After the Cleveland Indians fell short of the postseason in 2011, they look to make moves that will put them back in position to lead the AL Central Division again in 2012, and this time, finish the season on top of the division.
Mounting injuries and inexperience, combined with a hot Detroit Tigers team, is what prevented the Indians from finishing in first to end the 2011 season. Already, the Cleveland Indians have made some moves for the upcoming 2012 season.
Two notable moves involving their roster from 2011 is that they picked up the $7 million club option on RHP Fausto Carmona and declined the $9 million club option on OF Grady Sizemore, instead opting to pay Sizemore a $500,000 buyout. Despite Carmona’s inconsistencies in 2011 that led to his being demoted from the #1 Opening Day starter to the #5 starter, he still has the ability to dominate and throw a gem from time to time. Combine that with a reasonable $7 million club option and the fact that young and promising RHP Carlos Carrasco is out for all of 2012 due to ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (a.k.a. “Tommy John” surgery), picking up Carmona’s option should not be a huge surprise for Indians’ fans. Carmona is projected to be the Cleveland Indians’ #4 starter in 2012.
Declining Sizemore’s option may come as a surprise for some Indians’ fans, but it really shouldn’t. Sizemore has really not been the same player he showed from 2005-2008, when he averaged around a .280 BA with 27 HR and 81 RBI. From 2009-2011, Sizemore has only played in 210 games, averaging around a .230 BA with 9 HR and 36 RBI. Sizemore’s injuries have played quite a toll on his offensive production. Even his defense in center field has not been as good as it was from 2005-2008 due to the injuries to his knees and elbow. Combine that with the Indians’ limited financial resources, and it was essentially a guarantee that Sizemore’s option would be declined.
The Indians tried to work out a deal with Sizemore’s agent, Joe Urbon of CAA Sports, to try to get Grady to sign a lower-priced deal with incentives to return to Cleveland, but Sizemore and his agent preferred to test the free agent market. While Sizemore is still a free agent, it is expected that a more risk-tolerant ballclub will offer him a one-year deal for around the $9 million Sizemore was expected to make this year, so his chances of returning to the Indians appear remote at this point. It’s likely the Indians will have to sign for a center fielder, trade for one (Tampa Bay OF B.J. Upton is most often mentioned), or move young OF Michael Brantley back to center field on a full-time basis to fill that gap.
The Indians have made one other significant move to this point, addressing a need to bolster their rotation, which most people felt they did by trading left-handed pitching prospect Chris Jones to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Major League veteran Derek Lowe. Lowe did not have the greatest season in 2011, only going 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA, along with 212 H, 70 BB, and 137 K in 187.0 IP. Still, his underlying statistics suggest that he should be a valuable innings eater, and being that the Cleveland Indians expect him to be their #5 starter, most see it as an upgrade for the Indians’ 2012 rotation. Lowe will also be one of the most veteran players on the Indians’ roster, as he is 38 years old and has been in the Major Leagues since 1997. Additionally, the Indians are only responsible for $5 million of Lowe’s $15 million salary, as the Braves are picking up the other $10 million.
The 2011 Cleveland Indians were known as an up-and-coming team that may be arriving a year earlier than expected, so much so that many experts are thinking that the 2012 Cleveland Indians could vie for a postseason berth. Many of their young players, such as SS Asdrubal Cabrera and C Carlos Santana, gained a valuable year of experience, much of it in a postseason race, which should aid them in staying consistent and productive throughout the entire 2012 season.
Veteran DH Travis Hafner returns, and is reportedly healthy. Hafner’s health has been a major problem over most of the past four seasons, but Hafner probably had his healthiest season since 2007 in 2011, and still showed that he can have a productive bat in the lineup, hitting .280/.361/.449 in 325 ABs. He will be the most experienced bat in the Indians’ predominantly young lineup in 2012; when he went down with an oblique injury in mid-2011, that is when the Indians started to slide in the standings, as the Indians could not make up for his veteran presence in the lineup. Having Hafner remain healthy throughout the 2012 season will be critical to the Indians’ postseason chances in 2012.
One other veteran hitter who will return in 2012 is OF-1B Shelley Duncan. Duncan only has 229 games of Major League experience, but has been around for five seasons and knows his role of being a pinch hitter and occasional starter against left-handed pitching. In addition, he performed well in limited duty in 2011, hitting .260/.324/.484 in 223 ABs. The Indians will need him to be productive again to boost their postseason chances in 2012.
With the addition of Lowe, the rotation should have more stability in it, as RHP Justin Masterson emerged as a potential ace in 2011 with a 12-10 record and a 3.21 ERA, along with 211 H, 65 BB, and 158 K in 216.0 IP. 2006 19th-round draft pick RHP Josh Tomlin also was a nice addition, as not much was expected of him, but he proceeded in his rookie season to go 12-7 with a 4.25 ERA, along with 157 H/21 BB/89 K in 165.1 IP. He’s slated to be the #3 starter in the 2012 Cleveland Indians’ rotation.
The biggest key to the 2012 Cleveland Indians’ rotation, though, may be the performance of RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, who was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rockies in July 2011 for top pitching prospects LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Alex White, along with RHP Joe Gardner and C-1B-OF Matt McBride. Jimenez was pretty erratic in his time with the Indians, as he looked like the ace many were expecting him to be at times, but looked pretty ordinary in other starts, with plenty of walks and instances where he fell behind in the count. Some believe that the fact he injured his thumb in Spring Training and then reinjured it in early April caused him to never get on track for the season, which could partly explain why he didn’t perform as well with Cleveland as expected. Getting him back to or closer to his first-half 2010 form, where Jimenez started the season 11-1 with a 0.93 ERA, will likely go a long way toward whether the Indians make the postseason in 2012 or not, as he is projected to be the Indians’ #2 starter.
The bullpen should have most of its 2011 main components, anchored by young RHP Chris Perez, whom the Indians acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for INF Mark DeRosa in 2009. Other young relievers like 2004 45th-round draft pick LHP Tony Sipp and 2006 20th-round draft pick RHP Vinnie Pestano should be key components of the bullpen. It’s possible some trades could occur regarding RHP Joe Smith and LHP Rafael Perez, both of whom are arbitration eligible and possibly could receive more money. If either or both are traded, bullpen pitching prospects LHP Nick Hagadone (acquired in the Victor Martinez trade with Boston in 2008), RHP Chen-Chang Lee (Taiwanese signing), RHP Zach Putnam (2008 5th-round draft pick), and RHP Josh Judy (2007 34th-round draft pick) will likely step in to fill the voids.
Offensively, noted position player prospects 2B Jason Kipnis (2009 2nd-round draft pick) and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (2008 1st-round draft pick) should be more attuned to what Major League pitchers are doing to get them out, which should help them to become more integral parts of the Cleveland Indians’ offense in 2012. The Indians could potentially get more help in 1B Beau Mills (2007 1st-round draft pick), who rebounded after two disappointing seasons in AA to reach AAA and post a line of .269/.326/.496 in 119 AAA ABs. This is made possible because 1B Matt LaPorta, acquired in the 2008 trade of LHP C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers, has been largely a disappointment offensively and defensively, likely relegating him to the bench for the Cleveland Indians in 2012. It’s also possible that the Indians may look to sign or trade for a first baseman to fill that hole. First baseman Derrek Lee has been mentioned as a possible target, being that he has many years of Major League experience, still is a solid offensive performer at first base, and has won three Gold Gloves at first base.
Speaking of defense, the Indians need to improve upon their defense for the 2012 season, especially since Masterson, Tomlin, and Carmona are all extreme groundball pitchers that rely on good defense to keep opposing offenses quiet. Even Jimenez and Lowe have shown above-average groundball tendencies, making the infield defense a priority for the Indians this offseason. While the 2011 Cleveland Indians started off well defensively, their defense seemed to slip during the middle to latter part of the season, which also partly explains why the team fell out of first place. The Indians are likely looking for a premium defensive center fielder as well, as reports indicate that the Indians prefer Brantley in left field, while they prefer Carrera as a fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield positions and not as a starting center fielder.
Indians’ manager Manny Acta has been praised for keeping his young players focused on playing hard each game, even when their postseason dreams were ended in early September 2011 after the Indians led the AL Central throughout the first half of the season. This is a major reason why the Cleveland Indians have already picked up Acta’s option to manage the Indians in 2013. Acta has also employed more hit-and-run plays to try to create more offense, which worked to varying degrees of success throughout the 2011 season. He even employed a squeeze play with rookie OF Ezequiel Carrera in his first Major League at-bat against the Cincinnati Reds in 2011, which worked because Carrera got his first Major League hit and RBI in the Indians’ 5-4 win over the Reds. It’s presumed that Acta will continue to remain aggressive in trying to create offense for his young Indians in the 2012 season.
Overall, the Cleveland Indians are continuing to mature as a ballclub as they try to take the next step toward reaching the postseason in 2012. Certainly, though, management has made it clear that the “window of opportunity” is now with the acquisitions of Jimenez and Lowe, so the Cleveland Indians will attempt to continue to develop and win at the same time in 2012. With better health and continued development, the Cleveland Indians should have a solid chance of challenging for and finishing on top in the AL Central in 2012.
