Author's Blog

It appears the Indians have about sixty players in camp with somewhere around twenty pitchers. With all those numbers I am sure there will be some unexpected names that make the final roster.

There probably will be a new shortstop until Frankie Lindor recovers from his calf injury. I have to think outfielder Matt Joyce will make the team and may be the starting left fielder. 

The major trades involving a starting pitcher never materialized and the rotation should be the same as last year. I think Danny Salazar and Cody Anderson will be somewhere in the bullpen and next up if a starter gets hurt. 

I am hoping for a big year from Jason Kipnis as he reaches the end of his contract. He probably won't be here next year but it would be great if he had an exceptional season. 

It will probably be early March before we see a starting lineup, particularly in the outfield. I am wondering who will step up between Naquin, Luplow and Allen.

The Indians will soon be reporting to Arizona with a lot of new faces. The starting pitching looks to be intact but the bullpen has seen a number of changes. How good the team is going to be remains a matter of speculation.

The big question is the outfield. Who is going to start and will anybody hit with some power? There is speed and athleticism among the candidates but how will they make up for Michael Brantley? There may be quite a bit of shuffling the lineup until they find the right combination.

The starting pitching is still the Indians main strength. They will all need to have good years if the team is going anywhere in the post season. Although the Twins have added some pop to the lineup, I think the Indians will win the division again, but beyond that I don't know. How do they get by the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros? Hopefully a mid-season trade or two will be the answer.

The Indians have acquired Jordan Luplow from the Pirates to replace Brandon Guyer in right field. It appears Luplow will platoon with Tyler Naquin. That leaves Leonys Martin in center field and probably Jason Kipnis in left with Greg Allen backing them up.

I would like to see the Indians make another deal to acquire an All-Star caliber outfielder. It would take trading one of our starters, Kluber, Carrasco or Bauer but I think it is the right way to go. The Tribe has several guys who could fill the four and five spots and it is time to take a chance and make a move. The guys in the current outfield can do some things but the power is really lacking. Somebody that can hit 25 homer and knock in 90 runs should be a priority. Hopefully Bradley Zimmer will be back and challenge for a spot but that still leaves a need for a home run guy.

I saw the Indians new alternative jersey without Chief Wahoo. I like the red and blue trim, however it is going to take some time to get over Chief Wahoo. It will interesting to see how jersey sales go in 2019.

I was at the game on Monday and witnessed the end of the Indians baseball season. For the first half of the game I stood and waved my rally towel, then put it down when Houston took the lead. Three straight and out, not what we wanted to see at home with a packed house.

Looking ahead to 2019 I believe free agents Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen will sign elsewhere. Replacing Brantley will be a very tough thing to do. The Tribe has to find an outfielder that can hit .300, hit some home runs and deliver in the clutch. They are going to have to spend some big money to accomplish that. Even if they do, they still need a right fielder and a couple of back-ups. 

The bullpen will have to be overhauled. Other than Hand and Cimber I don't know who else will be on the roster. Again the Indians are going to have to spend money to fix the situation.

They may have to part with a starting pitcher to get the pieces they need. That will be taking something of a risk, but somebody like Shane Bieber or Adam Plutko could be the fourth and fifth starters.

On the bright side we have Frankie Lindor.

I took some time off for a long vacation and tended to some matters that needed attention. I should be back to writing blogs on a regular basis.

I am excited about the Indians trade, getting relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres in exchange for Francisco Meija. The club badly needed relief help and they got it without losing any key players, Meija could turn out to be a great player, but the bullpen help was critical and hence the trade. If Adam Miller returns healthy the Tribe will have solved all their problems with the relief pitching.

I saw one of the games against the Yankees and was amazed by the play of Jose Ramirez. First he had an RBI single then later homered to right field. With 29 home runs he has a legitimate shot at 50 or possibly setting an Indians record with 53. 

Frankie Lindor has already 85 runs scored and should total about 140-150 for the season. Both these guys are just getting started and are potential Hall of Famers if they keep it up.