Indians obtain Sandy Leon

With the winter meetings one week away and with the bigger news for so many being the craziness between major and minor league baseball taking most of the docket, it's easy to forget that the same teams that are attempting to crunch minor league baseball under their heel are still attempting to improve their main product as well.

The Cleveland Indians started their attempt to improve with a trade with the Boston Red Sox to bolster their bench as the Tribe added catcher Sandy Leon to backup Roberto Perez.
The move to add Leon enabled the Tribe to pass on offering their 2019 backup Kevin Plawecki arbitration and allow him to leave via free agency.

With the bat, there isn't a lot to differentiate Leon from Plawecki.
Neither player is a strong hitter with Plawecki hitting .222 with three homers to Leon's .192 and five homers in a similar number of at-bats (172 and 158) and both are close to the same age (Leon 30 and Plawecki 29 in Feb. 2020.).
Leon is noted as a good defender with a strong arm that has thrown out 34 percent of attempted base stealers over his career.
The former Hagerstown Sun is noted as a good handler of pitchers and Leon's profile is exactly what a team is looking for when looking for a backup catcher that will play once or twice a week- strong arm, solid defense and usually not the best hitter in the world.
It's not that teams would be against a good hitting backup, but when it comes to catchers if they were good hitters they would be starting already for a team somewhere.

Leon signed a contract with the Indians immediately following the trade to avoid arbitration for two million with incentives for the 2020 season.
Those incentives are unlikely to be reached unless Roberto Perez would miss a large amount of time for whatever reason.

Boston received minor league righthander Adenys Bautista, who at 21 and hasn't left the compound league level.
That's a concern even before you look at his numbers which were pretty bad even with limited data.
Still, I like Boston's willingness to look at a longshot prospect and try to see what they can make with a player that they saw a piece of talent in.
All too often, MLB teams will lazily take those "cash considerations", which are a joke as you consider the amount of money involved (Usually 50K and under for transactions of this type)  for teams that make the profits that even lower-level markets take away each season.
Kudos to the Red Sox for trying despite the odds of Adenys Bautista reaching even AAA are very long.

I'll be back later with some other ideas and scribblings.

Giants trade Eduardo Nunez to Boston

Photo Courtesy:Josh Morgan-Greenville OnLine

The San Francisco Giants made the first of what could be a few over the next few days as the trade deadline approaches as the Giants traded third baseman/utility player Eduardo Nunez to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor league righthanded pitchers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos.

Nunez should plug in for Boston at third base as the desperate BoSox have called up top prospect Rafael Devers after Devers had played just a few games at AAA Pawtucket.

The 30 year old Nunez has been one of the hotter hitters in the league of late and is hitting .307 for the season.
Nunez was obtained near last season's trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins and will be a free agent at the conclusion of this season..

As for the return from Boston,the two pitchers are a few years away from the bigs at best and we know much more about Shaun Anderson than we do about Gregory Santos.
Anderson was the Red Sox third rounder in 2016 out of Florida,where he served as the Gators closer.
Anderson throws in the low 90's and the Red Sox were trying to stretch him out into a starter in his full season in the minors.
At 6'4 and 225,Anderson looks the part of a workhorse/innings eater and could peak out as a 3 or 4 starter in the majors.
Anderson split 2017 between Low A Greenville ( 2.56 ERA in seven starts) and High A Salem (3.99 ERA in 11 starts),with the rise in level seeing a drop in effectiveness,but the move to Salem still saw batters hit just .236 against him with a solid strikeout to walk ratio of 48 to 18.
I saw Anderson pitch once and it was his worst outing of the year,so I caught him on an off night!

I know next to nothing about 17 year old Gregory Santos (turns 18 next month) other than numbers,which look sharp in seven starts for the Boston entry in the Dominican league (0.90 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings).
Santos is 6'2 and 190,which makes me think that he's quite lanky and those type of pitchers tend to throw pretty hard (think of former Red Sox top prospect Anderson Espinoza).
Santos is a hail mary selection,you just don't know what you have when you are making such a trade,but I'm assuming someone sees enough upside to take a throw deep on him.

In such a bad season for the Giants and with such a bereft farm system,these are the type of trades that are easy to make with impending free agents.
The larger question is what other trades could the Giants make?
Could Jeff Samardzija be a target with stats that both look great and terrible depending on how you want to read them?
Could Johnny Cueto be a factor in talks despite a bad season,a big contract and his player option at the end of the year?
Do the Giants think that the time is right to rebuild? Or does the front office believe that a few tweaks would put a highly thought of team before the season back into contention next season?
If that's the case,what would those tweaks be and would the team trade players in question for immediate help or prospects that might be closer to the bigs?
Lots of questions in San Francisco,the first of which was answered tonight...

The Panda Returns

It goes to show how disappointing the 2017 season has been for the San Francisco Giants after a season that most (including me) expected to see a solid championship contender and instead received a team that is so bad that they have a chance to have the first pick in next years draft (currently they would pick second) that the most exciting thing of late (other than the return of Madison Bumgarner) was the signing of a player that hit .212 this season and was basically paid to go away.

The return of Pablo Sandoval is surprising when you consider the noise that he made when he left for a five year and nearly one hundred million dollar contract with New York Lite err.Boston Red Sox.
Sandoval left on less than great terms after turning down the Giants offer after the team won the 2014 World Series and made several disparaging comments about the team and its players after arriving in Boston.
Sandoval made sure that he apologized to the Giants and their fans after he signed a minor league contract.which was smart in order to take that off the table and allow him to concentrate on a comeback that seems unlikely to end well,if his numbers in Boston indicate what Sandoval's value is at this time.

The Giants are in a position to see what a once valuable player can give since of the remaining two and a half years on the contract that Sandoval signed with Boston,only the veterans minimum would have to be paid by San Francisco,if Sandoval is ever able to make the parent club again.
The minor league contract will see Sandoval play third base for the next six weeks or so in AAA for Sacramento and gauge his progress from there.

Sandoval was clearly out of his element in Boston when his first season (2015) was the highlight of his tenure with pedestrian numbers of .245,10 homers and 47 runs batted in,followed it up with just three games in 2016 (0 for 6) and  his struggles in just 32 games this season continued at .212,4 homers with 12 RBI.
I thought that Sandoval was the type of player that could lose his skills quickly (I wrote it here) because of his size and weight issues and I've seen it happen before (George "Boomer" Scott anyone?),but I was still surprised that it began to happen almost immediately after leaving the Giants.

Sometimes players are made for certain teams,leagues and even ballparks and Pablo Sandoval might be one of these players.
It's hard to believe,but Pablo Sandoval is still just 30 years old.although he turns 31 in August.
It seems like he should be closer to 35,but in theory,if Sandoval is a "horse for a course" for San Francisco,he could have time left as a contributor at an extremely low price tag.
I'm all for giving it a try,but I'm not counting on that happening.
Still,it is something for Giants followers to keep tabs on for a while in a season that ranks among the most disappointing in franchise history....

Indians finish off Boston,Giants survive,but..

Both the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants won yesterday in their respective games with the Indians sweeping the Boston Red Sox to advance to the ALCS and the Giants surviving game three vs the Chicago Cubs.

No Giants coverage because after a long day and doing fight heads,I fell asleep on the couch in the sixth inning (Cubs leading 3-2) and apparently missed a classic ending.
Such is my luck,but I'd rather miss a win than see a loss...

I did watch the Indians game as I did Fight Heads,so I do have some thoughts on a 4-3 win.


1) Cleveland will host Toronto Friday night in game one of the ALCS and will have home field advantage over the Blue Jays,who looked impressive in brushing aside the Texas Rangers in three short games...

2) Terry Francona once again went for the throat using his bullpen with Cody Allen getting a more than three out save and Andrew Miller leaving the pen early (6th and 7th innings).
Francona's aggressive (and not always template) use of the current pen was a major part of winning this series..

3) Josh Tomlin has always been a personal favorite of mine from his days coming through Hagerstown and Frederick,so I was happy to see him pitch so well in a five inning start.
Tomlin is never going to blow you away with a power fastball or fabulous stats,but he's what you hope to get in today's game from a 4th or 5th starter-five to six solid innings,keep the game close and give your team a chance to win...

4) I've often criticized the Indians front offices for some of their trades,but trades big and small worked out in this game.
Andrew Miller did his job well in taking two Red Sox innings off the board,but the minor deal loomed large as well as Coco Crisp swatted a two run homer off Drew Pomerantz for the winning runs in the sixth innings.
The little deals sometimes can be massive on any particular night and Coco Crisp showed that,as did Brandon Guyer earlier in the series...

5) Give some credit for another player that has surpassed my expectations this season in Tyler Naquin,who drilled a two run single for the other Cleveland runs.
I always saw Naquin as a fourth outfielder,but he's been better than that in his rookie season.
Naquin still may be better suited for that role,but I cannot complain for the 2016 season.

6) Thumbs down to TBS for the lack of attention to the celebration in order to swoon over the retiring David Ortiz.
I respect what Ortiz has done over the course of his career and deserves some attention,but I would have rather seen a longer post game than covered both adequately..

7) TBS continues with the American League playoffs and frankly has not been rated even good.
Ernie Johnson is average,I guess,Cal Ripken is his typical boring,cranky self and Ron Darling never shuts up because he has to try to keep Cal Ripken awake.
That's odd because I never minded Darling in the booth with the Mets (and the Nationals before that).
Combine that with odd camera work (FS1 in the NLDS has been even worse with that) and you have a very uneven effort...

8) The Red Sox:Best offensive team in the majors-seven runs in three games.
Figure in an anemic 3 for 21 in scoring position and add it up....

9) Can the Indians move on against a suddenly scorching Toronto team?
Yes,but they are going to have continue to get decent starting pitching and hope that the aggressive use of the bullpen pays off.
It'll be tight,but the homer in me says Tribe in seven...

Back later with a small Browns move that I think is exactly the type of move that the Browns should be making and the Devils make a waiver claim before their Thursday opener...

Indians go up 2-0 in ALDS

I didn't see very much of the Cleveland Indians win in game two of the ALDS,but I'll take the win over being able to see it.
The 6-0 victory was paced by seven innings from Corey Kluber and a three run homer by Lonnie Chisenhall in the second inning that would give Cleveland all the runs that they would need.
The Indians can clinch the series Sunday afternoon in Boston with a victory in Fenway Park.
The Indians will send Josh Tomlin to the hill with the Red Sox countering with Clay Buchholz.

Smoke Signals

1) Right off the stick,I didn't see much of this game.
I had a long night at the paying job and actually slept like a semi-normal human and missed the first five and a half innings,which of course allowed me to miss five of the six runs that the Indians scored.
With that in mind,I'm going to make some observations off numbers and thoughts on the series,since I missed so much...

2) Corey Kluber needed to fire on all cylinders and give a big effort and the Indians received that effort.
Kluber needed that type of game,not just for the Indians to hold home field with a win,but to bolster a bullpen that Terry Francona needed to use liberally in game one.
Kluber's performance allowed Andrew Miller and Cody Allen to rest an extra day after each threw 30 pitches in game one and that could be massive in Boston...

3) Normally,one would think that Lonnie Chisenhall (lefty hitter) wouldn't be a good start against David Price's lefthanded arm,but the numbers saw Chisenhall at 4 for 11 with a homer against Price and started by Terry Francona.
I'm not always a fan of new age numbers,but I am a huge believer in past performance numbers.
No matter the reason,if a player performs well against a certain team or player,I'd try to get him in the lineup and this was a good call,even if not a clearly visible one.

4) You'll excuse me before I crow about the 2-0 lead.
Twice,the Indians have held leads against Boston and lost the series anyway.
In 1999,they won the first two games and dropped the final three and in 2007,Cleveland led 3-1 and lost the next three games and the series.
No bragging from here yet,the Indians have only held serve.

5) Three hits from late season addition Brandon Guyer in the win.
Guyer didn't seem like a huge pickup,but games like this show that little things can mean a lot...

6) The Indians had some high profile fans as LeBron James and many of the Cavaliers were in attendance cheering the team on.
These type of things happen around the sports world,but not the way that it seems to happen in Cleveland as the city and their teams always seem to cross-pollinate and root for each other...

Longballs lift Cleveland over Boston 5-4

The Cleveland Indians slammed three homers in the third inning and used a parade from the bullpen to hold off the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in game one of the ALDS in Cleveland.
Roberto Perez,Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor all took Boston starter Rick Porcello deep to provide a lead that Boston would chip away at,but never equal.
Andrew Miller was the winning pitcher with Cody Allen pitching the final inning and a third to earn the save.
The Indians lead the series 1-0 with game two tomorrow afternoon in Cleveland with Corey Kluber for the Indians against David Price for the Red Sox.

Smoke Signals

1) Terry Francona used his bullpen liberally and we'll see if this continues through the series.
Andrew Miller came into the game in the fifth in relief of Trevor Bauer and pitched two full innings with closer Cody Allen earning a five out save.
Both pitchers threw 40 pitches and you wonder if this is viable throughout the postseason,but you easily can see the importance that Francona placed on winning game one..

2) Roberto Perez hit one of those three homers,but a key was his tagging up on a flyball to move up from first to second in the fifth inning.
Perez would score on a Jason Kipnis single for at the time,didn't seem like a big deal,but it would eventually be the winning run-all on hustle...

3) The ball was certainly flying to right-center last night as it seemed that if the ball got into the air,it had a chance.
Witness a homer by former Hagerstown Sun Sandy Leon,who will never be confused with Pudge Rodriguez,knocking one out of the park.
It'll be interesting to see if the ball continues to move out of the ballpark in that direction this afternoon in game two..

4) The most talked about move on social media was going to Andrew Miller in the fifth inning.
This brought to mind the old days of the 70's when guys like Rollie Fingers,Goose Gossage and Sparky Lyle would go a few innings and would come into the game when needed in the game-not just in the 8th or 9th,
Remember all of those cards from Topps for Firemen of the Year?
The term Fireman used for getting the big outs has become passe' in favor of the term "Closer",that ends the game,but Terry Francona brought the term back for one night..

5) Huge play at home in the first inning when the Red Sox scored a run and initially Brock Holt was called safe by a nose after a speedy relay from Tyler Naquin to Francisco Lindor to Roberto Perez.
Replay reversed the call and you could feel the difference.
Boston would have been up 2-0 and still batting,instead the BoSox led 1-0 and were grabbing their gloves to hit the field.
Massive swing...

6) I'm generally not a huge fan of TBS broadcasts and I wasn't in this one either.
Ron Darling never shuts up (He is better on Mets broadcasts than nationally) and Cal Ripken is his typical stubborn/boring self,but Ernie Johnson stood up to Ripken on the play that saw Lonnie Chisenhall ruled out at second via replay.
I'm not saying which I agreed with,but Johnson dug on his opinion and took right to Ripken and didn't defer to the former player with a typical attitude of "no one can have an opinion different that someone that played the game",,

Rafael Devers-Star of the future?

I might have found a star of the future or at least someone for you seamheads to follow closely,especially if you play fantasy baseball in futures league as in the Greenville Drive's only stop in Hagerstown for the season,third baseman Rafael Devers has exploded with the type of bat speed that I haven't seen in the SAL in the last few seasons.
And best of all? Devers doesn't turn 19 until the season is over!
I first looked at Devers over the winter when in my fantasy league,I wanted to take a lower level player in the final round of my minor league draft.
Devers bio and impressive numbers in the Gulf Coast League at age 17 against recently drafted players made me take notice and draft him and I am glad that I did.

Devers is hitting well over .300 and crushed two homers against the Suns yesterday in a five for six outing that could have been six for six as he smashed a bullet right at shortstop David Masters on the only occasion that he was out on the day.

The first homer was was impressive as I bet it was well over 400 feet and hit to left center (Muni fans know the ball does not carry well to left or left center) and therefore had to be pounded to leave the park period,but it was the second that really showed me something.

Devers pulled a ball on the outside half of the plate (Devers is a lefthanded hitter) and jerked it on a line into the Greenville bullpen.
For an 18 year old to do that to that type of pitch shows a incredible amount of strength and bat speed,no matter who you are hitting off of (we will leave the state of Hagerstown relief pitching for another day).

I see a lot of touted prospects come through Hagerstown and Frederick and a lot of them eventually find their level somewhere along the line,with many falling short of the bigs.
It is not common place to see a player that is highly thought of to make you snap your head and take notice like yesterday.
I have yet to see Yoan Moncada play after his large contract with Boston,but his bat will have to go quite a ways to match the impression that was made on me yesterday by Rafael Devers.

The only bad part about this?
The above card hasn't arrived in my mailbox yet and I'll have to wait (and therefore) battle the crowd for Devers to sign the latest top 100 card at Salem,either later this year or in 2016....