The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Francona expecting best months of Puig’s career
For more than six months, Trevor Bauer’s name floated around in trade rumors, and on the day before the July 31 trading deadline, Indians president Chris Antonetti pulled off one of the biggest blockbusters in baseball’s annual summer swap meet.
The Indians traded Bauer to the Reds and in return for the starting pitcher got outfielder Yasiel Puig and left-handed pitcher Scott Moss from Cincinnati plus outfielder Franmil Reyes, left-handed pitcher Logan Allen and infielder Victor Nova from the Padres. The Reds traded outfielder Taylor Trammel to San Diego.
Adding Puig and Reyes, with a combined 49 home runs, instantly makes the Indians lineup more potent when added to Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.
“Hopefully they add some depth,” Antonetti said in a press conference July 31 before the Indians hosted the Astros. “They add some balance. Both guys are really productive hitters, are capable of hitting the ball out of the ballpark at any point in time.
“Combine that with some of the other guys we have in our lineup, we feel like we now have a deep lineup that’s capable of scoring runs in a variety of different ways.”
Puig will be a free agent after the World Series, but Reyes doesn’t hit free agency until 2025. That was an important part of the trade, Antonetti said.
Antonetti back in January said the Indians would be active at the trade deadline if the Tribe was still in the playoff hunt, and now he has made good on that promise. They began play July 31 three games behind first place Minnesota in the A.L. Central. The Indians have a two-game lead in the wildcard race.
Puig, 28, is hitting .252 (94-373) with 15 doubles, 22 home runs, 61 RBI, 51 runs scored and 14 stolen bases in 100 games for the Reds this season. He is hitting .318 (48-151) with 10 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, 27 RBI and 29 runs scored over his last 41 games.
Reyes, 24, is hitting .255 (82-321) with 9 doubles, 27 home runs and 46 RBI in 99 games with the Padres.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Reyes and Puig are the first pair of 20plus home run hitters ever acquired by a team in a single trade.
Indians manager Terry Francona said he expects Puig and Reyes to be with the Indians when they play the Astros on Aug. 1. Francona talked to his connections around baseball and got positive reports on both players.
“I think the people in San Diego are devastated,” Francona said. “Everybody said we’re getting a man in every sense of the word and I think with Puig, a lot of people feel like we’re going to get the two best months of his career. I hope that’s the case. I’m genuinely excited about getting to know these guys and turn them loose.”
Bauer made a surprise visit to the press box area July 31 and discussed being traded during an impromptu 15-minute news conference. He said he was not surprised by the trade and said he thought if it didn’t happen when it did it would happen in the offseason because he can be a free agent after the 2020 season.
“A lot of stuff goes through your head,” he said. “It’s sad to say goodbye to people, but it’s part of the industry. We have a really good group of guys. The team was really close this year, more than it had been prior years. It jelled really well and came together.
“I was enjoying being part of that group and dealing with the adversity we dealt with and getting back to the point we’ve gotten to and getting excited for the stretch run. That part of (the trade) wasn’t ideal. You always want to fight with your guys.”
Bauer revealed he partially tore two ligaments in his left ankle stepping off the mound in the fourth inning of his fourth start. Compensating for that injury led to back spasms, he said, but he took pride in not missing a start. He said he is healthy now.
Allen will be assigned to the Indians Triple-A team in Columbus, the Indians announced. Moss will join the Akron RubberDucks and Nova, 19, will join the Indians Arizona Rookie League team.
Puig will wear 66 and Reyes 32. Both will report to the Indians in the coming days. Pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Dan Otero were moved to the 60-day injured list to make room on the roster for Puig and Reyes.
Bauer was 9-8 with the Indians this season. He leads all Major League pitchers with 156 2/3 inning pitched. He is 67-55 with the Tribe over seven seasons.
Bauer’s last outing with the Indians was a 7-5 loss in Kansas City on July 28 in which he got frustrated and threw the ball over the center field wall as manager Terry Francona was walking to the mound to remove him from the game.
About six hours before the trade, Francona said he did not want the incident in Kansas City to be Bauer’s “legacy” as an Indians pitcher. Francona on July 31 said he made the legacy remark not knowing Bauer was hours away from being dealt to the Reds.
“I think I knew there was a chance, but I was serious about that,” Francona said. “I didn’t want that to be what he’s remembered for. Saying that, I had concerns what it could do to our team and I voiced those concerns.
“I would never, ever go tell these guys (Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff) something, but they are good enough to always allow me my opinion and you just try to do the best you can and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit worried.”
The Kansas City meltdown did not factor into trading Bauer, Antonetti said. but he called the incident “problematic.”
“Well, first off, we don’t condone what happened in Kansas City,” Antonetti said. “That was problematic for us. But it didn’t really have any impact on our decision and what we felt we needed to do at the deadline to improve our decision moving forward.”
Bauer apologized in the Indians clubhouse after the game in Kansas City.