I'd start with he is so much better defensively then what we have. With the right second baseman (Kinsler type?) our infield defense would go up drastically.

Also, remember if they want to unload EE's salary they will have to take something on.

Also, the players loved that guy and he loved Cleveland. The Phils overpaid him to move on.

Also, his approach at the plate is much better then EE's. With EE's advancing age, his free swinging tendencies are less tolerable.

Lastly, EE is 36 in January, Santana is 32.

Just throwing stuff out there, not all of it applies obviously.

loufla wrote:to have 3 1b'man

Lol. I do the same and look at the team NOW after a trade.

The thing is, this is only part 1 of what is likely to be a significant upheaval this winter. The team will not look the same at the start of the season.

Mariners acquired DH Edwin Encarnacion and a compensatory Round B draft pick from the Indians as part of a three-team trade.

Cleveland is getting Carlos Santana from Seattle and Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay.

Yandy Diaz will go to the Rays along with minor league right-hander Cole Sulser. Seattle will receive the No. 77 overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, a competitive-balance pick, from the Tribe. It sounds like the Mariners are already working to flip Encarnacion, possibly to Tampa Bay.

Santana is said to be thrilled about heading back to Cleveland after spending one year with the Phillies, who dealt him to the Mariners earlier this month as part of the Jean Segura trade.

Indians acquired 1B/OF Jake Bauers from the Rays as part of a three-team trade.

Bauers made his major league debut this past year at age 22 and batted .201/.316/.384 with 11 home runs, 48 RBI, and six stolen bases over his first 96 big-league games.

He'll presumably play left field for the Indians, pending their other offseason moves. Bauers was ranked a top-70 prospect by multiple services leading into the 2018 campaign.

PS - I hope they move Alonso next now.

Rays acquired 3B Yandy Diaz from the Indians as part of a three-team trade.

Diaz is the centerpiece for Tampa Bay in this somewhat convoluted swap. The 27-year-old posted an impressive .312/.375/.422 batting line over 120 plate appearances with the Indians in 2018, though his defense at third base has been iffy at times and it's a little unclear at the moment how he fits into the Rays' plans for 2018.

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
1 hour ago
#Rays view Diaz as better bat than Bauers ...

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
23 minutes ago
Money exchanged in the three-team trade, per source:
$5M from #Rays to #Mariners.
$6M from #Mariners to #Indians.

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
11 minutes ago
For those asking why #Rays included $5M in three-team trade with #Indians and #Mariners: According to a source, TB views Diaz/Sulser as worth at least $5M more than Bauers.

- - - - - -

This the same crap as Gomes trade. Team is worse off. But ownership saves money.

Bottom line is the Indians are paying Santana exactly what they offered him last year.

Dont' see the team worse off as result of this trade. EE for Carlos is roughly a trade of equals except Carlos is a good defensive IB and is four years younger and walks more.
Diaz is 27 and is likely to hit for a high average and no power. Bauers is 23 and is likely to hit for low average and plenty of power. Throughout his minor league career his BB/K figures were impressive. Made his big league debut an only 22 and naturally he struggled. Bauers and Diaz are almost opposites of each other.
Sulser has never made a prospect list. Sorry to lose the competitive balance pick.

Bauers, 23, hit .201/.316/.384 (65-for-323) with 11 home runs and 48 RBI in 96 games for the Rays last season, his first career major league action. He was recalled from Triple-A Durham on June 7 and remained with the club for the remainder of the season. He was the youngest player to appear for the 2018 Rays, a team that featured 23 rookies. When he debuted at 22 years, 244 days, he was the youngest position player to appear in a game for the Rays since Wil Myers in 2013. He was selected by the San Diego Padres in the seventh round of the 2013 June Draft and was acquired by the Rays in a three-team trade in December 2014.

Prospect Rankings



Prospect Rating for Bauers:

Baseball America

Pre-2017 #70
Pre-2018 #45


Major League Baseball.com

Pre-2017 #75
Pre-2018 #64

Prospect ratings from Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com

That's not No. 45 on the Blue Jays it's no. 45 in the minors overall.

I actually remember Bauers in the minors and he was much more a process guy - like a Wally Joyner type 1B

The Rays may like Yandy better, fine, but that doesn't make it so. The Indians have an outstanding record at trading for prospects or very young players from other teams and doing very well.

I'm sure I don't have to list (Bauer, Santana, Kluber, Carrasco) them fully.

As for the money, this is December 13. I still want to see if that money goes where it should - towards a bigger bat - preferably in the outfield. Because I do think that's what the purpose of all the shuffling is. Being able to have affordable bigger bats.

(I do think they did like the fact that Bauers can play outfield, and Yandy can't)

Lack of offense is what ended up hurting them badly last year - and when J Ram went dry, it all crashed and burned.

Santana is a better fit for the playoffs. Get on base. EE is all or nothing. Funny, earlier in his career he was able to go the other way and be a more complete hitter - but I saw that become less and less common. And he swung at that down and away slider way too often. Manning frequently ragged on him about both those issues. And 36 is 36.

So again, most importantly, this is so early in the process I want to see where the savings go. A starting pitcher still has not moved.

One thing we hopefully can agree on - we may have our suspicions but ultimately we do NOT know where this is going.

Pre 2018, Bauers was rated the No. 1 prospect 1st baseman; old friend F. Mejia was rated No. 1 catcher.
His prospect grades were Hit: 55 Power: 55 Speed: 50 Field 55; Arm 45.

Described as much more effective at 1st base than in Left field and as having "the makings of a younger version of Joey Votto". "he has a pure stroke from the left side and has an advanced approach that led to 78 walks in 2017 good for second in the International League, at age 21. His willingness to wait for his pitch and ability to barrel the ball with his superior hand-eye coordination leads to a high on base pct. Solid avg bat speed generates raw but he has not shown consistently in game action. [note: as rookie, more than half his hits went for extra bases] Scouts believe he will generate plenty of extra base hits in the big leagues. He runs well and is intelligent on the bases."

civ ollilavad wrote:Pre 2018, Bauers was rated the No. 1 prospect 1st baseman; old friend F. Mejia was rated No. 1 catcher.
His prospect grades were Hit: 55 Power: 55 Speed: 50 Field 55; Arm 45.

Described as much more effective at 1st base than in Left field and as having "the makings of a younger version of Joey Votto". "he has a pure stroke from the left side and has an advanced approach that led to 78 walks in 2017 good for second in the International League, at age 21. His willingness to wait for his pitch and ability to barrel the ball with his superior hand-eye coordination leads to a high on base pct. Solid avg bat speed generates raw but he has not shown consistently in game action. [note: as rookie, more than half his hits went for extra bases] Scouts believe he will generate plenty of extra base hits in the big leagues. He runs well and is intelligent on the bases."

That is the Bauers I remember. He can do that. And he can play outfield.

comparison YD and JB on their ability to move around the bases:

In 3031 total pro plate appearances Bauers has 61 steals 33 caught steals. 45 grounded into double plays. [3 in 399 big league TAB[]
in 3236 total appearances including Cuba Diaz has 39 steals 27 times caught. 70 GIDP [11 in 299 big league TAB].

I'm a well known Yandy doubter. I hope he hits 300 for each of the next ten years. He could. But his lack of power and his lack of speed combined make him a guy I really don't have much faith in.