Cleveland Sports Forum

Buck 84, I hope this helps. I have won every fantasy league that TFIR was not in with me.

Wait a second. I have never been in a fantasy league that TFIR was not in.

Never mind !

buck - don't listen to him.

Both rusty and HB were really good fantasy players back when we did forum leagues. And Jim Lyle...well...loved that guy.

I still remember Surber making a trade and when he did he always said, "Dice are for rollin'"

Speaking of dice rolls:

Carlos Carrasco (elbow) participated in solo running drills on Saturday and is expected to play catch on Sunday.

Carrasco has been shut down due to elbow soreness but is expected to throw for the first time this weekend. If that goes well, he could progress to throwing bullpens and live batting practice in the coming weeks.

The 33-year-old veteran righty is virtually guaranteed to open the 2021 season on the injured list, but could be back quickly this spring.

FYI, Tom Verducci on MLB Network did a detailed video analysis of Gary Sanchez behind the plate vs. Roberto Perez.

He went on and on, showing examples, of how amazing Perez is. From framing, to blocking etc.

We have a genius behind the plate and he is making our pitching staff look even better than it is.

Sorry to see about Carrasco. Kluber seems healthy for the other NY team. Clevinger out for the year. Bauer never is hurt. except when playing with toys.

Cool site on Twitter for Tribe podcasts:


https://twitter.com/IndiansRadio

Keith Law forecasted 7 breakout candidates and our own Mr. Naylor was one:

Josh Naylor, OF, Cleveland

Naylor has been traded twice, suspended for injuring a teammate, transformed his body, and still won’t turn 24 until late June, but so far he hasn’t replicated his minor-league success in the majors. He’s better able to use his athleticism now that he’s improved his conditioning, and he should have a regular job in right field to start the year.

He rarely strikes out for a hitter with plus-plus raw power, but so far in limited major-league time, he hasn’t made enough hard contact for a hitter of his strength. He does have excellent patience and plate coverage, but some of this involves making better decisions on when to swing — laying off pitches low and away that he can reach but not hit hard, for example.

And some may just be a matter of a small sample. He’s more than strong enough to make consistent hard contact, getting that BABIP well up over .300, with a batting average in the .270-280 range and 20 homers.

Needless to say if Naylor does THAT he will be a relative superstar in our "low bar" outfield.

Nothing this spring has raised optimism on Naylor. Maybe we just save him for the post season. Although I am actually optimistic Josh will work out at least offensively.

Congratulations

Prior to the Indians’ matchup against the Rangers, Francona informed Trevor Stephan that he would be making the Opening Day roster.

“He's not a real vocal kid to begin with,” Francona said with a grin. “But he smiled. I asked if there was anybody he needed to call. He said, 'Yeah, my family,' so I said 'Well, go.' Because that's a pretty special moment for somebody.”

The Indians selected Stephan in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Stephan said that he knew there was a chance he’d be taken in the Draft since the Yankees left him unprotected, and he was excited to hear that Cleveland gave him an opportunity to make it to the big leagues.

Between Class A Advanced and Double-A in New York’s organization in 2019, Stephan pitched to a 4.73 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) with 91 strikeouts and 29 walks in 80 innings. But when he came to camp with the Indians this spring, he was put in the bullpen and has a 2.45 ERA with 10 strikeouts and two walks in his first 7 1/3 frames.

“This kid came in and we told him, we said, 'We Rule 5'd you because we like your arm,’” Francona said. “We kept him on our ballclub because we think he has poise. … There's a lot to like about this kid. He was good. He goes, 'I know this is just the beginning, I know I have a lot to prove.' It was just a fun message.”

Stephan was selected by the Yankees in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft. During his Minor League career, he was used as a starter, but Stephan said he’s enjoyed making the transition to the bullpen.

“Honestly, I like it more,” Stephan said. “It’s something I did in junior college a little bit and then got stretched out as a starter my junior year and through the first few years of pro ball. I’ve been enjoying going back to the 'pen. I feel like that’s where my strength is. It’s been a good fit.”

Stephan’s arsenal consists of a heater, slider and a splitter. He said that he also will occasionally throw in a curveball to “keep [the hitters] honest.” But one of the biggest perks of his move to the bullpen has been seeing an uptick in his fastball velocity.

“That’s just some stuff I worked on this offseason and I’m going to continue to keep staying on top of,” Stephan said. “I had a bunch of downtime in 2020 and just attacked different areas of my game and tried to just complete the picture and come out here and try to make a roster.”

No surprises here

Other roster moves
The Tribe also told infielders Owen Miller and Tyler Freeman and backstop Beau Taylor that they will not be making the Opening Day roster, but the trio will remain in big league camp. With COVID-19 protocols allowing teams to carry a taxi squad on road trips again in 2021, Taylor will likely travel frequently with the Tribe.

Freeman and Miller, both of whom had great showings this spring, will likely spend some time at multiple positions this season to make them as versatile as possible.

“We're not trying to turn them into utility players, we're just trying to have more doors open than just one,” Francona said. “I would put Tyler and Owen kind of in the same boat. They're a little different players, but they do a lot of similar things. Tyler plays shortstop and Owen doesn't. But we really like both of them.”

With Stephen winning a job, the bullpen has:

Clase, Karinchak Wittgren, Maton Stephen

Probably: Shaw and Plutko
Some lefty I assume: Perez or Nelson

That would mean Quantrill would be optioned out, which makes sense if he's not starting.
And Parker and Hembree may look elsewhere. And Gose goes for awhile anyway.

In case no one noticed, the savior brought in to fix our awful outfield production, E. Rosario, is stinking up the joint.

In case no one noticed, our back up catching is an automatic out.

In case no one noticed, Bauers can't help this team praying for a walk.

In case no one noticed, centerfield is a problem. Is Lofton still around?

In case no one noticed, Lebron James bought a minority share of the Boston Red Sox. Guess Dolan doesn't need the money.

Took a look at Rosario's spring training history:
2020 he was 120/120/200
2018 he was 171/194/286
Other springs he was far superior.
But regular season numbers are nearly constant; although a small gradual regression:

OPS last 4 years: 836-803-800-792

as for Bauers, he can't hit. He can walk. He can field. I remember some stiff we played at 1st base about 10 years ago who was similar [his father was a major league coach, but I forget the name.] We have an option this year in Bradley. Can't think of any good reason to send Bobby out again.
And if Bradley doesn't work out, move Naylor to 1st and go with Johnson in RF.