Indians sign Austin Kearns

[BlueSeats626]

To a minor league deal.

Per the Rizzo show.

From MLBTradeRumors

Indians Sign Austin Kearns
By Tim Dierkes [January 5 at 10:35am CST]

The Indians signed outfielder Austin Kearns to a minor league deal, according to a team press release.

Kearns, 30 in May, hit .195/.336/.305 in 211 plate appearances for the Nationals this year, logging 363 innings in right field. He had thumb surgery in August, ending his season. The Nats predictably declined Kearns' $10MM club option after the season, finishing a three-year, $17.5MM extension given by Jim Bowden in January of '07. Bowden's July '06 acquisition of Kearns, Felipe Lopez, and Ryan Wagner from the Reds for Bill Bray, Royce Clayton, Brendan Harris, Gary Majewski, and Daryl Thompson was seen as a masterstroke at the time.

Kearns has been lousy offensively the last two years, though his right field defense remains a plus. It's a decent no-risk pickup for the Tribe, who also added Shelley Duncan yesterday.

 

[Marcus]

Low risk, medium-high reward move. I like it.

 

[AZ_]

That's going to be a pretty poweful Columbus lineup.

Kearns, Shelly Duncan, Jordan Brown, Nick Weglarz, Carlos Santana, Wes Hodges

 

[fudd]

Hope we don't start signing Nats like we did Jets.

 

[macbdog]

Hmmm. After pondering the Duncan signing and now this one, I have to think the Tribe has at least a small expectation of one of these two taking a roster spot. Not that one will be handed to either/or, but the Tribe does have a need for a RHed bat off the bench for left-handers. while Duncan's minor league splits showed he was dead even, Kearns- at least before he went to Washington- smoked lefties. I guess we will see.

The more I look at the Duncan signing, the more I like it. His #s last year in AAA were outstanding. He was kind of buried with the Yankees, and he could be a guy who just needs a shot- Jack Cust comes to mind. While there isn't a wide-open spot on the Tribe, there are ABs available for a guy who can bounce between 1B and the OF. I would love for Andy Marte to be that guy, but he got yet another extended look with the Tribe and was underwhelming yet again. I think a competition between Marte, Duncan, and Kearns to be that rotating righty off the bench is a good thing.

 

[AZ_]

I think Duncan is expected to be in Cleveland if there is any trouble with LaPorta's recovery.


With Choo firmly entrenched in right field, you just can't say that about Kearns. He's either going to be showcased during ST and pawned off for a PTBNL, or he plays this season in C-Bus looking to get his career back on the right track.

With left-handed bats like Brown, Weglarz, and Santana (switch)...Columbus needed a right-handed power bat too.

Kearns gives them that, at least if he's healthy.

 

[Damage]

I remember when Kearns played for Cinci. He was a viable player and was projected to mash between 20-30 HR's. What the hell happened to him?

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

I remember when Kearns played for Cinci. He was a viable player and was projected to mash between 20-30 HR's. What the hell happened to him?

He went to Washington's grand canyon.

 

[Gunther]

I remember when Kearns played for Cinci. He was a viable player and was projected to mash between 20-30 HR's. What the hell happened to him?

From Wiki:

After playing at Lafayette Senior High School, he was offered a scholarship to play college baseball at the University of Florida. However, he decided to sign with the Cincinnati Reds after being selected seventh overall in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. After three seasons in the Reds' minor league system, he made his MLB debut on April 17, 2002.

Kearns was traded to the Nationals on July 13, 2006, along with Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, Royce Clayton, Brendan Harris, and Daryl Thompson.

On September 23, 2006, playing against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, Kearns and first baseman Nick Johnson collided while making a sliding attempt to catch a fly ball. Kearns originally remained in the game relatively unhurt, but was removed shortly after play resumed by Manager Frank Robinson. Kearns was replaced by Ryan Church, who played in Kearns's spot for most of the rest of the season. Kearns suffered severe bruising down his left side as well as soreness. Johnson sustained a broken femur and underwent surgery that night to repair his injuries. Johnson missed all of 2007 recuperating from his injuries. Kearns, however, had career highs in several key areas, including 161 games played and 74 RBIs. On May 12, 2007, in a game at home against the Florida Marlins, Kearns hit a bases-empty inside-the-park home run, the first ever for a Nationals player. The ball bounced off the glove of Florida Marlins player Reggie Abercrombie. Kearns scored after receiving the sign to keep running by 3rd base coach Tim Tollman. Down the stretch, he tallied 4 hits in 11 at bats (with 2 home runs) in a late-season Nats' series sweep over the division leading New York Mets that kept the Mets out of the playoffs.

In 2008, the Nationals placed Kearns on the 15-day disabled list on May 22 because of loose bodies in his right elbow and on August 25 with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Kearns was placed on the disabled list on August 5, 2009 with a right thumb injury. His move to the was retroactive to August 4. The Nationals called up outfielder Jorge Padilla from the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs to replace the ailing Kearns.[1]On November 6th, The Nationals declined the 2010 contract option on Kearns making him a free agent.

On January 5, 2010, Kearns signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians with an invite to spring training.

Injuries, injuries, injuries. Who knows, maybe he's due for a comeback to his '07 form. We'll see.

 

[DougHeil]

I remember when Kearns played for Cinci. He was a viable player and was projected to mash between 20-30 HR's. What the hell happened to him?

Indeed. He was like suppose to be THE STUD for the Reds a few years back. I think he did fairly well for them. A good signing. The guy's only 29 so a few good years left hopefully.

 

[ice cream man]

 

[AM24]

Weird that the press release says he's 30. He will be 29 until Late May.

To those complaining about his move to Washington zapping all his power, he's been with the Nationals for 4 years now and wasted his prime with that team. At 29, he still could have something left but he certainly didn't show anything the last 2 years. I'm certainly not complaning about a simple minor league signing, but I'm not expecting anything out of him.