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Tribe News
Cleveland Indians secured Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco before pitching Tsunami hit | cleveland.com
The keys to the Kluber and Carrasco deals weren't really what they pay them for the next couple years, but the team options they have at the end of the contracts. Those team options allow the Indians to buy free agent years, and given what top pitching (heck, even mediocre pitching) has gotten on the market, those options look like bargains even three years away.
Kluber's 2020/2021 team options: $13M, $13.5M
Carrasco's 2019/2020 team options: $9M, $9.5M
For a stark comparison, the Royals will be paying Ian Kennedy, who hasn't had a league average ERA since 2012, $14M in 2020, the final year of his contract. Assuming of course Kennedy doesn't opt out of the deal after 2017.
Moral of the story: if you're a small or mid-market team, you absolutely have to acquire starting pitching in venues other than free agency.
Michael Brantley's 2015 Double-Triple Rarity - TKB
An interesting study of players who had 45 or more doubles in a season but no triples.
Perez will be responsible for both the scouting operations in Latin America and the team's Dominican Republic academy. The article notes that he was born in the Dominican Republican, but grew up in New Jersey. He played a couple seasons in the minors before moving into scouting.
Pluto talks about the Detroit Tigers' signing of Justin Upton, as well as Carrasco and Salazar's dominant pitches.
MLB News
Mike Trout is The Weather Channel's on-the-ground reporter at his parents' house | MLB.com
If this baseball thing doesn't work on, perhaps Trout may have a backup career.
Tim Lincecum eyes February showcase: Giants seem a dark horse - SFGate
This is the type of signing the Indians are always interested in. It probably would just take a minor-league deal to land Lincecum.
The NFL is a league of parity, but so is Major League Baseball - CBSSports.com
In the last 15 years, all 30 MLB teams have made at least one playoff appearance, and 83% of MLB teams have made a playoff appearance in the last 6 seasons.