Cleveland Indians: Ramblings on the first half of 2018

The front office strikes again

Have you chewed your fingernails clean off your hands at the sheer thought of an Indians starter leaving a game with a late lead in 2018? If so, there’s a support group available to help you. The group convenes at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario 81 times a year, and if you’re willing to travel, you can even catch up with them on the road from time to time.

Tonight, a few members will voyage to Arlington, Texas, where they will welcome a guest with the power to strike down all their fears and erase over three months worth of recurring nightmares.

Brad Hand (along with rookie Adam Cimber), acquired Thursday from the Padres, will join the Tribe for the team’s first series of the second half, immediately strengthening a woeful relief corps. There are plenty of concrete, on-field elements to analyze in this trade that sent top prospect Francisco Mejia to San Diego, but we are going to instead address the intangibles.

First and foremost, no Indians player benefits more from this blockbuster deal than Cody Allen. For much of 2018, Allen has tried to shoulder a load he once shared with two other relievers. Bryan Shaw‘s offseason departure and Andrew Miller‘s injury troubles have forced Allen into something of a lone ranger role at the back end of the Indians bullpen. Neil Ramirez and Oliver Perez have been serviceable in the absence of Miller, but there really is no substitute for the towering lefty in the late innings.

For those lamenting Allen’s uncharacteristically high 4.66 ERA, it’s worth taking into consideration the mindset of a pitcher who is, in many respects, solely responsible for protecting the team’s lead late in games. The city of Cleveland should be thoroughly indoctrinated as to the toll that kind of pressure can take on an athlete who is expected to carry a collection of unreliable cohorts.

With the addition of Hand and the imminent return of Miller, a considerable weight will soon be lifted from Allen’s shoulders. In fact, there is every reason to expect a ripple of confidence to spread throughout the entire bullpen as the second half gets underway. Hand’s impact on the Indians relief corps will be far more significant than the innings he pitches and the outs he records.

The most important thing to take away from this trade, however, is that it is yet another example of one of the best small market front offices in the game doing what it takes to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them. We just got done watching the Baltimore Orioles blunder their way through the Manny Machado situation for a year and a half. The Pittsburgh Pirates, just a few years removed from legitimate World Series contention, had to watch it all slip away on account of ownership’s refusal to go for broke when they had the chance.

Ask a fan of the Orioles or Pirates if they wouldn’t kill for a front office committed to doing the right thing at the right time. Indians fans don’t have to worry about that. Chris Antonetti has proven time and time again that when the Tribe is within arm’s reach of something great, they will not squander it by being stingy with prospects or frugal with cash.

The trade for Hand is an improvement for the team, sure. But more than anything, it’s a message to the fan base: Bring on the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros and everyone else. We are gunning for a World Series.

Next: Previewing the series against the Rangers

And the trade deadline is still 11 days away. The Indians front office isn’t finished yet.