Tag Archives: Mychal Givens

Indians interested in Mychal Givens

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The Cleveland Indians are looking to add an arm in their bullpen and are showing interest in Baltimore Orioles reliever Mychal Givens.

Mychal Givens is receiving interest from several teams. Cleveland is just one of five teams who are interested in his services. The other teams being the Phillies, Nationals, Braves and Dodgers.

While on the surface Mychal Givens has not had the best of season (4.23 ERA, 4.63 FIP) it is important to note the strikeouts per nine. In 38.1 innings Givens is averaging 12.2 strikeouts per nine. Brad Hand is the only reliever on the Indians with a higher strikeout rate (14.5). Mike Clevinger is the only pitcher besides Hand who strikes out more per nine than Givens. (13.8). All other pitchers on the Cleveland pitching staff average fewer than 11.4 strikeouts per nine.

In previous years Cleveland had players such as Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen who could be depended on for an entire inning. Now that those players are gone the only pitcher who fits that bill is Brad Hand. This means that the rest of the bullpen is put together on a game-by-game basis. There are some pitchers who get called on more often than others, but none are the quality that Shaw, Miller and Allen were. This means adding another pitcher to help the collective group will only help the Indians cause.

With so many teams showing interest in Mychal Givens it may be a bit difficult for the Tribe to acquire him. The Indians need to weigh their options when it comes to Givens. There will be plenty of arms available over the next week or so. It is important to not overpay for a reliever who is not a shut down guy. Mychal Givens is not 2016 Andrew Miller and should not cost that much. If that is what the asking price it may be best to move in another direction.

Players the Indians should target

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The trade deadline is fast approaching and every team in the hunt is looking to upgrade. Here are some targets for the Cleveland Indians.

Just what the Cleveland Indians will do before the trade deadline is up in the air. The team needs to continue winning in order to buy, but if they find themselves in a slump they could sell. If they do intend on buying here are a few players Cleveland could target.

Nicholas Castellanos

Nicholas Castellanos has not had the season he expected. His production is down in nearly every department and is a liability defensively. After the Castellanos and the Tigers failed to reach an agreement on an extension he essentially hit the trade block right then and there. Even with the down season and troubles in the field Cleveland should still target Castellanos. The Indians would add him to their current rotation of outfielders and give him some time as a designated hitter. Of course the price may be a bit steep considering Detroit is a division rival. Although Cleveland and Detroit did agree on a deal to send Leonys Martin to the Tribe last season.

Jorge Soler

Jorge Soler has taken some time to develop as a hitter but appears to have found his power stroke this season. Soler’s 25 home runs though 94 games is a career high and is nearly 40 percent of his career total. The only issue is that like many players Soler struggles in the batting average department and will strike out a lot. Considering the Indians are not exactly hitting home runs at a rapid pace it is worth exploring. The Indians still rank in the bottom third in baseball in regards to home runs. Adding someone like Soler could provide a bit more of a punch to an Indians lineup which can sometimes be a bit punchless. Like Castellanos, Soler is on a division rival. This could mean that Cleveland may have to pay a bit more than teams outside of the division to acquire Soler.

Mychal Givens

According to reports the Baltimore Orioles are listening to offers for reliever Mychal Givens. While the Indians have not been mentioned as a team that has reached out, they should. The Cleveland bullpen has performed well this season but struggled out of the gate after the All-Star Break. What must be considered when discussing the Tribe bullpen is that is a collection of arms rather than a few guys who can be depended on for any given situation. This is why adding more relievers may be the best move to make.

While Givens does not have the best ERA or WHIP this season (4.50 and 1.222 respectively), it is the strikeouts that matters. Givens averages 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. This would be the second-best mark among Indians relievers who have appeared in at least 20 games.

One last thing to consider with Givens. Only 13.3 percent of the runners inherited have scored this season. Only two relievers with more than 30 appearances have allowed less on the Indians this season (Brad Hand and Nick Wittgren have allowed zero). With other names such as Adam Cimber, Tyler Olson and Oliver Perez ranging from 16 percent to 40 percent this could really help things. Especially considering that Givens not only stands runners he inherits, he strikes batters out.