Cleveland Sports Forum

By the time the month ended, Asdrubal had added more mixed data to the equation. He added 12 hits in his last 37 at bats, but no more homers and only 3 more RBI. Finished the month with a stat line of 242/304/462/765.


And added an 0-4 in the wild card featuring a bases loaded gidp on a weak swing; left another runner on 2nd with two outs; and two lead off outs including a K in the 9th.

Catcher Carlos Santana expects to start at third base for Cleveland Indians



Carlos Santana's days behind the plate may be numbered for the Indians. He'll go to spring training competing for the third base job. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)


Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group
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on January 22, 2014 at 6:00 AM, updated January 22, 2014 at 6:06 AM




CLEVELAND, Ohio –It appears that the Indians third base job will be an open competition beginning next month in spring training. The man in the middle of that competition could very well be former catcher Carlos Santana.

Santana recently told Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.com that if the regular season began tomorrow, he would expect to be the Tribe’s starting third baseman. Santana has been the team’s opening day catcher for the last three seasons.

“Right now, I see myself preparing to play third base, no other position,” Santana was quoted as saying. (All Santana’s quotes were translated from the Spanish version of the ESPN story).

GM Chris Antonetti doesn’t believe in handing out starting positions in January unless your last name is Masterson, Swisher or Kipnis. But he certainly didn’t act as if Santana was out of line for saying what he did after losing the starting catcher’s job to Yan Gomes in the second half of last season.

“We have not made a decision at third base,” said Antonetti. “That’s what spring training is for. But Carlos has gotten a tremendous head start due to the work he’s put in this offseason.

“It started with him working at our complex in the Dominican Republic with our coaches. And it transitioned into winter ball.”

Santana, playing for Leones del Escogido, made three errors in his first five games at third base. In his next 18 games, he made five. No doubt, that’s a lot of E5s and looks a lot his experience at the hot corner in 2006 in the minors with the Dodgers.

Perhaps the Indians are trying to get the attention of Lonnie Chisenhall, their reluctant third base prospect. Two years ago they brought Jack Hannahan to spring training to go head-to-head with Chisenhall and Hannahan ran away with the job. Last spring they handed the job to Chisenhall at the start of camp and that didn’t work either.

Could Santana be the Tribe’s latest attempt to unlock Chisenhall’s talent?

“I think Carlos has approached it that he wants to work as hard as he can to be the best third baseman he can be,” said Antonetti.

Antonetti hasn’t turned the race for third base into the Oklahoma land rush, but the field is getting crowded. Besides Chisenhall and Santana, utility man Mike Aviles played 56 games at third last year and free agent David Adams played 31 games there last season for the Yankees. Ryan Raburn is an emergency option as well.

“We feel good about our options there,” said Antonetti, when asked if third base was up for grabs. “We continue to believe in Lonnie Chisenhall and his potential. And Carlos can only enhance his impact on the team and our goal of becoming a better ball club.”

Santana and Chisenhall, a left-handed hitter, could platoon at third. Manager Terry Francona ended last season with a loose platoon of Aviles and Chisenhall at third.

In the ESPN Deportes article, Santana said that the Indians asked him to move to third base at the end of last season. Last month Antonetti said Santana volunteered to play third because he knew he wasn’t going to be the starting catcher this year.

"When Cleveland told me that they wanted me to play third base, I took a month to think about it before accepting,” said Santana. “I felt comfortable in (catching). I've played first base but never really felt comfortable.''

Said Antonetti, “Carlos is making a lot of progress at third. We’re still a couple of months away from making a decision.”

Last year Santana caught 84 games, DH’d 47 and played 29 at first.

Mike Sarbaugh, Indians big-league infield coach, spent a couple of days working with Santana in the Dominican Republic in December. Santana told ESPN Deportes that he’s been working daily with former big league third baseman Fernando Tatis.

“Cleveland will have the last word, but, as of now, I am only playing third base,” said Santana. “I am not ruling out, or putting aside, the idea of being a catcher -- I will have the equipment in my bag. But mentally and physically, I am preparing to play third base.''

Ramon Pena, Indians director of Latin America operations, told ESPN Deportes, “Carlos has played better every inning since the first day with the team. At the beginning, he was a little lost, but now nobody would believe that he's a new player at the position. He's a great athlete. He has a great arm. And each time he looks more confident. It's a question of getting used to it.''

Ando Vicente, Escogido’s manager, added, “If he continues his progress, in two or three years, he'll be one of the best third basemen in the majors.”

Source: Masahiro Tanaka to Yankees
Updated: January 22, 2014, 9:47 AM ET
ESPN.com news services



Masahiro Tanaka has decided to sign with the New York Yankees, a source confirmed to ESPN's Buster Olney.

Tanaka's deal with the Yankees is worth $155 million over seven years and includes an opt-out clause after the fourth year, according to the source.

Money talks, and bullshit walks.

Looks like Santana won't be reporting with the pitchers and catchers on Feb 11.

Reds Will Not Sign Grady Sizemore
By Edward Creech [January 22 at 2:03pm CST]

2:03pm: Sizemore appears to be set to sign with a club other than Cincinnati, a source tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona brings some sports sunshine to a cold day: Terry Pluto
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona spent part of Wednesday afternoon talking baseball. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)

on January 22, 2014 at 7:03 PM, updated January 22, 2014 at 7:33 PM


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I needed a break from all the angst and gnashing of teeth over the Browns' search for a head coach.

So I went to Terry Francona's press conference. There actually wasn't anything especially newsworthy about it. The Tribe manager was simply available to talk a little baseball.

OK, Francona did mention the Browns: "I was pissed that Coach Chud (Rob Chudzinski) got let go. I liked him."

Now, back to baseball. In this town where head coaches are fired so often, Francona happens to be the senior pro sports leader with one full year on the job. And I may add, that Francona also happens to be the American League Manager of the Year.

And his Indians did win 10 in a row to end last season.

And their final record was 92-70, giving them an appearance in the American League wild card game. The Tribe lost, 4-0, to Tampa Bay, a game that Francona still thinks about.

"It hurts," he said. "We played so well to get there …"

The Indians needed to win every one of those 10 games to reach the playoffs.

"I can't tell you how much (that game) stung," said Francona. "It's like the season came to a crashing halt."

He was excited to see Cleveland turn out in full Wahoo red, white and blue for that playoff game. He desperately wants to turn the town onto baseball. Making it to the next round of the playoffs would have helped in that area.

Nonetheless, just imagine if the Browns had finished 9-7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. That's what the Tribe did in 2013.

"(Last year), I wanted us to get to September with a chance to make a run at it," said Francona. "To see that team come together … you know how hard it is to win 10 in a row?"

Even more impressive, they did it when every game counted. Francona talked about coming to the park each day in September "tired and nervous … it's a great feeling."

The same for those who embraced the Tribe last season -- the game mattered. There was drama, 11 walk-off victories. Six times at home, the Tribe ended games with homers to win it.

"We're not the '27 Yankees," he said. "But if we play a clean game … and play good baseball … we can win."

Francona came to town with two World Series rings from Boston. But he was criticized after his 2011 Red Sox blew an eight-game lead in September and missed the playoffs. The manager will never say it, but he had to take satisfaction when his 2013 Tribe went 21-6 in September, roaring to a playoff berth.

No one is sure how the Tribe will finish this season. The roster isn't loaded with talent. The American League is strong.

But when you are around Francona, you know the team has a steady leader. The players know that he has the complete support of the front office.

The Tribe fanfest starts Friday. Pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear in only 19 days.

How's that for a sports town ready for some good news?

rusty2 wrote:Reds Will Not Sign Grady Sizemore
By Edward Creech [January 22 at 2:03pm CST]

2:03pm: Sizemore appears to be set to sign with a club other than Cincinnati, a source tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

Source: Red Sox agree to terms with OF Grady Sizemore
01.22.14 at 6:32 pm ET
By Rob Bradford and Alex Speier


According to multiple industry sources, the Red Sox have agreed to terms on a major league deal with outfielder Grady Sizemore. Sizemore will earn a $750,000 base salary with incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $6 million.

The former Indians three-time All-Star — who hit 33 homers and stole 38 bases in 2008 — last played in the majors in 2011, but has missed the past two years while recovering from knee microfracture surgery. When healthy, Sizemore was one of the pre-eminent five-tool players in the game, hitting .281/.372/.496 while averaging 27 homers and 29 steals a season from 2005-08. However, injuries have limited him to just 210 games in the last five years. When he last played in 2011 with the Indians, he hit .224/.285/.422 with 10 homers and no steals in 71 games. He also has a history with Sox manager John Farrell, who was an Indians assistant GM during Sizemore’s first five seasons (2002-06) in the Cleveland organization.

Still, if healthy, Sizemore makes considerable sense for a Sox team that was lacking center field depth behind Jackie Bradley Jr. and Shane Victorino. Utility men Justin Henry and Mike McCoy were slated to split center field duties in Pawtucket, and while the Sox view Bradley as being a player with a high ceiling and a long-term everyday option, he still has to prove that he is ready for such a role. Accordingly, per another industry source, Bradley will compete with Sizemore for the everyday center field job in spring training.

CLEVELAND -- The unbridled optimism of offseason chatter and, possibly, the confusion that comes from translations sans context created an unnecessarily strong proclamation in some corners that the Indians do, indeed, intend to use Carlos Santana as their primary third baseman this season.

"Right now, I see myself preparing to play third base, no other position," Santana was quoted as saying in an ESPN Deportes story translated from Spanish.

Of course, what Santana sees is nowhere near as important as what Terry Francona sees, and the Tribe skipper continued to couch all comments about Santana's immediate future with the caveat that Spring Training will go a long way toward settling the situation.

"I think I probably shouldn't read too much," Francona said Wednesday, "because every time I read something I get confused.

"Carlos offered to go play third base in winter ball [in the Dominican Republic], which we all thought was terrific. And it sounds like he's improving. But we don't need to make any kind of decisions today, nor will we at the beginning of Spring Training. But, if he can handle playing third -- some, a lot, little -- we'll see. That's all part of Spring Training. If he can handle it, it gives us another option with our middle-of-the-order bat."

That's really all that needs to be said right now.

By the Indians' officials, at least.

The rest of us can take this a step further and say the following:

They need this to work.

On some level, at least.

Francona needs Santana as a realistic option at the hot corner on more than just an "every third Sunday when it's raining and the cock crows three times" kind of basis. He needs him as an option on a somewhat consistent, if not everyday, basis, because that would provide a club that has established itself as very much bench-dependent the versatility it feeds on.

The lineup became the canvas upon which Francona did perhaps his best work in his Manager of the Year debut in the Progressive Field dugout, because it was where all his well-documented team-building, player-propping, culture-building strengths bore tangible fruit.

Francona eked every ounce of value out of the self-described "Goon Squad" (i.e., Jason Giambi, Mike Aviles, Ryan Raburn and Yan Gomes, with Gomes eventually graduating from the goons and into a starting role) through his expert ability to place them in the best possible position to be successful. It's a science that sometimes went beyond statistics ("You can't ever forget that they're people," Francona said), though one stat that stood out was that a Tribe team augmented by three switch-hitters batted with the platoon advantage 71 percent of the time in 2013, a Major League high.

If you don't think that narrative will remain of pivotal import in 2014, well, the Tribe's transaction tracker ought to convince you otherwise. David Murphy is the lone signing of significance from a position-player perspective, with hope held out that Jeff Francoeur or Nyjer Morgan will assert themselves this spring for a fifth outfielder spot that may or may not exist, depending on Giambi's status and what the Indians do with the backup-catcher slot (if it isn't Santana, then non-roster invitee Matt Treanor is one option, and perhaps Kelly Shoppach will be another).

In other words, the Indians' best shot at improving upon the American League's fourth-best run-production total from a season ago (production that tended to come in bunches, not streams) is going to have to come from within. That means improvement out of veterans Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, certainly, because another subpar season from that trio could make the Indians' overall success an unrepeatable feat. But it also means coaxing all possible projectable power out of the bat of Santana, who is their greatest middle-of-the-order weapon and is entering what ought to be his prime years.

Now, granted, maybe this is the year Lonnie Chisenhall blossoms. And the Indians obviously don't want to impede that. But Chisenhall, a first-round pick in 2008, simply hasn't materialized to this point, either with the bat or the glove (he might be like an Alex Gordon type who benefits from a position switch). And for a team counting on contention and in need of more offensive upside, especially with so many questions in a revamped rotation, patience is not always a virtue.

The simple truth is that the Indians are a weaker defensive team when Santana is behind the plate, and the wear and tear of the position is such that it's all too easy to assume his career slugging percentage (.446) is weaker than it would have been at another position.

The Indians' higher-ups long debated whether Santana's shortcomings behind the plate were a worthwhile trade for the better-than-average production he provided from that position and also whether he might become an even more reliable run-producer if they moved him to first base. But it wasn't until Gomes inserted himself into the conversation last spring that they actually had a better backstop option to force the issue.

Of course, by that point, Swisher was aboard, and so Santana, at just 27 years young, became a man without a position. In the throes of a playoff chase, this was not a particularly tough sell (though Santana, perhaps understandably, did a bit of pouting behind the scenes). In the quiet of winter, it's a different story, because now you're talking about a potentially permanent shift to DH for a guy who is young and talented enough to want more. And we don't yet have a large enough sample to know whether such a shift actually benefits him statistically (his 2013 OPS was lower in the DH role than it was at catcher or first base) or whether the over-analysis of each at-bat that accompanies a bat-only job will work to his detriment.

DH duty might sound like a sweet gig, but it's a drastically different sort of mental grind, and it's a job that Santana doesn't seem interested in exploring on anything other than a part-time basis, hence his volunteer duty down in the Dominican.

More pivotally, it isn't a recommended avenue in this era of roster construction. The long-awaited expiration of the Travis Hafner contract after 2012 lifted the shackles of a "traditional" DH situation and allowed the Indians the freedom of flexibility, upon which Francona capitalized in '13.

The reality of the roster indicates that Francona will need that flexibility again in the coming year. A hybrid catching situation doesn't seem constructive, given the inconsistency it could cause in the calling of the game and the controlling of the opposing running game. And with first base available on only a limited basis, an essentially all-DH solution is not ideal, given that it would limit Francona's ability to rotate and Santana's ability to be involved.

Granted, none of the above is even worthy of discussion if Santana is a train wreck at third. But by all accounts, that's not the case. At least, not in the low-profile platform of Dominican winter ball. And if we want to dumb down this conversation completely, we'll just say that if Miguel Cabrera can play third base for a World Series contender, anything goes.

But let's not dumb this down. Let's just state what ought to be obvious: The Indians will be a fundamentally better team if Santana sticks at the hot corner. As Francona's comments indicate, they don't want us to read too much into this experiment. But I do know they're quietly rooting for a positive result.

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

In the throes of a playoff chase, this was not a particularly tough sell (though Santana, perhaps understandably, did a bit of pouting behind the scenes).

The emergence of Gomes had to be tough for him. It DOES kind of explain his extreme desire to go to 3B though.

Cleveland Indians bring Charlie Nagy back home as pitching instructor

Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group

January 25, 2014 at 7:19 PM, updated January 25, 2014 at 8:14 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Charlie Nagy is back with the Indians.

After being fired as Arizona’s pitching coach at the end of last season, the Indians have hired Nagy. His role has yet to be defined, but that will come during a meeting with GM Chris Antonetti in spring training.

Nagy pitched for the Indians for parts of 13 years, going 129-103 from 1990 through 2002.

“I just recently signed on with the Tribe,” said Nagy. ”I’ll be in spring training and the role will be defined at some point as to what I’m going to do during the season.”

Nagy spent the last three years as Arizona’s pitching coach. He’s also been a pitching coach at the Class AAA level for the Angels and Indians. It’s believed Nagy will be a roving instructor in the Indians' minor-league system.

“It’s baseball. It’s what I know, It’s what I love to do,” said Nagy. “I told Chris I will do anything. I’ll rub up balls for you. I’ll catch bullpens.”

Nagy is attending Tribe Fest with his oldest daughter, Makaela, 15.

“It’s just a comforting feeling being back here,” said Nagy. “I was coming down the steps from the players' parking lot and I was thinking I spent a lot of years coming down these steps going to the family room.”

Nagy joined his former teammates Kenny Lofton and Jim Thome at Tribe Fest. After Thome talked to reporters, Nagy followed him to the podium. Nagy went to shake his hand, but Thome said, “I want a hug, not a handshake, from you.”

Nagy won 10 or more games in eight of his first nine full seasons with the Indians. He did so while pitching for some of the best offensive teams in franchise history. Asked the secret to his success, Nagy said, “Run production.”

In Arizona, Nagy worked with Trevor Bauer, the Diamondbacks' No.1 pick in 2011. The Indians acquired Bauer after the 2012 season and consider him one of the top pitchers in their system.

“Trevor is a great kid,” said Nagy. “He’s very smart. He has a great arm, great work ethic.

“The one spring training I was his catch partner," Nagy said of Bauer's celebrated warmup routine. "But I needed a cut-off man, though. I did the 500 feet, from foul pole to foul pole, with him. He threw it all the way, I threw it half the way.”

Nagy made his big-league debut in 1990. John McNamara was the Indians' manager.

“Johnny Mac thought my name was Steve my whole first season,” said Nagy, cracking a smile. “I guess there was a bowler named Steve Nagy. He’d say, “Way to go, Steve, and I’d give him the thumb's up sign.”

Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said Vinnie Pestano suffered an injury to his right elbow during last year's World Baseball Classic.
"I think some of that WBC injury really trained his arm to do something different than he's done in the past," Callaway said during Saturday's Tribe Fest. It was suspected that the WBC led to many of Pestano's issues on the mound last season, but this is the first time it's been acknowledged by a team official that he sustained an injury during the tournament. It explains why the 28-year-old went from being one of the game's best setup men to posting a 4.08 ERA and being demoted in July. With the injury behind him, Pestano should return to being an effective reliever in 2014.


Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer Jan 25 - 10:41 PM

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that extension talks between the Indians and Justin Masterson "have been shelved" while the sides work on a one-year deal.
Masterson's arbitration hearing is set for February 20, but the two sides are hoping to come to an agreement before then. However, it might be a tall task given that the $3.75 million gap between Masterson ($11.8 million) and the Indians ($8.05 million) is the largest of arbitration filings this winter. Both sides have said they're open to a long-term deal, but Hoynes writes that "it’s believed those talks have gained little, if any, traction." They'll now focus on hammering out a one-year pact prior to February 20.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer Jan 27 - 8:38 PM

Bauer, Salazar seek to grow as rotation-mates

By Teddy Cahill / MLB.com | 1/29/2014 1:15 P.M. ET

CLEVELAND --

As the Indians convened for Spring Training a year ago, Trevor Bauer was a subject of considerable attention. He had been acquired just a few months earlier as part of the three-team deal that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds.

But at the same time observers in Goodyear, Ariz., were carefully tracking Bauer's progress and marveling at his unconventional training methods, Danny Salazar toiled in relative anonymity.

Somewhere during the season, though, the two young right-handers switched roles. Salazar became the prospect to watch, and Bauer the project. It was Salazar who helped propel the Indians to the playoffs and was then tapped to start the American League Wild Card Game. It was Bauer who struggled to make the jump from Triple-A to the Major Leagues as he tried to overhaul his delivery.

Their offseasons have been as disparate as their seasons. Salazar was given a hero's welcome in his hometown. A parade was held in his honor, celebrating his ascent to the Majors. Bauer, meanwhile, retreated to the Texas Baseball Ranch to continue rebuilding his delivery, a process that had begun in Spring Training and frustrated him all season.

Now, as the 2014 season approaches, the Indians are counting on both Bauer and Salazar to help them build on last season's success. Though questions still surround both, they believe they are well positioned to do just that.

*****

Bauer traces his struggles to a groin injury sustained in 2012. Not only did the recovery cost him his typical offseason, it forced him to wonder why he had gotten hurt in the first place.

"I look at injury as, I got injured for a reason," Bauer said. "'Why did that break, why did I have pain there?' That's a process I've been going through my whole entire life."

After consulting with several advisers, Bauer came to the conclusion that an inefficiency in his mechanics was to blame, and he decided to alter his mechanics. But because of the injury, he wasn't able to begin the process until Spring Training, when he was also getting used to being back on the mound.

The timing wasn't ideal, and the results weren't always pretty, but Bauer pressed ahead with his adjustments as he began the season in Triple-A Columbus. The low point may have come on June 28, when he was called up to make a spot start in the first game of a doubleheader against the White Sox. He lasted just two-thirds of an inning and gave up five runs.

Bauer said starts like that one were the most difficult aspect of what he called his "worst year of baseball, ever."

"I can handle the personal part of it," he said. "I pitched well or I didn't pitch well, so it's a pretty linear process. But going out there and being called up to make a spot start and trying to help the team win and then not being able to perform was probably the toughest part of it."

Bauer spent the rest of the season in Columbus, trying to work through his mechanics and command issues, but he didn't have a breakthrough until the season ended and he was able to devote all of his attention to establishing his new delivery and creating muscle memory.

"It's just so hard to make any sort of mechanical change during the season because you can't throw a whole lot in between [starts], because you've got to make sure you're in the cycle for your start," he said. "Then, between all the good throws, you get in, you go out and pitch, and your body goes back to what it's been doing.

"Once I was able to work on what I wanted to work on for a month straight, everything went really quickly and fell into place, and I'm good to go."

The extent of the changes Bauer has made and the speed with which he implemented them impressed pitching coach Mickey Callaway, who has tracked Bauer's progress through video updates.

Callaway likes what he has seen and believes Bauer is positioned for a successful season.

"He does a very good job of thinking about the way he should work," Callaway said. "That's the reason he's been able to make those adjustments to get where he's at right now so quick. He went home, and he rested for two and a half weeks and started working on it. And now his mechanics have totally changed, and now he's right where we want him to be. Most guys can't do that."

*****

Salazar began his breakout season as the Opening Day starter for Double-A Akron. He quickly earned a promotion to Columbus and was in the Majors for good by early August. Once there, he pitched well enough to get the ball for the AL Wild Card Game.

Though Salazar took the loss that night, his introduction to the big leagues was a success. In 52 innings he posted a 3.12 ERA and a 65-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Catcher Yan Gomes said that Salazar's poise is what allowed him to make waves as a rookie. Now he is eager to see what the 24-year-old can do for an encore.

"It's kind of exciting to see that from a guy coming in for his first start to pitching in the playoffs," Gomes said. "It's going to be exciting to see what he can do with a full year."

Salazar is already hard at work to improve on last season. He reported to Goodyear on Jan. 12 and has been focused on keeping his fastball down in the zone and pitching to the corners of the strike zone more often.

After accomplishing so much so quickly, he wants to make sure he can carry it over to this season.

"Once you're in Triple-A and you come to the big leagues, you don't want to go back down, because everything is better up here," Salazar said. "So I just told myself I need to work harder to stay here."

*****

Salazar and Bauer share a mutual respect. Salazar admires the way Bauer mixes his pitches, and Bauer picked up a lot just by watching Salazar make the jump to the Major Leagues.

Those lessons should come in handy this spring as Bauer tries to win a rotation spot.

"There's some things I learned by watching, and there's some things I'm sure I learned that I don't even realize I learned," Bauer said. "I'll go through something and I'll go, 'I saw [Salazar] do this or I saw him do that,' and it'll help me out down the road. I try to watch and learn from every experience and everybody."

Both Bauer and Salazar laid the foundation for their future during their contrasting 2013 seasons. Now the Indians hope they are able to continue to grow together as rotation-mates for years to come.

Taste of big leagues leaves Cleveland Indians prospect Tyler Naquin hungry for more
By Paul Hoynes, Northeast Ohio Media Group


CLEVELAND, Ohio – The big-league life brushed against Tyler Naquin on Saturday night at Tribe Fest at Progressive Field.

The day was almost over and he was hungry. Naquin saw Indians Hall of Famer Kenny Lofton walk by and asked for a recommendation on where to eat.

“I said, “Lofton, do you know where a good steak place is?’ said Naquin, the Indians' No.1 pick in 2012. “He said “Come on Naquin, let’s get some steak.’ It was like I knew him for a couple of years.”

Naquin, Lofton and Michael Bourn went to Ken Stewart’s East Bank restaurant. If you’re into symbolism, it could have been a gathering of the Indians' past, present and future center fielders.

“People kept coming up to him, interrupting dinner,” said Naquin. “You could tell it kind of bothered him underneath, but he still greeted people. Still talked to people.

“What blew my mind is that these random fans were talking to him and he’d say, “By the way, this is Tyler Naquin.’ These people don’t know who I am. That’s Kenny Lofton and Michael Bourn. They have no clue who I am.

“But the fact that he went out of his way to introduce me, meant a lot.”

Later that night Naquin got a call from his father in Spring, Texas.

“He said, “How was your day,’ said Naquin. “I told him, “Dad, can I call you back, I’m eating steak with Kenny Lofton and Michael Bourn.’”

Tribe Fest ended Sunday, but Naquin is still in town taking part in the Indians winter development program. Getting a glimpse of the big leagues is part of the program. So is meeting manager Terry Francona, GM Chris Antonetti, President Mark Shapiro, the training staff and alumni such as Lofton.

“The players who come to the winter development program are the guys we think could help our big-league team this year,” said Ross Atkins, Indians director of player development. “There are 15 guys here. I bet five to seven could get called up this year.”

Naquin is a top of the order hitter. He played his college ball at Texas A&M and knows Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. There’s a chance Manziel could be the Browns' choice in the May draft.

“All the athletes used to work out together in the morning,” said Naquin. “I talked to him as a red-shirt freshman. He was like 5-11, 185 pounds. The next thing you know he’s scrambling with the Heisman Trophy on his shoulder.”

Last year, Naquin, 22, hit a combined .269 (142-for-528) with 30 doubles, six triples, 10 homers and 46 RBI at Class A Carolina and Class AA Akron. He scored 78 runs and stole 15 bases in 25 attempts.

Then he went to the Arizona Fall League and made a good impression. Naquin hit .339 (39-for-115) with four doubles, one triple, one homer and 18 RBI in 27 games for the Surprise Saguaros. Surprise won the AFL championship and Naquin was nominated for MVP.

The thing that impressed the Indians most is that starting in mid-season, he changed his batting stance and was successful.

“I worked with Alan Zinter (minor league hitting coordinator) and all the hitting coaches,” said Naquin. “When I came into pro ball, I had a real narrow stance, and they spread me out. I was straight up. I dove a lot and hit off my front foot a lot.

“I would get a lot of hits, but they weren’t solid hits. Finally, when I got to the Fall League, I just met it in the middle. I didn’t spread out too much; I didn’t get real narrow. ... I feel I’ve got a real solid foundation.”

In February, Naquin will report to big league camp with the Indians for the first time. He’s looking forward to it.

“Right now there are more thoughts in my head than words can express,” he said.