State of the Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a perfect example of why I am not a fan of the AL.  Boring city, boring team, boring league!  They have been an AL franchise under that name since 1915.  They actually have an overall winning record since then with 14 postseason appearances, 6 pennants but only 2 WS wins, the most recent in 1948.  They won 102 games as recently as 2017 and won 93 last season but now seem to be entering a rebuild phase.

Ownership:

The Indians have been owned by Larry Dolan since 2000.  He is a lawyer by trade and was a partner in Cleveland law firm, but the deep pockets belong to his brother Charles who made his stash in the cable TV industry.  Charles shared his wealth with the rest of the Dolan family via a family trust which Larry used to become a MLB owner.  Larry has been accused of penny pinching at times but seems to have supported the team appropriately when it had a chance to win.  There is a lot of current angst among fans about Francisco Lindor.  Unfortunately it is a fact that most players who reach free agency do not sign with their current team and Lindor seems set of testing free agency, so it trading him before that happens makes perfect baseball sense.

Grade B

Management:

Chris Antonetti has been the President of Baseball Operations since 2015.  His assistant is Mike Chernoff.  I have to confess to not following the Indians roster closely but they have been competitive during Antonetti's tenure so far.  His real test will be how he handles the apparent teardown/rebuild.

Terry Francona has been Manager of the Indians since 2012(wow!  Has it been that long?).  He is widely respected as one of the better managers in the game.  He has led them to the postseason several times but has not gotten them the ring they have been missing since 1948.

Grade B+.

Current Roster:

Starting Nine:  Roberto Perez C, Carlos Santana 1B, Cesar Hernandez 2B, Jose Ramirez 3B, Francisco Lindor SS, Jordan Luplow LF, Oscar Mercado CF, Franmil Reyes RF, Domingo Santana DH.

Bench:  Sandy Leon C, Jake Bauers IF/OF, Christian Arroyo IF, Delino DeShields OF.

Starting Rotation:  Mike Clevinger RHP, Shane Bieber RHP, Carlos Carrasco RHP, Adam Plutko RHP, Aaron Civale RHP.

Bullpen:  Brad Hand LHP, Nick Wittgren RHP, Adam Cimber RHP, Oliver Perez LHP, Emmanuel Clase RHP, James Hoyt RHP, Jefry Rodriguez RHP, Zach Plesac RHP.

Lindor, Ramirez and Carlos Santana are established stars.  How long can Carlos Santana keep cranking out great seasons at the plate?  Will Lindor get traded by the deadline?  The rest of the starting nine are significant question marks.  The rotation is not what it used to be but still above average with some depth.

Grade B.

Farm System:

Top prospect Nolan Jones looks like a 3-true-outcomes power hitter.  Beyond that the system is not impressive.

Grade D.