Tag Archives: Cleveland Indians

Indians sign Ty Boyles to minor league deal

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The Cleveland Indians have signed 24-year old left handed pitcher Ty Boyles to a minor league contract and will report to minor league camp.

The Cleveland Indians continue to adds pitching options into their organization. Their most recent signing? 24-year old left hander Ty Boyles. Boyles originally was a starter during his seven-year run with the Cincinnati Reds, but made a transition to relief pitcher last year.

Ty Boyles came out of the bullpen 47 times during the 2019 season. Boyles finished with a 4.36 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 66 innings of work with the Chattanooga Lookouts, Cincinnati’s AA affiliate.

Boyles did also spend some time in the Puerto Rican Winter League with Indios de Mayaugez. Things were not much better for Boyles in Puerto Rico. In 11 games Boyles had an ERA of 5.63 and a WHIP of 2.000. Boyle’s strikeouts were up while in Puerto Rico (from 8.7 in AA to 11.3 in Puerto Rico), but that may not be an accurate indicator of his stuff.

This could be a case of the Indians seeing something they like in Ty Boyles that may not being used properly. Sometimes all it takes is a different approach for a pitcher to take a step forward.

This could also be Cleveland taking a flier on a bullpen arm just because they can. Spring Training is the time of year that teams often just sign guys like Boyles to see what they have to offer. Sometimes they unearth a gem, other times there is still a reason they are available. Cleveland will find out soon enough under which category Boyles belongs to.

The Indians recently won their first game of Spring Training, a 9-5 win over Kansas City.

This Is Believeland Podcast: February 23, 2020

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This Is Believeland Podcast for February 23, 2020.

February 23, 2020 will go down as the weirdest day in Cleveland sports history. Before exactly what happened is discussed, a review of some other weird events takes place beforehand.

The weirdest day in Cleveland sports history by This Is Believeland

Carlos Carrasco listed as day-to-day

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The Cleveland Indians dodged a bullet as starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco does not have a serious injury and is listed as day-to-day.

This really had the feeling of a sky is falling moment. Carlos Carrasco experienced discomfort in his leg earlier this week during a workout. After testing it revealed a relatively minor injury. Carrasco has a mild strain of his right hip flexor and is listed as day-to-day.

While this will keep Carrasco idle for a few days, things could have been much worse. If the injury were to keep him out of action for a significant length of time the Indians would be without two of their top three starting pitchers. Mike Clevinger is already out for six-to-eight weeks with a tear of the medial meniscus in his left knee. Having to plug in two replacement pitchers would make the Indians margin for error non-existent. The team would have to play perfect baseball and that is pretty much impossible.

Carlos Carrasco should be fine moving forward and should be able to contribute to an Indians staff that really needs him. Cleveland dealt Corey Kluber in the offseason and expected Carrasco to help minimize his absence. At full strength the Indians rotation can be one of the best in baseball. They just need to stay healthy and avoid injuries. A task much easier said than done.

Carlos Carrasco to undergo testing for leg discomfort

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco is set to undergo testing after feeling some discomfort in his right leg during a workout.

Not the Indians news anyone wanted to hear. During a workout on Wednesday Carlos Carrasco felt discomfort in his right leg. Cookie will undergo testing to determine the severity of the injury on Friday.

Cleveland is already down one pitcher in Mike Clevinger. Clevinger suffered a tear of the medial meniscus in his left knee and underwent surgery. Clevinger’s return timetable is somewhere from six-to-eight weeks. If Carlos Carrasco has a serious issue with his knee that would put the Indians in quite a bind in regards to their pitching rotation. Being down two of their three starters will be a problem. Cleveland would be down to Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Adam Plutko and one of Logan Allen or Jefry Rodriguez in their rotation if Carrasco misses significant time.

While Cleveland has their fair share of options, having to use them is not ideal. In a perfect world Cleveland could pick which pitchers they want for their rotation. This seems to setting up to be fairly similar to last season. Having to rely on any arms that are available to them to pitch substantial innings. Luckily for Cleveland, they have pitching depth. The Indians can survive being without one or possibly two pitchers to start the year, it will just be difficult.

The first month of the season will be crucial for the Tribe

While Cleveland’s schedule early on is not all that grueling, a lackluster start could have a massive impact on other players on their team. If Cleveland is double-digit games behind Chicago or Minnesota, expect trades to happen. Unpopular ones. The most popular trade target? Francisco Lindor. Lindor is someone who has been prevalent in trade rumors for quite some time. Lindor’s projected large contract and the Indians reluctance to shell out that much money are not a great match which has led to trade speculation regarding the superstar shortstop for a considerable amount of time.

The injury to Mike Clevinger, the Indians early season schedule and Francisco Lindor was discussed on the This Is Believeland Podcast earlier this week.
Clev, Indians early season schedule and Frankie by This Is Believeland

Padres still interested in Francisco Lindor

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The San Diego Padres are persistent aren’t they? San Diego still has interest in acquiring shortstop Francisco Lindor.  Well they can get in line behind the others because Lindor is quite the commodity and will not come cheap. 

That last part matters here. Acquiring one of the best players in baseball will require parting ways with a lot of talent. Quality talent, something that the Padres have been relatively unwilling to do. It is also worth nothing that players of interest to Cleveland have already been sent elsewhere. Luis Urias was sent to Milwaukee and the duo of Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot are now in Tampa Bay. Wil Myers and some other players aren’t going to get it done, no matter how desperate the Padres are to move him. 

Cleveland has essentially shut down the trade rumors involving Francisco Lindor for the time being. Referred to as 99% false earlier this offseason. That will not stop the rumors from coming up from time to time. Especially since everyone can realize that the Tribe have literally zero margin for error this season. Other teams realize this and are trying to pounce and acquire Lindor before one of their rivals can.

Perhaps with both teams already having executed a trade last season it may lead to an extensive discussions. The deal that landed Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen in Cleveland allowed the Tribe to evaluate the Padres system quite thoroughly. If they really want Mr. Smile they better come with a “Godfather offer”. Anything else is just an insult. 

Unless the return is substantial a trade should not be expected anytime soon. No matter how much the Padres want to acquire Francisco Lindor.

Indians: Greg Allen or Delino DeShields?

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The Cleveland Indians will have a decision in regards to two similar outfielders and who will make the team. Will it be Greg Allen or Delino DeShields?

There are only so many outfield spots on the roster and the Cleveland Indians need to address them carefully. There are corner outfield spots up for grabs and the reserve outfielder role also seems to be available. Cleveland has two very similar players to choose from in Greg Allen and Delino DeShields. Neither player is inspiring at the plate, although DeShields is a better defender.

The advantage Greg Allen has here is that he is a switch-hitter. With the current outfield having plenty of right handed outfielders, this could be a deciding factor. This group includes Franmil Reyes, Domingo Santana, Oscar Mercado, and Jordan Luplow. There are a few left handed options on the roster, but their roster status is also questionable. Jake Bauers and Bradley Zimmer highlight the left handers who could make the team out of spring training. Having a switch-hitter in the mix would give Cleveland the flexibility to adapt their lineup as needed.

The team has plenty of right handed options to begin with. If Allen does not make the roster and Delino DeShields does, that puts Cleveland in a tough spot. With some combination of Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana all hitting in the top four spots in the lineup, that leaves a lot of righties afterward. In addition to all of their outfielders, Roberto Perez is also a righty, as are Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo. With the lack of lefties it would make some bit of sense to have another switch-hitter in the mix. The last thing the team needs is to be in a situation with multiple righties in a row and their opponent going to their best right handed reliever.

So which one will it be, Greg Allen or Delino DeShields?

The determining factor here could very well be whether or not their pure left handed outfield options are able to produce. If the Indians determine that Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer, and Daniel Johnson are not necessarily in the best position to help the team right now, going with Greg Allen seems like a likely move only because he is a switch-hitter. It is also worth noting that Allen is better when facing right handed pitching than left handed pitching. If Terry Francona is looking to play the matchup game then Allen is a superior option against right handers when compared to DeShields.

It really seems like the decision between these two will ultimately be determined by other decisions made beforehand. This is more of a secondary group that needs to be addressed. Once Cleveland sets their starters, the team will make a decision of who they prefer. Greg Allen or Delino DeShields.

Indians designate Andrew Velazquez for assignment

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In order to make room the newly signed Domingo Santana, the Cleveland Indians have designated infielder Andrew Velazquez for assingment.

The Cleveland Indians needed to make room on their 40-man roster and they have done just that. Andrew Velazquez has been designated for assignment after the signing of Domingo Santana became official.

This roster move is not entirely surprising. The fact Andrew Velazquez was still on the roster was the surprising part in all of this. Cleveland had to make room for the more productive Domingo Santana at a position of need, outfield. Cleveland does not necessarily need someone like Velazquez at this time. Cesar Hernandez will be Cleveland’s staring second baseman and the Tribe need to evaluate all of their options in the outfield. This left Velazquez as the odd man out and obvious DFA candidate.

Velazquez does not have much value and is far from a productive hitter. The 25-year old infielder has appeared in 28 career games in MLB has struggled at the plate. Veleazuez has a .152/.222/.242/.465 slash line in 36 plate appearances. Of his five total hits, three are doubles.

Velazquez has a better track record in the minors, a .270/.333/.396/.729 slash line with 105 doubles, 43 triples, and 40 home runs. While Andrew Velazquez has hit in the minors, there is no guarantee that it will translate to the Major League level.

Mike Clevinger to undergo surgery

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The Cleveland Indians got some bad news Friday. Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger will undergo surgery due to a meniscus injury.

This is not the type of news that the Cleveland Indians and their fans wanted to hear today. On the same day the signing of Domingo Santana was made official, it was announced that Mike Clevinger has a left meniscus injury which will require surgery.

The injury is a partial tear of his left meniscus and there is not yet a timetable for his return.

Cleveland is already entering the season without two of their starters from last season. Trevor Bauer was part of a three-team deal with Cincinnati and San Diego before the trade deadline last season. Corey Kluber was part of a trade that had Delino DeShields and Emmanuel Claase coming to Cleveland from Texas. Removing another starting pitcher from the equation will make things just a bit more difficult.

Most assumed that Mike Clevinger would be Cleveland’s Opening Day starter. Clevinger is arguably Cleveland’s best starter at this moment in time. Clevinger’s performance in recent years led to the decisions to trade some of their other starters. Being without someone they were going to depend on will make things more difficult for the Indians.

As it stands now, Cleveland will have Shane Bieber and Carlos Carrasco as the only mortal locks for the rotation. Other options include Adam Plutko, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac and Jefry Rodriguez. Bubble guys such as Plutko, Plesac and Rodriguez may have an opportunity to crack the Opening Day roster.

Mike Clevinger will obviously miss Opening Day and perhaps several weeks after that. The Indians cannot afford a slow start with the Twins and White Sox having an aggressive approach in free agency and the trade market. Cleveland is going to have to weather the storm without Mike Clevinger and have to make sure they do not fall too far behind Minnesota and Chicago during the first month of the season. A division cannot be won in March/April, but it sure as hell can be lost.