Cleveland Sports Forum

GM Chris Antonetti said Friday that the Indians have pitching coaches and a couple of front office people watching Bauer train at the Texas Baseball Ranch

I wonder if Bauer lets them make any suggestions?

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Jerry Crasnick

@jcrasnick


#Indians are close to bringing back 1B David Cooper on a major league deal. Made comeback from serious back injury in 2013.

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Buster Olney

@Buster_ESPN

Jason Hammel's price went up, so the Indians are looking elsewhere. Cleveland could wait longer to see what develops in starting pitching.

Indians, Orioles Have Shown Interest In Jason Hammel

By Steve Adams [December 9 at 1:34pm CST]


The Orioles have interest in bringing back Jason Hammel on a new contract, but probably only on an incentive-laden deal, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Indians have also shown interest in Hammel. However, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Hammel's asking price recently went up, which has caused the Indians to move on for the time being. That would also seem to throw a wrench into the Orioles' interest.

Hammel, 31, struggled through a flexor strain in his throwing elbow last season en route to a 4.97 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 40.1 percent ground-ball rate in 139 1/3 innings. Hammel looked to have turned a corner in 2012 when he pitched to a 3.43 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and a 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 118 innings for the O's. That flash of upside is likely the driving force behind most of the interest in him on this year's free agent market.

Indians Nearing Deal With David Cooper


By Steve Adams [December 9 at 12:52pm CST]


The Indians are closing in on a Major League deal with first baseman David Cooper, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

The 26-year-old Cooper was the 17th overall selection by the Blue Jays in the 2008 draft and began a comeback from injuries with the Indians' minor league affiliates in 2013. Cooper batted .314/.364/.373 in 55 PAs with the Tribe's Rookie league and Triple-A affilates last season. In parts of three Triple-A seasons, Cooper is a .341/.417/.525 batter. He batted .300/.324/.464 in 125 PAs with the Blue Jays in 2012.

Earlier this season, Crasnick profiled Cooper's career-threatening spinal injury that was alleviated by a radical thoracic spinal surgery.

The next Russ Canzler.

The Indians have talked to free agent closer Grant Balfour, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports.
Cleveland recently parted ways with closer Chris Perez and will likely bring in a new ninth-inning man for the 2014 season. Balfour has also been drawing interest from the Mariners, Tigers, Yankees, Rockies, Angels and Rays. He registered a 2.59 ERA and 72/27 K/BB ratio in 62 2/3 innings this past season for the Athletics.


Related: Indians
Source: Jon Morosi on Twitter Dec 9 - 3:07 PM

Indians signed 1B David Cooper to a one-year contract.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick was the first to report that a deal was close. Cooper appeared in just 13 minor league games (and no major league games) in 2013 due to a serious back issue, but the Indians like his potential and will have in camp next spring on a guaranteed deal. He'll presumably back up Nick Swisher at first base.


Source: Chris Cotillo on Twitter Dec 9 - 2:58 PM

He'll presumably back up Nick Swisher at first base.

He'll presumably play in Columbus.

What kind of $ for Balfour? More importantly, how many years?

Indians Willing To Listen On Justin Masterson

By Luke Adams [December 9 at 8:50pm CST]


The Indians are open to fielding Justin Masterson trade pitches, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Rosenthal reports that Cleveland will listen on Masterson, with the idea of targeting players that would remain under team control for more years.

Masterson, 28, enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in 2013, posting a 3.45 ERA and 9.1 K/9 in 32 outings (29 starts) for the Indians. However, he's entering his final arbitration-eligible season, meaning he'll likely earn between $9-10MM in 2014, based on Matt Swartz's projections. Masterson will also be eligible for free agency a year from now, so the Indians will have to decide soon whether or not he'll be part of the club's long-term plan.

Boy, if they can make a deal for Masterson like the CC and Lee deals, they'll be sitting pretty

Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez suffers thumb injury; sign 1B David Cooper


BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Infielder Jose Ramirez, who added speed and enthusiasm to the Indians during their stretch drive last season, is expected to undergo surgery on his left thumb Wednesday at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Thomas Graham would do the surgery.

"We're in the process of getting another opinion and seeing what we'll do at that point," said GM Chris Antonetti. "Surgery is an option, but we want to get a little bit more information before confirming that.

"In any event he's likely to be ready for the start of spring training."

If Ramirez needs surgery, he could miss eight to 10 weeks. Ramirez suffered the injury sliding into a base while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic while playing for Este. He was injured on Nov. 22.

Ramirez, 21, was hitting .287 (29-for-101) with eight doubles, one triple, seven RBI and 11 runs in 25 games at the time of the injury.

The Indians promoted Ramirez on Sept. 1 and he hit .333 (4-for-12) with one triple and five runs. He spent the bulk of the season at Class AA Akron where he hit .272 (131-for-482) with 78 runs, 16 doubles, six triples, three homers and 38 RBI in 113 games. He led the Eastern League with 38 steals in 54 attempts.

Ramirez, who made the Indians’ roster for their wild-card game against Tampa Bay, was expected to compete for a bench job this spring. The injury could change that.

New guy: The Indians have signed first baseman David Cooper for the second time in less than a year. This time they signed him to a big-league contract.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick was first to report the signing.

The Indians signed Cooper to a minor-league deal in August. When he didn’t get promoted to Cleveland later that month, he opted out of the deal.

"He'll come into spring training and compete for a spot," said Antonetti. "He can come in an compete for DH at-bats or at-bats off the bench. He's a guy we've liked for a long time and we had him in the organization last year."

If Cooper doesn't make the club, he still has options.

After signing with the Indians last year, the left-handed-hitting Cooper played six games for their Arizona Rookie League club and hit .440 (11-for-25) with five RBI. After being promoted to Class AAA Columbus, he hit .192 (5-for-26) with one RBI in seven games.

Cooper, 26, was Toronto’s No.1 pick in 2008. He is trying to rebound from major back surgery. In 2012, he hit .300 (42-fo-140) with 11 doubles, four homers and 11 RBI in 45 games. He started that season at Class AAA Las Vegas, hitting .314 (82-for-261) with 27 doubles, 10 homers and 52 RBI in 62 games before being promoted.

"It's impressive that he's back healthy," said Antonetti. "It was a complicated surgery to resolve the issues he had."

On sight: Free agent closer Chris Perez was at the winter meetings Monday looking for work. The Indians released Perez on Oct. 31 after a year filled with injury and off-the-field problems.

Perez has been linked to the Orioles, who need a closer after trading Jim Johnson to Oakland. Perez saved 25 games for the Indians.

Heard this: Charlie Manuel, who led the Phillies to two World Series before being fired last season, is looking to get back in the game.

Manuel, former Indians manager and hitting coach, would like to be a roving minor league hitting coach.

Hot corner update: The Carlos Santana experiment at third base is expected to start within the next two weeks.

Santana, who opened last season as the starting catcher only to lose the job to Yan Gomes, asked Antonetti and manager Terry Francona at the end of season if he could play third during the winter to give him a chance to stay on the field more next season.

"Carlos will start playing in a week to 10 days," said Antonetti. "He'll play third and DH."

Santana is scheduled to play for Escogido in the Dominican Republic.

The Indians have talked about signing a third catcher to back up Gomes, depending on how Santana plays at third. Kelly Shoppach and Lou Marson are possibilities.

"We'll see how things progress with Carlos, but at this point the vast majority of scenarios we've looked at have Carlos continuing to catch in a share role for us," said Antonetti.

Cleveland Indians gauging Justin Masterson's trade value, but nothing imminent


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Indians have talked to teams about what they could get for No.1 starter Justin Masterson in a trade, but nothing is imminent.

Right now, it’s more like a fact-finding mission. Masterson will be a free agent at the end of the 2014 season so the Indians are trying to gauge his value. Randy Rowley, Masterson’s agent, said last month that his client is willing to listen if the Indians want to discuss a multiyear offer, but he wanted to see how the free-agent pitching market developed.

The Indians talked to Masterson a couple of years ago about a multiyear deal, but nothing came of it.

Masterson, 28, is eligible for arbitration this winter. He could make close to $10 million after going 14-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 32 appearances, including 29 starts.

If the Indians did trade Masterson before the start of the season, depending on what they received in return, the starting rotation could be left in shambles. They lost free agent Scott Kazmir to the A’s and Ubaldo Jimenez is not expected to return.

The Indians acquired Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price from Boston on July 31, 2009 for Victor Martinez.

Free-agent market developing slowly for former Cleveland Indian Ubaldo Jimenez
Ubaldo Jimenez pitches the Indians to the playoffs.


BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Has anybody seen Ubaldo Jimenez, the guy who pitched the Indians into the postseason?

First he turned down a club option for 2014 worth $8 million. Then he declined a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Indians. When Jimenez hit the free agent market, he had to be thinking big money.

So far, there's been little, if any, free-agent buzz about the 6-5 right-hander, who went 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA in September to lead the Indians to the postseason for the first time since 2007.

What we have here might be a lesson in supply and demand, the nuts and bolts of free agency.

Twelve free agent starting pitchers have already signed, but there are some big-ticket guys still looking for work. Yes, that would be Ervin Santana, Matt Garza and Jimenez. Besides them, there are several more layers of free-agent starters, including Bronson Arroyo, Bartolo Colon, Bruce Chen, Joe Saunders, Jason Hammel and John Lannan.

As one general manager said Monday on the first day of the winter meetings, "There are seven or eight starting pitchers still out there. When there are that many options, the market is going to move slow."

Rumors have linked Jimenez to the Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Phillies, Mariners and Angels. But the rumors have been more like whispers. The Indians have remained in contact with his agent Diego Bentz of SFX Sports, but they could merely be playing a waiting game should Jimenez still be unsigned come spring training.

Signed on the dotted line

Here is a list of the free agent starting pitchers who have signed contracts this winter this winter:
Name Team Money Years
Ricky Nolasco Twins $49 million Four
Tim Lincecum Giants $35 million Two
Jason Vargas Royals $32 million Four
Scott Feldman Astros $30 million Three
Phil Hughes Twins $24 million Two
Tim Hudson Giants $23 million Two
Scott Kazmir Athletics $22 million Two
Hideki Kuroda* Yankees $16 million One
Dan Haren Dodgers $10 million One
Josh Johnson Padres $8 million One
Ryan Vogelsong Giants $5 million One
Felipo Paulino White Sox $1.75 million One

* Kuroda is the only pitcher to sign who received a qualifying offer, but since he re-signed with the Yankees, there is no draft compensation.

Jimenez picked the right time to pitch well. He went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 starts last season. After the All-Star break, he had a 1.82 ERA in 12 starts.

His ERA+ of 114, adjusted to Progressive Field, meant that the AL ERA was 14 percent higher than his. (An ERA+ over 100 is better than average and less than 100 is below average). That is a good thing.

Jimenez's inconsistency, however, could be making teams cautious. After the Indians acquired him from the Rockies on July 31, 2011, he went 13-21 with a 5.43 ERA in his next 42 starts through the end of the 2012 season.

His delivery is also a concern because it often resembles an accident waiting to happen.

"It's a tough call," said one scout. "He really pitched well last season, but he's got that delivery. The right guy (Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway) was able to reach out and touch him this year, but it's a tough one if you're going to spend $50 million or $60 million on him."

Whatever team signs Jimenez will have to forfeit a high draft pick because the Indians made him a qualifying offer. Draft pick compensation was part of the reason Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse didn't sign until after the start of spring training last season. The same thing could be happening to Jimenez and Santana, who received a qualifying offer from the Royals.

"The draft pick compensation affects every guy," said Phillies GM Ruben Amaro. "'It's part of the process, part of the agreed-upon process."

Amaro feels there is a strong market for Jimenez.

"He went out and performed this year," he said. "He kept his delivery under control and performed."

The Twins have already signed free agents Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes. After posting the highest ERA for a starting rotation in the big leagues last season, they are also reportedly negotiating with Arroyo.

When asked about the demand for Jimenez, Twins GM Terry Ryan said, "Like any free agent, if you're out there and you have talent, there's a market. He's talented and in the prime of his career."

Does that mean the Twins are interested?

"We're interested in pitching ... let's leave it at that," said Ryan.

For the right player, teams seem more than willing to give up a draft pick. The Indians did it twice last year, losing a second-round pick for signing Nick Swisher and a third-round pick for Bourn.

"Last year we were focused on trying to find the best guys to improve the team," said GM Chris Antonetti. "There were some guys we were willing to lose a draft pick for and some guys that we weren't."

The Indians didn't lose their first-round pick last year because they finished with one of the 10 worst records in the big leagues in 2012.

The Twins, Mariners, Phillies and Toronto are in that same situation this year. The Blue Jays, in fact, have two No.1 picks. So the market is out there for Jimenez, all it has to do is start percolating.