The Indians have begun a long offseason in which they will try and compile a cost-effective group of new players to fill in several holes in the line-up. It's hard to know which direction the Indians will take going forward, but there are several name free agents that the Indians will likely target going forward. Here's a first look at those players...after the jump...
In Tony's second part to his two-part Tribe Happenings this week, he discusses the new approach the Indians have adopted to building their roster. There have been a lot of meetings over the past month and they have welcomed change, but will they put their new approach into motion or fall into old habits? Tony wonders about that, talks about how they have made significant changes in the past with their draft strategy that has worked, and also talks about how a Kevin Youkilis, Terry Francona and Indians marriage fits like a glove.
Social media has become a huge part of professional sports as it provides a quick, easy way for fans to follow their favorite teams and personalities. I thought it would be a good idea for all the Twitter users out there to have a listing of all the Indians' related Twitter accounts....everything from the front office to the Major League players to the minor league affiliates to the minor league players....so here you go.
The Indians traded Esmil Rogers to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, acquiring shortstop Mike Aviles and catcher/infielder Yan Gomes. The move wasn't earth-shattering by anyone's standards, but as a first trade in what should be an aggressive offseason for Chris Antonetti, it may be a sign as to the direction the front office will take. Check out the potential scenarios as Jim Pete analyzes...after the jump...
The offseason got started in a busy way with the Indians making a flurry of roster decisions last week. On Saturday they made their opening salvo in what is expected to be a busy offseason and traded Esmil Rogers to the Blue Jays for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes. Tony recaps the trade and gives lot of insight on the variety of things the move may mean for the club, and also discusses all the other roster and coaching decisions from earlier in the week.
The Cleveland Indians made their first move of the offseason Saturday as they acquired Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed reliever Esmil Rogers. Aviles appeared in 136 games for the Boston Red Sox last season and hit .250 with 13 home runs and 60 RBI.
The IPI's Steve Orbanek returns with the latest edition of his Winter Ball Notebook. Carlos Moncrief was removed from the taxi squad this week and should be performing regularly for the remainder of the AFL season. Plus, Steve touches on catcher Alex Monsalve and how he has started to heat up at the plate and first baseman Jesus Aguilar's surprising absence this past week in the VWL.
The IPI's Jim Piascik completes his final look at the Indians' roster in his year end quarterly rankings with the second half of his piece ranking the #1-24 players of the 48 that played in Cleveland this past season. Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Shin-Soo Choo, Vinnie Pestano and others are all key members to the team, and see where they as well as others rank after the jump.
The IPI's Jeff Ellis is hunkered down in New York City in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but that hasn't stopped him from looking at how the Indians can improve their roster this offseason. Earlier in the week he touched on President Mark Shapiro's use of WAR (wins above replacement) to evaluate the core players on the current roster, and this time around he looks at 12 free agents that the Indians might be able to sign this offseason using the same WAR approach.
It was a busy Halloween for the Indians as not only did they announce their 2013 Major League coaching staff and their decisions on the club options for Ubaldo Jimenez, Roberto Hernandez and Travis Hafner, but they also made three moves to clear space on the 40-man roster. See who was removed after the jump...
The Indians made a series of announcements on Wednesday afternoon as they made it official declining the club options for Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez and picking up the club option on Ubaldo Jimenez. That was not the only major announcement as they also released their complete 2013 Major League coaching staff. See all the new coaches and more after the jump...
Halloween is a day of celebrating for many every October 31st, and that isn't any different on the Corner of Carnegie and Ontario. While many are dressing up in their favorite costumes, carving pumpkins and eating candy corn, Tribe fans are busy egging enemy players' houses, and dodging SUV's. Join Jim Pete on this Halloween look at the Hot Stove League's unofficial start on the last day of October...
With the offseason officially here thanks to the Giants finishing off their sweep of the Tigers in the World Series last night, it is time to start tracking what the Indians do this offseason. IPI will be all over all the news and developments with the Indians this offseason on the trade and free agency market, and to help prepare for what is coming (or not coming) here is their current payroll and player control situation for the next six years.
Now that the Indians season is over - and the MLB season for that matter with the conclusion of the World Series last night - the IPI's Jim Piascik takes a final look at the Indians' roster in his quarterly rankings. In part one of two pieces that will post this week he takes a look at the bottom half of the 48 players that played and donned a Cleveland uniform this season.
This past week, Mark Shapiro gave a detailed interview in which he gave some insight into how he values free agent players with regards to the WAR statistic. This weekend, IPI's Jeff Ellis takes a detailed look at the current Indians' roster, and discusses who just might be a core player for the Indians future based on Shapiro's statements. Find out who they are, after the jump...
Tony chimes in with his weekly Tribe Happenings piece and this week discusses how much he has disliked the Indians' "what if" tagline the past two seasons and takes a look at key moments in Indians history over the last 20-25 years and looks at what if things would have ended up different. He also talks about the hiring of Mike Sarbaugh to new manager Terry Francona's staff and what it means and lots more!
The 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!
Roster Schedule Statistics Standings
