Kuzul

Cleveland Indians outfielder Rajai Davis hit for his first career cycle Saturday in a 9-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

One day after the Tribe and Jays played a 19-inning affair, Davis had the game of his life, which he capped off by hitting a single off Toronto closer Roberto Osuna in the ninth inning.

Davis finished the game 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in addition to his round-tripper.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Davis broke a long cycle drought for the Indians:

The Indians provided the following breakdown of Davis’ place in team history after he completed one of baseball’s rarest accomplishments:

Davis’ cycle was of the reverse variety, as he hit a home run, triple, double and single in that order.

According to James Smyth of YES Network, the reverse cycle has happened just six times in MLB history:

He led off the game with a homer off Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada in the first inning, as seen in this video from SportsTime Ohio:

The triple came in the third by virtue of a questionable dive in right field by Ezequiel Carrera. Davis added a double in the seventh and a single in the ninth to complete the feat.

Davis’ cycle is the second in Major League Baseball this season. Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman previously turned the trick in June.

Saturday’s game may have been bittersweet for Davis, as it snapped Cleveland’s 14-game winning streak.

At the same time, the 35-year-old veteran hit for the cycle against the team he played for from 2011 to 2013.

His performance was a continuation of what has been one of Davis’ best MLB seasons to date. After this game, he checks in with a .275 batting average, nine home runs, 31 RBI and 22 stolen bases.

Davis is making a strong case for a potential All-Star berth, and hitting for the cycle will be near the top of his resume when it comes time for the managers to make their selections.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Remember when the Cavaliers were the hottest act in Cleveland? You know, what with their winning the NBA Finals and snapping the city’s 52-year championship drought?

Well, they had their time. Now it’s the Indians’ turn, and you can practically hear them telling the Cavs, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

The Tribe went into Friday’s afternoon tilt at the Toronto Blue Jays having won 13 games in a row. That afternoon matchup gradually turned into an evening contest, as the Indians and Blue Jays waged a battle that lasted more than six hours and into the 19th inning.

That was when, in the top of the inning, Carlos Santana punched every gut in the Rogers Centre with a solo home run that snapped a 1-1 tie. Behold:

After that, Trevor Bauer finished off a five-inning scoreless appearance out of the bullpen to preserve a 2-1 win. It may only be one win for two games’ worth of baseball, but they’ll take it.

“I guess if you’re going to set a record, you might as well do it the hard way,” said Bauer afterward, via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

At any rate, that’s 14 in a row for the Indians and a 49-30 record overall. They lead the AL Central by seven games over the defending champion Kansas City Royals. 

In times like these, the obligatory warning is that just as things are never as bad as they seem during a losing streak, things are never as good as they seem during a winning streak. Cleveland is not going to win its final 83 games. Even asking the Indians to stay on a 100-win pace is asking a lot.

But now, I shall follow that obligatory warning with a fun fact. As of Friday morning, these were the American League teams with the best odds of winning the 2016 World Series at Baseball Prospectus:

1. Cleveland Indians: 20.0%
2. Texas Rangers: 7.5%
3. Boston Red Sox: 6.2%

You see how the Tribe were on top? You see how it wasn’t even close? This may come off like a bold stance on the part of BP’s calculations, and perhaps an overreaction to the club’s winning streak.

Or, it could just be a plain ol’ slice of truth.

One of the older cliches in the book claims that pitching and defense (AKA “run prevention”) win championships. It’s an idea that can (and has) been put to the test, but there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence in favor of it. The San Francisco Giants have based their recent dynasty around run prevention. Likewise, the Royals relied heavily on run prevention in going to back-to-back World Series.

This should be music to the ears of the Indians. Run prevention is something they not only do better than other AL club, but way better. They entered Friday allowing only 3.68 runs per game, putting them comfortably ahead of the Houston Astros at 4.22 per game.

The lion’s share of the credit goes to Cleveland’s starting rotation, which closer Cody Allen called “the backbone of the team” in speaking to Bastian. One measure rated Cleveland’s rotation as the AL’s best last year, and it’s now leaving little doubt that it deserves that honor in 2016. The 3.48 ERA owned by Tribe starters is the best in the AL.

This isn’t too surprising. Many rated Cleveland’s rotation as one of the best in baseball coming into the year. Christina Kahrl of MLB.com posited it might even be the best, mainly because of the three-headed ace monster of Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco.

And so far, they’re performing just as well, if not better, than their 2015 selves:

Anyone could have seen this coming. What was harder to see coming is Bauer making the case that Cleveland’s Big Three is actually a Big Four. He’s breaking out with a 3.02 ERA in 95.1 innings. After years of frustrating results, the 2011 No. 3 pick looks like a completely different pitcher, as August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs wrote.

Meanwhile, there’s Josh Tomlin at the back end. Just your garden-variety No. 5 starter with a 3.21 ERA. No biggie.

The work being done by Cleveland’s rotation might be half the explanation for why the club is so excellent at preventing runs. But Allen, Jeff Manship, Dan Otero and the rest of a bullpen with a 3.05 ERA (No. 2 in the AL) deserves its credit as well.

Catching the ball is also important. And with Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis holding it down up the middle, Baseball Prospectus’ defensive efficiency metric shows the Indians convert batted balls into outs better than any team in the AL:

1. Indians: .726
2. Rangers: .718
3. Blue Jays: .716

All this is basically the long way of agreeing with what Tom Ley of Deadspin said in a more straightforward fashion: “Nobody can beat the Indians because nobody can hit them.” From their rotation to their bullpen to their defense, they’re a run-prevention nightmare.

That makes for a pretty large margin for error for an offense that’s in good-not-great territory. But that’s not to say Cleveland’s lineup is a pushover. It offers a good mix of power and speed. The Indians have slugged more home runs (100) than the mighty Red Sox offense and have swiped more bases (63) than every AL team except the Astros. 

It’s hard to call the Indians the best team in the American League. They look the part right now, but the obligatory warning above must be kept in mind. Plus, the Rangers and Baltimore Orioles are awfully good in their own right.

What’s clear now, and what should remain clear going forward, is that the Indians are one of those teams nobody will want to face in October. The way they prevent runs, they wouldn’t need to score many of their own to deliver another championship to Cleveland.

That would make them guilty of stealing the Cavaliers’ thunder. But from the sound of things, a kinda-sorta important Cavalier is OK with that:

It’s good to be the king. It’s also good to have the king’s blessing.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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There’s a shortstop in the American League who has all the qualities of a superstar. He’s very young, very charismatic and very skilled at hitting, baserunning and fielding.

Carlos Correa? Good guess. Xander Bogaerts? Another good guess. Manny Machado when he’s not playing third base? Yet another good guess. 

But if you guessed Francisco Lindor, congratulations! That might mean you can read a headline. Either that, or you’re giving Lindor the kind of attention that seemingly few others are giving him.

He’s been as big a reason as any for why the Cleveland Indians find themselves atop the AL Central, and he continued the trend in the club’s eighth straight win Saturday. As Carlos Carrasco spearheaded a 6-0 win over the Detroit Tigers with a four-hit shutout, Lindor led the Tribe’s offense with a pair of home runs. 

Feast thine eyes on his second, a solo shot in the eighth that effectively put the game out of reach:

“I think it’s my first multi-homer game ever,” Lindor said afterward, per Kyle Beery of MLB.com. “I don’t think I even did it in the minor leagues.”

Whatever the case, the 22-year-old now has 10 home runs on the season. That goes with a .306 average, an .837 OPS and 12 stolen bases on one side of the ball. On the other side, Lindor’s glove and arm have already made his personal highlight reel a feature-length spectacle.

All this looks similar to a rookie breakthrough that nearly won Lindor the AL Rookie of the Year in 2015. If that was Lindor’s star turn, what we’re seeing this year deserves to be called his superstar turn.

And yet, you’d never know it from looking at the people’s favorite American League shortstops. If the latest All-Star voting update is any indication, the masses prefer:

1. Xander Bogaerts: 2,116,020 votes
2. Alcides Escobar: 1,150,576 votes
3. Troy Tulowitzki: 814,544 votes
4. Elvis Andrus: 642,180 votes
5. Carlos Correa: 552,670 votes

It’s not surprising to see Bogaerts on top, as that’s where you’d expect to find a Boston Red Sox player with a league-leading .349 batting average. After winning the AL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and entering the year amid a whole lot of hype, it’s more surprising that Correa isn’t near the top.

But nothing is as surprising as Lindor not being in the top five. He’s up there with Bogaerts among the AL’s best players this season. And according to FanGraphs WAR, Lindor entered Saturday as one of the best everyday players in baseball, period, over the last calendar year:

Of course, WAR isn’t a perfect measure of value. The idea that Lindor has been the third-best position player in baseball over the last 365 days is less of a fact and more of a theory. 

But as far as theories go, this is a darn good one.

One thing WAR recognizes is that defense is more important at shortstop than it is at other positions, so it’s naturally going to fawn over any shortstop who excels with the leather. The metrics say Lindor has done that, as he ranks as by far the AL’s best shortstop in both defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating over the last two seasons.

Former Cleveland great Omar Vizquel has basically the same opinion as the metrics, telling Zack Meisel of the Plain Dealer: “Ever since last year, when I first got the chance to see him, it’s like, ‘Wow. This kid has a lot going on.'” Which brings us to an obligatory highlight to further prove the point:

Baseball America seemed to speak for everyone in rating Lindor as a 70-grade defender going into last season, so the quality of his glovework in the majors is no big shock. Because he also stole 90 bases in parts of five minor league seasons, the same can be said of his 24 career stolen bases.

What’s more shocking is what Lindor has done at the plate. The switch-hitter only had a .279 average in the minors, and he socked just 21 home runs. In light of that, his .309 career average and 22 home runs in the majors look out of place.

But as Lindor told me in October, his offensive surge in the majors has a lot do with how he’s soaked up information from the people around him.

“Michael Brantley. Jason Kipnis. Carlos Santana. They backed me up a lot,” he said. “There was also the work. The coaching staff makes you put in the work, day in and day out. That helped me as well.”

Nowadays, Lindor is taking all of his good work last year and pushing the envelope. He’s walking more, upping his BB percent from 6.2 to 8.6. He’s striking out less, dropping his K percent from 15.8 to 12.8. But somehow, he hasn’t sacrificed any power to make these improvements. His isolated power has only dropped from .169 to .165.

The only thing that’s not holding strong is Lindor’s batting average on balls in play, which has dropped from .348 to .322. That’s still well above average, though, and things should stay that way. As August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs wrote last month, Lindor’s speed, ability to use the whole field and ability to avoid easy outs all add up to a high-BABIP hitter.

And remember, Lindor is doing this at a position where offensive standards are pretty low. This makes him a rare breed: a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop who is also an advanced hitter. There may be shortstops with individual skills—Bogaerts’ bat, Correa’s power, Andrelton Simmons’ glove, etc.—better than his, but no other shortstop in baseball today is the total package like Lindor.

For the Indians, this means they have a legit AL MVP candidate on their hands. If Lindor doesn’t get the kind of attention he deserves before then, that would probably do the trick.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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Cleveland Indians third baseman Juan Uribe left Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels after being hit by a hard ground ball off the bat of Mike Trout. It is uncertain when he will be able to return.

Continue for updates.

Uribe Out vs. Royals

Monday, June 13

The team announced that Uribe will not play on Monday against the Kansas City Royals:

Uribe Taken Off on Cart

Sunday, June 12 

Alex Curry of Fox Sports Net said the 106 mph ground ball from Trout hit Uribe in the groin, which resulted in his removal on a cart.

Uribe was 0-for-2 at the plate before he was taken out of the game for Tyler Naquin. Naquin went to center field, while Michael Martinez moved from center to third base to fill in for Uribe.

Uribe’s Absence Will Be Strongly Felt in the Field

Uribe, 37, has been in the league since 2001 and is batting .217 with two home runs and 13 RBI this year entering Monday’s slate of games. He played for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets before signing with the Indians during the offseason.

He appeared for Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York last season and was with the Mets when they made the World Series, where they lost to the Kansas City Royals.

He is solid with the bat (.255/.302/.418 career slash numbers as of Monday) but is better known for his fielding at the hot corner. He’s accounted for 42 total defensive runs saved above average in his career at third base, per FanGraphs.

The Indians will likely turn to Martinez or Jose Ramirez at third base until Uribe is ready to return.

Martinez is only a .193 career hitter, but he does carry a .256 mark in 39 at-bats this season. Ramirez has been impressive for Cleveland in 2016 with a .303 batting average.

Both are versatile enough to play the infield or outfield, which gives manager Terry Francona options with his daily lineup even if Uribe misses time.

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Mother Nature interrupted Sunday’s game between the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning. The clouds opened, the tarps came out and the two American League Central foes endured a three-hour-plus delay.

These days, however, nothing can rain on the Indians’ parade.

The Tribe tacked on a pair of runs after play resumed and cruised to a 7-0 victory at Progressive Field, completing a four-game sweep of Kansas City. With that, Cleveland moved to 31-24 and edged 1.5 games ahead of the Royals for division supremacy.

Ladies and gentlemen, your first-place Indians. 

The Indians have been a trendy pick as far back as March 2015, when Sports Illustrated tapped them as World Series winners. Instead, they finished 81-80, 13.5 games out of first.

Still, multiple projection systems fired up the hype machine and again tapped them as division favorites this year, as Rob Rogacki of SB Nation’s Bless You Boys noted in April. 

It’s only June, but the Indians finally appear to be living up to the advanced billing. At the least, their sweep of the defending champs makes a loud, definitive statement in the balanced, crowded Central.

Kansas City sailed into the series with a headwind of its own, having won six straight. 

Cleveland, however, outscored the Royals 25-6 in the four contests. Sunday was the punctuation mark, as ace Corey Kluber and the bullpen collaborated on a three-hit shoutout and Mike Napoli, Tyler Naquin, Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor all went deep.

The Indians now own the third-best run differential in the AL at plus-46. And they’re an impressive 18-7 against AL Central foes after going 32-43 against division opponents in 2015.

That’s especially important in a race that figures to be a dogfight to the end. The Royals aren’t going anywhere, as they showed with their recent surge. The Detroit Tigers have enough firepower to stay in the hunt. And the Chicago White Sox are intent on contention, which they displayed by acquiring veteran right-hander James Shields from the San Diego Padres on Saturday. 

Right now, though, the Indians look like the favorites. Baseball Prospectus foretells a first-place finish for Cleveland, as does FanGraphs, so the computers still like them.

ESPN The Magazine‘s Buster Olney placed them fifth in his power rankings before Sunday’s sweep-sealing win, ahead of legit Fall Classic hopefuls such as the Washington Nationals and New York Mets:

The Indians currently sit in the top third in baseball in team ERA and runs scored. Their starting pitchers are second in the AL in strikeouts, and that’s with right-hander Carlos Carrasco missing more than a month with a hamstring injury.

Carrasco returned June 2 and went five innings in a win over Kansas City. He rejoins a rotation headlined by Kluber—the 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner—and Danny Salazar, who owns a 2.24 ERA and has fanned 81 in 68.1 innings. 

On offense, Cleveland has been without former All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley, who underwent offseason shoulder surgery and suffered a setback in May that landed him on the disabled list again.

On Friday, manager Terry Francona said Brantley is “a ways away” from returning, per Chris Assenheimer of the Chronicle-Telegram. Assuming he does come back healthy, he’ll bolster the lineup significantly.

But it’s not as though Cleveland is hapless with the lumber. 

Lindor, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, has complemented his slick fielding at shortstop with a .313/.367/.456 slash line, while Napoli leads the team with 14 homers and 42 RBI after signing a one-year, $7 million deal with Cleveland this winter.

Adding another hitter at the deadline might be prudent, especially if Brantley doesn’t return to form. Oakland A’s outfielder Josh Reddick, currently on the shelf with a thumb injury, is one intriguing option.

That’s talk for another day, though. Cleveland, at last, is clicking.

“We’ve turned the corner,” second baseman Jason Kipnis said after the Indians picked up a second consecutive walk-off victory on Thursday, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “Guys are involved. Guys are interested, not like we weren’t before, but anytime you win two in a row with a walk-off you’ve got guys feeling good. They’re showing up at the ballpark with smiles on their faces.”

Cleveland fans should be smiling too. After wallowing in fizzled hype and dashed expectations, these Indians are making a move.

And right now, not even Mother Nature can stand in their way.

All statistics current as of June 5 and courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

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Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley is dealing with a shoulder issue that saw him land on the disabled list Saturday. It’s unclear when he’ll return to the field.

Continue for updates.

Brantley Placed on DL

Saturday, May 14

The Indians announced Brantley’s move to the DL was retroactive to May 10, and they promoted Michael Martinez to take his place on the active roster.

Brantley put together a stellar 2015 season, as he batted .310 with 84 RBI, 15 home runs and a league-leading 45 doubles. Operating in the heart of Cleveland’s order, Brantley posted the second-best offensive wins above replacement mark (3.7) of his career to date, per Baseball-Reference.com.

However, the 28-year-old’s stellar campaign came to a screeching halt when he suffered a shoulder injury in late September. According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Brantley wound up suffering a small tear in his right labrum that required surgery.

As a result, his 2016 debut was delayed until April 25 as he progressed through a lengthy rehabilitation process.

But even though Brantley returned within the first few weeks of the season, he didn’t immediately resemble the player who stuffed stat sheets last season.

“I’m kind of kicking myself a little bit,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of Brantley’s return to the diamond, per Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel. “I think we might have gone a little too far, too much, too fast. I didn’t want to do that, and I think we probably did.”

Through 11 games this season, Brantley is batting .231 with no home runs and seven RBI as he seeks to work back into a groove following extended time on the shelf.

So long as Brantley is dinged up, Rajai Davis should shift over to left field as Francona reshuffles his batting order and outfield alignment.

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Cleveland Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco left Sunday’s game against the Detroit Tigers after straining his hamstring while trying to cover first base. Carrasco has been placed on the disabled list, and it is uncertain when he will be able to return to the mound.

Continue for updates.

Carrasco Return Timeline Revealed

Monday, April 25

The Indians announced Carrasco has been placed on the disabled list, as he will be out for four to six weeks.

Bauer a Likely Replacement for Carrasco

Carrasco pitched 2.2 innings of one-hit ball before the injury. He was replaced by Trevor Bauer.

The 29-year-old Carrasco had been great in his first three starts, compiling a 2.79 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 19.1 innings. If not for a propensity to give up the long ball—he’s already surrendered four home runs in 2016—his numbers would look even better.

Bauer, who had been a starter until this season, should get the first shot to fill in for Carrasco. The 25-year-old made his sixth appearance of the year Sunday.

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The Cleveland Indians are going to win the World Series.

If that prediction sounds familiar, maybe it’s because you saw it last year on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The Indians, of course, did not win the World Series. To the contrary, they finished 81-80, 13.5 games back of the eventual champion Kansas City Royals in the American League Central. And Cleveland fans were left shaking their heads and muttering about jinxes.

So here we go again. With Opening Day less than a month away, the Indians are again a sexy outside-the-box pick to surge in the standings and maybe even snap their 68-year championship drought.

FanGraphs, to pick one prognosticator, has the Tribe winning the division over the Royals, up-and-coming Minnesota Twins and revamped Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox.

John Smoltz, speaking on MLB Tonight, tapped the Indians as a wild-card team, which can be an equally effective path to a Commissioner’s Trophy.

“I think their starting pitching is good enough, their offense is good enough. … So yeah, I’m buying a little bit,” Smoltz said.

Now, the obvious question: Is this just more hollow hype?

Or, if you prefer mixed metaphors: Is Cleveland a paper tiger or a sleeping giant?

Any case for the Indians as legit contenders begins with the starting pitching. And this group is undeniably dominant.

Last season, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer became the first quartet in MLB history to notch 100-plus strikeouts apiece before the All-Star break. And while missing bats isn’t the only mark of a good pitcher, that single stat underscores the level of filthy stuff Cleveland’s starting corps can dish.

Kluber, who turns 30 in April, is the oldest of the bunch, meaning improvement is possible—a night-sweat-inducing thought for opposing hitters.

“There’s been times, we’ve all seen it with some of our younger pitchers, where they’ve made youthful mistakes,” manager Terry Francona said, per Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press (h/t Fox Sports). “But they also look really healthy and are throwing the ball good, and they work hard. Besides Kluber winning a Cy Young [in 2014], hard to outdo that, but we all think there’s room for all of them to grow.”

Likewise, Cleveland boasts an enviable young offensive nucleus.

Shortstop Francisco Lindor, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, and All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis form one of the better keystone combos in baseball. Designated hitter Carlos Santana pairs on-base tendencies with consistent 20-homer pop.

Left fielder Michael Brantley, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, has been good for 10.2 WAR over the past two seasons, per Baseball-Reference.com. Catcher Yan Gomes is two years removed from a 21-dinger season.

And all are on the right side of 30.

Oh, and Cleveland can catch the ball too, thanks to a team defense that was third-best in baseball in 2015, per FanGraphs.

OK, now the glass-half-empty take. The Indians bullpen posted the second-lowest ERA in the AL with a 3.12 mark last year. But a number of relief arms outside the core of closer Cody Allen and setup men Bryan Shaw and Zach McAllister departed over the winter, creating some uncertainty. (Paging Ricky Vaughn?)

And the offense, which finished 18th in baseball in runs scored in 2015, could use another right-handed power bat at least.

The Indians, in other words, are a talented team with holes. If things break right, it’s easy to imagine them in the playoff mix. If their weaknesses are exposed, they could sink.

Then again, you could say the same about virtually every AL club. The Junior Circuit is stuffed with fringe contenders and short on prohibitive favorites. It’s the parity former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig dreamed of.

Perhaps the best argument for the Indians in 2016 is the way they finished the 2015 season. After limping out of the gate and closing out the first half at a disappointing 42-46, Cleveland finished on a 32-21 run and remained mathematically in the playoff hunt until late September.

The challenge now is to build on that success and sustain it over a 162-game grind. Because if the Tribe can slip into October, their starting pitching could carry them far.

So, to answer our original question: The Indians are much more than hype. They’ve got the talent to back it up and the pieces to be a genuine postseason player.

The Royals remain the class of the division until further notice, and there are scores of hopefuls in the AL West and East, but Cleveland is a sleeper no one should sleep on.

Provided, that is, Sports Illustrated keeps its distance.

All statistics current as of March 9 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Cleveland Indians‘ depleted outfield has taken another hit, with Abraham Almonte receiving an 80-game suspension.

On Friday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported Major League Baseball suspended the outfielder for failing a test for performance-enhancing substances.

Per Tom Withers of the Associated Press, the Indians said in a statement that they were “disappointed” upon learning of Almonte’s suspension.

The Indians acquired Almonte from the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline last season. He appeared in 51 games for the team, hitting .264/.321/.455 in 178 at-bats. He also provided solid defense in center field, with FanGraphs crediting him with two defensive runs saved in 481.1 innings. 

Losing Almonte for half of the season is a devastating blow for the Indians, who were already coming into 2016 with major outfield questions. Left fielder Michael Brantley had shoulder surgery in November, which could keep him out for at least the regular season’s first month.

The situation in right field is fluid, with Lonnie Chisenhall and Collin Cowgill possibly platooning. Cleveland did sign Rajai Davis, who has experience at all three outfield positions, early in the offseason. 

Even though Almonte wasn’t a lock to end up as Cleveland’s starting center fielder, he was an option for manager Terry Francona to choose from.

Now, Francona and the Indians front office will have to get more creative with their outfield mix. The American League Central figures to be one of MLB’s most competitive divisions next year, so any setback is huge.

The good news is that MLB announced Almonte’s suspension early enough for Cleveland to see which outfielders separate themselves from the pack during spring training.

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Newly signed Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Tommy Hunter could be sidelined for at least three months following offseason core-muscle surgery.

Continue for updates.

Hunter Could Make an Impact When He Returns

Saturday, Feb. 20

Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported the news Saturday just days after Hunter signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Cleveland.

Hunter, who has started 75 games in his career—but none since 2013—spent last season with the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles, compiling a 4.18 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 14 walks in 60.1 innings pitched. 

D.J. Short of Hardball Talk noted Hunter, along with the injured Craig Stammen (elbow), could be an important part of the Indians bullpen later in the year: “Both could be useful bullpen arms if they come back healthy, but the Indians will have to make do without them in the early part of the season.”

Hunter is 46-33 in his career with a 4.31 ERA to go along with 423 strikeouts and 151 walks in 676.2 innings.

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