Finally. Baseball is here. I know, I know, its not Opening Day, but today is the day that the Cleveland Indians’ pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear, Arizona to begin their work. Unlike last February, there are expectations attached to this particular Indians team. They are no longer going to be sneaking up on anybody. Once Terry Francona took over, the culture change took immediate effect. We are no longer “hoping” for a winning team, we “expect” one here in Cleveland. And that’s the way it should be.
Francona and his staff are back and will begin building up and evaluating the pitching staff this morning under the bright Arizona sun. It certainly beats being in Cleveland right now. With camp opening up, let us set the scene with the most important part of any baseball team—the pitching staff.
1. Will Ubaldo Jimenez somehow return to the top of the rotation? In a word – No. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported yesterday that it has been “weeks” since the Indians and Ubaldo’s agents have been in contact. While he lingers on the open market into mid-February, the Indians seem to be maxed out on where they want to go in terms of payroll. Jimenez could wind up in Toronto in the upcoming weeks. There has also been some chatter that the Wahoos are looking at fellow free agent starter without a home Ervin Santana. I just don’t see that happening, especially when you consider they would lose their first round pick, No. 22 overall, if they were to sign Santana.
2. So what will the rotation look like? Justin Masterson is locked in as the number one starter. He will be followed by Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Zach McAllister, barring injury. The final spot in the rotation will be a battle between Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, Trevor Bauer, and Shawn Marcum.
Masterson is coming into a pivotal year. He is a free agent after the 2014 season and the Indians haven’t come close on extending him. Like Jimenez last season, Justin is pitching for big money and has a lot to prove. The Wahoos should reap the benefits. The key to the entire season may be just how good Salazar can be. If he can turn himself into an instant star, the loss of Jimenez won’t be nearly as great. McAllister will need to stay healthy as there may not be a Scott Kazmir or Kluber to bail the Indians out. Which brings us to….
3. Can Kluber build on his out of nowhere 2013 season? That is another huge question. Nobody had the strike-throwing right-hander being more than anything more than AAA rotation filler. Instead, he was a season saver before a finger injury derailed him. Remember the Brett Myers experience? Kluber made us all forget he was even there. I know, there are a lot of “ifs” here, but if Kluber and Salazar both make that leap, the Indians could be in business.
4. What exactly will happen with the fifth spot? Talk about a group with question marks. Can pitching coach Mickey Calloway work his magic with Carrasco the way he did with Jimenez? Will Bauer’s new mechanics finally help him take that next step to become worthy of that number three overall pick that he was not too long ago? Will Marcum overcome his health issues and turn himself into the 2014 Kazmir? Will Tomlin’s control mastery be too tantalizing for Francona and Calloway to pass him over? It seems as though the organization wants Carrasco to be the guy, but as we have learned with Carlos, you just never know.
5. Is there another potential Salazar in the organization that most don’t know about yet? If you are looking for a prospect on the come, watch out for Cody Anderson. The 23-year old has power stuff and was named the Tribe’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2013. The brass loves his mental makeup. Anderson spent most of last season in High-A Carolina, but made three late season starts in Akron.
6. Will John Axford be the answer in the closer role? GM Chris Antonetti did not want to pay big money for one of the top free agent closers (i.e. Grant Balfour, Fernando Rodney, Joaquin Benoit) after Joe Nathan, who signed with Detroit. Instead of giving the job to one of the two in-house candidates in Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw, Kid Chris turned to the former Brewers closer on a one-year, $4.5 million deal. It was a calculated risk as Axford is under team control for three more seasons. If he is a failure, the Indians can non-tender him and walk away after one. Should Axford regain his top form, the Wahoos have a plethora of options. The beauty of bringing him in is the fact that the roles of the other key relievers remain unchanged.
7. With the former three-headed monster deposed, how is the back-end going to shake out? If we have learned anything here in the last ten years, it is that bullpens are impossible to maintain and for that matter, to predict. The Chris Perez-Vinnie Pestano-Joe Smith back-end was a gem for two and a half seasons, but in 2013, cracks in the facade began to show. Perez crumbled under the pressure of some brutally timed blown saves and wore out his welcome. He is now a Los Angeles Dodgers middle reliever. Pestano, the man who was supposed to succeed Perez as closer, injured himself during the World Baseball Classic (something he finally copped to a few weeks ago) and spent 2013 trying to find himself. Smith, the Indians most dependable reliever, netted himself three years and $16.5 million in Anaheim with the Los Angeles Angels.
Antonetti was able to maneuver enough pieces around and we saw the future in September as the Indians made their run to the playoffs. Shaw and Allen became the new Smith and Pestano, while trade deadline acquisition Marc Rzepcynski stabilized the left-handed side. These three will be Axford’s primary set up men. Josh Outman, a matchup lefty who came over from Colorado for outfielder Drew Stubbs, will pair with Rzepcynski as a true left on left specialist. And that is where the fun begins.
8. Who will round out the pen in middle and long relief? As the always do, the Indians brass has attempted to mix their prospects with some lottery ticket veterans they hope can pan out or emerge. We all know Francona loves as many options in his pen as he can have. This year he has no shortage of guys fighting for two or three spots. Carrasco could take one of those slots as a long reliever, considering he is out of options. Tomlin could be in line as a ling man as well. That leaves one or two jobs to be won.
They would love for Pestano to be one of those guys. A year ago at this time he was touted as one of the best set up men in the game. Now he has to fight just to make the Indians. C.C. Lee is a guy the organization has long been high on and showed some flashes in a couple of brief stints with the big club last year. Blake Wood was a reclamation project the Indians have worked on for more than a year. He can hit triple digits with his fastball, but his control can be an issue. Don’t forget about Frank Herrmann, who missed all of 2013 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his elbow. The Herrmannator gave the Tribe some good middle relief for parts of two and a half seasons. Preston Guilmet, last year’s Columbus closer will get a look as well.
Non-roster invitees David Aardsma and Scott Atchison have both pitched for Francona and are not that far removed for their best seasons. Both were with the Mets last year. Then there are lefties Colt Hynes (claimed off of waivers from San Diego) and Mike Zagurski. Both are longer shots, but Hynes is intriguing. At 28, he should be in the majors by now and he seems to have graduated. Hynes walked just two in 47.1 innings of work in AA and AAA last season and posed a 1.52 ERA.
As I said, there are no shortage of options for Francona and Calloway to sift through.
8. As for the catching position, how will this Carlos Santana/third base experience affect the backstops? It has been no secret that Yan Gomes will assume the every day catching duties come Opening Day. The plan was thought to have been that Gomes would be spelled by Santana a couple of times a week, with Carlos moving between DH and First Base the rest of the time. Now with Santana possibly splitting his time at third base, could the Indians be entertaining adding another catcher to their big league roster? With what they currently have, I just don’t see it.
Veteran Matt Treanor is 37 years old and missed all of last season. On top of that, he has never been much of a hitter to begin with. He seems more like AAA filler/injury backup plan guy to me. Former Indian Luke Carlin is also in camp, but the 33-year old was a journeyman backup at best when he spent parts of of three seasons between AAA and Cleveland from 2010-2012. Neither is a viable backup option. I also just do not see how Francona would want to carry one of these two with the way he likes versatility in his bench players, especially when you consider Jason Giambi may be kept on the roster again as nothing more than a DH.
I am just so happy to be talking baseball again and cannot wait for the season to begin. This is the team in town to get behind, people. Lets get out ahead of it this year, shall we?
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Image via Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer