If you’ve seen my two previous posts then you are aware of the Indians’ struggles hitting for power this past season, you are also aware that they have expressed an interest in two recently non-tendered sluggers, Pedro Alvarez and Chris Carter. Both could potentially help the Indians offense by providing much needed power to the lineup, the question then becomes which one is better suited for a Tribe uniform?
Chris Carter is the quintessential power hitter. Every time he makes contact there is a great chance that it’s leaving the ballpark. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make contact too often and he’s limited himself to an all-or-nothing style of hitter since he’s entered the big leagues. But the numbers don’t lie, he possesses tremendous power that the Indians haven’t seen since Travis Hafner and Jim Thome before him.
Like Alvarez, Carter is a prototypical designated hitter. Neither can play defense worth a lick and are much more valuable at the plate than anywhere else on the baseball field. However, Carter is much more of a home run hitter than Alvarez, who is a better overall hitter. Over the past three seasons, Carter has posted ISO ratings of .227, .264 and .228 to go along with 29, 37, and 24 home runs in those seasons.
Unlike Alvarez, Carter performs fairly evenly against left-handed and right-handed pitching. For his career he has a 115 wRC+ rating against lefties, compared to his 108 against righties. While his drop off isn’t as dramatic against like handed pitchers as Alvarez’ is, he strikes out more often overall than Alvarez, which is Carter’s biggest weakness as a hitter.
As is the case with any free agent signing, if the price is right then the deal is worth it. Obviously fans would love it if the front office signed an All-Star masher to cement into the 4-hole in the lineup and have him hit 35 home runs for the next 8 seasons but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. Carter isn’t this kind of hitter, in fact he’s far from it. His value exists because he has more raw power than nearly every hitter in baseball when he actually makes contact. Should he be added to the Tribe, putting him in the four spot could pay off in the long run because it could move Santana to the 5th position, where he’s much better suited.
Personally, I believe Carter has too many holes in his approach for the Indians to acquire him with the intent that he fill the void in the middle of the order. I’m not sure the Indians can afford to bring on a guy who will only post a .300 OBP if he’s having a good year. If they are able to acquire Carter on a cheap deal and place him in the 5-7 spot in the lineup like the Astros did this past season, then it could certainly be worth it, but to expect him to solve all the Indians’ issues is misguided. Granted he’s only going to turn 29 in a few days, but his performance this past season worries me. Regardless of my analytic-leaning tendencies, a .199 hitter isn’t something that gets me too excited. I’d prefer the Tribe look into Pedro Alvarez over Carter, though I don’t believe either are the “answer” to the Indians problems, but perhaps they are a step in the right direction.
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