Mark Reynolds an Indian

[swerb]

Per Twitter. 1 year, 6 mill. Potentially 7.5mm with incentives.

[skatingtripods]

Like this move a lot. I can deal with 200 K's if he walks 75 times and hits 30 HR. Pretty decent 1B. Right handed bat with .857 career OPS against LHP. Can play 3B against tough LHP to give Chisenhall a day off. Very low risk with one-year deal. I said I preferred him to Youkilis and I'm going to stand by that.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Solid one year deal, I like it.

I assume he is playing first so no Youkilis, so I guess its now a full court press on Swisher.


Assuming we are not in contention at the deadline, he also represented the biggest upside compared to Youk. So Who knows maybe he can have a repeat of his 44 HR year and we can unload him for some very nice prospects.

OR

He sucks and we just paid 6 million for a windmill. When Im sure Russell Branyan would have been more than happy to do that for the league minimum.

[WiscTribeFan]

Get ready Fir Hamilton saying "...and Reynolds goes down on strikes..." A lot.

To me Youkilis brought a hard nose type edge to the clubhouse and field. Don't get the same vibe from Reynolds. Maybe more left in his tank, though.

[pup]

Like the deal more than the player. Shouldn't inhibit them from making more moves.

But fuck, going have to find someone to the bat on the ball consistently sooner or later.

[bac5665]

I like this move if this was last year. Doesn't bother me this year, but I wonder what the point is.

[skatingtripods]

I like this move if this was last year. Doesn't bother me this year, but I wonder what the point is.

This signing, and the interest in Victorino, Youk, Swisher, etc., indicate to me that there's a plan. These aren't moves that you make without having a bigger picture. They have clearly targeted the two biggest lineup weaknesses, 1B and LF, and are being proactive about them.

I think the initial plan is to patchwork and cobble something together and see if it sticks. To me, their direction was contingent on the success that they have early in free agency. Had they whiffed on every FA they targeted, they'd have gone the immediate rebuild route. Since they're having some success and showing free agents (and player agents) that they have money, I think it's all systems go to try and contend.

They'll either get Swisher or use that money for pitching. If they get Swisher, I think they'll be getting more money for pitching. The Dolans seem ready to spend money this offseason, given the green light that Antonetti has had thus far.

I'm not sure if they would have offered Swisher if Victorino had signed. Probably not, but for argument's sake, let's say that they would have. Victorino in LF, Swisher at 1B, Youkilis at 3B/DH. That would have been somewhere around $35M in salary for this season when it was all said and done, plus a long-term commitment of over $100M.

That's a front office that has a plan and money to do it.

Greinke has now set the top of the pitching market. Once they get Swisher or once he chooses a different team, I'm excited to see what they do. Shaun Marcum's at the top of my list. Ryan Dempster has turned down 2/26 from KC (also 2/25 from Boston IIRC) because he wants a three-year deal. I don't think he'd come here, but if they go knocking with 3/39 or 4/52, I think he listens. Not sure how he'd fare in the AL full-time, but he's significantly better than anything we've got.

Basically, what I'm saying is, you don't sign Mark Reynolds unless your plan is to try and contend through free agency. This isn't signing Casey Kotchman in February. This is attacking a very weak free agent crop early in the offseason. That says a lot.

[Kingpin74]

Get that trophy case ready.

I agree with Tripods that this move at least implies trying to do something this year, but I don't think anything we can do in free agency is enough to move the needle against Detroit. They underachieved big time, get Victor back, and add Hunter. It would take a lot of luck and overperformance to hang with them. The course of action that got us here is deplorable, but as of now I think any extra money we spend on the next 2 seasons is a waste. I guess there's no harm in a half-season flier though, the trade prices of Choo Cabrera and Perez won't drop a ton between now and then.

[peeker643]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

[scott]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing.

I agree. The Tribe has very little money allocated for next year. They need to spend some cash to avoid being in the same sentence as the Marlins. Reynolds allows them to mark 1st Base and RHB off the list of needs. But not in a logical or long term solution sort of way.

[bac5665]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

And hence why I don't care. This move is a pr move, and little more.

[skatingtripods]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

They could have very easily used Canzler over there and said that they were giving him a fair chance to prove himself. Also could have carried Yan Gomes on the roster. Santana will play first periodically.

There are in-house options that they could have used since contention looks like a very long shot.

I don't see how you can you sit there and say that there's no plan when they've tried to get four of the 12 or so notable free agents that have been signed and were reportedly trying to trade for Justin Upton. And they've targeted the biggest lineup needs on the team while waiting for the pitcher market to set itself. Yes, it's questionable that now is when they decide to spend money, a year where the free agent crop sucks. But, they're being far more proactive than we're used to.

[peeker643]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

And hence why I don't care. This move is a pr move, and little more.

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

[bac5665]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

And hence why I don't care. This move is a pr move, and little more.

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Probably not. Honestly, it probably depends, in mind mind at least, how Santana is doing. If he has finally learned that at bats can end in singles, or even ground outs, as opposed to walks, Ks or HRs, than I have less problem with Reynalds having that disease. I just don't want two of them. One is fine, if he hits HRs.

[skatingtripods]

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Actually has a career slash of .284/.364/.554/.918 with 25 sac flies in 206 PA in that situation. 55 K. Which is a K 26.6% of the time. Which is 6% less than his career K% rate.

[peeker643]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

And hence why I don't care. This move is a pr move, and little more.

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Probably not. Honestly, it probably depends, in mind mind at least, how Santana is doing. If he has finally learned that at bats can end in singles, or even ground outs, as opposed to walks, Ks or HRs, than I have less problem with Reynalds having that disease. I just don't want two of them. One is fine, if he hits HRs.

But we hold Santana to those standards. And rightfully so. Even though he's a younger player than Reynolds. Just like we should hold any player to those standards.

[peeker643]

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Actually has a career slash of .284/.364/.554/.918 with 25 sac flies in 206 PA in that situation. 55 K. Which is a K 26.6% of the time. Which is 6% less than his career K% rate.

Check out Casey Kotchman's splits in the same (and eerily similar) situation.

.370/.418/.481 .899 w/22sac flies in 213 PAs and 15Ks. 135RBI to Reynolds' 111.

[skatingtripods]

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Actually has a career slash of .284/.364/.554/.918 with 25 sac flies in 206 PA in that situation. 55 K. Which is a K 26.6% of the time. Which is 6% less than his career K% rate.

Check out Casey Kotchman's splits in the same (and eerily similar) situation.

.370/.418/.481 .899 w/22sac flies in 213 ABs and 15Ks. 135RBI to Reynolds' 111.

Impressive. Was he the first one you looked to cherry pick that stat from or did you have to cross names off the list before you got to him?

Kotchman stayed somewhat true to those numbers this year. .303/.333/.333/.667, just minus the power in 36 PA. Only struck out once.

If Reynolds is part of a bigger offseason plan, like I believe he is, then I really like the move. If it's a stand-alone move, then it makes no sense and can be judged accordingly.

He's better than what we have been trotting out there. There's no way you can deny that.

[peeker643]

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Actually has a career slash of .284/.364/.554/.918 with 25 sac flies in 206 PA in that situation. 55 K. Which is a K 26.6% of the time. Which is 6% less than his career K% rate.

Check out Casey Kotchman's splits in the same (and eerily similar) situation.

.370/.418/.481 .899 w/22sac flies in 213 ABs and 15Ks. 135RBI to Reynolds' 111.

Impressive. Was he the first one you looked to cherry pick that stat from or did you have to cross names off the list before you got to him?

Kotchman stayed somewhat true to those numbers this year. .303/.333/.333/.667, just minus the power in 36 PA. Only struck out once.

If Reynolds is part of a bigger offseason plan, like I believe he is, then I really like the move. If it's a stand-alone move, then it makes no sense and can be judged accordingly.

He's better than what we have been trotting out there. There's no way you can deny that.

I don't do much research or like looking at numbers. He's the guy Reynolds replaces so that's who I looked at.

And I'm not sure how big a difference a guy like Reynolds makes, to tell the truth. He's double the money, less accomplished with the glove (though not a hack by any means) and as a stand alone move doesn't excite me in the least.

It's not that the move makes zero sense to me, I guess I understand the concept. I just don't think it makes it much difference. If you go by those precious numbers, he's a one game upgrade in WAR over Kotchman. For $3million more than Kotchman last season.

[bac5665]

Wow.

I see nothing in terms of a plan here. Nothing. I see no point in this deal either other than you gotta put someone out there every day and Reynolds will at least say 'yes' to taking the money.

Good for him. Good for people who get to see one of his 12-15 HRs at home.

And at $6m that's only costing $26k per...K

And hence why I don't care. This move is a pr move, and little more.

Runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs. Can't wait til Reynolds doesn't put the ball in play. We get ALL over guys for those kinds of things. Wondering if we'll be fine with it then.

Probably not. Honestly, it probably depends, in mind mind at least, how Santana is doing. If he has finally learned that at bats can end in singles, or even ground outs, as opposed to walks, Ks or HRs, than I have less problem with Reynalds having that disease. I just don't want two of them. One is fine, if he hits HRs.

But we hold Santana to those standards. And rightfully so. Even though he's a younger player than Reynolds. Just like we should hold any player to those standards.

All I'm saying is that I want no more than 1 high K HR guy per team. I guess I don't care which of Santana or Reynalds figures it out, but it had better be one of them. I just would rather it be Santana because Santana might actually be a long term (relative to the small market cycle) answer here if he can figure it out.

[Erie Warrior]

This signing, and the interest in Victorino, Youk, Swisher, etc., indicate to me that there's a plan. These aren't moves that you make without having a bigger picture. They have clearly targeted the two biggest lineup weaknesses, 1B and LF, and are being proactive about them.

Must be a 5 year plan, because those spots have been black holes for half a decade. And if this is the fix, then it will be a black hole for another 5.

I admire your optimism.

[pup]

The Plan:

1. Be involved in all kinds of rumors.
2. Fall short on coming through with any of them.
3. Sign someone for the $ you had allocated to broken Grady and call it an upgrade.
4. Cry poor.
5. Blame fans.

[skatingtripods]

I don't do much research or like looking at numbers. He's the guy Reynolds replaces so that's who I looked at.

And I'm not sure how big a difference a guy like Reynolds makes, to tell the truth. He's double the money, less accomplished with the glove (though not a hack by any means) and as a stand alone move doesn't excite me in the least.

It's not that the move makes zero sense to me, I guess I understand the concept. I just don't think it makes it much difference. If you go by those precious numbers, he's a one game upgrade in WAR over Kotchman. For $3million more than Kotchman last season.

Well, depending on what source you look at, wins in free agency cost, on average, $4-5M per win.

Personally, I think Reynolds makes a lot of difference, assuming he stays healthy and performs to his usual numbers. Right handed bat with a .857 OPS against southpaws. A legitimate power threat. A guy who still takes his walks, though he definitely strikes out a lot. He ranked sixth in pitches per plate appearance in the AL last season, which will hold value, especially with Santana, who ranked fourth, and Choo, who ranked 13th.

The AL Central doesn't have the pitching that the NL West or AL East have. That should be of some benefit to him, though I won't count on it until I see it myself.

He definitely has his shortcomings as a player, but so does almost every FA out there this year.

I'd be excited about a lineup of Brantley-Cabrera-Choo-Santana-Reynolds-Kipnis-Swisher-Chisenhall and then a DH thrown in there somewhere, whoever that may be. That's a pretty formidable offense. Hard to match up against with three switch hitters and Reynolds possibly separating Choo and Kipnis.

Gotta find pitching. That'll cost some money. Wonder how much money we could put in play if we gave ~$20M to Swisher and Reynolds. Another $20M gets you Marcum + a second-tier guy or Dempster + a second-tier guy or Marcum + Saunders. Think the Indians are a good match with the Dodgers for Chris Capuano/Aaron Harang as well.

Like I've said all along, at least they're being proactive. I was getting pretty tired of not seeing anything happen or be discussed.

[pod2dawg]

Inhouse vs. Outhouse solutions.

In our case about the same.

PR. Thank God for am radio. Saves me a ton of money & time.

[Kingpin74]

Reynolds is probably the difference between 73 and 74 wins.

Swisher and Youkilis/another bat would probably be the difference between 74 and 78 wins. And they'll never spend big bucks on quality pitching, nor is there enough quality pitching available to fix this mess.

Leave it to this front office to go after 5 extra wins when it doesn't matter. Or they're spending/rumormongering just enough to throw angry fans off their scent for a little while. I really don't know what I'm missing when some of you guys continue to defend them. The party's over for the next two years. Can I please get a coherent strategy in place? We're either trying to contend through an aggressive trade with no extra money to fill in holes (2011-2012) or we're trying to spend money with no foundation to contend in the first place (2013). We can't find a young guy to play freaking first base that at least has some chance to be here long term? If you're getting Reynolds to be an eventual trade chip, then fine. But I think there are better ways to spend $6MM, especially when these skinflints are handing it out.

[e0y2e3]

Ah yes, bitching before knowing anything.....

This FO will NEVER win with the fans here, ever.

[Kingpin74]

Ah yes, bitching before knowing anything.....

This FO will NEVER win with the fans here, ever.

Before knowing what? That our pitching is a greasefire? Mark Reynolds is perfectly fine as a player but I'd rather spend cash on overslotting draft picks or putting it in the coffers when we actually have a shot at winning something. And they've managed to screw things up just fine with me attending 20-30 games a year since '04. I'm honestly OK with a bare bones approach in this market, I just wish they'd actually implement it correctly (see Tampa Bay Rays). And I think the Cavs FO sucks too before you bring up that counterpoint, haha.

[peeker643]

Ah yes, bitching before knowing anything.....

This FO will NEVER win with the fans here, ever.

Bwah!!! Yes, the jury is still out on how the Dolans will run this club. Giving them 15 years or so to get an idea is probably premature.

Working with another of their entities certainly gave me nothing to base my opinions on. If you knew a percent of what I've watched, heard and experienced you'd probably delete the post and go about your business.

But you go on ahead and do what ya do

[e0y2e3]

No, but bitching about this specific off-season is a bit ridiculous. You will likely have the fact to back your angst, but can we at least wait until they all present themselves? Two years ago everyone swore up and down the Indians would never trade major prospects at the dead-line, they did (no matter how unfortunate it turned out).

[motherscratcher]

Ah yes, bitching before knowing anything.....

This FO will NEVER win with the fans here, ever.

No shit. Didn't we spend the entire season last year bitching about not having a right handed power bat and calling the FO a bunch of morons for assembling a lineup of all lefties?

So they sign a cheap risk free one year deal for a right handed power bat coming off a down year and...

"PR MOVE!!!! THESE GUYS ARE TEH POOPY!"

[peeker643]

No, but bitching about this specific off-season is a bit ridiculous. You will likely have the fact to back your angst, but can we at least wait until they all present themselves? Two years ago everyone swore up and down the Indians would never trade major prospects at the dead-line, they did (no matter how unfortunate it turned out).

Time has nothing to do with what I'm talking about other than to assure you it simply doesn't matter. Unless you're talking about what I've seen and experienced for five years now.

Let me say this: if you think good things are coming you may be right. But it'll have to be under an entirely different set of circumstances.

I'm not going to get into it further than that. There will be plenty enough time for that soon enough and we won't use this thread to do it. But this team is a very good reflection of the organization as a whole. I mean, perfect representation.

Let's leave it at that.

[skatingtripods]

Mark Reynolds is perfectly fine as a player but I'd rather spend cash on overslotting draft picks or putting it in the coffers when we actually have a shot at winning something.

Teams have a set amount of money that they're allowed to spend on the first 10 picks of the draft. It's safe to say that they'll come up with that amount of money no matter what they do in free agency.

Everybody wants to spend the Dolans' money in different ways. Some want them to funnel money into the minor league system and player development. Some want them to pour funds into amateur scouting in Latin America. Some idiot, somewhere, is angrily wondering why they didn't get Zack Greinke.

Fact is, they appear ready to spend this offseason. That's something we should embrace, not complain about. If they were ready to give Swisher 4/50, Youkilis 2/18, or Victorino 4/44, the Reynolds contract clearly doesn't break their budget. There's more spending to be done. Whether you want to tear it down and rebuild or you agree with signing free agents, we should all at least agree on the simple fact that the willingness to spend money this offseason is a good thing.

[pup]

Spending is a good thing.

They were willing to spend last winter. They just didn't actually spend it.

[motherscratcher]

Now that we have our answer at 1st Base, and we are throwing money at Swisher with a decent shot at landing him, I'm wondering why we weren't part of Greinke sweepstakes? $25 mil per for 6 years not only helps for the 2013 playoff push, but it also gives you a great baraining chip if they shit the bed again.

Seriously, we should have signed Greinke. Fuckin' Shapiro. Worst GM ever.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

I'm super excited about 2013. I cannot wait to spend my hard earned money to watch this team play. It should be really awesome.

[leadpipe]

Last year, when they signed Kotchman, and I gave it a meh, many on here went apeshit about the upgrade,

This season, they sign Reynolds, Peeker gives it a meh, and people are going to do the same.

We can conjure up whatever numbers we want, but how those two players are really similiar lies in the fact that they have just enough weaknesses that the good teams don't really want em', so they fall to the teams that'll take them.

As a matter of fact, these are the type of guys that wind up on bad teams. For a reason.

Look, pretty apathetic to the situation here, but trying to build a winner here through free agency is both impossible and laughable. They should be putting ALLLLLLLL their resources into the future - not near future - the future. Cause they ain't gonna be close to good in the lear future - and open to anyone who wants to wager otherwise.

Me, I'd trade Santana. Cause he has value. He'll have significantly reduced value a year before he can walk.

Patching things up with Kotchmanns and Hanahans and Reynolds gets you about what you deserve in this league.

And as far as the lineup - you're looking at it through the eyes of spring - cause that line-up will be mediocre. Run of the mill. Just cause it won't blow like the pitching, doesn't mean it will be good.

[Erie Warrior]

cause that line-up will be mediocre. Run of the mill. Just cause it won't blow like the pitching, doesn't mean it will be good.

I admire your optimism.

[1Perry]

The Indians are better than they were this time last week. It didn't cost a ton of money or a long term deal. For that I'm glad to see that Francona appears to be having a positive influence on operations.

Will it fix attendance or the standings next year? Not likely, it's going to be tough to overcome the bust trades of Lee and C.C.

If you sign Swisher I bet attendance will increase by a couple thousand over the course of the season since his hometown is only a few hours south. IMO that's the only reason he's still in the discussion.

[GodHatesClevelandSport]

Still trying to contend while rebuilding. Front office hasn't learned.

[pod2dawg]

We can't find a young guy to play freaking first base that at least has some chance to be here long term?

^^^^ That is exactly the question, but throw in LF too.

[British_Pharaoh]

Like this move a lot. I can deal with 200 K's if he walks 75 times and hits 30 HR. Pretty decent 1B. Right handed bat with .857 career OPS against LHP. Can play 3B against tough LHP to give Chisenhall a day off. Very low risk with one-year deal. I said I preferred him to Youkilis and I'm going to stand by that.

Better option than that scumbag Youkilis

and a good price for a 30-75 guy who guns LHP

I want Swisher to add to the pile and if we trade A-Cab and Choo that should free up payroll to bring a good starting pitcher on board

[TribeinLA]

With our luck, he'll play injured half of the season, hate being in Cleveland, and get about 350 AB's...15 homers, 140 K's.

We'll see. I would have rather gotten YOuk, as much as I hate to admit that.

[dazindiansfanuk]

Russ Canzler DFA'd to make room for Reynolds on the roster whose signing is now official.

[peeker643]

Russ Canzler DFA'd to make room for Reynolds on the roster whose signing is now official.

No way Swishers says, "No" now.

His picture on the scoreboard AND Reynolds?

Wow. Wish they would have held off on the Aviles trade announcement til today and left that ace up their sleeve to really set the hook.

[skatingtripods]

Per the Tribe's official Twitter:

As a matter of #fact, in 2011-12 Indians have hit 290 home runs; 234 by left-handed hitters and 56 by right-handed hitters.

The right-handed hitting Reynolds hit 23HR in 2012 for Baltimore. Tribe hitters who hit strictly right-handed hit 26 homers in 2012.

[NH Tribe Fan]

Russ Canzler DFA'd to make room for Reynolds on the roster whose signing is now official.

I would have dropped
Huff
Carrera
Tomlin

ahead of Canzler.

[skatingtripods]

Russ Canzler DFA'd to make room for Reynolds on the roster whose signing is now official.

I would have dropped
Huff
Carrera
Tomlin

ahead of Canzler.

You're going to drop one of two starting pitchers or an adequate fourth outfielder with speed before a guy who will be 27 next April and start the season in AAA?

[leadpipe]

Russ Canzler DFA'd to make room for Reynolds on the roster whose signing is now official.

I would have dropped
Huff
Carrera
Tomlin

ahead of Canzler.

You're going to drop one of two starting pitchers or an adequate fourth outfielder with speed before a guy who will be 27 next April and start the season in AAA?

More to the point, if anyone of these four guys fell off the face of the earth, outside of close friends and family, who the well would know?

Stinking solves the position specifity problem.

[skatingtripods]

More to the point, if anyone of these four guys fell off the face of the earth, outside of close friends and family, who the well would know?

McPeek's oldest daughter would sob uncontrollably for weeks if Tomlin fell off the face of the earth.

[Rat_Tail]

I ran into Tomlin at a hotel in Baltimore this past summer. He picked up the W that day. Marson almost hit for the cycle too. I should go to more road games.