Tribe News and Notes: June 24, 2012

Rumors heat up that White Sox are interested in Kevin Youkilis - BostonHerald.com

Ever since Will Middlbrooks was brought to the majors, rumors started surfacing about Boston dealing Kevin Youkilis. Now that he's (relatively) healthy and not producing, those rumors have started to get legs. The Indians have been mentioned as one of the possible destinations for Youkilis, as they have (for now) and open spot at DH and a need for a right-handed hitters.

In theory Youkilis would be a perfect fit, but there's several things that makes a less appealing option.

• Youkilis is not hitting. Yes, he has an extensive history of being one of the best corner players in the American League, but given that the Indians would only have him for three months, you don't want to spend money and prospects for a player with an 81 OPS+
• Salary. Youkilis is due $12M this year, and either a team option of $13M or a $1M buyout. So there's no real upside from a contract perspective. If Youkilis suddenly turns things around in a new place, then $13M may be commensurate with his production. But I seriously doubt it would be a bargain.
  
• Cost of acquiring Youkilis. For the deal to make any sense, the Red Sox would need to pay a significant portion of his remaining salary and not demand a big return in terms or prospects or players.

The White Sox seem to be the front runners of the day, according to Jon Morosi, with the Indians now a "longshot".

Cleveland Indians at Houston Astros - June 23, 2012 | MLB.com CLE Recap

Following up on yesterday's recap, here's Manny Acta's comments on Jeanmar Gomez:

Acta said he hopes to see Gomez become a more consistent pitcher over the long haul.

"That's the name of the game up here," Acta said. "He started the season very well and now he's got more than a handful of starts where he hasn't been very good. It's about being consistent up here. That's all there is to it."