Clevelinks: Cleveland Indians Free Agent Predictions; Kyle Crockett Notes

MLB Trade Rumors Expects Another Light-Spending Offseason for the Cleveland Indians

MLB Trade Rumors released their annual top 50 free agent list yesterday, and the Cleveland Indians were almost entirely absent. A known small-market team with a “small” payroll of around $90 million, few fans would have expected to see the Indians making a big splash on the free agent market. This said, it was a surprise to see Tim Dierkes not predict any of the top-50 free agents to sign with the Tribe. He did, however, mention the Indians as a possible landing place for Byung-ho Park, David Freese, and Austin Jackson.

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In other news, Paul Hoynes broke-down the Kansas City Royals’ lead over the Cleveland Indians. Going position by position, he identified third base, center field, right field, and designated hitter as question marks for the Tribe. As he put it, “Band-Aids and hope-for-the-best-platoons” will not serve sufficient to catch to World Series champs.

Also, Katrina Putnam argued that Kyle Crockett would rebound in 2016. The left-handed pitcher rose quickly through the Cleveland Indians’ minor league system and posted strong results across 30 big-league innings in 2014. His 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings and slow fastball left some to be desired, but a 1.80 earned run average and 3.23 fielding independent pitching, which estimates a pitcher’s deserved rate of run allowance, painted a more positive pitcher. 2015, however, was a bit of a doozy. He allowed eight earned runs across 17.2 innings. A lot of these struggles stemmed from poor fielding and an abnormally low left on-base percentage, leaving ERA estimates to suggest an ERA in the mid-threes.

More from around the AL Central:

Cleveland Indians: Something Mark Shapiro Missed in His Time in Cleveland – Wahoo’s on First

’20 players get qualifying offers; one week to decide’ – MLB.com

Cleveland Indians’ Left-Handed Pitcher Kyle Crockett Can Rebound in 2016 – Wahoo’s on First

‘Sabathia opens up about alcohol treatment’ – ESPN

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