Re: General Discussion

10757
Lol, well that transaction doesn't get made without Bauers going our way. So there's that.

So ultimately the success of Bauers will dictate how much the trade helped or hurt.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain

Re: General Discussion

10760
From Ken Rosenthal:

Why the Indians are falling
To fully understand why the Indians are just two games above .500 in the woeful AL Central, consider the top-heavy nature of their roster, and how it was reflected in Fangraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) last season.

Six players — third baseman José Ramírez, shortstop Francisco Lindor and right-handed starters Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger — accounted for 36.3 of the team’s 50.4 fWAR (72 percent).

Now jump to this season.

After 40 games, those same six players are contributing less to a lesser club, combining for 3.2 fWAR of the team’s 5.9 fWAR (54.2 percent). The Indians’ position players as a group have produced -0.2 fWAR, which ranks next-to-last in the majors, ahead of only the Marlins. Ramírez is batting .193 with a .584 OPS. Lindor was out until April 20 with a strained right calf and left ankle sprain, and only in the past 10 days has started to get hot.

The Indians’ pitchers rank third in fWAR, behind only the Rays and Reds, thanks in part to the contributions from relievers Brad Hand, Nick Wittgren and Adam Cimber. But their starting pitching, even while fifth in the AL in ERA, remains in a tenuous state. Bauer and Shane Bieber are pitching well, but Carrasco’s ERA is 4.91 and Kluber and Clevinger are on the injured list.

Perhaps the Indians will get a jolt from the promotion of top outfield prospect Oscar Mercado, who was batting .294 with a .892 OPS at Triple A. But the team lost a number of important players in the offseason while making precious few upgrades. Their lack of depth left them vulnerable. And they are suffering for it.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain

Re: General Discussion

10766
An MRI revealed swelling behind Tyler Naquin's knee.
That's on top of the calf injury that sent him to the injured list earlier this week. Per manager Terry Francona, Naquin won't resume baseball activities for another two weeks. The 28-year-old has hit .278 with a homer, 10 RBI and three steals this season.

SOURCE: Mandy Bell on Twitter
May 16, 2019, 9:33 PM ET

Re: General Discussion

10769
Any coach will tell you the most important ability is availability. I wanted to give Naquin a good look but dude can’t stay on the field long enough to get a good look.

Two 1st round draft picks, Chisenhall and Naquin. And looks like we’ll end up having to let both go. That is a blow to a small market team, and major reason why our OF is weak now. Two big misses cause they can’t stay healthy.