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2021 Series #34 | Tigers @ Indians | Aug. 6-8, 2021

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Greiner for the Tigers is a big guy.... He's a 6'6 catcher...

Zimmer also had a nice night and has been playing well... That crew of Mercado, Straw and Zimmer in the OF is likely going to be a pitchers best friend... With that crew, I don't think we need to keep HRam around next season with Naylor and Jones both getting OF time and having other options like Palacios, Kwan etc who are Rule 5 eligible...
 
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It will be very interesting to see how much playing time guys like Zimmer, Mercado, Miller, Clement, and Gimenez get the rest of the year at the expense of Amed and Harold.
 
More interesting to me will be seeing who interests them in the offseason. Rumor has it that they pursued Winker and Reynolds at the deadline, and we should know that CA and MC are notorious for laying the groundwork for trades well ahead of them actually occurring.

I believe JRam will be extended. However, I'm less confident that Bieber will be and I'm curious how they'll handle that. Just something to keep an eye on.

An OF rotation of Straw, Zimmer, Mercado, and HRam for the remainder of the season seems logical. They may want to see Call at some point which would require them to send an OF to Columbus. I think all of HRam, Mercado, and Zimmer can be sent down if I'm not mistaken.

Having all of Rosario, Gimenez, Miller, and Clement seems a bit of a clusterfuck. Especially when Bradley is back at 1B. I suspect they are trying to create as much value for Amed at SS as possible so I expect him to continue to get the majority of the time there. Pure speculation on my part.

Other than that, the rotation for 22 is not only set, but very deep if everyone is healthy. The same can be said for the BP.

I know this season hasn't gone as well as many of us had hoped. I still say had we not lost Bieber, Civale, and Plesac that we would be well within striking distance of the White Sox or surely in one of the WC spots. This organization is in a very good place IMO.
 
CDAV45 said:
More interesting to me will be seeing who interests them in the offseason. Rumor has it that they pursued Winker and Reynolds at the deadline, and we should know that CA and MC are notorious for laying the groundwork for trades well ahead of them actually occurring.

I believe JRam will be extended. However, I'm less confident that Bieber will be and I'm curious how they'll handle that. Just something to keep an eye on.

An OF rotation of Straw, Zimmer, Mercado, and HRam for the remainder of the season seems logical. They may want to see Call at some point which would require them to send an OF to Columbus. I think all of HRam, Mercado, and Zimmer can be sent down if I'm not mistaken.

Having all of Rosario, Gimenez, Miller, and Clement seems a bit of a clusterfuck. Especially when Bradley is back at 1B. I suspect they are trying to create as much value for Amed at SS as possible so I expect him to continue to get the majority of the time there. Pure speculation on my part.

Other than that, the rotation for 22 is not only set, but very deep if everyone is healthy. The same can be said for the BP.

I know this season hasn't gone as well as many of us had hoped. I still say had we not lost Bieber, Civale, and Plesac that we would be well within striking distance of the White Sox or surely in one of the WC spots. This organization is in a very good place IMO.
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I don't think Call makes his MLB debut with the Indians... I think it will be with another team in 22...

I don't think on paper we need Amed and HRam in 22... So it's likely we may keep one, but with all the talent coming up, I'd rather see those guys that are coming up since neither Amed nor HRam are that much above league average to say we cannot replace them internally on paper.
 
sportscoach said:
I don't think Call makes his MLB debut with the Indians... I think it will be with another team in 22...

I don't think on paper we need Amed and HRam in 22... So it's likely we may keep one, but with all the talent coming up, I'd rather see those guys that are coming up since neither Amed nor HRam are that much above league average to say we cannot replace them internally on paper.
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When you replace a player who is even just league average with speculative players who may be way below league average, that's a big gamble and one we don't need to make. Harold is below average though and doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Amed. And right now we have 4 position players on the roster who have shown they can even close to league average or better, and one of them is Amed. Build by filling in the holes, not by removing the plugs.
 
sportscoach said:
I don't think Call makes his MLB debut with the Indians... I think it will be with another team in 22...

I don't think on paper we need Amed and HRam in 22... So it's likely we may keep one, but with all the talent coming up, I'd rather see those guys that are coming up since neither Amed nor HRam are that much above league average to say we cannot replace them internally on paper.
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I don't know if Call will donn a Cleveland uniform, but I don't see the harm in giving him a shot. His line in Columbus is 276/361/484/845. He's hit 13 HR and 17 2B in 279 AB which is a pretty decent sample. Most impressive is the fact that he's only SO 49 times while walking 35 times. Maybe something clicked for him. he's also stolen 15 bases this season while being caught 3 times. I give him a look before sending him down the road. It can be at the expense of HRam who I think can be sent to Columbus.

I don't know what to think of Amed. There are things I like, but his future seemed determined when Straw was brought aboard. He's not the SS in 22 and there is a good amount of depth at 2B too. Like I said, I think they'll try to create as much value for him at SS as possible for the remainder of the season. Let's hope he finishes strong.
 
Since the game series thread is turning into an OF discussion, I'll ask a few questions.

How much do y'all think Zimmer needs to do to be kept around for next year?

Does HRam give us something that either Mercado or Zimmer do not?

Let's assume they trade for an 'everyday OF' this off season. That player and Straw seem to have spots locked up. If Naylor is healthy coming into ST, he would as well. That leaves the 4th spot down to Zimmer/Mercado/HRam. And if they give Zimmer arby money, that really locks him in, correct?
 
Alabuckeye said:
Since the game series thread is turning into an OF discussion, I'll ask a few questions.

How much do y'all think Zimmer needs to do to be kept around for next year?

Does HRam give us something that either Mercado or Zimmer do not?

Let's assume they trade for an 'everyday OF' this off season. That player and Straw seem to have spots locked up. If Naylor is healthy coming into ST, he would as well. That leaves the 4th spot down to Zimmer/Mercado/HRam. And if they give Zimmer arby money, that really locks him in, correct?
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At the current moment CF is Straw's to loose... If we go acquire/sign a veteran it would likely cut HRam off the roster... HRam is a plus contact
hitter, but doesn't offer anything else... Naylor has a spot to loose once he is healthy...

So in my mind, if I am looking at the OF next season... It's likely only one of Zimmer/Mercado/Johnson is kept and one of Naylor/HRam is kept... Then we may see a signing of like a Canha as a veteran to mix in the bunch, though with Jones in the mix, it's possible we don't invest a big league spot to a veteran. I just don't see all four of those guys back in Cleveland for 22. I think Zimmer, Johnson and HRam are all on new teams in 22.
 
CATS44 said:
I dont view Straw as an under the radar acquisition. He is the sixth rated CF in MLB per fWAR.
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Not one single poster here ever mentioned Straw as a possible target. Never read or viewed anything from local or national pundits suggesting that he was a possible target. There was nothing but surprise that he could be had for Maton and a no name minor leaguer. It was definitely a frugal, under the radar acquisition from my POV. Especially when you consider most of us, including you, thought that Amed was our CF starting in 22 along with having Zimmer and Mercado on the roster. Please don't mistake "under the radar" for "unwanted". I like the deal and I'd make it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I didn't understand it when it happened, but I'm glad it did.
 
Alabuckeye said:
Since the game series thread is turning into an OF discussion, I'll ask a few questions.

How much do y'all think Zimmer needs to do to be kept around for next year?

Does HRam give us something that either Mercado or Zimmer do not?

Let's assume they trade for an 'everyday OF' this off season. That player and Straw seem to have spots locked up. If Naylor is healthy coming into ST, he would as well. That leaves the 4th spot down to Zimmer/Mercado/HRam. And if they give Zimmer arby money, that really locks him in, correct?
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I don't know if we can answer the Zimmer or Mercado question yet. Good news is that we don't have to because we have the remainder of the season to see how they perform. If, and that's a big if HRam gives us something with the bat that either Zimmer or Mercado can't it is quickly nullified by the significant difference between HRam's defense compared to Zimmer and Mercado's. Many here probably think that I'm an offensive oriented fan, but the truth is I like some balance. I'll take a player that can mash and make the routine plays over a defensive wizard that couldn't break a paper bag with his swing.

Well, if Naylor is a lock then why would they trade for an "everyday OF"? I don't believe he is because I don't believe he's that good. Other's disagree and for the record I hope they're right and I'm wrong.
 
I have confidence that Josh Naylor, who has shown glimpses of being a solid contributor, will continue to work on his craft and improve over the next several years.

Maybe it's misplaced confidence, we will see.
 
CDAV45 said:
Not one single poster here ever mentioned Straw as a possible target. Never read or viewed anything from local or national pundits suggesting that he was a possible target. There was nothing but surprise that he could be had for Maton and a no name minor leaguer. It was definitely a frugal, under the radar acquisition from my POV. Especially when you consider most of us, including you, thought that Amed was our CF starting in 22 along with having Zimmer and Mercado on the roster. Please don't mistake "under the radar" for "unwanted". I like the deal and I'd make it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I didn't understand it when it happened, but I'm glad it did.
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Diaz wasn't as much of a no name minor leaguer as you think... His batting profile actually has a legit chance to get to the pros, but we had Lavastida with a similar profile who was in front of him on the depth chart... Don't be surprised if Diaz ends up being who the Astros wanted at the end of the day not Maton...
 
sportscoach said:
Diaz wasn't as much of a no name minor leaguer as you think... His batting profile actually has a legit chance to get to the pros, but we had Lavastida with a similar profile who was in front of him on the depth chart... Don't be surprised if Diaz ends up being who the Astros wanted at the end of the day not Maton...
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agree with part of this... Diaz has a profile as a working backstop with a better bat than glove.. Like pitching.. when you think you have enough, go out and get more.. W/R to what or who the Stros wanted... The answer is both.. They knew that Maton alone wasn't enough for Straw in a straight one for one deal (this is debateable).. and they liked the Yainar Diaz... Maton offers the Stros help out of their pen right now.. while Diaz helps the Stros in the future.. sort of like MOST of the deals the Indians make.. good for now.. and, perhaps?? ..better later...
 
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