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December 7, 2015The Cleveland Indians have been quiet thus far in the offseason, but with the start of the 2015 Winter Meetings, one should expect much more activity soon. With many of baseball’s top executives and journalists all converging on Nashville, there are certainly going to be a bevy of rumors around the league all week.
And that is what happened on Sunday night, thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. In an article about the Oakland Athletics’ signing of relief pitcher Ryan Madson to a three-year, $22 million deal, Slusser added this final paragraph that relates to the Indians:
Pitching is the A’s top priority, and they are also looking to move infielder Brett Lawrie. Teams that have some interest, according to industry sources, are Cleveland, Detroit and the White Sox. The Yankees are thought to be a potential fit if they decide to add a second baseman.
Lawrie, infamously, was acquired by the Athletics last offseason in the lopsided Josh Donaldson trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. A third baseman who has also played part-time duty at second base, Lawrie set new career-highs with 149 games played, 146 hits, 29 doubles, 16 home runs, and 60 RBI in Oakland in 2015.
A soon-to-be 26-year-old British Columbia native, he is a career .263/.316/.420 hitter. A right-handed hitter, he has usually been a slightly above-average player when he’s been healthy throughout his career, but notably only has played more than 108 games twice in four full MLB seasons. Of course, he’s far worse than the perennial MVP candidate Donaldson, who continued to shine in Toronto.
Lawrie is expected to earn $3.9 million in arbitration this winter, according to MLB Trade Rumors. He has a final year of team control remaining in 2017. He strikes out a lot — 144 K’s against 28 walks last season — and he’s been a major disappointment compared to the high upside that many Toronto fans saw for him after an impressive debut in 2011.
Yes, Lawrie is probably better than 24-year-old Giovanny Urshela for the Indians at third base in 2016. But the marginal upgrade seems fairly minimal given Lawrie’s consistent durability concerns and the Indians’ limited budget. However, Cleveland and Oakland have been common trade partners over the years. If the A’s would be willing to do a deal for just a mid-tier prospect in order to move salary, then this could be an decent move for the Tribe to shore up a major position of weakness.
12 Comments
I am a bit higher on Lawrie than Jacob here. He’d be an upgrade at a position of need. Adding 2 WAR where we had -1 WAR (or 0 WAR from Urshela) certainly helps the Indians at a reasonable $$ cost (not sure what Beane wants in prospects).
Still, it would make sense only if they then went after a better center fielder such as Austin Jackson. Combined, it might be enough to improve the team, but alone it won’t be more than a drop in the bucket.
“Of course, he’s far worse than the perennial MVP candidate Donaldson.”
Hot take: Lawrie is less valuable than the most valuable player. (I keed, I keed.)
I’m with Bode. I don’t see how you could call Lawrie a marginal upgrade. He’d be significantly better than what we’ve had at 3rd. And if we somehow find a better 3B, Lawrie as a utility player at $4M is still a nice addition. For all the talk about shoring up RF and 3B, I think one of the more overlooked failings of our team was a lack of quality depth. Nothing against him, but Aviles didn’t make our lineup better when he had to come in and play for someone.
Also, I can’t believe Lawrie is only 26. Seems like he has been around forever.
Yea not a fan of his either especially if it means trading a starter for him with him in his last year under contract. I’d rather give Urshella more time. I mean it’s not like that would hurt this offense.
When was the last time we got a good player from Oakland? I can’t seem to recall.
Last year they traded us the bargaining chip that netted Rob Kaminsky. Wheelin’ and dealin’!
Right, isn’t this exactly the kind of move the Indians should be making? They’re not going to be able to buy two wins on the free agent market at a reasonable price, and if so, they’re going to get a player past 30 on the decline.
He has been around forever and still hasn’t lived up to the hype.
If he had lived up to the hype, we wouldn’t be talking about trading for him.
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/002690653/4245603595_Charlie_Sheen_Winning_xlarge.jpeg
Which is the kind of guy we should go after. There’s potential there, but it’s not going to cost you full price.
He and Cowgill would make for an impressive 1-2. I wish you luck.
Except that this team doesn’t need a 1-2. They need parts that help fill out the roster. Kluber-Carrasco-Salazar-Bauer-Allen-Lindor-Kipnis-Brantley-Gomes-Santana make for a pretty good top ten. The problem is preventing guys like Aviles from getting 300 PAs and 40 OF starts despite putting up a 60 OPS+.