With the reigning American League champions returning almost the entire roster from 2016 and adding to that the biggest free agent slugger on the market, Edwin Encarnacion, there is less room for the kind of veteran on a minor league deal signing than there has been in years. With that in mind, this class of those with invites to Major League camp who aren’t on the 40 man roster is smaller than any in recent memory and they are generally far from winning a roster spot. That being said, you never know who will have a break out Spring or possibly stick around with Columbus to help the Indians later in the season, so let’s get to know the Spring class of 2017.
Austin Jackson
The most recently signed minor league invitee, Jackson has come a long way since he signed a one year $5M deal with Chicago last year. After playing just 54 games with the White Sox, he tore his meniscus and missed the rest of the year. Without his speed (averaged 18 steals per season from 2010-15, but just stole two in 2016), defense (10.1 UZR/150 in 2015, -12.9 in 2016) or any power (slugged .399 before 2016, .343 in 2016), the best deal he could get was a minor league one in Cleveland with a $1.5M contract should he make the 25 man roster and an option to leave after Spring Training should he not.
While a bounce back season wouldn’t normally be expected from a hitter with a .319 BABIP, but prior to 2016, his career average BABIP was over .350 and fangraphs projects him to be a .257/.315/.371 hitter in 2017, to be a slightly below average defender in center field (making him a superior option to anyone the Indians currently have) and to steal 14 bases if he plays a full season. These may be overly positive, but given the current situation in the outfield, he was certainly worth a chance and there is no risk if he doesn’t work out by the end of Spring Training.
Chris Colabello
Where better to start than a 1B/DH with a career WAR of -1.0 who was suspended half the year in 2016 for PED abuse? To be fair, this deal was made before the Indians signed that other Toronto first baseman when Jesus Aguilar was still listed as the starting 1B for 2017 on the depth chart.
I looked deeper into the Colabello deal when it was signed, but at the moment the most likely result will be Colabello taking over for Aguilar as the Clippers first baseman should Aguilar be lost through waivers. Aguilar is out of minor league options and there is no room for him on the Major League roster, so we should be nearing the end of this incredibly lengthy AAAA relationship and Colabello should provide a bridge to Nellie Rodriguez in Columbus. Should the Indians need a short term option at 1B or DH during the 2017 season, Colabello would be a much greater option than Aguilar even if his great 2015 was steroid fueled.
Dan Robertson
An under the RADAR signing shortly after the season ended, the 30 year old Robertson played for Seattle last year, his fourth franchise in three years. Another AAAA player with a bat too good for AAA (.288/.362/.392 in 452 games), but not good enough for the Majors. Robertson doesn’t bring speed, power or a good eye, but he has played all three outfield positions in the Majors and been pretty proficient at both corner spots.
While his lack of a bat has kept him to only minimal playing time in the Majors, he has been worth a 9.3 UZR/150 in left, 0.7 in center and 22.6 in right. Take all those numbers with a grain of salt as none are significant, but one has to assume that’s what the Indians were looking at when bringing him in. Of course, they also have to replace Joey Butler, Michael Choice and Collin Cowgill on the Clippers and Robertson’s veteran AAA experience should go a long way into bringing home the 2017 Governor’s Cup.
Steve Delabar
The 32 year old right handed reliever struggled in Cincinnati last year and ultimately pitched in Japan to end the season. Delabar had two great seasons in 2012 and 2013 when he was an All-Star and had consecutive years with a K/9 above 12 and an ERA below 3.40, but he hasn’t neared either number in his three seasons since, pitching only a few innings each season with the Blue Jays and Reds. He’s a reclamation project if there ever was one and, while the success rate on turning around a career like his is low, it has been done before.
Travis Banwart
Banwart last pitched in the United States with the Indians as part of the Columbus Clippers rotation in 2014. He has since spent three seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before his recent signing. He will likely rejoin the Clippers, possibly as a reliever this time. Given that he is 30 and struggled greatly in the KBO in each of the last two seasons, it is best not to expect anything of Banwart, even at the AAA level.
Erik Kratz
The last two players are retreads for the Tribe, so we’ll look at the last new guy, Kratz, first. Every year, every Major League team brings in a few extra catchers because they need people for pitchers to throw to so they are ready in time for games to begin in Spring. Kratz is one of those guys.
He’ll turn 37 next June and has seven Major League seasons under his belt. The majority of his regular work came in Philadelphia in 2012 and 2013, since when he’s never played in more than 50 games in a year. His .094/.105/.153 line in 2016 through 33 games with Houston and Pittsburgh make Yan Gomes look like Jose Altuve, but his glove has been good enough through his career that he’s a 0.1 WAR player over his 225 games. In all, he’s the kind of catcher that makes one ask, “why did the Indians let Chris Gimenez and Adam Moore go?”
Guillermo Quiroz
Back again to win the Clippers another International League title, Quiroz hasn’t played in a Major League game since 2014, but that won’t stop him from beating up on kids a decade younger than him in AAA. With no decent high level catching prospects beyond Francisco Mejia, Quiroz won’t be taking at bats away from anyone and he must do a pretty good job with the young arms or the Indians wouldn’t have wanted him back.
In related news, Mejia will probably start the year in Akron, so this could be the second year in a row that the Indians don’t have a catching prospect in AAA (at least to begin the year). With that in mind, at least they will have two veterans available to work with the pitching staff and two veterans who aren’t likely to jump ship once it’s announced that they didn’t make the 25 man roster.
Michael Martinez
There have been 4,588 position players to accrue at least 550 plate appearances in Major League Baseball history. Martinez ranks 4,398th among then in fWAR. Among 290 active players who qualify, he ranks 290th. This wouldn’t matter (players like Quiroz and Robertson don’t qualify although Kratz does and comes in at 258), except that Martinez actually has a chance at making the team.
Martinez never should have been on the Major League roster last year with players like Erik Gonzalez and Yandy Diaz available in the minors yet he was not only on the regular season roster for much of the year, but the post-season roster as well. Not only that, but he played in post-season games including the last at bat of the World Series.
For some insane reason, the Indians front office decided that Indians fans should be reminded of that failure for a longer period and they resigned him to a minor league deal. At the same time, Gonzalez has been granted another option year so he doesn’t have to make the team out of camp or be lost as was originally expected. This, along with the Indians potentially keeping Diaz in AAA longer to extend his years of team control, could lead to the worst active player in baseball and one of the worst in baseball history being on the roster of the favorite to win the AL pennant for a second year in a row.
Adam Moore
It wouldn’t be Spring Training without the veteran reserve catcher and, despite waiting until the last minute to sign the free agent, Moore will be an invitee for the third straight season. In each of the last two seasons, Moore has been the first man in as an injury replacement, only to be subsequently replaced just as quickly. He’ll likely serve a similar role this year. If the Indians need a catcher for a day in the Majors, look for it to be Moore. If they need one for two or three days, they may look elsewhere.
Wily Mo Pena
A last second and extremely surprising, the Indians brought in Wily Mo on a minor league deal worth $700K should he make the team on the last day of January. Although he didn’t play last year, Pena did hit 32 home runs in 2014 and 17 more in 2015…in Japan. Pena hasn’t played for an American team since 2011 with the Mariners and Diamondbacks where he batted .204/.250/.416. Recently turned 35, this is truly a strange move for a team that already has full time players at both 1B and DH. Pena had only played outfield until he moved to first base in Japan, but he was terrible in the field even when he was young. One can only imagine what kind of shape he is at 35, having not faced Major League pitching in five years.
Minor League Invites
A group of eight Indians minor leaguers has been invited to Major League camp despite not being on the 40 man roster. This includes top prospect, Bradley Zimmer and another top outfield prospect in Greg Allen. Middle infielders Gonzalez, Eric Stamets and Ronny Rodriguez have also been invited as well as the third baseman Diaz and first baseman Nellie Rodriguez. Pitchers Josh Martin and Tyler Olson, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City last July, have also been added.
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