So it’s a bit obvious why I wasn’t interested in Reyes when rumor was we were talking to Padres. Hitting .105 for us so far, and striking out a lot. The comparison to Bradley was not meant as a knock on either of them, but still think it’s a good comparison.

He’s going to unload some big home runs for us. No doubt. But there are going to be a lot of games like last night where he hurts us too. He came up with 2 men on and no outs and struck out. Left 4 men on base for the night. We lose 1-0.

That’s why I prefer guys who make contact and get on base. Give me a Brantley type over a Reyes any day of the week. I don’t care if he does hit 2 or 3 times more homers in the end.

He’s pressing now, trying to impress the new team and fans. He has to start laying off that high fastball, that has just been ridiculous so far. He will and he’ll do better I know. But in the end you are going to get a low average, high strike out, high home run guy. Like Bradley. And you better not have too many of those guys in your lineup.

Hard to argue with that. That said though, they do NOT have guys like that in the lineup so it might fit just nicely.

As you said, he is pressing...pretty obviously. Jury is out. Puig is adjusting, but he is a vet who already had changed teams before.

By the way, Puig seems to be hanging with Jose in the dugout a lot.

And Reyes was what, 0 for 5 yesterday I think?

He hits a couple big homers this weekend and all will be forgotten.

Yeah HB I think he is batting 6th for a reason. No one expects him to be Nelson Cruz. But if he continues this season's normal progress and hits .250 with homers in the upper 30s as a right handed and very young hitter with room for growth everyone will take it.

As an article pointed out, guys like Puig and Franmil do force other teams to game plan for them. Unlike the other pretenders in there earlier. You still do not want to make a mistake to a beast like that. So that makes the other hitters better in that pitchers actually have to work. Like you said though, he needs to get off that diet of high fastballs. But I do think he's a young kid pressing. Shoot Jose Ramirez slumped for freaking 3+ months.

A blurb on Jose Ramirez:

Jose Ramirez may be heating up: The Indians swept the Rangers 2-0 and 5-1 in a doubleheader with Zach Plesac tossing six scoreless innings in the first game and Terry Francona using five relievers in a bullpen game in the second win. The big news, however, was Ramirez homering in both games. Ramirez had a sub-.600 OPS as late as June 16, a slump that went back to last August. Since then he has looked like the hitter who finished third in the MVP vote in 2017 and 2018: .311/.348/.646.

Ramirez is one of those extreme launch-angle guys, but he had the double whammy early on: too many pop flies and too many grounders. His breakdowns before and after June 17:

Before: 76 grounders, 59 fly balls, 53 line drives, 29 pop-ups
After: 44 grounders, 50 fly balls, 40 line drives, 12 pop-ups

He's also simply swinging and missing less -- 16.6% before and 9.4% since. His overall swing rate has remained at 43%, so it doesn't appear to be a change in aggressiveness or anything like that. Just fixed whatever was going on with his mechanics.

His slump ended after he returned from paternity leave.

So either that was weighing on his mind. Or he took advantage of the short break to pick up some medicine.

Ok this will sound like an excuse, and maybe it is, but perhaps Franmil isn't used to DHing and that's why he finally got some outfield action.

It is different and he was in the National League.

I was talking about Jose in previous post, but on Reyes, yes, that really could have had something to do with it. I’ve heard guys say that before. Even Santana has said before he hates DH’ing and thinks it messes with his hitting.

The interesting thing is that Franmil, for his size, seems pretty athletic. Maybe he could be serviceable out there.

As well, perhaps he can and will get used to DH only.

Now that Twins series is over Puig dropped his appeal. Will be gone for the 3 game BoSox series.

Kluber starting for Akron tonight.

Indians OF Puig becomes American citizen

Cleveland Indians outfielder Yasiel Puig, who defected from Cuba in 2012, became an American citizen on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old posted a photo on Twitter with the message: "Thank you God for this great opportunity to be an American citizen."

Puig's journey to the United States was long, dangerous and complicated. A star on the Cuban national team, he made four attempts to defect from Cuba before being successfully transported out of the country by an alien-smuggling-and-boat-theft ring with links to the Mexican cartel Los Zetas. He subsequently faced death threats and extortion attempts as a result of his escape.

He went to Mexico first, because if he had gone directly to the U.S., he would have been subject to the Major League Baseball draft. Puig established residency in Mexico, allowing him to negotiate a lucrative free-agent contract. Puig signed a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Dodgers in June 2012, a record for a Cuban defector. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December 2018 and came over to the Indians as part of a three-team deal on July 31.

A career .277 hitter with 131 home runs and 398 RBIs over seven seasons, Puig has gotten off to a good start with the Indians, hitting .357 with a home run and six RBIs in 11 games. He is currently serving a three-game suspension for his part in a brawl when he was with Cincinnati.

Puig is the fourth member of the Indians to become an American citizen this year, joining Carlos Santana, Oliver Perez and Hanley Ramirez, who was waived in April.

Hillbilly wrote:
Puig is the fourth member of the Indians to become an American citizen this year, joining Carlos Santana, Oliver Perez and Hanley Ramirez, who was waived in April.

OK, there has to be some sort of record book stat for this one.

Clipped this out of the Hoynsie article this morning:


Could Jason Kipnis still be wearing an Indians' uniform in 2020?
Hey, Hoynsie: Is it crazy to think that Jason Kipnis has played his way into the Tribe’s plans for next year? – Steve Cornelius, Rocky River.

Hey, Steve: Judging by the Indians’ track record with veteran players and club options, I’d say no. Kipnis’ option for 2020 is worth $16.5 million with a $2.5 million buyout.

The Indians will have a similar decision to make with Corey Kluber, whose club option for 2020 is worth $17.5 million.

Regardless of what happens, Kipnis is putting together a solid season that should help him as a free agent this winter. He’s hitting .255 (96-for-377) with 12 homers and 55 RBI. Since the All-Star break, he’s hitting 286 (34-for-119) with nine doubles five homers and 22 RBI in 31 games.

Free agency has not treated veteran players kindly over the last two years, but Kipnis has shown people so far this season that he still has value on both sides of the ball. It will be an interesting winter for him.

So the club could just cut ties with Kluber if they wanted.

But assuming he is fine in the last month or so, why not use the option then trade him? At least get something.

As for Kipnis, I wouldn't doubt they would take him back but at a very large discount. So that makes it unlikely.

Have to mention:

Carlos Carrasco (leukemia) took the first step in his return to action by throwing live batting practice to minor league hitters on Friday.

He threw 25 pitches to Single-A hitters and all went well. Carrasco wants to return to the big leagues this year but it remains to be seen if that is a realistic possibility. The Indians have not set a timetable for his recovery plan. If he feels good after this outing it is possible he could begin a rehab stint with a minor league affiliate soon.

SOURCE: MLB.com