Cleveland Indians Have Several Left-Handed Relief Options To Consider
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The Cleveland Indians are interested in adding a left-handed reliever and there’s no shortage of options for the club on the free agent and trade markets.
According to veteran baseball insider Ken Rosenthal, the Cleveland Indians are still looking to add a reliever this winter and are likely to be focusing on southpaws. They, of course, have Andrew Miller, one of the best left-handed relievers in the game, already in the bullpen. He was instrumental in helping get the Indians to the World Series and within an inning of winning it all.
However, it was clear in that Chicago Cubs series that the Tribe could have benefitted from a second lefty to pair with Miller. There are several options out there still for the Indians to consider through a variety of avenues.
The free agent market still has several intriguing options, including Boone Logan who was touched on recently as possibly the best option for the Indians. He’s hardly the only arm though as the Tribe could also look to the trade market for help, much like they did this past summer with Miller. Finally, the Indians could decide that the best option is one they already have and look to a couple intriguing internal options from the Columbus Clippers.
Here’s a look at several left-handed options the Cleveland Indians could look to add or try out in the bullpen this year.
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The Free Agents
There are a few free agents out there that would appear to be great fits for the Cleveland Indians. Boone Logan was, of course, touched on last week and remains one of the best fits though a similar pitcher could also be had in Jerry Blevins. Blevins spent 2016 with the Mets and had an outstanding season. He posted a solid 2.79 ERA and 3.05 FIP in 42 innings and 73 appearances. He struck out an outstanding 11.1 per nine innings while walking just 3.2 per nine. Somewhat similar to Logan, Blevins numbers look even better versus left-handed hitting.
In 2016 alone, Blevins struck out over 12 per nine innings against left-handed hitters while he struck out 9.6 against righties (still a very good mark). Things weren’t all cozy in 2016 though as he did post a weak 1.31 WHIP against lefties; however, that can almost all be attributed to his insanely high .368 BABIP (batting average on balls in play). He was very unlucky in 2016 against lefties and his career mark is a more outstanding 1.00.
Blevins also bounced back nicely in 2016 after missing nearly all of 2015 after breaking his arm early in the year on a ball hit back to the mound. He threw only five innings at the big league level for the Mets in 2015, yet still managed a 0.2 fWAR in those seven outings. He showed no ill-effects from the injury in 2016 and it’s a bit of a surprise he’s still on the market at this point. He’ll be entering his age 33-season in 2017 and could still be looking for a multi-year deal for decent money.
A bit of an under-the-radar signing could be Craig Breslow. The Indians are said to be very intrigued in Breslow who actually pitched for the Indians back in 2008, making seven appearances. Unfortunately for the Indians that was all he pitched, and he broke out upon moving on to the Minnesota Twins that season.
After a few good seasons, he really struggled in both 2014 and 2015 with the Boston Red Sox posting negative fWARs in each season (-0.8 and -0.6). He bounced back a bit in 2016 though with the Miami Marlins.
Breslow split 2016 between Triple-A and the major leagues, throwing just 14 innings with the Marlins in 15 outings. Never a huge strikeout guy, he posted a mere 4.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Equally as troubling, he posted a measly 29 percent groundball rate. His splits didn’t do him any favors either as he struggled versus both righties and lefties.
The only thing Breslow has going for him is he should be very cheap. Unlike the two guys above, Breslow won’t take a multi-year deal and likely could be had on a minor league deal. He does seem to have a number of suitors, though, including the Toronto Blue Jays, so perhaps someone bites on a major league deal.
A few other free agents the Indians could turn too are Javier Lopez, Travis Wood, J.P. Howell, and Charlie Furbush. Lopez has been with the San Francisco Giants recently and enjoyed a ton of success; however, a down 2016 season has hurt him. Wood had a solid year for the World Champion Cubs, working exclusively out of the pen for the first time in his career. Furbush had shoulder surgery in August so probably isn’t a guy for Opening Day though may be a buy-low candidate the Tribe could add.
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The Trade Market
If the Cleveland Indians decide the free agent market is too rich for their blood, they could turn to the trade market once again to add a left-handed reliever. The Tribe showed no shyness in going out and getting Miller and while I do not see them going that big again they could still add a solid lefty through a trade. What players are available or could be had isn’t as easy to nail down as the free agents but here are a couple that I feel could possibly be had for the right price.
Brad Hand of the San Diego Padres is a guy I’d love to see in a Tribe uniform. A former starter with the Miami Marlins, Hand worked exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in 2016 and led the league with 82 appearances. He posted an excellent 1.6 fWAR to go along with a 2.92 ERA and 3.07 FIP. He also struck out over 11 per nine innings, outstanding for a guy that threw 89 1/3 innings.
He was nearly unhittable against left-handed hitters as well, posting a 0.83 WHIP and holding them to a .124 batting average. That batting average against was the lowest against left-handed hitters among all pitchers in 2016 (minimum 20 innings against lefties). He also struck out one-third of lefties he faced, which was 12th best in baseball.
Also working in Hand’s favor is that he has three years of team control remaining. He agreed to a one-year, $1.38 million deal to avoid arbitration this winter. That salary would fit on any club and has to look extremely tantalizing for a club like the Indians. The years of control, though, are almost certainly going to make him a very tough player to pry from the Padres.
San Diego is a team that looks to be in more of a rebuild mode than most teams so perhaps they would still be willing to move the reliever, but it could take an elite prospect to land him, something the Indians may not want to do after moving two for Miller last summer.
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Sean Doolittle of the Oakland Athletics is a name that’s been around for a while, but he’s a guy that has dealt with injuries the last couple of years. Like Hand, he is under control beyond 2017 as he is set to make $2.63 million in 2017 with a pair of options for 2018 and 2019. When healthy he’s a very dominant reliever who has closers experience. He threw 39 innings in 2016 striking over 10 per nine innings while walking less than two.
Shoulder injuries are always scary but if he remains healthy he’s an elite reliever. The A’s are a team that looks destined to finish in the cellar so they could move on from Doolittle though the options mean they could wait.
A few others that could maybe be had are Dan Jennings of the White Sox, Xavier Cedeno of the Rays, and Ian Krol of the Braves. The White Sox and Rays have both dealt away players this offseason, with Chicago going into full rebuild mode so it would not be surprising if Jennings was moved. The Rays are always looking to get value for players as they hit arbitration so perhaps Cedeno is an option.
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The Internal Options
While the Indians may be looking at adding some bullpen depth, they do have some internal options that could help out in 2017. Kyle Crockett has been with the big league club each of the past three seasons but hasn’t yet found a permanent home in the bullpen. After throwing 30 innings as a rookie in 2014, he’s thrown just 33 2/3 innings the last two combined at the big league level. He wasn’t bad by any stretch in 2016 though, striking out over a batter an inning and posting an impressive 0.3 fWAR in just 16 innings and 29 appearances. An injury late in the season kept him from being an option in the playoffs but given how he’s been used he appears to still not have the confidence of the club.
Hoby Milner was a Rule 5 pick by the Indians this year, meaning he’ll have to be on the Opening Day roster or be offered back to the Philadelphia Phillies. The 26-year-old has just 16 innings above Double-A and has yet to make his big league debut. However, those 16 innings in Triple-A were very dominant. In 11 appearances, he struck out 22 and walked just three. He’s the most inexperienced option for the Tribe, but one of the more intriguing ones as well.
Ryan Merritt is an option many may not think of at first but could find his way into the big league ‘pen. Some may be viewing him strictly as a starter after that outstanding start in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series to clinch the pennant for the Tribe, but he did pitch out of the bullpen a couple of times during the regular season.
The Indians will likely want to keep him as a starter in Triple-A to provide rotation depth but the team does have plenty of others to fill that role in Mike Clevinger, Cody Anderson, and Adam Plutko.
Shawn Morimando and Tim Cooney round out the internal options for the Tribe. Both have been starters in the minors but both could find themselves in the bullpen at the big league level. Morimando found his way to the big league roster this year appearing in two games while Cooney came over from the St. Louis Cardinals in a waiver deal earlier this offseason. Cooney is working his way back from injury so probably won’t be a realistic option until the summer.
So who do you think the Cleveland Indians should add to the bullpen? Does it have to be a lefty or could a Joe Blanton be the answer? Or do the Indians even need to add a bullpen piece between now and Opening Day? Perhaps Andrew Miller is the only lefty the team needs. He’s a clear upgrade over the likes of Ross Detwiler and Tom Gorzelanny that the team used last year at the outset.
