The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tribe doesn’t have to rush into any trades
The hot stove will be burning with rumors at the MLB Winter Meetings this week. Jeff Schudel looks at the Indians’ situation in regard to trades. Plus, thoughts on Lincoln Riley.
The week ahead could be fascinating for the Indians – or it could be just another seven days of Tribe president Chris Antonetti biding his time and waiting for the right moment to make a move.
Executives meet Dec. 9 in Las Vegas for the start of the baseball Winter Meetings. The meetings run through Dec. 13.
The Indians have an abundance of what other teams want – starting pitching. It benefits the Tribe that left-handed starter Patrick Corbin, 29, signed a six-year deal with the Washington Nationals and that Nathan Eovaldi re-signed with the Red Sox for four years because that takes two pitching stars off the market.
The Indians will be trading from a position of strength if they are serious about dealing Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. Any deal has to include a ready-now starting outfielder.
One rumor has the Indians trading Bauer and second-baseman Jason Kipnis to the Yankees in a deal that could return outfielder Clint Frazier to the Indians organization. The Indians shipped Frazier, then a prospect, to the Yankees at the trade deadline in 2016 for lefthanded reliever Andrew Miller.
Doing anything to make the Yankees better is something the Indians should avoid, although it would interesting to watch the Twitter war between Bauer and the Yankees beat writers.
Trading a starting pitcher for a starting outfielder plus prospects is not an easy task. It would not be a surprise if the Indians leave Las Vegas with Kluber and Bauer still in Indians colors. But if Antonetti does make a trade, which starter should he keep?
Bauer is 28. Kluber turns 33 on April 10. Bauer is headed for arbitration next month and will be in arbitration again next year before hitting free agency in 2021. Kluber is under Tribe control for three more years if they exercise the club option in 2021.
Kluber was a disappointment in the postseason the last two years. But he was truly an ace in the regular season in four of the last five years, winning 18 games in 2014, 2015 plus 2016 and 20 games last season.
Bauer (12-6, 2.21 ERA) was having a Cy Young Award caliber season in 2018 until suffering a fractured right fibula when struck by a line drive forced him to miss six weeks late in the season. He was 12-8 in 2016 and 17-9 in 2017, so he also has a history of success.
Adventurous teams might prefer Bauer. Those that prefer sailing calm waters might prefer Kluber.
The Indians might also try to trade designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion. Encarnacion, 35, is scheduled to make $20 million this season. The Indians have a club option for $20 million on Encarnacion for 2020.
The Tribe would have to acquire a power-hitting outfielder to make an Encarnacion trade feasible. Michael Brantley, a free agent unlikely to return, drove in 76 runs. Encarnacion knocked in 107. That’s a lot of runs to make up if both are gone on opening day.
Awkward fit?
University of Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley was a hot topic in the Browns’ locker room last week. Riley coached Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in college, the Browns are looking for a head coach, so Riley must be the guy, right?
“You guys can take it how you want,” Mayfield told a group of reporters. “I have a relationship with Lincoln. He’s been great and we had success, but whatever decision is made
here I’m going to make the most of it. Obviously, there’s been a level of comfortability with him in the past that I’ve had, but whatever happens, happens. And you know what? You can’t control that so I’m not going to worry about it.”
Mayfield says Riley, 35, could make the jump from college to the NFL despite only two seasons as the Sooners’ head coach. Riley is 23-3 as the head coach at Oklahoma and has the Sooners in the playoffs this season.
“Lincoln’s been ready,” Mayfield said. “It’s just who he is and how he coaches and the respect level he’s had from all of his players, how detailed he is. Yeah, he’s ready but that’s his decision and you know what, he’s got something special there. So I don’t think anybody is going to blame him if he stays there for the next 20 years.”
Riley was asked about going to the Browns about two minutes after Hue Jackson was fired as head coach of the Browns on Oct. 29. At the time Riley said he was very happy at Oklahoma. But he did not say he we absolutely never think about coaching in the NFL.
“You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful,” Riley told reporters in Norman that day. “The truth for me is I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here. I love college football. I certainly don’t have that itch right now. Don’t know that I ever will.
“But I’m never going to be a guy that stands up here and says no way, no how, with any of these things ever happening. I don’t know that.”
Successful college coaches have failed in the NFL. Steve Spurrier, a star at Florida, was a bust with the Redskins. Pete Carroll won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks after coaching at USC, but he is an exception because he coached in college, coached the Patriots and went back to college before trying the NFL again.
The spread offenses NFL teams are using now look more like college offenses. That could make it easier for college coaches to succeed in the NFL. Still, the biggest difference is Lincoln Riley won’t be able to sit in the living room of a draft prospect and try to convince him to play for the Browns the way he would try to convince a high school prospect to play for the Sooners.
“You get a locker room full of guys that are making a lot of money, obviously the egos are going to be there,” Mayfield said. “You have to have the respect in guys. You have to be able to get the best out of them even when they’re going to get paid regardless. So you’ve got to be able to get the most out of them and demand it, just by respect and so when it comes down to it, that’s why I would say he’s a great coach.”
In my opinion, Browns general manager John Dorsey hiring Mayfield’s college coach could create an awkward situation. Riley would either go out of his way to show no special bond with Mayfield or teammates might perceive the hiring as catering to Mayfield.
Of course, none of that would matter if Riley and Mayfield win.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
Pennsylvania is misspelled ‘Pensylvania’ on the Liberty Bell because it was spelled that way in the 18th century. …”Never odd or even” spelled backward is “Never odd or even.”… Polar bear fur is transparent, not white. … Indonesia is made up of more than 17,000 islands. … The patent for a fire hydrant was destroyed in a fire. … The average dog can understand more than 150 words.