Tag Archives: Kevin Plawecki

Indians acquire Sandy Leon from Red Sox

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The Cleveland Indians have brought another catcher into the fold, acquiring Sandy Leon from the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

This is not going to shift things among the usual starters, but the backup catcher role appears to belong to a recently acquired individual. The Cleveland Indians have acquired Sandy Leon from the Boston Red Sox. Cleveland sent relief pitcher Adenys Bautista to Boston in return.

This points towards Kevin Plawcki being the odd man out in Cleveland. Roberto Perez is in no danger of losing his starting job, Perez is coming off a career year in 2019. Kevin Plawecki was exactly as advertised last season. Relatively uninspiring with a bat in his hand and more of defensive catcher than anything.

Like Plawecki, Sandy Leon is also uninspiring at the plate. Leon has a career slash line of .221/.283/.332 with an OPS of .615. Not an offensive juggernaut by any means. These numbers should actually be worse if not for his career year in 2016. Leon slashed .310/.369/.476/.845 in 2016 and that is clearly the exception of his career. Leon has not come close to that performance since.

Leon appears to be destined to be the backup catcher role in Cleveland. What this may say, whether intentional or not, is the front office may not be all that high on Eric Haase. Haase is someone who has some hitting ability, but the question with him is behind the plate. Haase has not been good in that regard and the acquisition of Leon reflects that. If Cleveland was sure Haase could fill the backup catcher role they would not have gone out and acquired Sandy Leon.

Indians slug three homers in win over Yankees

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The Cleveland Indians were able to win their second straight game over the New York Yankees thanks to seven unanswered runs.

Things did not initially look like they were going to the Indians way Saturday. Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius hit a two-run home run in the top of the first giving New York a 2-0 lead. Luckily the Indians rallied with seven unanswered runs to put things away by the sixth inning.

Jose Ramirez drove in Cleveland’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Carlos Santana scored on the play. Roberto Perez would follow with a game-tying double. In the fifth inning Francisco Lindor doubled with two outs to give Cleveland a run scoring opportunity. Oscar Mercado would follow with a two-run shot to give the Indians a 4-2 lead.

Jordan Luplow got things started in the sixth with a leadoff single. After a Jose Ramirez strikeout, Roberto Perez homered for his fourth consecutive game. With two outs in the inning Kevin Plawecki came through with a solo shot to give the Tribe a five run lead. Cleveland’s eighth and final run of the game came on a Plawecki sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

Adam Plutko pitched surprisingly well

Cleveland got quite the start out of Adam Plutko. Plutko looked to be in trouble early but was able to work his way deep into the game. Plutko allowed two runs on three hits while striking out four. This was a much improved performance when compared to his last start where Plutko was hit around rather easily. Tampa managed to score seven runs in just over five innings last week. Plutko rebounding with a performance like this against a potent New York lineup is encouraging.

Oliver Perez struggled in his one third of an inning. Perez allowed two runs in the seventh inning bringing New York’s run total to four. Adam Cimber followed and shut things down in the seventh inning. Nick Wittgren locked down the eighth inning and is credited with his seventh hold of the season. Although it was not a save situation Brad Hand came on in the ninth. Hand allowed one hit in the inning but was able to strikeout Giovanny Urshela to end the game.

Cleveland has already won the series and will go for the sweep Sunday at 1:10 P.M.

Indians offensively challenged catchers

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The Cleveland Indians catching combination of Roberto Perez and Kevin Plawecki is not necessarily an offensive juggernaut.

Even before the Cleveland Indians traded Yan Gomes the team did not have a proficient hitting catcher on the roster. Sure Gomes was able to put together the occasional season of good hitting, but he was far from consistent. Now with trading Gomes to Washington and acquiring Kevin Plawecki from the Mets the team is even less of a threat offensively from the catcher position.

Roberto Perez

First is returning Indians backstop Roberto Perez. Perez is a career .205 hitter who is known more for his defensive abilities behind the plate. Perez is excellent at calling games and throwing out baserunners. Any drastic improvement from Perez would come as a bit as a surprise, especially considering he is entering his age 30 season.

Roberto Perez’ career batting numbers (via Baseball-Reference)

Some of the lack of production is somewhat related to lack of oppurtunities. Although even with limited chances Perez did not produce all that much. If Perez was able to improve at the plate he would have been afforded more chances.

Kevein Plawecki

Former New York Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki is not necessarily a force at the plate either. Like Perez, Plawecki only saw time in a limited role. Plawecki is more of a defensive catcher, but his effectiveness in this area did drop in 2018.

Kevin Plawecki’s career batting numbers (via Baseball-Reference)

Plawecki is a career .218 hitter, while this is better than Perez it is still not great. It is possible that Plawecki turns things around in a better lineup and in a city with less media pressure than New York.

Eric Haase

Prior to the acquisition of Kevin Plawecki, Eric Haase appeared primed to make the Major League roster. The Indians traded Gomes and the team needed a backup catcher. Now with Plawecki in the mix it appears that Haase will spend the bulk of this season in Akron. Of course this is barring an injury or trade of either Plawecki or Roberto Perez.

Eric Haase’s career batting numbers (via Baseball-Reference)

While Haase only has a handful of appearances with the Indians, he has shown the ability to hit in the minors. It is possible that Haase makes the team as a part-time player. There is even the option to have Haase DH with Carlos Santana occupying first base and Jake Bauers in the outfield. However it is hard to imagine the Indians carrying three catchers on their roster, even if Haase is their DH. For the time being it appears that Cleveland will essentially punt offensive production from the catcher spot. That is unless Perez or Plawecki enjoys some sort of offensive explosion.