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Yesterday's Game
Indians recap (Saturday): Tribe loses final game of spring training - Let's Go Tribe
Danny Salazar shaky, Matt Carson homers twice; Indians lose to Padres | indians.com: News
Not a whole lot to say about this game, other than Spring Training is now officially over. Woo!
Indians News
So this happened yesterday:
Indians sign Yan Gomes to six-year, $23 million contract extension | indians.com: News
The Indians have not officially announced the signing, which they'll probably do on Thursday, the off-day before the home opener, but pretty much everybody that covers the club is saying that this is a done deal, so let's go with it.
I have to say I'm fairly shocked. The Brantley extension was not a surprise, and if the Kipnis extension gets done it would be the furthest thing from a surprise, but this is a surprise. Gomes is two full seasons away from arbitration (1.083 years of service time), so it's not like he's going to become expensive soon. Yan has had a grand total of 433 plate appearances in the Majors, which is not quite a full season's worth. Last year he was a part time player until the second half of the season. Usually that's not enough time for other clubs to get a full scouting report on a player, and so I'd expect some struggles for Gomes this year as pitchers start to make their adjustments.
But I think the main reason the Indians committed to this contract is that Gomes is a fantastic defender behind the plate, and defense usually doesn't slump. He got rave reviews for his handling of the pitching staff, and threw out an amazing 41% of potential base stealers. These things are something clubs can adjust to (well, they can run less, but that's a good thing), so you'd have to assume that, barring injury, Yan Gomes in 2020 would still be an effective defender behind the plate. The question is whether he'll still be an impact hitter six years from now.
Those of you in Northeast Ohio woke up to see the ground covered with snow. But believe it or, in five days the Indians will be playing baseball at Progressive Field.
The DiaTribe: Goodyear Notebook on a Lazy Sunday
Al wraps up his Goodyear coverage with some observations from his time in Arizona. He was especially impressed with Tony Wolters' defense (he switched from second base to catcher just a year ago).
Al also mentioned that both Dillon Howard and Jake Sisco have retired. Howard was the second round and Sisco the third round picks in the 2011 draft. Had they developed as projected, they would have been in AA or possibly AAA now, and at least on the major-league depth chart. But instead the Indians have a hole in the system as far as high-upside starting pitching is concerned.
And be sure to click over to read his thoughts on Francisco Mejia, who may be one of best catching prospect in the majors by the time the season is over.
25-Man/40-Man Roster
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This is the last week this roster will be in "off-season" mode. I'll take off the service time and 2013 information once the season gets going.
I've included all the announced moves, even if they officially haven't made (such as Nyjer Morgan and Scott Atchison being added to the 25-man roster), so right now there's 43 players on the 40-man roster, so the Indians will have remove three players by the end of today. Who are the candidates to be removed? I think they will come from this list:
- Scott Barnes
- Justin Sellers
- Colt Hynes
- Frank Herrmann
- Nick Hagadone
AL Central News
2014 Twins Opening Day Roster - Twinkie Town
The Twins are coming to town later this week, and here's who we'll be seeing.
Better know a Tiger: Tyler Collins - Bless You Boys
Collins beat out LGFTs Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera to earn a spot on the Detroit roster as a backup outfielder. The folks at BYB think he's just a placeholder until someone better can be found.
Royals Finalize Opening Day Roster - Royals Review
The Royals are going with just 11 pitchers (the Indians will carry 13).
White Sox almost finish off their roster moves for opening day - South Side Sox
The White Sox are just about done with their pre-Opening Day roster moves. Included in the cuts is LGFT Zach Putnam.