Cleveland Indians Spring Training Thread

[b00bie]

Yep, guess they're trying to decide if Lopez can actually play second.

[Gunther]

Bastian postulates on the 4 open bench jobs:

The Indians have been taking a hard look at Jason Donald in center field this week. First and foremost, the Tribe just wants to know if Donald is a realistic alternative as a backup outfielder. Hey, more depth around the diamond is not a bad thing.

When discussing Donald, though, manager Manny Acta has said a few times that testing him in the outfield could also help the team in the event that it “wants to get creative at the end” of camp. To me, that means getting creative in the construction of the bench.

There are four available bench jobs. Here’s what we know: Lou Marson will be the backup catcher, Shelley Duncan is on the roster one way or another and Donald has a leg up for a utility job off the bench. As things stand right now, Duncan looks like the front-runner for the vacancy in left field.

Duncan won’t win any Gold Gloves for his defense, and he might not win a batting title (or even lead the team in average), but what he potentialy offers is the right-handed power Cleveland needs. This spring, he’s hitting .235 with a team-leading five homers, 15 RBIs and 23 total bases. That’s a snapshot of what he could be capable of doing for the Tribe in an everyday role.

That still leaves two bench jobs up for grabs. The Indians need a fourth outfielder and maybe another utility infielder. The way I see it, Jose Lopez (batting .394 this spring) is the front-runner for one of the two jobs. He hits righty, offers some power, and can provide depth for first, second and third base, along with DH.

This brings us to that fourth outfield job. Now, Cleveland entered camp with a long list of candidates, but the truth of the matter is none have really impressed in the batter’s box. Well, to be more specific, none who offer experience in center field have emerged as a favorite to win the job.

Aaron Cunningham has led the way with a .219 average this spring. Felix Pie (.190) and Ryan Spillborghs (.182) have disappointed at the plate to this point. Sure, spring is not a big sample size, but this is also a competition. The Indians wanted to see someone run out and WIN the job this month.

Consider what Acta said earlier this week: “You hit, we find a place for you. You need to hit. … We need to see some stuff here, some offense, some production. … You need to do some other things to win a job, if you’re competing for a job. It’s totally different if it is your job and you come over here and you don’t hit. It is your job. But if you’re trying to get a job, you need to get out here and do some stuff for us.”

You know who has hit? Russ Canzler. He’s hit .324 this spring, leading Acta to say that it’s easy to see that the offseason acquisition would just crush Triple-A pitching if he was he was sent back to the Minors. But, Canzler can’t play center field… and neither can Duncan.

This leads us back to the original question: can Donald really handle center field?

If Duncan wins the left field starting role, it’s conceivable that the Indians could slide Canzler to the bench to handle Duncan’s former role as a right-handed backup for first base, left field and designated hitter. And, if Donald — already a backup for second, shortstop and third — can truly play left and center field, well, maybe there’s your answer.

Given the poor offensive production of the other backup center field candidates in camp, I’d wager that the Indians are at least considering this scenario. A bench of Donald (2B/SS/3B/LF/CF), Canzler (1B/LF/DH) and Lopez (1B/2B/3B/DH) might actually work, if the Indians want to “get creative at the end.”

LINK

Sounds reasonable to me.

[macbdog]

No way Canzler makes it. With Grady out, the 4th OFer HAS to be able to play CF. Canzler only plays DH well. Only way he makes it is if the club feels Jason Donald can play CF if needed. I don't think they feel that way, yet.

That leaves the spot open for Cunningham, Spilborghs, and Crowe. I would already write off Pie, they are giving him every chance but I just don't see it happening. My early money is on Cunningham, none of the three have 'won' the job yet at this point but unless Spilborghs goes off I would go with Aaron.

[b00bie]

Of course, he's on the roster...while Spilborghs and Pie are not.

So there's that.

If you're going to split hairs over your bench outfielder, the guy who they let go of two prospects for and currently resides on the 40-man roster is probably going to get the nod.

[JiggleIt]

Season hasn't even started yet, and the club-house is in disarray. Typical Indians.

[Gunther]

Season hasn't even started yet, and the club-house is in disarray. Typical Indians.

Thoroughly disappointed with this comment. I thought you could troll better than that. Might as well have PIP posting in here.

[BMAN]

Slowey has one option left. No idea what that's talking about.

[b00bie]

Slowey has one option left. No idea what that's talking about.

Correct.

[sgm405]

According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN, the Indians scouted Vladimir Guerrero today.

LINK

Vladimir Guerrero worked out for Cleveland Indians scouts at the club's academy in the Dominican Republic, sources told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com.

"Guerrero was here today at the Indians' academy in Bocachica," said one source. "There seems to be a genuine interest by the Indians to see if he can help the team."

One source indicated the 2004 AL MVP was in good shape during the tryout, which was observed, among others, by Ramon Pena, Indians' director of operations on the island.

Pena declined to comment and didn't wanted to confirm the meeting. Guerrero's agents did not return calls by ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.

Guerrero, 37, has a .318 batting average with 449 homers and 1,496 RBI's over 16 MLB seasons.

The 9-time All Star batted .290 with 13 homers and 65 RBI's last season with the Baltimore Orioles.

Fernando Cuza, Guerrero's agent, recently said that his client would be willing to try his luck in Japan if he could find a spot with major league team before the season starts.

[sgm405]

By the way, I would absolutely take Vlad. Right-handed hitter, could platoon with Hafner at DH and/or play LF on occasion (yes, I know he's brutal in the field).

Hafner vs RHP - 222 AB, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 34 BB, 54 SO, .302 AVG, .404 OBP, .482 SLG, .886 OPS
Guerrero vs LHP - 153 AB, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 7 BB, 20 SO, .288 AVG, .323 OBP, .386 SLG, .709 OPS

[I.K.W.T]

Yes please. I'm hard for Vlad.

[BMAN]

Wut.

[jhard]

Vlad is my all time & I mean alltime favorite baseball player.

No clue why It started though.

Would love to have him But he is only Hafner insurance as he cannot play the field anymore. But I am not a fan of having to DH only guys on the everyday roster.

[b00bie]

Depends on the price.

Vlad's knees are gone, and he's got no power.

If he could play the field, he'd be signed.

[Amherstcavsfan]

A platoon at DH when we already are struggling to find someone to play the outfield is just a bad bad idea.

Then again, so was re-signing Sizemore and not using the money to go harder after Beltran.