The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Tribe standing pat is nod to current roster
In Jeff Schudel’s Cleveland Beat, Indians president Chris Antonetti discusses not being overly active at the trade deadline, and the Browns are high on their young mix at tight end.
Indians president Chris Antonetti opened himself up to second-guessing by being passive at the trading deadline, and he can live with that.
The Indians were quiet players as July 31 crept closer while other contenders, particularly the Yankees and Royals, traded future assets to win now. The Indians could face one or both teams in the playoffs in October.
The only move the Indians made was to ship two minor leaguers to the Blue Jays for right-handed reliever Joe Smith. Unfortunately for the Tribe, they learned after the deadline, Aug. 2, ace relief pitcher Andrew Miller will be out until at least Aug. 12 with right knee tendinitis. They learned the same day starting pitcher Josh Tomlin will be out until late September with a strained left hamstring.
While the Indians were sitting back watching the river flow, the Yankees acquired third baseman Todd Frazier from the White Sox and pitcher Sonny Gray from the A’s.
“I think what you need to look at is the balance of the team,” Antonetti said in a conference call to discuss the Smith trade. “We feel really good about the group of guys we have in our clubhouse and really believe in that group and its capabilities to play at a championship level.
“Our approach as we headed into the deadline was to find guys that complement that group. As we tried to build this roster over the course of the last couple years, we’ve made moves in the past, going back to last year’s deadline, with our sights on a multiple-year horizon. When you look at acquiring Andrew Miller and (outfielder) Brandon Guyer, we targeted those guys in part because we thought they could have an impact in 2017 and 2018 season as well.”
The Yankees, in a battle with the Red Sox for first place in the A.L. East, on July 19 shipped three prospects and relief pitcher Tyler Clippard to the White Sox for Frazier, righthanded reliever Tommy Kahnle and former Yankees closer David Robertson. One of the prospects sent to Chicago was 2016 first-round draft choice Blake Rutherford, an outfielder.
The Yankees on July 31 sent three of their top-12 prospects to Oakland for Gray. Gray made his debut against the Indians on Aug. 3 and lost a pitching duel to Corey Kluber, 5-1.
The Indians did discuss deals other than the one resulting in Smith rejoining the Tribe, but nothing happened. A rumor floated July 31 had the Indians thinking about trading catcher Francisco Mejia to the Rangers for starting pitcher Yu Darvish. Antonetti deserves credit for not making that trade; Darvish would be a threemonth rental because he will be a free agent in 2018.
“It’s hard to say whether or not you’re close (to a trade),” Antonetti said. “I can say there wasn’t a player of magnitude traded or discussed that we didn’t have some dialogue about.
“Part of the responsibility Mike (General Manager Mike Chernoff) and I have is to balance the near term and long term. What was encouraging for us to hear is we have a lot of players in our organization that a lot of other teams value. That gives us the ability to make deals — especially when we traded significant prospects last year to still have a system deep enough and well-regarded enough to make trades is encouraging.”
The Indians sent four prospects to the Yankees at the deadline last year for Miller, who is under contract through 2018. One of them, outfielder Clint Frazier, has played in 26 games since being called up by the Yankees on July 1. He is hitting .243 with four home runs and 17 RBI.
The Indians gave up two prospects for Guyer. Guyer is signed through 2018 with a club option for 2019.
Tight end friendly
Young but promising is the best way to describe Browns tight ends Seth DeValve and David Njoku. P.J. Holtz could end up being part of that group, too, after catching six passes in the Orange and Brown scrimmage Aug. 4.
DeValve is a 2016 fourth-round draft choice from Princeton. Njoku is a rookie first-round pick from Miami.
Tight ends coach Greg Seamon has a unique history. He coached tight ends in Dallas in 2002 and since then has been a scout for the Bengals in various capacities. He got very close to Browns coach Hue Jackson during his time with the Bengals and knows exactly how Jackson thinks; Jackson was Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015.
“The tight ends are really important to the offense,” Seamon said. “They’re important in the NFL right now. All the teams play with multiple tight ends on the field. They’re not just blockers and guys that catch the ball in the flat. They stretch the field now. They run breaking routes. They don’t just run posts and angles. They cross the formation.
“We ask the tight ends to run virtually every route the wide receivers do. You get into ballgames, you’re looking for matchups and the best ways to utilize those talents. You’ll see them everywhere.”
Njoku and DeValve will often be on the field together, Seamon said. He is not concerned about the dropped passes that plagued Njoku early in training camp.
“I think he’s frustrated that he’s dropped a couple of balls,” Seamon said. “He’s made some spectacular catches as well. We’re certainly looking for consistency.
“David is in the rookie mode. This is his first training camp. We’ve put virtually all of the offense in at this point. We’re seeing a lot of different defensive looks from (defensive coordinator) Gregg (Williams), which over the long haul will help us a great deal. It complicates the assignments a bit right now.”
Gary Barnidge caught 55 passes as the Browns starting tight end last season, but he was cut a day after Njoku was drafted. DeValve caught 10 passes last season. Earlier in camp, Jackson described DeValve as “an emerging player.”
“Seth is a stronger, faster version of what he was a year ago,” Seamon said.” He’s very, very bright. He studies the game, is a quick learner, a quick study. He has become an outstanding route runner at this point. Very efficient and very quick out of his breaks, consistent hands and a better athlete than perhaps people think.”
Randall Telfer is in the mix at tight end, too. He missed all of 2015 with a foot injury and caught two passes in 14 games (five starts) last season.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap:
The human brain operates on the same amount of power as a 10-watt light bulb. … A bald eagle nest can weigh up to two tons. … South Carolina is home to the first tea farm in the United States. … An average cumulus cloud weighs more than 1 million pounds . ... Sea otters hold each other’s hands while sleeping so they don’t drift apart. … The dot over the letter “i” is a tittle.