Monday, January 7, 2019

Indians trade with Mets- Add Kevin Plawecki

The Cleveland Indians have been criticized for their inaction as far as improving their roster in preparation for the 2019 season and that criticism doesn't likely go away after a minor deal with the New York Mets.

The Indians added catcher Kevin Plawecki from the Mets in return for minor league infielder Sam Haggerty and pitcher Walker Lockett as Cleveland looks to build up a catching corps weakened by the trade of Yan Gomes to Washington.

A one time upper-level prospect, Plawecki has struggled to hit in the big leagues, although he has shown flashes of decent power in his major league appearances with 14 homers in 700 at-bats over four seasons.
Plawecki has struggled to make decent contact in his Big Apple chances as he hit .210 last season and carries a career average of a mere .218.
Plawecki is a decent defensive catcher and threw out 16 of 70 attempted theft attempts last season.

Plawecki could be either the backup to Roberto Perez or should Eric Haase force the issue, the soon to be 28 years old, Plawecki could be the starter and standby mitt in AAA Columbus.
In either event, it doesn't figure impact the Tribe very much, but occasionally a player that was touted and somewhat disappointed does go for the proverbial fresh start and turn things around, so one can hope for that.

The Indians had recently acquired Walker Lockett from the Padres in November, so Lockett never even was a "Hi Corbett" Indian.
Lockett was ripped in four late-season starts in San Diego with a record of 0-3 with an ERA of over nine, so he was likely an arm that was acquired as a hired gun for AA Akron or AAA Columbus after a 5-8 season with a 4.79 ERA for the Padres AAA affiliate in the West Texas town of El Paso.
Sam Haggerty hit .243 with four homers in 87 games for AA Akron and stole 24 bases.
I wouldn't label Haggerty a prospect, but with the ability to play second, third and short, Haggerty is the type of player that can hang around AA and AAA for a long time.

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