It is 2013 and we have a new pick-up to talk about.
The Indians rang in the new year by signing Brett Myers to a one-year deal with an opportunity to be in the rotation in 2013, pending his physical.
Myers gives the Indians a quality starter for the bottom of the rotation that is still filled with question marks after Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez. He has also had significant work in the bullpen and served as the Phillies closer in 2007, where he notched 21 saves in Brad Lidge’s absence.
Myers finished tenth in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2010 as a member of the Astros, compiling a 14-8 record with a 3.14 ERA. He will most likely fill the “veteran guy” role that Derek Lowe was in last year. The Indians would be thrilled if he can stay within the realm of his career line of a 4.20 ERA, which is about all that can reasonably be expected at this point of his career.
Overall, it continues the nice run of of acquisitions that the Indians have picked up over the past few weeks and continues the good vibes that are emanating around the team at the moment. Spring training is getting closer folks.
Like? Hate? You guys know the drill.
No attachments like Lowe did (other than the whole wife beating thing). “Hey he lead the NL in losses but im sure he will bounce back fine!”. Steady consistent guy who is great in the bullpen and pretty good in the middle/back of the rotation
There weren’t a whole lot of options left, and I suppose I should be happy the Tribe is spending any money at all. However, if this guy is in contention for our starting rotation it only reinforces my hope that Trevor Bauer pans out in a hurry.
Ubaldo isn’t a question mark? Or are we just assuming at 10-15 record with a 5+ ERA?
He’s guaranteed a spot in the rotation. What I meant was that we don’t know for sure who fills out the other three spots yet.
I like it. This guy will last more than 5 innings a start, unlike most of our starters last year. He’s not flashy, but he’ll keep the team in games and not get blown out. If the rotation gets crowded because Bauer or somebody else takes over, or if Perez is traded, Myers can slide into the bullpen and be effective there too. Lohse, Marcum or Saunders would have cost upwards of 7 or 8 million a year for multiple years. This fills a need while leaving a few bucks for a DH.
Lasting 5+ innings is a good thing but often Manny Acta kept the starter in way too long. Buck Showalter occasionally would get a pitcher up in the bullpen in the 1st inning if his starter was in trouble and that worked out pretty well for him. I hope Francona can pull the plug on the starter before he costs the team a chance to win. With the crop of starters this team has, the Indians would be better off having 6 of them since a quality start cannot be expected on a regular basis.
Does anyone know if we are looking at any of the other free agent starters?
I would guess that they’re always looking, but it doesn’t always mean that they’re going to sign a guy. Remember, we’re still looking for a DH, too. Somebody (can’t remember who, admittedly) said that Lance Berkman could be a guy worth looking at. I wouldn’t rule out another attempt to get Bobby Abreu, either. But that’s likely just me playing fantasy GM.
And forty minutes later, I find that they’re at least looking at Shaun Marcum. Feel free to point and laugh at me.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/01/indians-have-had-dialogue-with-shaun-marcum/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Wow. Adding Marcum would be awesome. Right now you’re looking at a 1-5 of Masterson, Jimenez, Myers, McAllister and Carrasco, with Kazmir, Gomez and Kluber providing depth, Bauer at Columbus at least until the Super 2 deadline, and Huff probably in the pen. Adding Marcum would provide a lot of depth. Also, any free agent tied to draft pick compensation might be had for a discount right now because teams are shying away from giving up a #1 pick and #1 pick bonus money for a middle-tier free agent. The Indians have a protected #1 and already used their #2 on Swisher, so they’d only give up a #3 for anyone else they signed, whether they kept him or flipped him to another team in trade. Either way it’s a chance to clean up.
Its nice to see the Indians finally spending money on pitching after losing so many good pitchers the past decade. What would the possibility be of the Indians looking at LaRoche? I know his on the latter part of his career but, being in the AL they could slide him into the DH role in years 2 or 3; if they sign him to the 3-year deal that he wants. It would get fans extremely excited in this area to bring in another big name like that!
After Shapiro’s depressing “stay away” comments, the last few weeks of signings have been a pleasant surprise.
Does anyone know how much Myers will be earning in 2013 and the size of the option for 2014?
Reports say 2013 is for $7m, no word on the option year, but it’s probably more like $10m.
Myers’ deal is for $7 million this year. I don’t know how much the option is for. His 2013 option with Chicago was for $10M, which they declined and paid a $3M buyout. That made him a free agent. We definitely seem to be witnessing a paradigm shift here, thanks to the TV deal. The front office played it really close to the vest about what they were going to do, so the whirlwind of activity is a pleasant surprise indeed. I especially like that we’re acquiring established players who aren’t at the end of their careers. No AAAA and 40-year-old signings en masse. There is much more direction than before, and the result is the closest thing to a complete roster we’ve seen in years.
Just by declining Roberto Hernandez’ option, I set the baseline for the 2013 Indians at 70-92. The moves since then include Nick Swisher, Drew Stubbs, Mark Reynolds, & Brett Myers. I think that crop of players the team will be 77-85. There are some wild-cards in there, but I still think will need some luck to contend in the AL Central. It is going to be a tough division this year with Cleveland and KC joining Chicago and Detroit in the race.