State of the Indians: Part 2 of ??

So now that the Indians have a new skipper in place, let’s take a look at what he has to work with.  Assuming they sign all of their arbitration eligible players (a big assumption, I know, but it’s what we’ve got to go on) and no free agents, here’s who’s an Indian in 2010.

DH Hafner
C Kelly Shoppach, insert rookie here (Marson, Toregas, Santana)
1B Matt LaPorta (recovering from hip surgery), Andy Marte (?)
2B Luis Valbuena
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
3B Jhonny Peralta
OF Sizemore, Shin Soo Choo, insert rookie here (Crowe, Brantley)

SPs Fausto Carmona, Aaron Laffey, Justin Masterson, Jeremy Sowers, David Huff, Carlos Carassco (Jake Westbrook & Anthony Reyes are recovering from surgery and could be back at some point during the season)
RPs Kerry Wood, Rafael Perez, Jose Veras, Joe Smith, Tony Sipp, Jensen Lewis, Chris Perez

Let’s start with the offense.  Hafner is the wise veteran at a ripe old age of 32.  Now that he’s healthy, he’s a good to very good DH against RHPs.  The problem is that he can’t figure out lefties.  Shoppach is a very good defensive catcher and should be a good tutor for the catching prospects (Wyatt Toregas, Lou Marson, Carlos Santana) in the system.  While the .214 average from last year might worry some (he hit .261 the two seasons previous), his BB:K ratio improved in 2009, an excellent sign after striking out 133 times in 2008.

If I’m the Indians, I dump Andy Marte and let him become a free agent.  He hasn’t figured it out yet and maybe a clean break is what both he and the organization need.  Matt LaPorta’s recovery from hip surgery should be his only barrier to playing time in 2009.  The Indians should bring in a veteran 1B that can hit lefties – someone that’s a good defender and can teach the finer points of the position to LaPorta.  Kevin Millar might fit the bill nicely as a low-cost option.  Mike Lamb could probably do the job too.

Luis Valbuena had a big splash when he came up but fizzled once the scouting reports came out.  Jamey Carroll could always come back to tudor Valbuena and spell Cabrera at short or Peralta at 3rd.  Asdrubal Cabrera had a bit of a breakout year in 2008 that went largely unnoticed outside of Cleveland – and in most of Cleveland as well.  However, his BABIP (Batting Average of Balls in Play) was .360 – a very high number and not nearly in line with his previous seasons.  Combine that with a regressing BB:K rate and its going to be hard for Cabrera to live up to his 2009 numbers.

Conversely, Jhonny Peralta disappointed in 2009 after hitting .270+ and 20+ home runs in 3 of the previous 4 seasons.  The one season he didn’t achieve these numbers, 2006, was the last time the Indians finished fourth in the AL Central.  His 2006 and 2009 seasons are eerily similar in terms of BA and extra base hits.  A strange trend to watch with Peralta: after hitting LHPs better than RHPs for most of his career, he started having problems with lefties in 2008 and that continued in 2009.  I’m not sure what that means, but it may be worth keeping an eye on for 2010.  I don’t think there’s too much to worry about and I think Peralta will rebound somewhat at the plate, but that struck me as an interesting curiosity.

The outfield is where the big bats are now.  Grady Sizemore should be fully recovered and, with a chance to move down in the order, could really excel in 2010.  Shin-Soo Choo hit .300 for a second season in a row, but could have problems acheiving that again.  His SLG and OPS dropped in his first full season, but that could very well be attributed to it being his first full season – he saw nearly 700 plate appearances!  But he added speed to his repertoire and swiped 21 bags last year, completing his first 20/20 season as a professional.  If they give a platoon of Trevor Crowe and Michael Brantley the opportunity to lead off and play left field, they’d have a strong defensive outfield with a ton of range.

Offensively, they could spend a little money in the free agent market.  They have a little under $50 million committed already.  They’ll need to spend most of what’s left on pitching, but perhaps spending a little on an infielder might bring stability to the lineup.  See if someone like Orlando Hudson wants to come to Cleveland for a year.  Heck, bring back Mark DeRosa.  He can play 2nd base and knows most of the players already.  He’s a free agent – or will be once the World Series is over.

Mull this over for 48 hours and I’ll come back with my thoughts on the pitching staff after we’re done trick or treating.

Tags: defense, free agents, offense, positions