kershaw's curveball to be the most beautiful pitch in modern baseball, but Bauer's curve has got to run him close. It's a real weapon for the 27 year-old.

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The Indians will now play one more series at home, welcoming the Toronto Blue Jays to Progressive Field for a three-game set. Mike Clevinger pitches Friday night and will look to continue his fine start to 2018. He'll face off against Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman, who usually enjoys pitching against Cleveland (2.17 ERA in five games), but Stroman has struggled in cold conditions so far this season, and the temperature could affect him once again.

My First Major League Game

Just over two weeks ago I got married and for our honeymoon we journeyed to New York City. Despite my love for American sports, TV, movies, food and so much more, I had never been to the country before. So this was very much a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us, and naturally I had to fit in a ballgame. I gave my wife the options: Yankees or Mets (I wanted both but marriage is all about compromise). She's not much of a baseball fan so, understandably, she didn't really know who the Mets were, so she opted for the Yankees, "The Evil Empire." In my mind it was the preferred choice, so I was more than happy to book tickets to visit the Bronx.

I know what you're saying but hear me out first; as an Indians fan I'm supposed to hate the Yankees, but as a UK fan who never grew up around their apparently insufferable fanbase, I just don't have that hate for them like I'm supposed to. I'm also a big history nut, and the Yanks have perhaps the most storied history in all of sports, so I knew I was going to enjoy that aspect of our visit.

As we were going to be in the city for the first week of August, the only games the Yankees were playing at home were against the Tigers. We flew into JFK on 31 July, the first game of the series against Detroit, so I booked tickets for the Tuesday night game on 1 August. I had been tempted to get tickets for Wednesday's game, a 1pm contest, but I was very aware that, as pale English honeymooners unaccustomed to the New York City heat in August, we would be better off enjoying the cooler temperatures at night.

On the morning of the game we left our hotel and ventured into town for breakfast and to get familiar with our new surroundings. First pitch wasn't until 7pm but I wanted to get to the stadium early, as I often like to do when I see live sporting events. I like to soak in all the atmosphere, especially if it's my first time visiting a new stadium.

We caught the subway heading north and arrived in the Bronx on the D train around 4pm, and the gates didn't open for another hour. It was absolutely roasting in the sunshine so we hid in the shade, admiring the impressive exterior of Yankee Stadium.

We did a quick lap of the stadium and I paused for a photo outside of Gate 4. Before long we saw the lines start forming to get in at 5pm, so we got in the queue. The unrelenting sun cooked the crowd for close to 45 minutes, so once we got into the stadium the first thing we did was seek out water! We then took a few minutes to cool down before exploring. We also picked up free t-shirts upon entry, XXL white Yankees t-shirts with a giant green Vantelin sponsor on the back. They are so big I could pin them to a mast and sail back to America.

This was the view we were greeted to when we entered through Gate 6. Within minutes of the stadium being open, the right field porch was full of fans hoping to grab a toss-up or batting practice homer. For my first time in a baseball stadium it was quite a sight, that unbelievable green expanse filling my eyes, spreading everywhere I looked. And lots of Aaron Judge jerseys.

One of the things I looked forward to seeing most at Yankee Stadium was Monument Park, home of the most distinguished Yankees in history, so we headed there as soon as we could before it filled up quickly.

We got there pretty fast and it wasn't too busy, which was a bonus. Monument Park was everything I wanted it to be, home to some of the most legendary names in the game. I could have spent hours there.

One of the first plaques I saw that really caught my eye didn't actually belong to a Yankee. Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers legend, had a plaque on the wall that I didn't expect to see so I had to get a photo with it. I wrote my final year university dissertation on the man and his life has been an inspiration to me. I wasn't going to miss out on getting a pic!

We spent as long as possible in Monument Park, soaking in all of that history. We saw and read all of the plaques, including Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. I paid extra attention to the Joe DiMaggio monument. Of all the Yankee legends, DiMaggio is my favourite, and I have read nearly every book published on him. Its hard to explain my fandom for Joe, especially as he was reportedly a bit of an asshole, but of all the hall of famers from that era, he has resonated with me the most. Maybe it's his 1941 record-setting 56 game hitting streak, or maybe it's because he read Superman comics on roadtrips, I just like the dude so we spent a bit longer with his plaque. After we left Monument Park there is a small little store dedicated to the legends nearby, so I picked up a DiMaggio t-shirt.

We then began making our way to our seats, up, up and up. When I bought the tickets on StubHub months beforehand, it showed you what the view of the field is like, but I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect in reality. I had purchased 2 seats in the first row of section 425, in the infield grandstand overlooking third base. And when we got to our seats, I could not have been happier with the view.

Come on, that's what you call great seats! No obstructions in front of us at all, and for $15 a ticket!

It's safe to say we were pretty happy at this point. A quick comment on the caps of choice: of course I was going to rep the Indians! I saw nearly every team's cap represented at Yankee Stadium that day but I didn't see any other Tribe caps but my own. The wife had previously picked up a Yankees cap the night before, and it was a large part of the baseball experience she had been looking forward to the most, buying a cap for the ballgame and eating hot dogs. If I was forcing her to watch a baseball game on her honeymoon then she wanted the entire American pastime tradition.

Speaking of hot dogs, we decided to grab them before the game started. I didn't want to miss any of the action on the field waiting in line for food. I understand it's a bit of a contentious issue putting ketchup on your hot dog but I'm English, and I'll put ketchup on everything. So yeah, I probably ruined this hot dog in your opinion, but I loved it so whatever.

Soon enough the game got underway. The pitching match-up featured CC Sabathia taking on Anibal Sanchez. It was interesting getting to see Sabathia pitch, as he was one of the first Indians pitchers I learned about when I discovered baseball ten years ago, so it was fun to watch the 2007 AL Cy Young winner. Early in the game the jumbotron highlighted the famous people in the crowd and former New York Knick Amar'e Stoudemire was present. As was Oklahoma City Thunder's Paul George, who funnily enough attended the same showing of The Lion King on Broadway we went to the next day. Paul, if you're reading this (of course you are), we weren't stalking you, I promise.

I'm not going to recap every detail of the game, as it happened over a week ago and despite being an entertaining and closely contested game, a play-by-play list doesn't make for fun reading. Instead I've attached some videos below of moments during the game that really stood out to us:

Sabathia started the game well but ran into trouble in the second inning, getting tagged for a 3-run homer by Detroit's John Hicks. Down 3-0, this amazing play by second baseman Tyler Wade stopped the Tigers from putting together another rally. Dixon Machado hits it straight up the middle and Wade, playing the shift, somehow managed to contort himself in the air to make the play. The wife knew a great play when she saw one and clapped in appreciation with the rest of the stadium.

By this stage Sabathia had given up another home run, a solo-shot to Justin Upton, and things were starting to look bleak for the home side, down 4-0 now. Just prior to Didi Gregorius coming to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, I was telling the wife all about Yankee Stadium's famous short right field porch and how lefty batters can hook home runs into that corner. Up steps Didi who proceeded to do just that! I was really hoping we would get to see a home run in our first game (we saw three) but I was especially hoping we'd see a home run by the Yankees. It's a bit more special when the home team hits one out.

In the next inning Detroit were threatening again but third baseman Todd Frazier channeled his inner Brooks Robinson and made this incredible diving stop on a sharp Justin Upton groundball. The home fans around us were especially sweet on Frazier, a Jersey boy, and all rose in applause and recognition for an outstanding play.

As the game neared its end, the Yankees kept things interesting. The inning before saw Didi collect another RBI, his third of the night, to bring the Yanks within one run but reliever David Robertson had put Tigers on first and second in the top of the ninth. When Detroit right fielder Andrew Romine blooped a single into shallow center field, I thought for sure the game was over and the Yankees would not be able to come back from a multiple run deficit. But Brett Gardner charged in from center field, collected the ball on a single bounce and fired home, nailing the runner at home plate to end the inning. It was an awesome moment to see in person and really energized the crowd. 

Sadly the Yankees were unable to come back in the bottom of the ninth. They made it close, getting runners on second and third, but with two outs Clint Frazier could only pop up and the Tigers emerged victorious, running out 4-3 winners on the night.

The result did nothing to spoil our night however (I'm not a Yankees fan after all, even though I do dislike the Tigers). For my first ever game in the flesh, I enjoyed every minute of it, and saw some absolutely brilliant moments. I was actually surprised how fast the game went by, despite clocking in at 2 hours and 59 minutes. On TV the game feels a lot slower but in person I had no issues with the pace at all, in fact it flew by quite quickly. Even the wife had no issues, and I had previously warned her about it being a slow game. In 2012 I went to one of the Wembley NFL games in person and thought that to be much slower, and was quite bored by the end. Not so with baseball and thankfully the whole experience lived up to my expectations.

With my first live game in the books, I'm eager now to see more and hope I can get back to the States in the future to see another game soon. It'd be especially nice to see my Indians next time...

Tigers Tame Tribe & DL Disturbance

Apologies for my lack of words regarding the recent Mariners series win. I was away for the weekend on my stag-do (American readers, see bachelor party). Therefore I wasn't in the best condition to be writing about baseball, even if it was largely good, victorious Cleveland baseball.

The Indians traveled to Detroit this week to kick off a 10-game road trip and didn't get off to the best of starts, losing what should have been a four-game series by two games to one, thanks to a rainout on Thursday that reduced the series to three games. The sole victory came courtesy of Carlos Carrasco, who pitched 6 strong innings in a narrow 3-2 win on Wednesday night, and he was backed by a key Jose Ramirez triple that scored 2 of those runs. Let's look at some of the news items that cropped up over the course of the series.

Disabled List Dilemmas

On Tuesday the Indians placed outfielder Austin Jackson on the 10-day disabled list with a hyperextended big toe, and relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong was called up from Triple-A Columbus in his stead. The injury occurred in the ninth inning of Monday's 7-1 loss, as Jackson planted his left foot awkwardly on the first base bag after legging out an infield hit. He was clearly in some pain but thankfully it appears this injury is unrelated to Jackson's left knee surgery he had in June 2016, that ended his season.

I was slightly surprised Jackson's trip to the DL wasn't met with a like-for-like swap, with Tyler Naquin being the most obvious choice to take the open roster spot. That could still happen but we all know how Tito loves a stocked bullpen, so Armstrong got the call this time. The Tribe are currently carrying Michael Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall, Abraham Almonte and Brandon Guyer as their core outfielders, and Jose Ramirez can fill in if necessary, as could a couple of others if forced. It seems like the skipper is happy with his lot though and he might not want to interrupt Naquin's development in Columbus for what could be just a 10-day stint until Jackson's return.

So far this season Jackson has been platooned in center field, primarily facing left-handed pitchers, and is slashing .273/.368/.485 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 5 walks in 38 plate appearances.

Corey Kluber took the mound on Tuesday but exited after three innings due to some discomfort and tightness in his lower back, which has been causing him grief on and off all season. Outside of this rocky start in Detroit, Kluber had pitched at least 6 innings in every appearance this season but there have still been signs that he hasn't been operating at one hundred per cent. The amount of walks he's given up have been relatively high (13 in 37.1 innings) and his ability to induce weak contact from opposition hitters has been poor, with some stats suggesting he's been the worst in the league at doing so. He's also given up 7 home runs this year - that's already half of his season total (14 HR) from 2014, the year he won the AL Cy Young. It's clear he's not been his old self and the pain in his back is almost certainly why.

The Tribe's ace pitcher has now been officially placed on the 10-day disabled list, with reliever Joe Colon taking his spot to further reinforce the bullpen. To be honest, Kluber could benefit from a bit of time off. He had an incredibly intense 2016 season, throwing a total of 249.1 innings between the regular and post seasons. It's far better to rest him now and not risk further injury later down the road when the games become more slightly more important in a potential division race. Plus, he's likely to only miss one scheduled start, so could return in mid May to slot back into the rotation.

Mike Clevinger is the prime candidate to fill in on Sunday against the Royals, when Kluber was set to pitch next. However because of the rainout in Detroit tonight, he could now feature on Monday instead, against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Clevinger has been in fine form this season with a 1.50 ERA over his six starts down at Triple-A Columbus, with 32 strikeouts and 10 walks in 30 innings. He also pitched on Tuesday so is lined up perfectly to feature on schedule. With the Indians carrying so many bullpen arms at the moment, it's likely one of Armstrong or Colon will be swapped out for Clevinger, probably just prior to when he's required. I for one am looking forward to watching the big right-hander pitch for the Tribe once more, and hope he can impress, should he get the call-up.

The Indians Have An Elite Bullpen

The Tribe bullpen were called to arms this week against the Tigers and on the whole did a stellar job.

In Monday's opening game, starter Trevor Bauer was pounded early, giving up 5 runs in the first two innings alone. Somehow he managed to last four innings in total, giving up 7 hits, 7 runs, 5 walks, and struck out 3, and it was just an awful outing overall. "It was bad," Bauer said. "I didn't command the ball well, obviously." Yeah, no shit Trevor! Thankfully Zach McAllister and Dan Otero combined to pitch the rest of the game, and mopped up 4 collective innings of scoreless ball. It was an encouraging outing from the relief duo and prevented the 7-1 loss from looking even more lopsided.

Tuesday's second contest saw Shawn Armstrong, Nick Goody and Boone Logan combine for 5 shutout innings with no hits allowed after Kluber was forced from the game with his back injury. Despite the Indians losing the game 5-2, the trio of relievers kept the team in the game all the way. Special mention must go to Armstrong in particular, throwing 2.2 innings with 3 strikeouts, and making the most of his opportunity in the bigs.

In the third game Wednesday night we saw the Indians' top guys, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, who did not disappoint. Miller pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing just a single hit and striking out 4, allowing no runs as usual. Allen entered in the ninth and despite not letting the Tigers tag him for a hit, he did allow 2 walks to keep things interesting. Allen enjoyed teasing the Detroit faithful before he struck out outfielder Jim Adduci to seal the Tribe victory, and Allen's 7th save of 2017.

You could make a convincing argument that the Indians' bullpen is the strongest part of this team. The entire group have a 1.91 ERA with 96 strikeouts over 80 innings of relief. Miller has seen the most action thus far, 13.1 innings, and has yet to surrender a run and carries a 0.00 ERA. He is followed by Allen and Bryan Shaw, who each have 11 innings pitched. At the time of writing, the bullpen have gone 12 games (34.1 innings) without allowing an earned run. During that stretch they have struck out a whopping 48 hitters.

Overall I can't praise this Indians bullpen enough. They are doing everything a manager and a fanbase can ask of them.

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Because the final game against the Tigers has now been postponed the Indians will travel to Kansas City for a three game series at Kauffman Stadium. Danny Salazar will face off against Jason Hammel tomorrow night, and he has struggled for the Royals in 2017.

Thanks for reading.

Bats Still Silent, Detroit Drops Indians

The Tigers came into Cleveland over the Easter weekend and managed to take away a series victory, beating the Tribe two games to one. The series defeat capped off a disappointing homestand for the Indians, who are still struggling to put it all together since the sweep of Texas to open the season. They now sit with a 5-7 record.

Detroit took the first game on Friday night 7-6, despite the Indians' best attempts to make it close in the final innings (a Lonnie Chisenhall grand slam will help) but ultimately their comeback came up short. The Tribe lineup burst into action on Saturday though, annihilating Tigers' ace Justin Verlander in a lopsided 13-6 win, with Jose Ramirez having an especially good day (more on that later.) Sadly the hometown team couldn't win the rubber game on Sunday, as the Indians apparently used up all their runs the day before, and lost 4-1.

Let's look at a couple of talking points from the weekend's series:

Where Did You Go, Yan Gomes?

It's common knowledge in Cleveland that the Indians' Brazilian catcher has been in quite a slump, and it's lasted for over two years now. Nine games into his 2017 season, well lets just say it appears Gomes' problems at the plate haven't gone away just yet. He's currently batting just .067/.152/.167 (AVG/OBP/SLG); that's only 2 hits in 30 attempts. Fair enough Yan, one of them was a home run, but this is still a very bad start to an important season for the 29 year-old. With his backup Roberto Perez nipping at his heels and the impressive prospect Francisco Mejia on the rise, Gomes' days in Cleveland appear to be numbered and his time with the Indians might come to a close sooner rather than later if he doesn't find a way to turn things around. Despite being signed through to 2019, how long does the club endure Gomes' offensive struggles? That magical period between 2013-14 when he was the AL Silver Slugger suddenly feels like a long time ago and the current version of Gomes the Indians trot out there everyday looks like a shadow of his former self.

I've been a big Gomes supporter in the past but the odds of him recapturing some of his former glory look slim. It's still very early in the season, make no mistake about that, so there's time to turn it around yet. Thankfully he still calls an excellent game defensively but with the bat he's an awful mess right now. For his sake more than ours, I just hope he can start stringing together some hits before things turn ugly.

Carlos Carrasco - Ace In The Making

Corey Kluber is the definitive ace of the Indians' pitching staff and the former Cy Young award winner deserves his position at the top of the rotation. However an argument could be made that Carlos Carrasco is pitching as well, if not better than Kluber so far in 2017, and the Venezuelan right-hander may be on the cusp of earning ace status pretty soon.

Carrasco has been on the verge of making the leap for a couple of years but an odd injury here and there has stalled his progress and disrupted his momentum. Despite struggling with some swelling in his elbow this spring, the injury doesn't appear to have hindered him thus far.

In his three starts Carrasco has pitched 19.1 innings and given up just 5 earned runs while striking out 19 and walking 6, to the tune of a 2.33 ERA. No other Tribe starter has pitched as many innings so far this season, not even the ol' workhorse Kluber.

On Sunday Carrasco lasted 6.2 innings, scattering 4 hits for 2 earned runs. He struck out 5 Tigers but he gave up 5 walks as well, which was uncharacteristic but thankfully didn't come back to hurt him. The damage Detroit dealt to Carrasco came on a Alex Avila two-run homer in the second inning, on a fastball Carrasco mistakenly left right over the middle of the plate. After that blip Carrasco knuckled down and didn't let Detroit tag him again. However the Indians' offense couldn't provide their starter much run support and Carrasco was unfairly given the loss, despite pitching a good game.

It has long been remarked by both fans and scouts alike that Carrasco may possess the best stuff on the Indians staff. His split-finger can make opposition hitters look downright foolish and he mixes his fastball and slider to devastating effect. In fact Carrasco's slider has been called "one of the best pitches in baseball" by Baseball Prospectus. Is 2017 the year he finally puts it all together and qualifies himself as a bonafide ace? We won't know for a little while yet but he's certainly off to a good start.

Player Of The Series

Jose Ramirez wins the award this series, and by some margin. Over the course of the three game set Ramirez had 11 at-bats against Detroit and managed to collect 7 hits. It was on Saturday in particular when he really broke out, recording a hit in all 4 of his plate appearances. The dynamic 24 year-old Dominican hit 2 home runs for 6 RBI, and recorded a walk for good measure in the Indians' blowout win. Ramirez has been a fan favourite for a while now but he further cemented his place in my heart with this performance. His offensive output on Saturday catapulted my fantasy team from 9th to 2nd place in my 10 team mixed league. I am forever grateful Jose, and congratulations on winning the award for this series.

The Indians go on the road for their next seven games, beginning with a four game series in Minnesota. The Twins will likely start Kyle Gibson and the Indians will send out Danny Salazar for his third start of the season.

Thanks for reading.