Here are 20 Walk-Off Thoughts after the Indians defeated the A’s 8-0 Sunday afternoon.
1. But, mostly, here are 20 Walk-Off Thoughts on a crazy trade deadline day that included one major deal completed and one major deal vetoed.
2. Also, here are today’s two stories, for more coverage, one detailing the trades themselves—including perspective from president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona—and one on the clubhouse’s reaction to the front office being aggressive—after talking with Jason Kipnis, Mike Napoli and Cody Allen. And here's a complete transcript of what Antonetti and Francona had to say.
3. Well, the Indians are going for it. Acquiring All-Star reliever Andrew Miller is exactly the type of move fans have wanted. He’s one of the elite arms in baseball and will make $9 million a year through the 2018 season—which lines up perfectly with so many other key pieces who are under club control at least through that year, one of the key reasons Miller had such high value.
4. He’s also a perfect fit into the Indians’ bullpen. He and Cody Allen offer a right-left, 1-2 punch, and one of the best in baseball at that. Both pitchers seem willing to handle either a setup or closer’s role, giving the Indians added versatility. But, for now, the Indians can handle any close game knowing those two are available, along with Bryan Shaw. Combine that with the best starting rotation in the AL? It’s a good recipe.
5. Giving up Justus Sheffield was largely the Indians dealing from a position of depth. He’s a strong prospect, but the Indians do have a number of high-ranking pitching prospects and also have a deep starting rotation all under control through at least the 2020 season. The piece that really hurt was Clint Frazier, who was arguably the No. 1 prospect in the system. The Indians keep Bradley Zimmer, also an outfielder and one of the top 25-30 prospects in baseball, but Frazier is a power bat with a bright future.
6. With Miller, the Indians not only bolster their claim as being the team to beat in the American League, they add a lot of value for 2017 and 2018. And, it’s not always wise to think like this in August, but having a lethal back-end of the bullpen can have even more of a game-by-game impact in the postseason, when more off days are built into the schedule.
7. The Indians are all in, but it’s for the next three seasons, not just this year. And through 2020 looks bright as well, with Zimmer and others included in that picture.
(My apologies that this is the only video, and it’s shaky. In the “Crap Happens” category, about two minutes before the press conferences, my pen exploded and my dominant hand was covered in ink, not all of it dried. Of course.)
8. Now, on to Lucroy, who delivered a punch to the gut of Indians fans. There was additional excitement around the Miller news because late Saturday night the Indians and Brewers agreed to a deal for Lucroy. Except, Lucroy has a no-trade clause, which gives him leverage. And with it, he vetoed the trade.
9. The Indians were willing to trade eight prospects—most of them in their top 30—for two All-Stars. Except, Lucroy doesn’t want to come to Cleveland, in part because he’s worried about playing time next year, which would be a free-agency year for him. That news actually was broken on Twitter while Antonetti and Francona were speaking about Miller.
10. Lucroy’s no-trade clause could be looked at in a couple ways. The first is that he didn’t do anything he wasn’t allowed to as per his written contract. Players negotiate no-trade clauses for plenty of reasons, one of them being for leverage in times like these. He’s also a catcher who just turned 30, so he doesn’t have many opportunities left to find a long-term deal. As much as nobody wants to hear that, as a pro athlete, it is important to cash in while you can. The other side is that Lucroy would have been dealt from a rebuilding team to a legitimate World Series contender, and while he might not have caught every day, his bat would have been in the everyday lineup as a first baseman or DH.
11. Said Corey Kluber, “I don’t know the specifics of why he chose to use that no-trade, but he had that in his contract, so that’s his right. As far as we’re concerned, we’ll move forward with the guys we do have here.”
12. So, unless Lucroy changes his mind, the Indians will have to look for another alternative at catcher and/or another bat to add to the lineup, perhaps someone like Steve Pearce from Tampa Bay, an outfielder/first baseman who crushes lefties and would fit in nicely with Lonnie Chisenhall.
13. Also, the Indians won on Sunday and are now 60-42 and still own the best record in the American League.
14. Kluber was dominant again, throwing seven scoreless innings and striking out seven. He’s now gone at least seven innings in each of last four starts. He’s also been nearly unhittable at home lately, going 4-0 with an 0.29 ERA in his last four home starts.
15. A good sign for the Indians has not only been Kluber’s success, but his positive relationship on the field with catcher Roberto Perez. Kluber and Gomes have been tied together for several years, but Kluber hasn’t seemed to miss a step with Perez behind the plate.
16. Said Kluber, “I think we had experience working together last year when Yan was injured last year. We went through some struggles at the beginning, but I think that we worked at it and got to the point where we were comfortable with each other. I think that he’s told me, would probably tell you as well, that he was a little hesitant at first. He didn’t want to put down the wrong fingers. I told him, ‘Hey, just go out there and call the game like you normally would. If I don’t like it, I’ll shake it off.’ I think once we got to that point, he was a lot more comfortable, I was a lot more comfortable, and it’s worked well.”
17. And said Indians manager Terry Francona, “And that’s not the easiest thing in the world. Going into a couple starts ago, Yan had caught I want to say almost every inning of every inning he’s pitched. I’m sure Berto knows that, and he’s worked hard to find a comfort zone and I also think Kluber has done a good job of allowing Roberto to relax back there and not feel like he’s on pins and needles. We’ve all seen where that’s the case, where you’ve got a starting pitcher that’s got a pretty good resume and he makes the guy behind there nervous. That doesn’t help anything.”
18. Perez reached base three times on Sunday (RBI-single, two walks). The struggles for Indians catchers at the plate this season have been well documented, another reason Lucroy rejecting the trade hurt. While Perez hasn’t collected many hits, he has been drawing walks, and is beginning to feel a bit more comfortable at the plate.
19. Said Perez, “I’ve been feeling a lot better lately. Just need couple more ABs. Since [the] surgery I didn’t get many ABs in the rehab assignment but I’m healthy now. I’m ready to contribute.”
20. Jason Kipnis drove in three runs Sunday, and is now hitting .344 in the month of July. He didn’t have the torrid first half he had last season, but has begun to heat up.