Mejia makes big jump on Top 100 Prospects list By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 28th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- The Indians signed catcher Francisco Mejia five years ago mainly on the strength of the rocket arm that he put on display. These days, Cleveland is daydreaming about the type of all-around threat that the prospect appears to be developing into for the organization. On Saturday, Mejia's breakout 2016 season was rewarded in the form of an incredible jump up MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list. Outfielder Bradley Zimmer (No. 22), right-hander Triston McKenzie (No. 57) and first baseman Bobby Bradley (No. 95) also made the list, but it is Mejia's ranking (No. 40) that really stands out. That is 44 spots higher than where Mejia stood in the midseason Top 100 list last summer. "I felt really good about this season," Mejia said through a translator at the Indians' fall development program in September. "Thanks to God, everything went really well." Talk about an understatement. The annual ranking of MLB's Top 100 prospects is assembled by MLBPipeline.com Draft and prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum, who compile input from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams. Only players with rookie status entering the 2017 season are eligible for the list. Players who were at least 23 years old when they signed and played in leagues deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) are not eligible. It is no surprise to see Zimmer among the game's Top 25 prospects, as he ranked 25th on the midseason list. The outfielder will be in camp with the Indians as a non-roster invitee this spring and has a realistic shot at reaching the Majors this year. McKenzie and Bradley were ranked 95th and 67th, respectively, on the midseason list. Mejia also made the cut back then, coming in at No. 84. Among players who were included in the midseason Top 100 rankings, Mejia's 44-spot jump on the updated list represents the second-largest leap. Only Braves shortstop prospect Kevin Maitan (plus-57) saw his ranking improve by more than Mejia. Carson Kelly of the Cardinals is the lone catching prospect ahead of Mejia, though he is only one spot in front at No. 39. Mejia's showing in 2016 was impressive on a number of fronts. First and foremost, Mejia enjoyed a 50-game hitting streak from May 27 to Aug. 13 between stops with Class A Lake County and Class A Advanced Lynchburg. Across those 78 days, the switch-hitting catcher dealt with a handful of minor health issues, had breaks to play in the Midwest League All-Star Game and All-Star Futures Game (he had one hit in each), and overcame serious trade rumors. Prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline, Mejia, 21, was the centerpiece of a four-player package that was going to be shipped to the Brewers in order for the Indians to acquire All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy. That fell apart when Lucroy used his no-trade rights to block the deal. "There's just so many things that he fought through," said Indians assistant general manager Carter Hawkins, who was the director of player development last season. "He repeated a level. That's a very tough mental blow for guys as well. Put all those things together, the consistency that he showed despite that was a really, really big step for him mentally. We feel like it really helped a foundation that he's going to be able to jump off from for years to come." Mejia, who signed for $350,000 out of the Dominican Republic on July 2, 2012, hit a combined .342 with 11 home runs, 29 doubles, four triples, 63 runs, 80 RBIs and an .896 OPS in 102 games last season. He showed an aggressiveness in the strike zone, recording 63 strikeouts compared to 28 walks. Defensively, Mejia threw out 43 percent (30-of-69) of would-be basestealers. Mejia's 50-game streak tied for the fourth longest in Minor League history, trailing the 69-game run by Joe Wilhoit in 1919, the 61-game stretch by Joe DiMaggio in '33 and a 55-game streak by Roman Mejias in '54. Mejia's streak matched the 50-game stretch by Otto Pahlman in 1922. Zimmer, Cleveland's first-round pick (21st overall) in the 2014 Draft, turned in a .250/.365/.425 slash line with 15 homers, 38 steals, 46 extra-base hits, 62 RBIs and 76 runs in 130 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last year. The center fielder struck out 171 times and drew 77 walks. On MLBPipeline.com's Top 10 outfield prospects list, Zimmer came in at No. 7. McKenzie, 19 and a first-round pick by the Indians in 2015, compiled a 1.62 ERA with 104 strikeouts against 22 walks in 83 1/3 innings Bradley, 20, knocked 29 homers, 102 RBIs and a .231 Isolated Power in 131 games for Lynchburg last year. McKenzie did not make the cut on MLBPipeline.com's Top 10 right-handed prospects list, but Bradley ranked fourth in the Top 10 first basemen rankings. Indians, fans celebrate '16, look ahead at Tribe Fest By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 28th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Fans lined up inside a crowded ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday, waiting to take a photo with the Indians' American League championship trophy. It was symbolic of how much success the Tribe had last season, but also a reminder that the team's ultimate goal remains unfilled. There was a buzz throughout the hotel's halls at Tribe Fest, which drew an estimated 7,000 fans to share in the growing excitement for the season ahead. The Indians fell short of winning the World Series against the Cubs last fall, but they return as one of the favorites in the AL, especially after the signing of free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion and given that the core of the team remains intact. Next year, the Indians hope to have the Commissioner's Trophy on display. "Nothing's given to you in this game," Indians outfielder Michael Brantley said. "The only thing I think we earned from last year is a target on our backs. We are the defending champions. When you come into town, everybody's going to know they're going to have to play a great game to beat us. "It just raises everybody's expectation level -- ours as well. We've got to go out there and get the job done." Tribe Fest serves as the unofficial baton exchange from one season to the next. It is the signature event of the winter for the Indians, who will pack up the equipment trucks on Friday for the trip to Goodyear, Ariz., for Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers will report for Cleveland on Feb. 12 and position players will follow suit on Feb. 16. Many players will make the trek early. Indians manager Terry Francona, who joined the 20-plus players in Cleveland for this weekend's activities, said that he would fly to Arizona on Tuesday. Hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo will be among the coaches traveling to Cleveland's spring headquarters around the same time, too. Starter Carlos Carrasco is among the handful of players who will be flying to Arizona directly from Cleveland after participating in Tribe Fest. After losing the World Series in seven games to the Cubs, the players are eager to get started again.

"With how the season ended," Indians closer Cody Allen said, "that itch started a little sooner." At Tribe Fest, former Cleveland players took the stage for question-and-answer sessions, kids lined up to help build a large Lego mosaic rendering of Francisco Lindor, mascots roamed the building and a long list of players made time for autographs. It was a chance to get up close to the group that brought Cleveland its first pennant since 1997. There was much to celebrate from last year -- and more to look forward to for the 2017 season -- but Indians fans also feel the sting of coming so close to winning it all. The same goes for the players, who are not content with having just reached the Fall Classic. Multiple players were asked if they watched Game 7, which is regarded as one of the greatest World Series games in baseball history. Not one said that they've re-watched the contest. "I think that the biggest thing is not being satisfied with what we did last year," Indians ace Corey Kluber said. "We did go to Game 7 of the World Series, but we didn't win Game 7 of the World Series. [It's] not just thinking that that's going to happen again, but doing the little things that we need to do that got us to that point." Expectations among the fans and players are understandably high. Simply being competitive will not be good enough. Cleveland will have Carrasco and Danny Salazar healthy and back in the rotation. Brantley is ahead of his comeback schedule and is hoping to be healthy and ready for the season as well. Encarnacion gives the Indians a potentially thunderous bat in the heart of the lineup. With the Tribe's AL Central rivals in various states of transition, the Indians enter the season as the favorites to repeat as division champs. Given how the depleted Indians performed in the postseason, Cleveland will also be a popular preseason pick to return to the World Series. "Two years ago, we were picked by Sports Illustrated to win the World Series," Indians owner Paul Dolan said. "But, maybe not everybody believed it, and maybe they were right. This year, we're going to be one of those teams that are picked and I think most people would believe it. It's great. That's what you want. You want to be one of those teams that's picked to win. That's the kind of pressure you want." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Encarnacion welcomed into Indians family By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 28th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- At Rogers Centre late in the summer two seasons ago, Edwin Encarnacion saw Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor on the field in Toronto. The former Blue Jays slugger walked over to the batting cage and asked the young rookie a question. "Are you Lindor's son?" Encarnacion said. Lindor was confused by the random question, but Encarnacion quickly cleared things up. When Encarnacion was a kid, he lived in Puerto Rico for a few years and Lindor's father, Miguel, was one of the coaches he remembered. Nearly two decades later, Encarnacion and Lindor are teammates with the Indians, who signed the first baseman to a three-year, $60 million contract this offseason. This weekend, Encarnacion joined Lindor and a bulk of the Indians' roster for Saturday's Tribe Fest at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cleveland. He may already be familiar with Lindor and his family, but Encarnacion is still getting to know his Indians family. Tribe Fest is step one in that process for Encarnacion, who spent parts of the past seven seasons in Toronto. "I'm going to continue to try to do the best I can do to continue to know more of my teammates," Encarnacion said on Saturday. "This is the first part. I'm going to continue to do the same in Spring Training, and I'm going to try to be like a family, like the way they've been before." Last October, Encarnacion watched the Indians defeat his Blue Jays in five games in the American League Championship Series, earning a spot in the World Series. Cleveland first baseman Carlos Santana caught the final out and then dropped to his knees in celebration in Toronto. Encarnacion and Santana -- both natives of the Dominican Republic -- attended a Cavaliers NBA game together in Cleveland on Friday night. At the Intercontinental, Encarnacion's No. 10 Tribe jersey was already selling fast at the merchandise stand in the main hall. Fans posed for pictures by a cardboard cutout of the team's new cleanup hitter and had a chance to meet him as he walked the halls and stopped to sign autographs. Encarnacion knows how excited the Indians are to get the 2017 season going, but this gave him a chance to feel the buzz among the club's fans too. "This is great. It's a great feeling," Encarnacion said. "The way the fans support this team and the way it's been here, it's very exciting." By now, Encarnacion has surely heard how thrilled his new teammates are to have him aboard as well. When news broke that Cleveland had reached an agreement with Encarnacion on Dec. 22, Tribe players were texting and calling each other and also reaching out to the front office, trying to make sure it was true. Michael Brantley estimated that he had six or seven texts waiting on his phone after word began spreading. Catcher Yan Gomes, who played with Encarnacion briefly with the Blue Jays, said it was an "amazing" move. "We got to fear him as a guy we got to play [against]," Gomes said. "I got to play with him in Toronto. I kept telling those guys -- you tend to talk about players and stuff -- and I was like, 'Man, this guy is one of my favorite players I've played with.' He just goes about his business and does it pretty well. I'm glad we have him on our side." Lindor echoed those remarks, adding that he respected Encarnacion for remembering his dad from so many years ago. "That, to me, means a lot," Lindor said. "A guy who remembers who coached him when he was little, that says a lot. I'm looking forward to spending the next couple of years with him. It's going to be a long, fun ride. I have talked to him already in the offseason a couple times. He's awesome. He's going to change us a lot." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Cleveland to host 2019 All-Star Game By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 27th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- The Indians enjoyed a renaissance on the field last season, returning to the World Series for the first time in nearly two decades. As a city, Cleveland has also been experiencing a turnaround with a downtown revitalization that mirrors what has taken place at Progressive Field. The Indians and their home city will be under the spotlight come 2019, when Cleveland will host the All-Star Game presented by MasterCard for the sixth time in franchise history. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that decision on Friday in a news conference at Progressive Field,

where Indians owner Paul Dolan, manager Terry Francona and Sandy Alomar Jr., who was the MVP of the last All-Star Game in Cleveland, were with him on stage. "We were here in October for the World Series," Manfred said. "And I know one thing for sure: Cleveland's a baseball town and it will be a great host for the Midsummer Classic. The All-Star Game is the premier event of the summer. We think of it as a five-day celebration of the greatest game in the world." This year's All-Star Game will be played in Miami on July 11, and next year's game will be in Washington at the home of the Nationals. The 2019 All-Star Game will mark the first in Cleveland since 1997, and it will break a streak of four straight Midsummer Classics in National League cities. Minnesota was the most recent American League city to host the game in '14 at Target Field. This development comes on the heels of one of the most memorable seasons in franchise history. Under Francona, who won the AL Manager of the Year Award for the second time with Cleveland, the Indians captured a division crown and ran to their first AL pennant since 1997. The Indians and Cubs then engaged in an historic World Series, which Chicago won in seven games. "It was a great, great World Series," Manfred said. During the Tribe's incredible postseason, a renovated Progressive Field was put on display for a national audience. It allowed Major League Baseball and the Indians to see the response to the facility and the sweeping changes that have occurred over the past several years not only in the ballpark, but in the city. "I think 'confirm' is the right word for it," Dolan said. "We were well on our way to having the All-Star Game at that point, but I suspect it made Major League Baseball feel really good about the direction we're headed in Cleveland when they saw how the Cleveland community supported us during the postseason." During the multiphase renovations over the past few winters, the team tore down obstructions in center field to create a more spacious entrance, allowing for a better view in and out of the stadium. The club also installed a two-story Kids Clubhouse, a two-level bar with rooftop seating and a club behind home plate and party areas in the upper deck. The video board is now the largest in the Majors, and the overhauled concessions feature a long list of offerings from popular local restaurants. "It has to be significant in selecting All-Star Games," Manfred said of the amenities at the stadium. "No. 2, you want a ballpark that showcases the game, and I think that, both when originally constructed and in the way it has been maintained an improved, Progressive Field fills that bill." Dolan noted that securing the bid for the 2019 All-Star Game was roughly a five-year process and noted that economic impact of hosting the event could be in the range of $60 million to $65 million. Throughout the process, Dolan and Manfred have also held multiple conversations on a variety of issues, including the team's Chief Wahoo logo. While Dolan said there was nothing new to report on the logo, Manfred indicated that it will remain a topic of discussion. "I'm not going to speculate about what I want the end of the process to be," Manfred said. "I think that Paul has been fantastic about engaging in conversations, including a conversation this morning with Paul and [minority owner] John Sherman. I want those conversations to continue and I think we'll produce a result that will be good for the Indians and good for baseball. What exactly that is, I don't want to speculate right now." The recent success of the Tribe -- Cleveland has won more games (352) than any AL team during Francona's four years at the helm -- comes amidst a strong run for the city's sports landscape as a whole. Last year, not only did the Indians reach the World Series, but the Cavaliers won the NBA title to bring home Cleveland's first major sports title in 52 years. After that victory, the Cavs held a parade downtown that drew an estimated crowd of around 1 million. "It's such a celebration of baseball," said Francona. "And for the city of Cleveland to be a part of that and to show off a little bit what we're all about, I think is going to be fabulous." In 1997, when the Indians most recently hosted the Midsummer Classic, Tribe catcher Alomar won the All-Star Game MVP Award for his two-run homer in the seventh that helped propel the AL to a 3-1 win. Alomar now serves as the first-base coach on Francona's staff. "As a player, that was a fantastic event to be a part of the All-Star Game in your own backyard," said Alomar. "Just being part of the game was good enough, but to have a chance to perform in the game and win the game and win MVP was a surreal moment." While the Indians' next All-Star Game is still a few seasons away, the team currently has a solid foundation of emerging stars on its roster. Among them, Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop Francisco Lindor made his first All-Star team last year in his first full season in the Majors. Righty Danny Salazar was also a first-time All-Star in 2016, alongside ace Corey Kluber, who took home the win for the AL last summer in San Diego. The Indians also hosted the All-Star Game in 1935, '54, '63 and '81. Including the 2019 game, the six Midsummer Classics for the Indians will mark the most for any one team. New York (nine) and Chicago (seven) have hosted more All-Star Games as cities, but those include multiple teams holding the event. "We can see ourselves somewhat as the All-Star City," Dolan said. Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Players reflect on Cleveland's past All-Star Game glory CLEVELAND -- Sandy Alomar Jr. remembers how the stadium shook. He remembers feeling like he was floating around the bases as the baseball disappeared into the left-field bleacher seats. In the last All-Star Game in Cleveland, Alomar gave Indians fans a hometown hero and a historic home run that lifted the American League to victory. "It was surreal," Alomar said. "It was a surreal moment for me." On Friday, Major League Baseball announced that the 90th All-Star Game presented by MasterCard would be held at Progressive Field in 2019, bringing the Midsummer Classic back to Cleveland for the first time since 1997. As Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement at the Tribe's home stadium, Alomar sat off to the right, the bleachers where his home run landed looming over his right shoulder. These days, Alomar is the Indians' first-base coach, and this will mark the former All-Star catcher's eighth season as a coach for Cleveland. When Alomar takes his place in the first-base coach's box, he will serve as a reminder of the team's incredible run in the '90s. Alomar's home run in the '97 All-Star Game -- a shot that earned him MVP honors -- stands out as one of the great homers in team history. Former Indians slugger Jim Thome, who made his first All-Star Game in '97, remembers how thrilling that moment was for Alomar and the city.

"Very special," Thome said. "To watch a teammate, a guy you roomed with, do what he did, was just so special. Really, when you think back, being retired now and thinking back at those moments, those are the things that really stand out. When you're playing, you're in the grind. You're trying to get better. You're trying to go through the rollercoaster ride. You're hitting slumps, the peaks. "Now, reflecting back and coming here, it's special to see those moments happen and go, 'Wow, I was a part of that. I got to share that.'" With the All-Star Game caught in a 1-1 tie that year, the National League handed the ball to Giants lefty Shawn Estes in the seventh inning at then-Jacobs Field. With two outs and Bernie Williams on base, Alomar drove a low breaking ball over the left-field wall for a two-run, game-deciding shot. In the home dugout, Thome high-fived Tribe manager Mike Hargrove, and Alomar's brother, Roberto, looked on and smiled. "The opportunity to play in an All-Star Game is a wonderful experience," Sandy Alomar Jr. said. "The opportunity to play in an All-Star Game in your own ballpark is even better. That's the year that you focus and do the best you can. You want to be a part of your own ballpark's All-Star Game. ... To have a chance to share that with Jimmy was awesome." Alomar said Friday that having the All-Star Game return to Cleveland is another great moment for the city, which watched the Indians reach the World Series last fall. "This is about the kids," Alomar said. "This is about bringing the attention of kids to baseball and for the city of Cleveland and for the growth. It is a very important moment for the city." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Brantley focused on steady rehab progress By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 27th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Michael Brantley knows better than to declare Opening Day as his target date for return. After what the Indians left fielder went through last season, he will keep his goals quiet, focusing more on the daily milestones that will hopefully bring his aspirations to fruition. On Friday, when a large portion of the Indians' roster was in Cleveland on the eve of Tribe Fest, Brantley spoke with reporters for the first time since the postseason. Brantley is currently hitting off a tee in his comeback from shoulder and biceps issues, and he is hopeful that he will be at the same stage as the rest of the Tribe's batters when position players report to Spring Training in roughly two weeks. Opening Day is indeed the goal -- the Indians have made that known -- but Brantley has learned to avoid artificial deadlines. "I won't say a target," Brantley said. "All I know is I'm healthy right now and I've got a progression to go through. Once I get through that, I'll be ready to rock and roll." Brantley underwent biceps tenodesis surgery on Aug. 15 and has progressed to the point where he is working through multiple tee sessions each day. Assistant hitting coach Matt Quatraro described Brantley's swings as "encouraging" after monitoring some of the workouts this week. A year ago, when Brantley was coming back from right shoulder surgery, the outfielder did not resume hitting off a tee until around Feb. 21. While Brantley is roughly a month off last year's pace, the Indians have taken a cautiously optimistic approach to questions about his comeback. Part of the reason is that Brantley breezed through the early portion of a hitting progression multiple times last year. It was not until he appeared in multiple games in a row that the arm issue flared and stalled his progress. The Indians are hoping to avoid a similar chain of events this year. "If work ethic and diligence means something, he'll be an All-Star," Indians manager Terry Francona said on Friday. "It's been well-documented that when he got into games, that's when he ran into trouble. But, I think he feels he's making great progress. You've just got to let it play itself out. "There's a program in place -- he follows it to a T. And, hopefully, as he gets into games, we won't run into that last hurdle. That would be wonderful for us. We miss him more than people realize." Having a healthy Brantley back in the lineup could be a significant lift for the American League-champion Tribe, which also signed free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion over the offseason. Brantley smiled wide when asked how he reacted to the news that Cleveland had added Encarnacion. "I was excited," Brantley said. "I had like six or seven texts that came in before I even saw it on TV. Of course, I had to turn on the TV and clarify and make sure if it was true. Everybody was very excited. My teammates were calling [the front-office leaders] and making sure it was real. It was awesome to hear." During Friday's interview session, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor said he could not wait to see Encarnacion "protecting Brantley in the lineup." Last season, Brantley set Opening Day as his target during the spring and made it back from the disabled list by April 25. After appearing in 11 games, Brantley experienced a setback and landed back on the shelf May 14. What followed were multiple consultations with a variety of specialists, leading to the eventual diagnosis of chronic biceps tendinitis. Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Mark Schickendantz then performed the season-ending procedure in August. Brantley was asked if he would do anything differently, knowing how last season turned out for him. "Of course I've thought about it, but absolutely not," Brantley said. "I did everything in my power to get back: Strengthening-wise, medical-wise, anything I could do. It just didn't work out. It's something that I learned from and I'll only get better for it, and it'll only make me hungrier to get back out there. I can't wait to do it." Francona said the team did everything it could throughout the process, too. "We did the process exactly like we were asked to do," Francona said. "Every time we get him into games, something would flare up on him. He never skipped a step. He passed all his milestones. He just ran into problems when he'd get into a game. It confounded us a lot. I don't know what else we could have done differently. Our medical people spent so much time trying to think, 'What is the right thing with Michael?'" Now, Brantley believes the right thing to do is to keep his focus limited to the task immediately in front of him. "Spring Training is still a couple weeks away for us to even report," Brantley said. "So, I've got to make sure the next week goes well, the week after that, and then we'll make a decision from there. I can't say anything for another at least a couple weeks." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog,

Dolan: Time was right to make free-agent splash After long postseason run, Tribe was willing to spend big on Encarnacion By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | January 27th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- When the Indians' front office had a chance to reel in Andrew Miller last summer, owner Paul Dolan cringed a little at the acquisition cost. In order to bring Miller to Cleveland, the Indians would have to send four promising prospects to the Yankees. Dolan approved the trade, but that decision carried some initial sting. Pursuing free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion this offseason was a different story. Coming off a World Series appearance, and with the bulk of Cleveland's talented roster returning, the Indians are primed for another postseason run in the upcoming campaign. So, when the front office brought up signing Encarnacion, it did not take much convincing for Dolan to give the go-ahead. "Not a whole lot. Not as much as trading for Andrew Miller did," Dolan said with a laugh on Friday morning. "The cost of Andrew Miller was talent. And that's not in our DNA, to give up that kind of talent for somebody like that. I suppose contracts like Encarnacion are not in our DNA, either. But, it was the right time for us, and we felt it was the right time to reach." • Cleveland to host 2019 All-Star Game Without Miller, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series for the Tribe, the Indians may not have even reached the World Series with their depleted pitching staff. Now, with both Miller and Encarnacion in the fold -- a pair of acquisitions that Signing Encarnacion required a three-year, $60-million contract, which was less than the slugger probably hoped to receive this offseason, but it marked the largest free-agent signing in the history of the Indians. In a clogged market for first basemen and designated hitters, Cleveland became a more realistic player for Encarnacion as the offseason progressed. On Dec. 22, the sides struck a deal with Dolan's blessing. "It came to a head fairly quickly, as they always do in a dynamic market," Dolan said. "We knew that this would be an interesting market this offseason for that position, that first base-DH role. We knew there were a number of guys out there on the market, and we didn't know how the market was going to play. We saw that maybe it would come to us, and it did. It got to a point where we felt this is the reach we can and should make." Acquiring Miller cost the Indians a lot -- prospects Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield highlighted the package sent to New York -- but the relief ace is also under contract through 2018. With him and Encarnacion locked in, combined with the raises received for many of the core players -- either on guaranteed deals or via arbitration -- the Indians' payroll projects to be in the neighborhood of $120 million for '17. For the past few years, the Indians have kept their payroll in the $90-million range, but the deep postseason run last year and the opportunistic window for contending helped convince ownership to spend more this offseason. On Friday, Dolan noted that Cleveland's season-ticket base had risen to roughly 11,000 as of this point, up from roughly 8,500 a year ago. Reaching the World Series, and making moves like the ones to get Miller and Encarnacion, have helped fuel that increase. "They are always looking for those kind of opportunities," Dolan said of the Indians' front office. "More often than not, they don't manifest themselves into large free-agent signings, but we're always exploring where there's an opportunity to get value, and particularly when the value fits into the timing with the club. There's no better time than now. "We're coming off the World Series' almost-win, and with the core talent that we have in place, there's absolutely no better time to make that reach than now." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Back where it belongs: Cleveland rocks '19 All-Star Game By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com | @castrovince | January 27th, 2017 CLEVELAND -- Things have been happening here. And Friday, when Commissioner Rob Manfred named Progressive Field the host site for the 2019 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard, was another day to indulge this city's comeback, to celebrate its ascension and assertion on the national stage. And appropriately, the news comes at a moment when the local nine is more relevant than it has been in years. The Indians went to the World Series and had the honor of hosting one of the most epic Game 7s in history. They parlayed that performance into possibly the most surprising free-agent addition in franchise history -- the three-year, $60 million pact with slugger Edwin Encarnacion. Limited though they may be in revenue streams, the Indians are fully understanding of and immersed in their window to win, much as they were when they moved into this building in the mid-90s. "We want to diverge from the '90s path in one crucial way," owner Paul Dolan said with a smile, referencing the heartbreak on the World Series stage in '95 and '97. "Other than that, the idea that we've now won four consecutive years and have had two postseason appearances, including a World Series appearance, and we have an All-Star Game coming in the near future. We're in a very good spot as a baseball organization." Beyond baseball, the Cavaliers won the NBA title and ended Northeast Ohio's 52-year major sports championship drought. Stipe Miocic came out of the east side suburbs and beat up a bunch of opponents in the UFC. The American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters won a championship. And the Browns are No. 1 -- that's in draft pecking order, but it's No. 1 all the same. That's just the sports stuff. There's other stuff, too. Cleveland hosted last summer's Republican National Convention, and though there was much controversy and public fretting about the possibility of violent protests leading up to that convention, it turned out to be a logistic and strategic success, with Cleveland earning accolades from attendees who left with rave reviews of the city's vibrant restaurants and new hotels. The RNC was part of an overall renaissance in the downtown area, best illustrated by the $50 million renovation that turned Public Square, a once rather dreary quadrant of concrete, into a gorgeous gathering green space. "Lakefront development" was once nothing more than a hazy concept around here, but the new Northcoast Harbor next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has changed all that (although why they didn't name the Mexican restaurant next to the Rock Hall "Guac Hall" is beyond me).

Speaking of the Rock Hall, Cleveland -- the supposed rock and roll capital of the world -- went years getting passed over by many a travelin' band but finally landed two summer stadium shows, with Billy Joel set to pack Progressive Field and U2 finally bringing a winner to First Energy Stadium in July. So a jewel event like the All-Star Game, which is coming here for the first time since '97, will fit right in. "There are a lot of things that go into putting together a great All-Star Game bid," Manfred said. "The most important single issue was the great partnership between the Indians and the city of Cleveland and [Cuyahoga] County. We felt this particular bid showed a commitment throughout the community of making a great event." The All-Star Game is much more than a game. It is a five-day celebration of the sport. Dolan said the 1997 Midsummer Classic generated $40 million of local economic impact. The '19 event, which will be the 90th All-Star Game and the sixth held in Cleveland overall, is estimated to bring $60 million to $65 million to the economy. Wherever the All-Star Game goes, it leaves a legacy behind. During last year's festivities in San Diego, Major League Baseball contributed more than $1.5 million to youth-focused community projects and baseball fields in the area. With the American League overdue for hosting duties (by the time the 2019 event comes along, the National League will have hosted five of the previous six Midsummer Classics), the Indians come through with a winning bid at a time when they've drastically changed the look and feel of their home park. The tastes of the public are a moving target, but the Indians have successfully addressed the need for social gathering spaces, improved concessions and an open concourse with a multiyear renovation that is currently in the midst of its third and final phase. And of course, the Indians have upgraded their roster, as well. There is an added urgency to the 2017 effort, and the Dolan ownership family invested in Encarnacion with the hope that by the time the 2019 game comes along, there will be a '17 championship banner hanging up in the background. Anthony Castrovince has bee Hargrove honored with Lifetime Achievement Award Indians' AL title run also recognized at annual Cleveland Sports Awards CLEVELAND -- The Indians gave their city a memorable run last season, capturing the sixth American League pennant in franchise history. The fact that the Tribe's run to the World Series was not even the best moment in Cleveland sports last year speaks to how incredible of a year it was in Northeast Ohio. On Thursday night, the Cavaliers' NBA championship was honored as the best moment of 2016 at the 17th annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards banquet, but the Indians got their time in the spotlight. Members of the AL champions took the stage and received a standing ovation, and Mike Hargrove was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his time with the Indians as a player and manager. It was a night that served as a link to the Tribe's past and present. Former Indians slugger Jim Thome, who played under Hargrove for the team's impressive run in the 1990s -- when the Tribe won a pair of AL pennants -- said the current team's run reminded him of those great teams of Cleveland past. "It was so incredible to watch it all evolve," Thome said. "Just the excitement, watching the kids. I was able to bring my son [to the World Series]. Just the whole atmosphere. I really believe the same thing -- I think they're ready for a great run here. They have great pitching, a great bullpen and really, really talented, good, young players." One of those players, Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop Francisco Lindor, was among the nine players who attended the awards banquet. Lindor was up for the Professional Athlete of the Year award, which went to NBA star LeBron James for helping the Cavs bring the city of Cleveland its first major sports title since '64. Joining Lindor at the ceremony were Indians teammates Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, Tyler Naquin, Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, Mike Clevinger, Cody Anderson and Perci Garner. Indians owner Paul Dolan was also in attendance, as well as manager Terry Francona, who took the stage briefly to discuss the team's postseason run. Even more players will be in town this weekend for the team's annual Tribe Fest event on Saturday. Sandy Alomar Jr., the former Indians catcher and current first-base coach, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Hargrove, alongside Thome and former Tribe pitcher Chad Ogea. As a player, Hargrove hit .292 in parts of seven seasons with Cleveland from 1979-85. As a manager from 1991-99, he led the club to 721 wins, five straight division titles and two World Series appearances ('95 and '97). "It's an honor for me to have an opportunity to honor Grover," Alomar said. "He was a guy who was at the beginning of the resurgence of the Cleveland Indians, when baseball was kind of dead in Cleveland. He was the manager who brought back the tradition of winning here. I want to thank him for the opportunity to play on a daily basis. We had a lot of fun together." Hargrove -- a proud Texan -- said he was honored to be able to call Cleveland his home. "I don't feel like I deserve this award," Hargrove said after accepting the award. "I think that there's probably a lot of people that do, but I want to thank you. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that I would be a Major League Baseball player, or a Major League manager or a father of five kids. Most of all, I never really believed that I was going to make Cleveland, Ohio, my home. I came from a small Texas town." Alomar has seen first-hand the organization's transition from its glory days in the '90s to its current run back to the top of the AL. "The atmosphere and the drive is coming back," Alomar said. "It takes a special person to play here in Cleveland. You really have to be special. I've felt very happy to be a part of a group that was able to start that. These new kids, they're going to start their own legacy, I believe." Miller, who was named MVP of the AL Championship Series this past October, said the offseason has provided time to reflect on Cleveland coming up just short in the World Series against the Cubs. The lefty relief ace believes the club has what it takes to finish the job in the season ahead. "Hopefully, we can learn from it and finish that extra step," Miller said. "It seems like we have the personality around this team to do that. I know it's not going to be for a lack of effort. We'll be ready to go. Hopefully, we'll have a little extra motivation." Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Indians claim INF Shaffer off waivers By Daniel Kramer / MLB.com | January 26th, 2017

The Indians announced on Thursday that they've claimed corner infielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Reds. In a corresponding move, they designated first baseman Jesus Aguilar for assignment. The Rays selected Shaffer with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 Draft, where he has spent his entire professional career, playing in 51 big league games over parts of the past two seasons. During that stretch, Shaffer -- now 25 -- slashed .213/.310/.410 with 14 extra-base hits, including five homers, and 10 RBIs over 142 plate appearances. He was the Rays' Minor League Player of the Year in 2015 in a year when he batted .267 with 26 homers and 72 RBIs. He spent most of his Minors career at third base, though that position is occupied by All-Star Evan Longoria in Tampa Bay. Since November, Shaffer, who finished the regular season as the Rays' No. 20 prospect, per MLBPipeline.com, has been traded from Tampa Bay to Seattle, then claimed off waivers by the Phillies, Reds and now Indians. Aguilar, 26, has spent his entire pro career with the Indians' organization after being signed by the club in November 2007. In parts of the past three seasons, he appeared in 35 big league games, hitting .172/.234/.190 with 21 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances. Daniel Kramer is a report Indians outfielder Michael Brantley hitting off a tee; club hopes to avoid ‘confounding’ season of setbacks

By Ryan Lewis

CLEVELAND: With Michael Brantley and the Indians, a wait-and-see approach will be the only real option as he progresses his way through spring training, regardless of how positive the reports are pertaining to his rehab.

Brantley’s 2016 season was more of a nightmare, laced with setbacks and near returns, only to have him on the bench for all but 11 regular-season games. Now with a surgery to repair a torn labrum in November of 2015 and another to correct biceps tendinitis in August behind him, the latest attempt to build up enough strength in his surgically repaired shoulder is progressing.

Brantley said on Friday that he’s currently hitting off a tee three times a day, about 40-50 swings in succession. So far, so good. Though he and the club have been in this spot before.

“I’m happy with where I’m at,” Brantley said. “I still understand that there’s hurdles in the process to go and I look forward to tackling them. It’s one step at a time. I’m not looking too far ahead. I want to make sure I stay on course and do everything I can the right way to get back as soon as possible.”

Like last year, a definite timetable hasn’t been put into place. The belief is that Brantley will be in line with other hitters at the beginning of spring training, but nothing has been “set in stone.” Position players have to report to camp by Feb. 16.

“That all depends on where I’m at in the progression,” Brantley said. “Spring training is still a couple weeks away for us to even report, so I’ve got to make sure the next week goes well, the week after that, and then we’ll make a decision from there. So, I can’t say anything for another at least a couple weeks, so I know where I’m at hitting wise, progression wise, and in how I’m feeling.”

Brantley flew past his hitting progression milestones last spring. He, the club and the medical staff were positive about his eventual return to the lineup on multiple occasions. Despite the positivity, Brantley’s shoulder wouldn’t cooperate for long.

Indians manager Terry Francona said on Friday that it “confounded” the club.

“It’s been well documented that when he got into games, that’s when he ran into trouble, but I think he feels he’s making great progress,” Francona said. “You just gotta let it play itself out. There’s a program in place, he follows it to a T, and hopefully as he gets into games, we won’t run into that last hurdle. … I don’t know what else we could have done differently. Our medical people spent so much time trying to think, ‘What is the right thing with Michael?’”

Brantley’s return to the lineup would be a boon for the Indians, particularly combined with the addition of slugger Edwin Encarnacion. The Indians were second in the American League with 777 runs scored in 2016 and now have the potential to add Encarnacion, one of the top hitters in the game and Brantley, one of the better left fielders in baseball when healthy, to the middle of the lineup.

The Indians’ addition of Encarnacion was a costly, aggressive move to add some muscle to the middle of the lineup. That could only be half of the equation. The other half, though, all rides on Brantley’s health.

Despite last year’s frustrations, he wouldn’t change anything.

“Of course I’ve thought about it, but absolutely not,” Brantley said. “I did everything in my power to get back. Strengthening wise, medical wise, anything I could do. It just didn’t work out. It’s something that I learned from and I’ll only get better for it, and it’ll only make me hungrier to get back out there. I cant wait to do it.”

Brantley and his injured shoulder are on the offensive again.

Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 01.28.2017

Will All-Star Game stoke debate over Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo?

Emily Bamforth,

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With fame comes scrutiny. When the Cleveland Indians made the World Series in October, the debate over Chief Wahoo went national. Now that the Indians have won the honor of hosting the All-Star Game in 2019, the controversial caricature is up for more furor.

The team has been fading out Wahoo for a while now, moving toward the Block C logo prominently displayed at Progressive Field. But despite discussions between the MLB and the Indians, there's no solid answer on Wahoo's future.

"I think we'll produce a result that will be good for the Indians and good for baseball," Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said after meeting with Indians owner Paul Dolan.

Whether the Indians should keep a beloved tradition or get rid of a racist symbol is not a new argument. Wahoo has changed and been altered since it was adopted in the 1940s.

The discussion is part of the city's history, said John Grabowski, senior vice president, research & publications, at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

"It's confronting its history, it's confronting part of its image and legacy and it's having a debate," he said.

What's changing?

Elizabeth Kronk Warner, director of the Tribal Law & Government Center at the University of Kansas, said in recent years, activists fighting against mascots they see as racist have won victories. One of the most notable is the trademark case with the Washington Redskins.

Warner said she could see activists focusing on Wahoo next. She saw a lot of discussion nationally, and she thinks it's an important conversation for Clevelanders locally.

"A community can be vilified by the rest of the United States, or it can be seen as progressive," she said.

The primary arguments against logos like Wahoo and the Redskins' name is that it characterizes Native Americans as "others" and it can portray a group of people as demeaning and cartoonish.

What's not changing?

Bob Rosen, the president of the Wahoo Club for the past 20 years, said he's never had anyone tell him they're offended by Wahoo or won't join because of the club's name.

Criticism mounted as the team's stature increased, he said. He wishes people would focus on the team's success is instead of the logo.

"Whether we're having the All-Star game or not, we're going to have those 15-20 people (protesting)," he said.

What's the history?

The Wahoo symbol has always been fairly controversial. When the Western Reserve Historical Society in 1995 decided to accept a sign from Cleveland Municipal Stadium, people pushed back against the large, neon spinning Wahoo figure.

"The issues were already on the table, the same kind of issues that are being taken up to Major League Baseball today," Grabowski said.

There are three plaques around the statue, one describing its history, and one on either side describing the arguments for and against the mascot. When the museum allowed people to post comments on a board, 20-30 percent of them were negative, he said.

What's the future?

So is this just another cycle of discussion that will end with no change?

Maybe not.

"I think the success of the team this year really brought this into a national, if not international focus," Grabowski said "It's everywhere now. ... I think the discussion is going to move."

Warner said she didn't feel fans would lose excitement about the team if Wahoo went away.

"There's so much positive going for Cleveland, there are so many positive things, a city on the move and rising," she said. "I think this is opportunity for Cleveland to rebrand itself."

Rosen said he applauded the Indians for trying to compromise on a no-win situation. He said even if Wahoo officially disappears, most people will wear their Wahoo gear, and some might even wear it more in protest.

"If Chief Wahoo was to go away, my love for this baseball team isn't going to go away at all," he said, adding the attention should be on what's happening on the field, and how fantastic the team is.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Indians manager Terry Francona, Mike Chernoff open up about what team culture really means

Marc Bona, | on January 27, 2017 at 1:48 PM, updated January 27, 2017 at 2:48 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona and General Manager Mike Chernoff both attributed a focused team concept within the entire organization, not just the players on the field, for their success.

"We have a great setup here," Francona said. "I wanted to be in a place where you can speak your mind and be respected. It's made me a better baseball person; I actually think it's made me a better person. I wouldn't trade this for anything."

What Francona won't trade is what Chernoff calls a "collaborative culture" in the Indians organization. He credits his manager for being a catalyst in creating that environment, for maintaining a "deep caring for people and direct communication with players."

"The younger guys in the organization have the ability to make us think," Francona said. "I love that."

As the son of a player, Francona grew up around ballparks. It's in his blood. He and Chernoff spoke on a range of topics at The City Club in Cleveland on Friday. Francona, in his fifth year as Indians manager, has tallied 352 wins during four seasons here - all over .500. Last year, the team never lost more than three consecutive games while earning Cleveland's first shot at a World Series title since 1997, Chernoff said.

Chernoff credits Francona with always moving forward, keeping an open mind with anyone in the organization, not just players.

"With everything Tito has accomplished it would be easy to be complacent," he said. "This is a person who is motivated to get better."

Francona and Chernoff addressed the team's culture, players and other topics:

Francona

* On what being a 'player's manager' means: "It means we are asking more of every player on the field than anyone has ever asked while at the same time caring about them more than anyone has."

* On the approach to working with young players like Francisco Lindor: "Respect. We treat them like young men and we except them to act like respectable young men. Last year I didn't do any baby-sitting."

* On dealing with millennials: "Young people are changing, their expectations are changing. We have to recognize that, but we don't sacrifice our principles."

* On Lindor: "What you see is what you get. He is a joy to be around. I am not sure I like his haircut."

* Single biggest improvement fans didn't know about: "Mike Napoli signing with us. We got really good numbers from Nap. We got leadership. His leadership was incredible. ... We were tougher because of him. Even though he's not going to be back I think our guys are tougher because of him." Francona added: Some players looked up to him, some were afraid of him.

* On signing Edwin Encarnacion: "When we signed Edwin my first phone call was to Napoli."

* On this week's announcement of Cleveland being awarded the 2019 All-Star Game: "I didn't grow up here, but I've been here long enough to care. It's a celebration of baseball, but I think it's a celebration of Cleveland."

* On Michael Brantley, who missed most of the 2016 season: "Brantley has lived in Cleveland the past two years. He hasn't missed a day at the ballpark."

* On empty seats in Progressive Field: "As much as we would love to have a full house every night, I don't think I have the right to tell people how to spend their hard-earned money."

* On improving: "You try to learn every day. If you don't you're kind of missing the boat. ... If you think about yesterday too much you kind of get that hangover feeling. If you think about tomorrow you miss what's in front of you."

Chernoff:

* On helping young players: "How do we develop a player as a whole person, not just a player? How do we give him the resources so he can take ownership of his career?"

* On Lindor: "He's motivated to get better."

* On the All-Star Game: "This has been in the works a long time, putting in a bid for this. This catapults the momentum even further, to continue the positive energy we've seen."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Cleveland Indians break NL streak to land 2019 All-Star Game with "the best' bid

Paul Hoynes,

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The All-Star Game used to be awarded on a rotation basis. One year it went to an AL city, the next year it was an NL city. Nothing complicated about that.

But the rotation system has changed. Going back to 2015 at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark, the All-Star Game will be played in a NL city for four straight years through 2018. Commissioner Rob Manfred obviously isn't a stickler for tradition, but even he recognized that he might want to put an AL city into the mix.

That's not the big reason why Manfred was in town Friday to award the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game, but it played a part.

"There are a lot of things that go into putting together a great All-Star Game bid," said Manfred. "Probably the most important single issue was the great partnership between the Indians, the city of Cleveland and the county.

"We felt that this particular bid showed a commitment throughout the community, not only the club, of making it a great event. I think that was probably the single most important factor."

As for breaking the streak of four straight NL cities hosting the All-Star Game, Manfred said, "I think it's important to award the city that had the best bid. Having said that, when you have multiple NL years in a row you start looking around and say, 'How good does that American League bid look?'

"Cleveland's bid was the best by far, but we're glad it was an American League city."

This will be the sixth All-Star Game held in Cleveland. No other team has held more.

Indians owner Paul Dolan said the economic impact of the game to the community is expected to be $60 million to $65 million. He said the 1997 All-Star Game at Progressive Field generated $40 million.

"When we gather in 2019 for the All-Star Game, it will be the 25th anniversary of this ballpark," said Dolan. "We have spent a lot of energy and effort renovating it to make sure that it remains one of the great ballparks in the country.

"The reason why we have this ballpark, the reason why it is what it is, is because of the public-private partnership. It created this ballpark and continues to keep it among the highest levels of professional sports."

The All-Star Game will be a five-day event. Some of the highlights will be the Futures Game, showcasing some of the top young players in baseball. There will be a celebrity softball game, the Home Run Derby and the game itself.

The All-Star Game FanFest will be held at the Convention Center and be open throughout the event.

Mayor Frank Jackson, who attended the press conference, said the bid to get the All-Star Game has been in the works for the last couple of years.

"Beyond the money impact, it's more about the exposure you get," said Jackson. "Just like we got the exposure from the Rock and Roll induction ceremony and the RNC. Cleveland comes off in a great light.

"When that happens, it really creates an image about Cleveland. Then Cleveland becomes a destination. It's not just about the immediacy of the game and the week of the event. It's about the impact it has beyond that."

Starting this year, the winner of the All-Star Game will no longer determine home field advantage. From 2003-16, the winner of the game awarded the edge for its league in the Fall Classic.

Manfred, when asked about the change that was agreed upon in the recent basic agreement, said, "I think the change has been very positively received throughout baseball. I think last year's World Series pointed that there was something uneasy about a team winning 103 games and not having home-field advantage. I'm confident that with or without this rule our All-Star Game will be a great competitive event."

You might remember that the Cubs and Indians played in the World Series last year. The Cubs, indeed, won 103 games during the regular season, but the Indians held home-field advantage because the AL won the All-Star Game. Corey Kluber, by the way the winning pitcher in that game, was at Friday's press conference.

Dolan, of course, could not let Manfred skate freely away from that statement.

"We liked the way that rule worked," said Dolan, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Cleveland Indians owner Paul Dolan, on Edwin Encarnacion's hefty contract: 'There's no better time than now'

Zack Meisel, | on January 27, 2017 at 12:30 PM, updated January 27, 2017 at 3:58 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When Chris Antonetti mentioned the idea of acquiring Andrew Miller last summer, Indians owner Paul Dolan needed to hear a convincing sales pitch.

The price was four prospects, including a pair of former first-round draft choices, and Dolan was hesitant.

"That's not in our DNA, to give up that kind of talent," Dolan said Friday morning at Progressive Field.

What about awarding a 34-year-old free agent a guaranteed $60 million over the next three years? Does that match the organization's genetic code?

"I suppose contracts like [Edwin] Encarnacion are not in our DNA either," Dolan said, "but, it was the right time for us and we felt it was the right time to reach."

Encarnacion landed the most lucrative free-agent contract in team history. He'll earn $13 million this year, $17 million next year and $20 million in 2019, with a $25 million option for 2020 or a $5 million buyout, and a $5 million signing bonus spread over the first three years of the deal. The Indians also forfeited their first-round draft selection for this summer.

"There's no better time than now," Dolan said.

It helps that the Indians advanced to Game 7 of the World Series, the culmination of a postseason run that galvanized the fan base and spurred ticket sales. Dolan estimated that the team has increased its season-ticket base to 11,000 from 8,500 since the end of the 2016 campaign.

Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, admitted earlier this month that he didn't anticipate the club would be in the running for Encarnacion's services, which include the frequent placement of baseballs on the other side of outfield fences.

A handful of teams turned elsewhere for first-base help. Other clubs didn't match the length of the Indians' commitment, which will keep the slugger in Cleveland through at least his age-36 season.

Still, the process required weeks of dialogue between the front office and ownership. The Indians have long sported a low-end payroll. This sort of move didn't fit the organization's modus operandi.

"They are always looking for those kinds of opportunities," Dolan said. "More often than not, they don't manifest themselves into large free-agent signings, but we're always exploring where there's an opportunity to get value, and particularly when the value fits into the timing with the club."

It all circles back to the timing aspect. If this were a year ago or a year from now, the Indians might not have pounced. Instead, they capitalized on a situation that unexpectedly fell into their grasp. They took a roster that proved championship caliber and improved it, albeit at a significant cost.

That might not fit the club's DNA, but this isn't an exact science.

"We're coming off the World Series almost-win," Dolan said. "With the core talent that we have in place, there's absolutely no better time to make that reach than now."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Cleveland Indians hosting 2019 All-Star Game shows how old ballpark is still new -- Terry Pluto

Terry Pluto, on January 27, 2017 at 12:30 PM, updated January 27, 2017 at 3:12 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When the Cleveland Indians host the 2019 All-Star Game, Progressive Field will be 25 years old.

That fact was mentioned at Friday's press conference announcing Cleveland being the site of the 2019 game.

Twenty-five years old...

Or 23 years old when the Tribe opens the 2017 season...

Eighteen different ballparks have opened since the Indians moved into their current home...

Part of me still views it as "the new ballpark."

But it's not new.

By 2019, the Atlanta Braves will have moved into two different stadiums since what was then called Jacobs Field opened in 1994.

"The ballpark has really stood the test of time," said Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

I think about that whenever I walk into Progressive Field. It's still a wonderful place to watch a game.

The Dolans deserve a lot of credit for that.

The Tribe's owners have worked hard with the city and county to keep the ballpark in good shape.

In the last few years, the Indians put about $37 million worth of improvements into the stadium, and the Gateway Corporation added about the same amount.

Manfred mentioned how the city, county and Tribe all worked together to bring the 2019 game to Cleveland.

He also talked about wanting ballparks "to showcase the game ... Progressive Field is one of those."

Former Tribe president Mark Shapiro spent a lot of time on the ballpark remodeling project. Some fans didn't like removing seats from right field along with the accent on The Corner areas of the ballpark.

But the fact is a number of younger fans do like watching games in a sports bar setting. They enjoy being on social media during the game.

The reason the Indians are hosting the All-Star game in 2019 is partly because of the improvements made in the last few seasons.

And the ballpark remains a fun place to watch a game.

For that, the Dolans deserve a lot of credit.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Sandy Alomar, Jim Thome reflect on 1997 All-Star Game as Cleveland Indians prepare to host again in 2019

Zack Meisel, | on January 27, 2017 at 6:30 AM, updated January 27, 2017 at 6:32 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jim Thome thought it was the All-Star Game. Sandy Alomar thought the birthday socks did the trick.

The two Indians icons couldn't agree on the catalyst of the Indians' 1997 run, but one thing is indisputable: It was a magical season for the Tribe, even though it ended in a Game 7 heartbreak.

The Indians will host the All-Star Game again in 2019, sources told cleveland.com earlier this week. The news of the event has sparked memories of the 1997 exhibition. Alomar's two-run shot to the left-field bleachers lifted the American League to victory on that July night in downtown Cleveland. Thome was the Indians' other All-Star representative.

"The opportunity to play in an All-Star Game is a wonderful experience," said Alomar, a six-time All-Star. "The opportunity to play in an All-Star Game in your own ballpark is even better."

Thome and Alomar assisted in honoring Mike Hargrove, their former manager, on Thursday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. Hargrove, Cleveland's skipper from 1991-99, merited the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sandy Alomar, Jim Thome show appreciation for Mike Hargrove

Thome grounded out in his only plate appearance in the 1997 All-Star Game, the fifth ever hosted by the Indians. Four batters later, Alomar punched a Shawn Estes offering into the seats to break a 1-1 deadlock.

"I didn't play the game looking for awards or for trophies. I play the game to win," Alomar said. "To have a chance to win the All-Star Game and deliver, it was surreal. It was a surreal moment for me."

Alomar captured the game's Most Valuable Player award.

"To watch a teammate, a guy you roomed with, do what he did was just so special," Thome said.

NAS@AAS: Alomar wins it for AL with two-run homer

The Indians entered the All-Star break that year with a 44-36 mark. They struggled to put away the AL Central, but they ultimately won their third straight division crown with an 86-75 record.

Of course, once October arrived, the team took off, eliminating the Yankees and Orioles with a slew of drama-filled victories. Thome thinks the All-Star Game aided the cause.

"I think it brought everybody together in the city," Thome said. "Watching our guys perform great was very special. I really believe it set the bar high."

Alomar traces it back to Aug. 27, when the team decided to honor Thome on his birthday by sporting high socks, a trademark of the slugger.

"It was your socks, Jimmy," Alomar said to his teammate. "It was your birthday that turned it around, not the All-Star Game."

That will remain up for debate. In a couple of years, a new generation of players will have a chance to craft their own hometown All-Star experience. There's no debating that it'll be a welcome opportunity.

"I think it's going to be a great spot to host it and the fans will love it," Thome said. ... "Being retired now and thinking back at those moments, those are the things that really stand out. When you're playing, you're in the grind. You're trying to get better. You're trying to go through the roller-coaster ride, your hitting slumps, the peaks. Now, reflecting back and coming here, it's special to see those moments happen and go, 'Wow, I was a part of that. I got to share that.'"

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.28.2017

Cleveland Indians will host 2019 All-Star Game

By Tom Withers

CLEVELAND: The Indians made it back to the World Series last year for the first time since 1997.

They’re about to connect with another moment from their past.

Cleveland will host the All-Star Game in 2019, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Thursday. The team will hold a news conference on Friday at Progressive Field to formally announce the event, last held in Cleveland in 1997. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.

Hosting the midseason’s showcase is another boost for the Indians, who won their first American League pennant since ’97 last season and pushed the Chicago Cubs to seven games before losing the Series.

When the Indians hosted the game in ’97, Indians catcher Sandy Alomar hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and was selected as the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player.

The city also hosted the game in 1935, 1954, 1963 and 1981 at Municipal Stadium, which was torn down in the 1990s.

Cleveland.com first reported that the Indians will be hosting the 2019 game, which will end a four-year run by National League ballparks. Cleveland will be the first AL host since Minnesota in 2014. The All-Stars will be in Miami this year and Washington, D.C., in 2018.

The AL champion Indians have made significant changes to their downtown ballpark since last hosting the All-Stars. Back then it was called Jacobs Field.

The team has removed thousands of seats in the right-field upper deck and the club has created open social areas and better viewing for its fans with the installation of bar rails. The club also upgraded its concessions, using numerous local food vendors.

The Indians’ attendance has been among the majors’ lowest in recent years, but the Indians have gotten a recent increase in ticket sales after signing free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion, a three-time All-Star who has averaged 39 homers during the past five seasons.

Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 01.27.2017

Revitalized Cleveland Indians, 2019 All-Star Game are perfect fit for each other

By Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The momentum that the Indians have built over the last four years has made an impression. Not only in the won-loss column, but at the highest levels of Major League Baseball.

It is one of the reasons the franchise has been awarded the 2019 All-Star Game. The team is expected to hold a press conference announcing the arrival of the Midsummer Classic on Friday.

Cleveland and the All-Star Game is a good fit.

The Indians have posted four straight winning seasons, culminating in last year's AL pennant and run to the seventh game of the World Series before losing to the Cubs in 10 innings. Manager Terry Francona was named AL Manager of the Year for the second time in the last four seasons for leading the Indians to their first AL Central title since 2007 and first pennant since 1997.

While attendance has lagged during this stretch, owner Paul Dolan has spent millions on refurbishing Progressive Field with the help of concessionaire Delaware North. The ballpark has undergone two major facelifts over the last two years and more work is being done this off-season.

The renovations have reduced the seating capacity at Progressive Field from an estimated 44,000 to just over 38,000.

This will be the sixth All-Star Game played in Cleveland. The last one was in 1997 and featured favorite son Sandy Alomar hitting a game-winning home run for the American League. Alomar, a six-time All-Star for the Indians, is the team's first base coach.

It will be the first All-Star Game played in an American League Park in four years. San Diego hosted the game last year with Miami and Washington hosting in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Francona will manage the AL All-Stars this year at Marlins Park on July 11.

The 1997 All-Star Game was played in the midst of an Indians revival that saw six division titles and two pennants in seven years from 1995 through 2001. During that time, they topped three million in attendance for six straight seasons and sold out a then record 455 straight games.

Could the Indians be on the verge of something similar?

In December, Dolan green-lighted the signing of Edwin Encarnacion, the top free agent run producer, to a three-year, $60 million contract. The signing, the biggest in team history, includes a club option that could push the deal to $80 million. The Indians will enter the 2017 season with a payroll in excess of $100 million for the first time in franchise history.

Encarnacion will be joining a team that finished second in the AL in runs scored last season and reached Game 7 with the best part of the club - its starting rotation - wounded because of injuries to Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer.

They have a deep and talented farm system that allowed them to acquire left-hander Andrew Miller from the Yankees at the trading deadline last year. Francona's creativity, along with Miller's talent and willingness to pitch at any part of the game, has given new insight on how teams might use their bullpens in the seasons to come.

That same farm system has produced Gold Glove shortstop Francisco Lindor, an All-Star in just his second season in the big leagues. It has also found third baseman Jose Ramirez, second baseman Jason Kipnis, closer Cody Allen, center fielder Tyler Naquin, right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall, catcher Roberto Perez and starters Josh Tomlin and Carrasco.

A smart front office, led by Chris Antonetti, has added to those homegrown players by acquiring Corey Kluber, Bauer, Carrasco, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Brandon Guyer, Dan Otero, Zach McAllister, Carlos Santana and Bryan Shaw through trades.

The Indians won the Central by eight games last year. They enter this season as the team to beat in a division at the crossroads. The Twins and White Sox are rebuilding. The Royals, stunned by the death of right-hander Yordano Ventura, could be looking at a rebuild as well after reaching the World Series in 2014 and 2015. The Tigers, old but dangerous, are expected to be the Indians' biggest challenge.

It's clear that the window to win and go deep into the postseason is wide open. There's a chance that could still be the case in July of 2019 when best players in the big leagues once again come to Cleveland.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.27.2017

Sources: Cleveland Indians to host 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field

Zack Meisel, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There's a mid-to-late-'90s vibe emerging at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

The Indians will hold a press conference on Friday morning to announce that they will host the 2019 MLB All-Star Game at Progressive Field, multiple sources told cleveland.com. The city last hosted the sport's Midsummer Classic in 1997, in the middle of a storied (albeit title-less) era in the franchise's history.

In that 1997 exhibition, Tribe catcher Sandy Alomar captured the Most Valuable Player Award for his go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning, which vaulted the American League to a 3-1 victory. The Indians have hosted the All-Star Game on four other occasions, as well. In 1935, 1954, 1963 and 1981, the contest took place at Municipal Stadium.

The 2019 game will mark the sixth in Cleveland. No other franchise has hosted more, and only New York and Chicago -- areas with multiple teams -- have hosted more as a city.

NAS@AAS: Alomar wins it for AL with two-run homer

The selection of Progressive Field will snap a string of four consecutive National League sites chosen to host the event. The Marlins will accommodate the league's top talent at this year's game. The Nationals will host next year's game. The Twins were the last AL team to host the affair. They did so at Target Field in 2014.

Since the last time the Indians hosted, the majority of their AL adversaries have also taken a turn.

1999: Boston

2001: Seattle

2003: Chicago White Sox

2004: Houston (an NL club, at the time)

2005: Detroit

2008: New York Yankees

2010: Los Angeles Angels

2012: Kansas City Royals

2014: Minnesota Twins

The Orioles hosted the All-Star Game in 1993, the year after Baltimore began play at Camden Yards. The Blue Jays hosted the game in 1991. The Rangers last hosted in 1995, though they are expected to open a new ballpark in 2020.

The Rays have never hosted the affair at Tropicana Field since their inception in 1998. The Athletics last hosted in 1987, but they remain in need of a new facility.

The Indians have made a series of sweeping renovations to Progressive Field over the last few years. They eliminated thousands of seats in right field and behind home plate, as they installed a large bar and drink rails and an enclosed gathering area for season-ticket holders. They cleared out some of the foundation on the main concourse to improve the view of the field for those walking around the ballpark. They also welcomed a slew of local vendors to the venue.

The club's attendance, seemingly stuck in the mud for a handful of years, ultimately increased last season. It certainly helped that the team captured its first division title in nine years and advanced to Game 7 of the World Series, the club's first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1997.

The Indians anticipate another attendance boost in 2017. The club sold several hundred season-ticket packages following the free-agent addition of three-time All-Star Edwin Encarnacion.

The Indians' next-door neighbors, the Cavaliers, are planning $140 million worth of renovations to Quicken Loans Arena over the next few years. The Cavs are expected to land an NBA All-Star Game in the near-future as well. The Cavs also last hosted the star-studded affair in 1997.

The Indians sent three players to the All-Star Game in 2016: Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and Francisco Lindor. Salazar did not pitch because of a tender right arm. Kluber earned the victory, which merited the AL home-field advantage in the World Series. That All-Star Game wrinkle was eliminated in the latest collective bargaining agreement.

Indians speak to dealing with Game 7 loss, look to turn page to 2017

By Ryan Lewis

CLEVELAND: Everywhere Francisco Lindor went, he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes open.

In early November, Lindor and the Indians were coming off their improbable ride to the World Series, which ended with an extra-innings loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7. Physically, it pushed their offseason back a month compared to most expectations when the postseason began. Emotionally, it was a draining mix of celebrations in Boston and Toronto and heartbreak in Cleveland.

For a week after Game 7, the Indians’ 23-year-old, always-smiling shortstop took on more of a zombie form.

“I was falling asleep everywhere I went for the first week,” Lindor said on Friday. “At the mall, I’d sit down and just be mentally exhausted. On the couch, there was no one keeping me up. I didn’t watch TV for the first week. That probably helped me sleep a lot.”

When Lindor was asked if he’d been able to completely get over the loss, he said, “I’ll let you know.”

Lindor, as well as many other Indians players who attended TribeFest this weekend, said they haven’t gone back to watch Game 7. That includes Cody Allen, who said in the clubhouse after Game 7 that he wanted to go right to Arizona for spring training and get started again.

He looked then like he’d run through a wall to start the 2017 season the next night. Though, after getting about as close to winning it all without actually doing so, the time away might have offered some positives.

“It was good to get home, flush everything, take some time, decompress and move past 2016,” Allen said. “I think that was probably key for a lot of guys, just move past 2016 and just focus on what’s ahead of us. I think some time at home to decompress, it was good to do that. But after a couple weeks at home, the holidays come around, the itch, regardless with how you finish up, it’s like, ‘All right, it’s time to get going.’ That clock inside you is saying it’s time to get back to Arizona.”

Indians manager Terry Francona hasn’t spent too much time dwelling on Game 7, either. And he didn’t see a need to go back and rewatch it.

“No, I never — I was there,” Francona said. “I enjoyed it. I like the journey. I think the journey is fun and then I’m ready to move on pretty quick. Win, lose or draw, I’m ready to do the next thing.”

That next thing will be pitchers and catchers reporting on Feb. 12. The full squad reports on Feb. 16. Like every spring, it’ll begin with a larger team meeting, led by Francona, to lay out what the Indians want to be about and how they’d like to do things. Francona isn’t always a huge speak-in-front-of-the-team manager, but he sees value in this larger message at the beginning of a lengthy spring camp and season.

This year, the Indians enter as the clear favorites in the American League Central and, along with the Boston Red Sox, to return to the World Series. Part of this spring is turning the page and finding the balance between learning from experiences and not dwelling on any one thing for too long.

“We try to draw from everything, good or bad,” Francona said. “But once you draw from that, it’s time to move on. Even though you have a lot of the same names back and faces, it’s a different team. It’ll be another personality, their own, the 2017 team. That’s something we’ll talk about in the first meeting. We don’t want to be that team that come July is still talking about last year, because this year’s not so good.”

Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: 01.29.2017

Formal introductions: Edwin Encarnacion gets to meet Cleveland Indians fans at TribeFest

Paul Hoynes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - It doesn't feel like it outside, but baseball season is here. An umpire hasn't yelled 'play ball,' but the essence of the game has engulfed the Indians and Cleveland.

On Friday, Commissioner Rob Manfred was in town to award the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game. On Saturday, 7,000 fans came to TribeFest at the Intercontinental Hotel at Cleveland Clinic. Next Friday the team's equipment trucks leave Progressive Field for the long drive to Goodyear, Ariz., to start spring training.

"This has officially been the shortest postseason in history," said manager Terry Francona. "We played for an extra month. Then I stayed here until the second week of December trying to get healthy enough to go home.

"I was home for two weeks, went to visit the kids for Christmas. Went back home for two weeks. Now I'm here and I'm headed for Goodyear on Tuesday."

Such is life for the AL pennant winner that pushed the World Series to seven games before losing to the Cubs in 10 innings.

"You know what," said Francona. "I hope we have a short off-season for the next 10 years. That was a lot of fun."

Fun, yes, and it would be even better if Francona can avoid having another hip replacement surgery as he did right after the Game 7 loss.

Saturday was all about fun at TribeFest. It was also was the first time Edwin Encarnacion and Indians fans were properly introduced.

Edwin Encarnacion on his new team and new home in Cleveland

"It's very exciting to be here," said Encarnacion. "The fans have been great. I never expected this. I can't wait to start the season and come back to Cleveland and play some baseball."

The Indians came to terms with Encarnacion in December on a three-year, $60 million contract. He said he will report to spring training on Feb. 15, the day before position players are scheduled to report to Goodyear.

Encarnacion was born in the Dominican Republic, but was drafted by Texas. The Dominican is not governed by the MLB draft, but Encarnacion was eligible because he spent his high school years in Puerto Rico.

Last week the Dominican was rocked by the deaths of Yordano Ventura and former Indians infielder Andy Marte in separate car accidents on the same day. Ventura was the ace of Kansas City's pitching staff. Marte spent the last two years playing in Korea.

Encarnacion knew each player.

Cleveland Indians 2017 Tribe Fest: Sights and sounds

"It's very tough because we not only lost Yordano, but we lost Andy Marte," said Encarnacion. "I was great friends with Andy, too.

"It's a very sad moment and sad situation for the Dominican players and Dominican people. We lost two young guys like that. Yordano had a great future, so it's very tough."

The roads in the Dominican Republic, according to the World Health Organization, are among the most dangerous in the world.

"It is a tough country to drive in," said Encarnacion. "That's why you have to take care of yourself and you have to be smart about what you're doing. If you're going to drink, you have to have someone to drive your car."

Francona, on Thursday, indicated to reporters that Encarnacion would look great hitting in the No.4 spot. He added he would look even better if Michael Brantley's right shoulder allowed him to fill the No.3 spot ahead of Encarnacion.

Encarnacion feels the same way.

"We need a player like Michael Brantley," said Encarnacion. "Everybody knows he's a great player. He's an All-Star player and we need him. I think he's going to be ready and I think he's going to help this team."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Will attendance boom hit Cleveland Indians in 2017? Hey, Hoynsie

Paul Hoynes

CLEVELAND, Ohio --- Do you have a question that you'd like to have answered in Hey, Hoynsie? Submit it here or Tweet him at @hoynsie.

Hey, Hoynsie: Has the front office indicated if 2017 will be the year for a big attendance boom at Progressive Field? - Nick Walsh, Cleveland.

Hey, Nick: I think that will depend on the fans rather than the front office. I'm sure the Indians organization is working toward that goal after winning the pennant and reaching Game 7 of the World Series, but here's the catch -- they sell the tickets and the fans buy them.

Owner Paul Dolan said Friday after MLB awarded the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game that season ticket sales have increased from about 8,500 last year to an estimated 11,000 this year. So that's a start.

Hey, Hoynsie: I'm happy to see that the Indians are honoring Frank Robinson this season with a statue. For many years I was puzzled by the fact that the franchise did not acknowledge Robinson or its role in hiring the first black manager in the big leagues. The Indians should be proud of this distinction as they rightfully are about signing Larry Doby, the first black player to appear in the American League. Do you know if Robinson plans to attend the unveiling? - Ken Krizner, Wickliffe.

Hey, Ken: I never got the impression that the Indians downplayed the importance of hiring Robinson as the game's first black manager. They named him to their Hall of Fame last year and I think he's always been respected by the organization. The Indians are expecting Robinson to attend the unveiling on May 27.

Hey, Hoynsie: Do you believe the Indians will move if the attendance problems continue, particularly with the lease ending in 2023 and Progressive Field being 30 years old by then? I noticed from looking at old records that even when they were contenders in the mid-1950s attendance was low. Only in the late 1940s, early 1950s and 1990s was attendance good. - Richard Lyman, Caldwell, Idaho.

Hey, Richard: Attendance is always going to be a concern. But with the Indians reaching Game 7 of the World Series last year, owner Paul Dolan taking on a limited partner in John Sherman, Progressive Field in its third year of renovations and MLB awarding the Indians the 2019 All-Star Game, it's hard to imagine the team being on a more solid footing in Cleveland.

Hey, Hoynsie: What are Edwin Encarnacion's stats at Progressive Field? - Barry Elliot.

Hey, Barry: Encarnacion is a .275 (25-for-91) career hitter with two homers and 11 RBI in 22 games.

Hey, Hoynsie: I refuse to accept the results of the World Series. When spring training starts, I'll be protesting, picketing and forming support groups. Contact me at #notmyworldseries. - AZCardman, Gilbert, Ariz.

Hey, AZCarman: In the name of Keith Olbermann, "resist."

Hey, Hoynsie: Assuming Cleveland's goal is a world championship, having half of its power at DH (Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Santana) seems to a significant disadvantage. I really think they need Mike Napoli back so they can play Santana in left field. It would also give them protection if Michael Brantley isn't at 100 percent. - Gordon Weller, Evansville, Ind.

Hey, Gordon: Having half their power at DH and first base (Mike Napoli and Santana) didn't seem to hurt the Indians last year. As for Santana in left field, no disrespect intended, I'd rather see him at first base.

Hey, Hoynsie: Does Abraham Almonte have a minor league option left? Just thinking what if Michael Brantley is healthy and Austin Jackson outplays Almonte and ends up platooning in center field with Tyler Naquin? - Jack Bacevice.

Hey, Jack: In the Indians' postseason guide for 2016, Almonte is listed as having one minor-league option left.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Deadline approaches for Cleveland Indians' Larry Doby Fund, Francona's 'proudest moment'

Marc Bona

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Groups have until Feb. 14 to apply for money through the Larry Doby Youth Fund, which was created by the Cleveland Indians fewer than four months ago and which quickly topped $1 million in donations.

Terry Francona on the Larry Doby Youth Fund

Ask manager Terry Francona what he's most proud of during his career, and you might be surprised what you won't hear: It's not making the World Series last year or leading Boston to its first World Series title in 86 years, in 2004. It's not the four winning campaigns the Tribe has posted since he's been manager.

It's how fast the entire Indians organization rallied around the fund in October. He brought the idea to the players and contacted Indians Chairman and CEO Paul Dolan, and as fast as Corey Kluber can strike out a side, the organization was all in. Within "three or four days," said the team's communications director, Curtis Danburg, the coffers filled. Every player donated, all because of Francona's passion for the fund.

The Cleveland Foundation administers the fund, which supports resources for non-profit community groups to target youth-violence prevention programs.

"I was thinking about this for a while," Francona said during the team's annual Tribe Fest at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland on Saturday. "Talking to some policemen and watching some of the things happen in our country, and it was starting to bother me. I started talking to some of our players, and it kind of snowballed in a hurry. One of the reasons it did was the team we have. I don't think we could have ever accomplished this with any other team. Never in my wildest dreams did I envision every person from players to trainers to clubhouse guys to front office to ownership, 100 percent involved."

Francona remains proud of the fund's mission.

"It was probably one of my - if not my proudest - moment in my major-league life. You take a cross-section of guys from all over the world and come together to do something for other people, in this case, Cleveland youth.

"It's not fair sometimes," he said. "How can you expect a young person to grow up and be a law-abiding, valuable citizen when they don't have a chance as a youth? This isn't the end-all, be-all, but it's a start. And maybe we can help some kids."

Not every manager in baseball is as vested in his community as Francona, whom Dolan credits for the effort.

"He drove it," he said. "It was his idea. He made it happen."

Foundation officials will start reviewing applications after the deadline, and the Indians will announce the recipients early in the season.

Seventy years ago, Doby became the first African-American player in the American League, almost three months after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Francona credits Dolan for coming up with the name.

"It seemed so perfect," Francona said about the homage to Doby. "To put his name on it is really fitting."

The Indians unveiled a statue of Doby outside Progressive Field's center field gates in July 2015.

More info

Go to clevelandfoundation.org/larrydobyyouthfund. Nonprofit groups interested in applying should contact Cleveland Foundation Program Officer Stephen Caviness at scaviness@clevefdn.org.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Cleveland Indians' signing of Edwin Encarnacion created buzz among Tribe players

Zack Meisel

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When Dan Otero stepped off of the cruise ship, his phone service returned.

Along with it came waves of reaction from teammates about the Indians' addition of slugger Edwin Encarnacion.

"I was like, 'All right! I don't have to face him anymore!'" Otero said.

Cody Allen called his bullpen mate.

"The first thing he said is, 'Dude. We have Edwin,'" Otero said.

The $60 million (at minimum) investment created a buzz among Tribe players, who called or texted Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to verify the reports.

Michael Brantley said he had "six or seven" texts from teammates before he saw the news on TV.

Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes were surprised to hear of the signing of Edwin Encarnacion

Francisco Lindor's father, Miguel, coached Encarnacion when the power hitter was a kid. During Lindor's rookie season, he was walking away from batting practice at Rogers Centre while Encarnacion, then with Toronto, was stretching.

Encarnacion shouted: "Hey, come here! Are you Lindor? Are you Lindor's son?"

Lindor confirmed his identity and relation to his father.

"Your dad coached me," Encarnacion told him, which resonated with Lindor.

"That, to me, means a lot," Lindor said. "A guy who remembers who coached him when he was little, that says a lot. I'm looking forward to spending the next couple of years with him. It's going to be a long, fun ride."

Lindor and Encarnacion have chatted a few times during the off-season.

"He's going to change us a lot," Lindor said. "He impacts the game just by being in the lineup, not even by being at home plate."

The Indians are familiar with Encarnacion's power potential. They stymied him during the American League Championship Series, but that hasn't happened too often. Encarnacion clubbed three home runs in his four playoff games in 2016 prior to clashing with the Tribe.

He belted a career-high 42 homers, tallied a league-high 127 RBI and posted an .886 OPS last season. His 193 homers over the last five seasons are more than any player in baseball except Chris Davis.

"Facing him is not fun," Otero said. "I think he's more than just a power hitter, also. He shoots the ball the other way. He works counts. He doesn't strike out."

Yan Gomes briefly played with Encarnacion while with the Blue Jays. He told his fellow Indians that Encarnacion is one of his favorite past teammates. The two agreed upon an exchange -- no compensation has changed hands yet -- so that Encarnacion could wear Gomes' No. 10. Gomes has switched to No. 7.

The addition of Encarnacion signaled the end to Mike Napoli's tenure with the Tribe. Napoli set career bests with 34 homers and 101 RBI in 2016 and quickly established himself as a primary leader in the clubhouse. When manager Terry Francona received confirmation that Encarnacion was Cleveland-bound, the skipper sent his first text to Napoli.

"It was kind of bittersweet," Francona said. "Sometimes you have to make decisions that tug at your heart a little bit."

But as owner Paul Dolan admitted on Friday, there was no better time to strike on the free-agent market.

"It's exciting to see the front office putting forth that effort and the ownership stepping up," Otero said. "Being able to take on that contract shows they have belief in us that we can make another run at it."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Cleveland Indians have Terry Talkin' Francisco Lindor, fun times for fans -- Terry Pluto

Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It snuck up on us.

I'm talking about the Cleveland Indians. I was thinking about that this weekend, when it was announced the 2019 MLB All-Star Game was coming to Progressive Field.

It also was Tribefest, with many of the team's top players in town. And the Indians are the 2016 American League champions.

"We're on a bit of a roll here," said Tribe owner Paul Dolan.

It sort of came out of nowhere, only it didn't. It seems the Tribe has been building toward this ever since Terry Francona was hired as manager before the 2013 season.

In 2012, the Indians were 68-94. It was the third time in the previous four years the Indians had lost at least 90 games. Baseball was a sad story on the corner of Carnegie and Huron.

Four years later...

It's hard to believe, but in the last four years, the Indians have won more games than any team in the American League. Francona has twice been the AL Manager of the Year. Corey Kluber won the 2014 Cy Young Award. The Indians have been to the playoffs twice and to the World Series in 2016.

The ballpark has been renovated and looks great. Dolan just made the biggest free agent acquisition in team history -- $60 million for slugger Edwin Encarnacion.

The only significant players to leave the Tribe after the World Series is Rajai Davis, who signed with Oakland, and Mike Napoli, who remains a free agent.

Francona mentioned how the Indians will miss Davis on the bases, where he led the American League in steals. But when the team had a chance to sign Encarnacion, Napoli and Davis were part of the price to be paid.

So the Indians have added a cleanup hitter who has averaged 39 homers and 110 RBI over the previous five seasons. In 2016 with the Blue Jays, Encarnacion batted .263 (.886 OPS) with 42 HR and 127 RBI. He turned 34 on Jan. 3.

Dolan told the media Friday "There was no better time than now" to spend for Encarnacion.

And for Tribe fans, there is no better time than now to fully engage in the team.

ABOUT FRANCISCO LINDOR

The Tribe's real star is Lindor. The 23-year-old All-Star shortstop batted .310 in his first postseason. He won a Gold Glove at shortstop. They now give a "Platinum Glove" to the American League's best "overall fielder." He won that, too.

His smile lights up the night at Progressive Field even when it's gloomy and rainy. He plays with such joy.

I asked him what he learned in his first postseason.

"I get anxious when I can't control the game," he said. Lindor explained his nerves were quiet "when I was in the field or batting ... but when I was sitting in the dugout and pulling so hard for my teammates, I'd get anxious."

He added he "kept falling asleep for a week" after the World Series. He was emotionally drained.

He also had this story about Encarnacion. Lindor was a rookie in 2015. The Tribe was playing the Blue Jays. Encarnacion came over and to say hello.

"You Lindor?" he asked. "You Lindor's son?"

"I am," was the response.

"I played for your father," said Encarnacion, remembering Miguel Lindor, who also was Francisco's first coach.

"It's great that he remembered playing for my dad when he was little," said Lindor.

ABOUT AUSTIN JACKSON

Once upon a time, Austin Jackson was a good center fielder for Detroit. From 2010-14, he was a .277 hitter (.755 OPS) who averaged 9 HR, 48 RBI and 16 stolen bases while doing a good job on defense.

He was traded to Seattle and then played last season with the White Sox. Jackson had knee surgery last June. He was batting .254 (.661 OPS) with 0 HR and 18 RBI in 203 plate appearances. He had stolen only two bases. His knee was bothering him for much of the season before he had surgery.

Is he fully recovered? The Indians hope so. Obviously, there are a lot of doubts about Jackson. He signed a $1.5 million contract with the Tribe, and it's a minor-league deal. That means it's not guaranteed. He can opt out at the end of spring training if he sees a better opportunity with another team.

Jackson is a right-handed hitter, and the Indians hope he can replace Davis. Oakland signed Davis, who played mostly against left-handed pitching.

In the last three years, Jackson was a .275 hitter (.714 OPS) vs. lefties compared to .253 (.654 OPS) vs. righties.

The Indians are piling up the outfielders. Guaranteed roster spots if healthy are Brandon Guyer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Abraham Almonte, Tyler Naquin and Michael Brantley.

Almonte and Naquin both have minor league options available. Outfield prospects Yandy Diaz and Brad Zimmer will also be in camp.

ABOUT THE TRIBE

1. I listened to Brantley talk about the progress he is making from his shoulder problems. It sounds good. He is ahead of where he was at this point last season. But no one is sure how he'll do this year. As of now, he's healthy and hitting the ball off a tee.

2. Brantley works very hard. From 2012-15, he played in an average of 149 games per season. So he was not a guy to miss games because he was sick or had sore muscles. Brantley plays unless he's really hurt.

3. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the Indians were one of several teams to send scouts to a showcase for lefty Craig Breslow. He's 36 and pitched only 14 innings last season.

4. The Indians would like another lefty in the bullpen. The only one they have is Andrew Miller. But as Francona explained, it has to be someone who can actually get left-handed hitters out.

5. The Indians also have been looking at Joe Blanton, the former so-so starter who has found new life as a reliever. Blanton was 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA with the Dodgers last year. I doubt the Indians will snare him because he'll probably command a nice one-year deal.

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Cleveland Indians' Michael Brantley says he's ahead of schedule in comeback from shoulder problems

Paul Hoynes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Michael Brantley has been there, done that. Now he's doing it again, but not by choice.

Brantley is hitting a ball off a tee every day. At the moment, he's swinging the bat twice a day, each session consisting of three sets of 40 to 50 swings. So far his right shoulder is cooperating.

The process will continue for the next couple of weeks before moving to Goodyear, Ariz., for spring training. Indians pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 12. Position players follow on Feb. 16.

Brantley said he feels better than he did at this time last year. Then he was almost three months removed from having surgery on the labrum in his right shoulder. Another surgery followed in August, ending Brantley's season. After playing an average of 148 games in the previous four seasons, he played 11 last year.

"I feel better than I did a year ago," Brantley said at a press gathering Thursday at the Wild Eagle Saloon just down the street from Progressive Field. "I'm happy where I'm at. I still understand that there are hurdles in the process and I look forward to tackling them."

Last off-season Brantley said his goal was to be ready for opening day. He was close. The Indians activated him on April 25, but after a game on May 9 in Houston he did not play again because his shoulder kept restricting his swing.

There will be no predictions this year.

"I'm not saying anything," said Brantley. "All I know is that I'm healthy right now and I have a progression to go through. Once I get through that I'll be ready to rock and roll."

Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes were surprised to hear of the signing of Edwin Encarnacion

Ideally, sometime early in spring training, Brantley will be able to get out of the trainer's room and do everything his teammates are doing. But after so many stops and starts last year, no one is sure if and when that time will come.

"I want to play everyday," said Brantley. "That's my whole goal. I love playing defense and I love being out there with my teammates. I want to hit the ground running.

"That's the whole reason I stayed in Cleveland this off-season and trained with the great trainers that we have. So when that time comes, there will be no problems."

The Indians shocked many in baseball in December by signing Edwin Encarnacion, the top power hitter on the free agent market, to a three-year, $60 million deal. The idea of pairing a healthy Brantley with Encarnacion in the middle of the lineup is tantalizing.

"You're talking about a pretty special hitter," said manager Terry Francona, referring to Encarnacion. "We had to replace Nap (free agent Mike Napoli) and for a number of reasons that wasn't easy.

"Then all of a sudden you're talking about the most productive hitter in the game. You can sit him in that No.4 hole, most likely, and let him go. He gives you an anchor in the middle of the lineup and then if Brantley is OK - that's two really good hitters."

Brantley said he received six or seven text messages from teammates when news broke of the Encarnacion signing.

The injury timeline of Cleveland Indians LF Michael Brantley

"I was excited, just like all the players," said Brantley. "My teammates were calling Chris (Antonetti) and Chernie (GM Mike Chernoff) to make sure it was real. The lineup we're projected to have is great. I just want to be a part of it and contribute."

Brantley, in his mind, has gone through last season several times. Could he have done something different in his rehab? Did he try to come back too soon?

"I've thought about it, but absolutely not," said Brantley. "I did everything in my power to get back - strength wise, medical wise. It just didn't work out.

"It's something I learned from and I'll only get better from. It only made me hungrier to get back out there. I can't wait to do it."

The Indians, with Brantley watching, won the AL Central, the pennant and reached Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Cubs. He wants to do more than watch this year, but like the state of his shoulder the coming season offers only unanswered questions.

"The only thing we earned from last year is the target on our backs," said Brantley. "We are the defending champions. When we come into town, everybody knows they're going to have to play a great game to beat us. It just raises everyone's expectation level and ours as well."

Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 01.29.2017

Numbers game: Yan Gomes happy to give Edwin Encarnacion No. 10, turn page on troubling year

Zack Meisel, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio -- No exchange has taken place, but give it time.

When the Indians signed Edwin Encarnacion, Yan Gomes called his new (and old) teammate.

"I'm like, 'Hey, you need my number?'" Gomes said.

Encarnacion wore No. 10 with the Blue Jays for the last six seasons. Gomes has sported the same number the last four years with Cleveland.

The agreement materialized quickly. Encarnacion donned a No. 10 uniform when the organization introduced him at Progressive Field earlier this month. Gomes sported a No. 7 jersey at Tribe Fest. The terms of the number swap will be finalized later, likely during spring training.

"You're trying to keep a guy like that happy," Gomes said. "If he wants No. 10, he can have it as many times as he wants."

In a way, he was pleased to turn the page and take on a single digit. Gomes batted .167 with a .527 OPS in 74 games last season, one marred by injuries and frustration at the plate.

"I overdid it with No. 10," Gomes said. "I hope that that doesn't carry [over] to him. I think he's done pretty well with No. 10 in Toronto."

Gomes' offensive numbers have declined across the board each of the last two years, since his Silver Slugger season of 2014. In 653 plate appearances since, he has posted a .205/.240/.365 slash line, with 22 walks and 173 strikeouts.

Along the way, he has endured a sprained knee, a separated shoulder and a broken wrist. He recovered enough from the wrist injury in time to make the Indians' postseason roster. He registered four at-bats during the World Series.

ADVERTISING

"That's something that nobody can take away from me," Gomes said. "Even though it didn't go as planned, I still got to play in a World Series game."

Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes were surprised to hear of the signing of Edwin Encarnacion

Gomes and Roberto Perez figure to share the catching duties this season. Perez spent much of January training in Florida with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

"He's the best catcher," Perez said of Molina. "You want to work with the best."

As for Gomes, the 29-year-old said he had returned to full health by the end of the Indians' postseason run.

"I put all that stuff behind me," Gomes said. "[My] body is ready to go. [I'm] just excited about spring training now."

As he should be. That's when he'll likely receive his end of his deal with Encarnacion.

Commentary: Forget analytics, Omar Vizquel belongs in the Hall of Fame

Jim Ingraham | The Chronicle-Telegram

Omar Vizquel makes his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, and the battle lines are already being drawn. This could be an epic stare down between the analytics and non-analytics crowds.

We’re partial to Vizquel in these parts because he was an All-Star shortstop on some of the greatest Indians teams ever. But he was much more than that. He was the best defensive infielder, not just shortstop, of his era. He reinvented the position defensively.

He won nine consecutive Gold Gloves, 11 overall, which among non-pitchers is the fourth most in history, he played the position with an electric, theatrical flair for the dramatic, and he was, although the analytics gang would hotly dispute this, a better hitter than many people realize.

Vizquel fell just short of 3,000 hits, getting 2,877. That ranks 42nd on baseball’s all-time list, and 36 of the 41 players ahead of him on that list are either in the Hall of Fame or (Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki) will be once they appear on the ballot.

Vizquel has more career hits than Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr.

All of which sounds impressive, except to those who hitch their player-evaluation wagon to analytics. Many of those who do, believe Vizquel is not even close to being worthy of Hall of Fame induction. Craig Edwards, in a recent post on FanGraphs, recently wrote that if Vizquel is elected “he might be the worst offensive player” ever enshrined in Cooperstown.

On the other side, ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote a column recently in which he said he would vote for Vizquel, and it triggered an immediate “are you crazy?” backlash from the analytics devotees.

Stark pointed out that Vizquel had three seasons with at least 140 games played and five or fewer errors, which is as many seasons like that as all the other shortstops since 1900 combined.

Stark also had this gem: Only two players in history have as many Gold Gloves and career hits as Vizquel — Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente.

The anti-Vizquel faction maintains that, despite some of his career stats, Vizquel was actually well-below average offensively. The comparison used by some in gauging Vizquel’s Hall of Fame case is Ozzie Smith.

Smith, the only shortstop in history with more Gold Gloves than Vizquel, had a career .262 batting average, .337 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage and .666 OPS (on-base plus slugging). In those same categories Vizquel is at .272/.336/.352/.688.

Edge Vizquel?

Not so fast, say the analytics enthusiasts. Edwards points out that in comparison to the players, the ballparks, and the eras in which they played, Vizquel was well below Smith as an offensive player. In other words, compared to their peers and the league averages at the time, Vizquel’s offensive numbers were significantly worse than Smith’s.

My response to that would be: So what? Just because there are numbers that indicate Vizquel was a vastly inferior offensive player to Smith that should not disqualify Vizquel from Hall of Fame consideration.

Edwards’ response to my response would probably be that Vizquel is not only vastly inferior to Smith offensively he is vastly inferior to almost anyone in the Hall of Fame.

My rebuttal to that would be another so what? Vizquel, playing the most important defensive position on the field, was the greatest defensive shortstop of his era. But the analytics tell us he was a poor offensive player.

Let’s consider the reverse of that.

Frank Thomas and Harmon Killebrew, for example. They were historically great sluggers, but woefully poor defensive players, yet they both sailed into the Hall of Fame. David Ortiz will likely be in the Hall of Fame one day even though he was such a bad defender the Red Sox wouldn’t even let him play a position.

Vizquel impacted games with his glove as much, if not more, than those sluggers did with their bats. Why are they, but not him, Hall of Fame worthy?

Bob August, the late great Cleveland sportswriter, once told me you should never have to look up a player’s numbers to decide whether or not he was a Hall of Famer. You should know just by watching him. His play alone should be so clearly superior than everyone else’s that his Hall of Fame worthiness should be obvious.

For me, that’s Vizquel, and I’m not anti-analytics. I see value in a lot of the advanced metrics, and I respect those who provide such information with which to evaluate players.

At the same time, however, I don’t think, over the last 150 years, we ever missed identifying any historically great players because we didn’t have analytics to point the way.

Analytics has its place, but true greatness reveals itself on a scale of such singular brilliance — such as Omar Vizquel playing shortstop — that detailed parsing is unnecessary.

Tribe Fest: Indians hoping winning ways, talented roster will mean more fans in stands

ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram

CLEVELAND — If the turnout for this year’s Tribe Fest is any indication, the Indians’ poor performance in the attendance department is about to change.

Each session of the team’s fan-friendly event Saturday at the InterContinental Hotel downtown was sold out and the team estimated the overall attendance at 7,000.

Truth is, after falling a win shy of a World Series title and signing elite run producer Edwin Encarnacion in the offseason, the Indians do expect their attendance figures to climb in 2017.

So does Encarnacion, who due to a clause in his contract, gets paid more if the Indians draw more fans.

“There’s been progress with our attendance,” team president Chris Antonetti said. “There’s definitely been an engagement and an enthusiasm with our fan base. We’ve sold more season tickets. Obviously, we haven’t put regular (season) tickets on sale yet. Hopefully that momentum continues. We need it to continue.”

There certainly seems to be something for Tribe fans to get excited.

Fresh off an AL title, the Indians enter the season with few weaknesses in any department and as a favorite to repeat as league champions.

A bonus for the fans and organization is that Cleveland will host the All-Star Game in 2019 for the first time in more than 20 years.

“We aren’t looking toward the All-Star Game right now because we think a lot of good things can happen from now until then,” owner Paul Dolan said during the official announcement that his organization had been awarded the 2019 Mid-Summer Classic. “But we are certainly honored and looking forward to hosting a great event in Cleveland when the time comes.”

Obviously, after falling a win shy of celebrating their first world championship since 1948, the Indians’ focus is squarely on ending the title drought.

And many believe they’re in a prime position to do just that.

Facing an inordinate amount of adversity along the way last year, the Indians beat the odds to advance past two favorites in the ALDS (Boston) and ALCS (Toronto) before taking baseball’s best team, the Chicago Cubs, to seven games in the World Series.

That experience can only help, according to right-hander Corey Kluber.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Kluber said. “Obviously it didn’t end like we wanted, but I think when you look back, a lot of good things happened, and hopefully we can take those things into this year.”

The Indians accomplished everything last year without former MVP finalist Michael Brantley, who was limited to 11 games but is expected to be ready to go when spring training begins.

If Brantley stays healthy and is able to return to form, a really good team gets even better.

“The only thing I think we earned last year is a target on our backs,” Brantley said. “We are the defending champions and when you come into town everybody’s going to know they have to play a great game to beat us.

“It just raises everybody’s expectation level, and ours as well.”

Tribe notes: Fans, team excited about addition of Edwin Encarnacion

ByChris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram

CLEVELAND — Edwin Encarnacion was a big draw at Tribe Fest on Saturday, which makes sense, since the Indians are counting on big things from him this season and beyond.

Encarnacion, who signed the largest free-agent contract in Cleveland history (three years, $60 million) this offseason, appears ready to deliver after proving over the past five years that he isn’t only a power hitter.

Over that span, Encarnacion had at least 34 home runs in each season while batting no lower than the .263 he hit last year, though he still managed 42 homers and an American League-leading 127 RBIs.

At 34, he may be nearing the latter part of his career, but the Indians aren’t concerned with Encarnacion’s numbers tailing off during his time in Cleveland.

“He’s been an incredibly productive player and often you hear about players who are power hitters and how they may age and how those skills may progress over time,” Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said. “With a guy like Edwin, he has such great command of the strike zone and he’s such a great hitter. He’s not just a power hitter. It gives us a strong belief that that consistency can last. This is a player who doesn’t just rely on bat speed or power. It’s a player who has a lot of skills.”

A number of Indians players have told reporters how excited they were when they learned the team had signed Encarnacion. Catcher Yan Gomes even went as far as to give up his No. 10 to his new teammate.

The feeling is mutual for Encarnacion, who is looking forward to playing mentor to his young Indians teammates, especially shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Both players are from Puerto Rico, where Lindor’s father coached Encarnacion as a youngster.

“It’s unbelievable. The way he plays this game, he’s going to be a super All-Star soon,” Encarnacion said of Lindor, who was an All-Star in his first full season in the majors last year. “I’m going to try to help as much as I can and get him to continue to keep doing what he’s been doing.”

Michael Brantley praised Cleveland’s ownership and front office for landing a big fish in Encarnacion.

“They put us in a great position to be very successful this year,” he said. “Now it’s our job to get the job done.”

Money matters

Rajai Davis had a great debut season with the Indians last year, becoming a postseason hero with his game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series, but his departure this offseason came down to finances.

Davis, who led the AL with 43 stolen bases last year at age 35, signed a one-year, $6 million contract with Oakland after Cleveland decided to pass.

“It would have taken a significant financial investment to sign Raj,” team president Chris Antonetti said. “We made a sizable investment for Edwin (Encarnacion). To do that alone took a great leap of faith. To expect anything beyond that would be unlikely.”

Brantley bit

With the addition of Encarnacion, the Indians already figure to employ an imposing lineup. If Michael Brantley is able to return to his MVP finalist form, it gets even more imposing.

“We need a player like Michael Brantley,” Encarnacion said. “Everybody knows he’s a great player, he’s an All-Star player and we’re gonna need it. I think he’s going to be ready and I think he’s going to help this team continue to do what we’ve been doing.”

Brantley, who missed nearly all of 2016, said Friday he expected to be ready to go when spring training begins in a little over two weeks.

“The lineup we’re projected to have is great. I just want to be a part of it and contribute,” Brantley said. “We have such a great group of guys around here. They’re hungry to get back there. It’s going to be a great season.”

Sick burn

Right-hander Trevor Bauer took a playful jab at teammate Jason Kipnis on Twitter, calling the second baseman out for not attending Tribe Fest.

Kipnis, who missed the event to attend a wedding, fired back, “I’m busy flying drones ...,” in reference to Bauer hurting his finger while he was repairing a drone during the postseason.

Zimmer time

When Clint Frazier was traded to the Yankees in the deal to acquire left-hander Andrew Miller, Bradley Zimmer became the Indians’ top outfield prospect.

Zimmer, a first-round draft pick in 2014, will make his first appearance at big league training camp this spring after batting .250 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs in 130 games for Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus.

“It’s really hard to put any sort of timetable on players,” Antonetti said of Zimmer. “There needs to be an opportunity and there needs to be a player prepared to succeed with the opportunity that he’s given. I think we saw a great example of that last year. No one was writing Tyler Naquin’s name to be a regular outfielder for us, but there was an opportunity and he took advantage of it.

“There may be an opportunity for Bradley at some point. The question is, is he the best option for us and does he take advantage of it?”

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona won’t let Tribe bask in 2016 success

By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal

The Indians head to spring training next month as defending American League champions for the first time since 1997.

Yeah, so?

One of the first things manager Terry Francona plans to tell his team when it is fully assembled in Goodyear, Az., is last season doesn’t matter. He will have plenty of time to refine his speech, too; he will head out for Goodyear on Jan. 30. Pitchers and catchers don’t report until Feb. 12.

“Anybody that cares about baseball gets excited,” Francona said on Jan. 27 as he and about 20 players gathered at the Wild Eagle Saloon in downtown Cleveland a day before Tribe Fest. “I think we have a lot of reasons to be really optimistic and excited.”

Nevertheless, Francona said going into extra innings in the seventh game of the 2016 World Series really doesn’t matter, other than the experience gained will be helpful if the Tribe does repeat.

The Royals lost the 2014 World Series to the San Francisco Giants in seven games. A year later, Kansas City won the Series by beating the Mets in five games. They did not make the playoffs in 2016.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Francona said. “It’s not going to get us a win or a loss. Once you draw from that (experience), it’s time to move on. Even though you have a lot of the same names back and faces, it’s a different team. It will be another personality.

“That’s something we’ll talk about in the first meeting. We don’t want to be that team that come July is talking about last year because this year’s not so good.”

The medical update on players injured at the end of last year is good. Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco said his right hand, broken in early September, is improving. He hopes to be ready for spring training. Outfielder Michael Brantley said he is on schedule rehabbing from biceps tendon surgery and catcher Yan Gomes says he’s ready after enduring a shoulder injury and broken hand in 2016. Francona said pitcher Danny Salazar (forearm) is strong and ready to go.

According to the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, the Cubs are favorites to repeat as World Series champions. Vegas has the Boston Red Sox as 6-to-1 to win the American League, followed by the Indians at 9-to-1.

The attitude the Indians will take into spring training dominated the informal session as players played pool, ping pong, bocce ball and basketball. Players competed to throw a ping pong ball into a spittoon behind the bar from a landing up a flight of steps. Francisco Lindor came closest; he hit the inside lip of the spittoon but the ball bounced out and hit the wall.

“Nothing’s given to you in this game,” Brantley said. “We have a long way to go. It’s a long season. We have a tough schedule with all those West Coast trips this year.

“The only thing we earned from last year is a target on our backs. We are the defending champions. When teams come into town, everybody knows they’re going to have to play a great game to beat us. It just raises everybody’s expectation level — ours as well. We have to go out there and get the job done.”

Tribe Fest on Jan. 28 at the Intercontinental Hotel near the campus of Cleveland Clinic is sold out. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

JOHN HARPER

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

If it’s Super Bowl week the baseball offseason must finally be over, right? Well, not quite. It’s not unusual for deal-making to drag deep into January, as it did for the Mets and Yoenis Cespedes a year ago, but this was an especially slow-moving winter in a lot of ways.

After all, who exactly had Jan. 19th in the pool as the date that the first of the two league home run champs would finally sign a free-agent deal — and a relative bargain compared to past years at that.

But at least Mark Trumbo, who led the AL with 47 dingers, got his deal to return to the Orioles. Chris Carter, who tied for the NL lead with 41 home runs as a Milwaukee Brewer, is still out there, wondering why power-hitting suddenly seemed to lose its appeal for teams trying to win.

Other sluggers too, such as Mike Napoli, Brandon Moss, and Pedro Alvarez are still looking for jobs as well. And the Mets, of course, have all but given up trying to trade Jay Bruce.

The market was flooded with sluggers, but there were other factors that diminished their value. GMs don’t seem to value power, at least not power alone, as highly as they once did, not in an era when run-prevention gets so much attention.

And perhaps for good reason, since it wasn’t hard to find in 2016. Last season 111 players in the big leagues hit 20 or more home runs, compared to 64 in 2015.

Nobody seems to know for sure if it was a fluke year in that regard, or the power surge is the result of an all-or-nothing approach that so many hitters seem to take these days, or whether perhaps the ball was juiced.

Maybe we’ll have a better idea after 2017. All we know for sure is that patience paid off for teams like the Indians, Blue Jays, and Orioles in waiting out deals for sluggers.

That trend seemed to define an offseason that otherwise was noteworthy for big contracts paid to elite closers and some intriguing trades — though not as many as expected, considering the lack of top-flight strting pitching available on the free-agent market.

In any case, even with a few more signings still to come, here are my 10 best moves — or non-moves — of the offseason, and five worst as well.

1. Red Sox Trade For Chris Sale

Good to see that some GMs, in this case Dave Dombrowski, are still willing to go for it rather than protect top prospects at all costs. On a team with a strong offense and a No. 1 starter — David Price — who knows mostly failure in the postseason, adding Sale was crucial for the Sox to win a championship.

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2. Cubs Trade for Wade Davis

The shrewdest move of the offseason, as Theo Epstein saved a ton of money, acquiring a top closer in Davis from the Royals for $10 million next season rather than re-signing Aroldis Chapman, who got $86 million over five years from the Yankees. And Theo did it by trading Jorge Soler, a player the Cubs didn’t need.

3. Indians Sign Edwin Encarnacion

The defending AL champs probably never even considered the possibility until it became clear the slugger market was overstocked and big-market teams weren’t in spending mode. And then they made a smart, seize-the-moment signing, getting Encarnacion for three years, $60 million.

4. Mets Re-Sign Yoenis Cespedes

It’s fair to wonder now whether the Mets overpaid for Cespedes. But you really can’t second-guess them for moving quickly in November to bring him back for $110 million over four years, considering how desperately they need his offense.

5. Orioles Wait Out Mark Trumbo

A year ago the O’s dug deep into their pockets to bring back Chris Davis signing the power-hitting first baseman to a seven-year, $161 million contract. By comparison they got Trumbo for practically nothing — three years, $37.5 million — as their patience paid off.

6. White Sox Trade For Prospect Haul

Baseball people everywhere have offered kudos to White Sox GM Rick Hahn for getting the most out of trades of Sale to the Red Sox and Adam Eaton to the Nationals. If the likes of Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, and Lucas Giolito live up to their prospect hype, perhaps the Sox will do a Cubs-like rebuild eventually.

7. Dodgers Keep Three Key Free Agents

There’s nothing especially sexy about re-signing your own guys, but the Dodgers may well have assured themselves of another October run by bringing back back Rich Hill, Kenley Jansen, and Justin Turner.

Rick Peterson thinks he has the fix for Mets' pitching injuries

8. Astros Beef Up Their Offense

In moving early to trade for Brian McCann and sign free agents Josh Reddick and Carlos Beltran, the Astros added veteran bats and perhaps some leadership for a young team pushing toward winning a championship.

9. Yankees Show Restraint

They did make a couple of important moves for 2017, bringing back Chapman and signing Matt Holliday, but mostly GM Brian Cashman showed a needed commitment to the rebuild he began last summer, deciding he wanted more time to let his prospects develop before selling some off for someone like Sale.

10. Giants Sign Mark Melancon

With a reliable closer down the stretch and then in October as well, who knows how the postseason might have played out differently?

THE FIVE WORST

1. The Nationals: The Eaton deal left them perilously thin in starting pitching, and they still don’t have a closer.

2. The Astros: Yes, they added offense, but they didn’t get the top starting pitcher they need to win a championship.

Fantasy Baseball: Mets' Matt Harvey is one risk you should take

3. The Rockies: They signed Ian Desmond for $70 million to play first base. Enough said.

4. The Mets: They couldn’t trade Bruce and so far at least they let that keep them from signing needed relief help.

5. The Rangers: A team thinking World Series did precious little to improve its chances, unless you think Andrew Cashner is the answer.

STAR KIDS

Some notable prospects lists are out, and the surprise isn’t that Gleyber Torres is getting a lot of love — you knew that was coming after all the raves that surrounded earning MVP honors at the Arizona Fall League.

No, the surprise is that on one such list, ESPN’s Keith Law ranks Mets’ shortstop Amed Rosario ahead of Torres — and No. 3 overall on his list of top 100 prospects.

Rosario is a consensus blue-chipper after his breakout season at Double-A last year, where he began to blossom offensively, but he hasn’t received nearly as much hype as Torres.

I’ve talked to scouts who love Rosario’s defense and overall potential, but none projected him as highly as Law does in his rankings:

“He has MVP potential as a true shortstop who will be above average defensively and projects to hit .300 with some walks and power.”

Law thinks just as much of Torres, who he ranks No. 4 overall, right behind Rosario.

MLB Pipeline.com, on the other hand, has Torres as its No. 1 shortstop prospect, with Rosario at No. 3.

WAR-RING

Does Logan Forsythe put the Dodgers over the top in 2017? Apparently from an analytical standpoint he does, anyway.

Fangraphs.com, which projects win totals every season based largely on players WAR (wins-above-replacement) totals, raised the Dodgers from 94 wins to 95 for next season after the Dodgers acquired Forsythe from the Rays to play second base.

That 95-win total is the highest for any team in the majors next year, one higher than that of the Cubs, who, by the way, won 103 games last season and get Kyle Schwarber back in 2017.

Sorry, I’m not buying it. The Cubs will win 95-plus easy.

Meanwhile, Fangraphs doesn’t seem to think much of the Mets’ chances, projecting them to go 83-79, one more win than it gives the Yankees at 82-80

PARK IT

Finally, I think it’s great Yankee Stadium is getting a facelift to make it more social-media friendly and all that, as we learned last week.

But if the Yankees want to make improvements, they should start by restoring Monument Park to a place where you can actually see it while sitting in the Stadium. Turning it into Monument Cave to make room for more bleacher seats has always been the worst thing about the new place.

Ken Davidoff / MLB hot stove winners and losers: Sorry, Mets

By Ken Davidoff January 28, 2017 | 2:52pm

The Cubs and Indians gave us an all-time World Series last fall, and maybe they provided a couple of lessons for other aspiring champions, as well.

The pair of historically plagued franchises fought to extra innings of Game 7 (I won’t give away the ending if you haven’t seen it yet), and what qualities did they share? Two stand out in the context of attempting to assess this offseason’s winners and losers:

A. Self-awareness

B. Roster depth

The Cubs tore down and rebuilt methodically upon Theo Epstein’s arrival in the fall of 2011, suffering for three years and then ramping up to the point where they committed $184 million over eight years to Jason Heyward after the 2015 season. Then they covered for Heyward’s 2016 ineptitude with reacquired role player Chris Coghlan, international signing Jorge Soler and $56 million free agent Ben Zobrist.

The Indians bounced between full contention and life on the bubble since Terry Francona’s 2013 arrival. Yet faith in their 2016 pitching staff led to a small-market shopping spree — with Marlon Byrd, Rajai Davis, Mike Napoli and Juan Uribe all signed to one-year contracts. After Byrd failed a drug test and Uribe ran out of gas, the Indians traded for Tampa Bay’s Brandon Guyer and put the versatile Jose Ramirez at third base more often.

Which teams followed the Fall Classic by similarly understanding their place in the team-building cycle and creating margins for error? Which didn’t? With 26 of The Post’s Top 30 free agents signed — only Joe Blanton, Jason Hammel, Napoli and Matt Wieters remain unemployed — here are your winners and losers.

Winners

1. Dodgers

The Yankees, after replacing Joe Torre with Joe Girardi in October 2007, proceeded to re-sign Jorge Posada ($52.4 million), Mariano Rivera ($45 million) and Alex Rodriguez ($275 million). Though Posada’s and A-Rod’s deals proved too long, the 2009 World Series title happened before those expiration dates. The Dodgers evoked that retention initiative by bringing back their own free agents Rich Hill ($48 million), Kenley Jansen ($80 million) and Justin Turner ($64 million). Moreover, they upgraded at second base by getting Logan Forsythe from the Rays.

2. Red Sox

So many established stars have experienced shaky Beantown transitions, with David Price your 2016 Exhibit A, that you wonder if Chris Sale will run into such turbulence, too. It still is worth the risk of trading talented young pieces to get him, especially since the Red Sox possess so many starting rotation options. In not signing Edwin Encarnacion to replace the retiring David Ortiz, they opted to leave their DH spot open for a rotating door of veterans, again reflecting the abundance of talent there. Tyler Thornburg should help the bullpen.

3. Astros

With free agents Carlos Beltran, Charlie Morton and Josh Reddick signed, and with Brian McCann aboard thanks to a trade with the Yankees, the ’Stros attained the offensive balance they desired, bolstered the back end of their starting rotation and imported enough clubhouse leadership to carry a full season of “The Unit.” Nevertheless, their efforts to add a frontline starting pitcher have fallen short to date. Do the Astros have enough arms to honor their mission? Maybe they can find one during the season.

4. White Sox

No, don’t bet on these guys to capture their second championship in 13 years. However, after occupying baseball’s middle ground for so many seasons, the Chisox finally chose a lane, selling off Sale to the Red Sox and Adam Eaton to the Nationals and getting highly regarded packages of prospects in return. They should run the upcoming trade deadline, too — with Melky Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Jose Quintana and David Robertson very available.

5. (tie) Cubs/Indians

Neither defending pennant winner faced many crucial decisions. Each made one significant move and scored big, as the Cubs traded Soler to the Royals for their new closer Wade Davis and the Indians extended themselves financially to capitalize on Encarnacion’s surprisingly soft market. The Cubs also added pitching insurance with Brett Anderson, and the Indians likely have another bullpen move coming.

Losers

1. Tigers

Who are the Tigers? Are they the aggressive team hell-bent on getting their octogenarian owner Mike Ilitch a long-desired title? Or are they the Wolfpack trio from “The Hangover” trilogy, trying to atone for their past craziness? The answer, unfortunately for them, is something in between, as their efforts to shed payroll succeeded only with the trade of Cameron Maybin to the Angels. So maybe all of their veterans will hold up and a playoff run will ensue. Given the doubts about their starting rotation, though, that doesn’t constitute a great bet.

Adam EatonAP

2. Nationals

If you’re going to give up top young pieces for Eaton, an intriguing risk, don’t you have to follow that up and add relief arms and find a better insurance plan for the aging Jayson Werth and the injury-prone Ryan Zimmerman? No team has a more defined window than this club, with Bryce Harper set to hit free agency (and get recruited by the Yankees, surely) after the 2018 season. Are the Nats fully capitalizing on that window?

3. Rangers

Though Texas did put up the American League’s top record (95-67) in 2016, that probably can’t be duplicated if the Rangers duplicate their modest 765-757 run differential. Is picking up the free-agent duo of former Padres Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross and essentially replacing Ian Desmond with Carlos Gomez enough to counter that? For sure, they’ll be signing another helpful bat, with beloved veteran Mike Napoli the usual suspect.

4. Mets

They started off in grand, generous fashion, paying the winter’s largest contract to Yoenis Cespedes and having Neil Walker accept the qualifying offer. Then … crickets. You reluctantly could swallow the Jay Bruce resolution, though Michael Conforto’s ceiling stands higher than Bruce’s, if that didn’t also handcuff the Mets’ payroll flexibility to strengthen their bullpen. And don’t forget their 2016 leader in innings pitched, Bartolo Colon, left for Atlanta, and the team is counting on its young (and talented, yes) arms to stay healthy and make up the difference.

5. Giants

They needed established closer Mark Melancon in the worst way after last year’s epic bullpen meltdowns. Unfortunately for them, they needed to upgrade their outfield, too, and they turned off the spigot after guaranteeing $62 million to Melancon. Now they’re counting on one of two inexperienced guys, Jarrett Parker (entering his age-28 season) or Mac Williamson (26), to becoming dependable regulars.

NY Post LOADED: 01.29.2017

Nick Cafardo / SUNDAY BASEBALL NOTES / Red Sox runaway in AL East? Not so fast

By Nick Cafardo

The Red Sox will enter spring training as the favorites to win the American League East, but it may not be a cakewalk, even with Chris Sale heading Boston’s elite starting rotation.

Nobody knows this better than Dave Dombrowski, who put together an elite staff in Detroit — Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello, and Doug Fister. While the Tigers had success and even reached the World Series, they didn’t win it all. So the Red Sox will face similar scrutiny.

It would appear the AL East may be a three-team race. Don’t be surprised if the Yankees enter the mix as they try to incorporate more youth from a farm system that is now among the best in baseball.

We’re leaving out Tampa Bay, but pitching always makes the Rays competitive. You can see frustration growing with leader Evan Longoria, who was very unhappy about the trade of second baseman Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers for top pitching prospect Jose De Leon. Forsythe was one of the top players on the Rays, well respected. Red Sox manager John Farrell has commented on how good of a player Forsythe is, so that’s one nemesis out of the division.

Here’s a look at each team in the AL East:

Boston — Certainly the favorite by adding Sale, giving the Red Sox a pretty formidable rotation troika with David Price and Porcello. While this should be a slam dunk, we have to see how Sale adapts to the market, whether Porcello can repeat his Cy Young season or come close to it, and whether Price returns to prominence after a very good but not elite season. The other thing to watch here is closer Craig Kimbrel. He had meltdowns late in the season. Was this a result of pennant pressure, was he still favoring his surgically repaired knee, or was it simply a fluke? The Red Sox bolstered their late-inning relief corps by trading for Tyler Thornburg, who had great credentials in Milwaukee. But again, that was Milwaukee. This is prime time. And the Red Sox lineup? Terrific last season, but we all know the void that David Ortiz has left. The Sox will count on Mitch Moreland, a lefthanded hitter who can drive the ball to left-center. And everyone is holding their breath that Pablo Sandoval will reemerge as the player he was in San Francisco. The Sox are prohibitive division favorites, but they have question marks.

Toronto — The Blue Jays didn’t replace Edwin Encarnacion, though they did sign switch-hitting DH Kendrys Morales early in the free agent process. His power could increase at Rogers Centre. Toronto re-signed Jose Bautista, who will be motivated after an off year. A Justin Smoak/Steve Pearce combo at first base may work, but like with the Red Sox, Toronto’s lineup won’t be as formidable as last year. The rotation is a different story — an excellent 1 through 5: Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, and Francisco Liriano. One problem: lack of depth (Gavin Floyd and Joe Biagini) beyond the top five. The bullpen could be troublesome. The Jays lost Joaquin Benoit and Brett Cecil, two very effective relievers, to free agency. They are relying a lot on closer Roberto Osuna and setup man Jason Grilli. And they hope Biagini will take to a late-inning role. We’re guessing that the Jays add a quality reliever before camp opens.

Baltimore — Dan Duquette does a terrific job showing patience in his team-building. He got a bargain in re-signing Mark Trumbo to a three-year, $37 million deal. The Orioles’ lineup remains potent, and it’s likely that righthanded power-hitting first baseman/DH Trey Mancini will become a factor. They added Seth Smith, a really good player, to play right field, and Welington Castillo should add pop at catcher. Duquette may add a lefthanded bat. His rotation has to get better. Young pitchers Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy appear ready to approach elite status. Chris Tillman still heads the rotation, while Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jimenez are capable of good stretches. The bullpen remains top-notch with saves leader Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, and Brad Brach forming a formidable back three.

New York — Is there any reason the Yankees can’t contend and rebuild at the same time? No. The rotation pretty much stayed the same with Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Adam Warren, and Luis Severino. The Yankees are hoping Severino emerges as a potential ace, but there may be more growing pains ahead. The Yankees have rebuilt the bullpen they tore apart to gain prospects last season. They re-signed Aroldis Chapman to anchor the back end behind Dellin Betances and Tyler Clippard. The big lineup question is how rookie right fielder Aaron Judge adjusts to the big leagues. Greg Bird returns at first base after missing all of last season with an injury. And of course, sensational catcher Gary Sanchez will likely find challenges in his second season as the league adjusts to him.

Tampa Bay — The Rays are certainly unpredictable in their moves, surprising baseball with the Forsythe trade. They’ve always been offensively challenged, and they will likely look to add a bat, possibly offering pitcher Jake Odorizzi. The Rays could certainly use an upgrade at second base, where Nick Franklin is expected to start. They could move Brad Miller from first base to second, and find a first baseman elsewhere. Alex Colome and Brad Boxberger remain the back-end relievers, but the Rays have to find in-house pieces to fill out the pen. The Rays also signed former Texas closer Shawn Tolleson, who will be in the mix along with Danny Farquhar.

2016 AL East final standings

W-L GB

Red Sox 93-69 –

Orioles 89-73 4

Blue Jays 89-73 4

Yankees 84-78 9

Rays 68-94 25

SOURCE: MLB

REDS REUNION?

Arroyo could land in a familiar place

All signs are pointing to Bronson Arroyo signing with the Reds, his home for eight seasons before he suffered elbow and shoulder problems in 2014 with Arizona. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since, but Arroyo declared himself ready.

“I’ve been throwing every day. I’m as good as I’m ever going to be,” said Arroyo, who didn’t miss a start from 2004-13. “I’m 100 percent good enough to throw an inning or two. I don’t know if I can throw six or seven innings every four days. That’s what I’m going to find out.”

If he ends up with Cincinnati, Arroyo will be around coaches and personnel who know him and know that he doesn’t have to throw in the mid-90s to get people out.

Arroyo was a solid fifth starter on Boston’s historic team in 2004, and then was traded to the Reds in 2006, becoming one of the most durable starters in baseball.

The National League, and the Reds in particular, suited Arroyo. He loved playing for Dusty Baker and his pitching coach was current Reds manager Bryan Price, so it makes sense that Arroyo would want to return to the Reds, who are in a transition period and could use a back-end starter.

“It would be hard for me to go somewhere where I’m competing with some 25-year-old guy hitting 95 on the radar gun,” Arroyo said. “I’ve always been able to get people out doing it the way I do it. And so I need to be somewhere where the people evaluating me understand that.”

Arroyo, who turns 40 on Feb. 24, understands his comeback could be considered a long shot. He said that it doesn’t feel like he hasn’t pitched in a major league game since 2014, when he made a few starts knowing he needed Tommy John surgery before shutting things down.

Apropos of nothing

1. Dave Trembley presides over what might be the best farm system in baseball with the Braves. With the deals John Hart and John Coppolella have made, the Braves are envied around the league.

“I know a lot of organizations have to prop up their prospects, but the Braves don’t have to do that,” said Trembley, the former Orioles manager. “These kids are legitimate, talented kids who should eventually get to the big leagues and be top players in the league.”

Obviously, Dansby Swanson remains atop the list and he should be manning shortstop as the Braves open their new ballpark in suburban Atlanta this spring. But Trembley feels infielder Ozzie Albies, lefthander Sean Newcomb, and outfielder Dustin Peterson aren’t far from the majors.

“We try to challenge our kids,” Trembley said. “But we’re going to make the right decisions on whether they’re ready for the majors. And we’ll assess that as an organization with the input of our managers and coaches.”

2. Michael Cuddyer and Andy MacPhail have been elected to the Twins Hall of Fame.

3. Wish I was in college again so I could apply for this internship with the Baseball Hall of Fame, which “offers meaningful, hands-on training in numerous professional careers, with many former interns still working at the Hall of Fame and throughout MLB. If you’re interested in spending the summer in Cooperstown as an intern, apply at baseballhall.org by January 31.”

4. A feasibility study conducted on the McCoy Stadium site revealed that it wouldn’t be worth renovating the stadium since it would cost around $68 million, while a new stadium built on the same site would cost $78 million. The team, owned by a group led by Larry Lucchino, is looking into other sites, including the old Apex Department store site in Pawtucket, off Route 95. It’ll be tough to see McCoy Stadium go if that’s what they decide. Such a fun place.

5. While it’s true that adding Rusney Castillo and/or Allen Craig to the major league roster would add to the luxury tax, what will the Red Sox do if these guys are red-hot at Pawtucket and they need an outfielder and/or first baseman? Leave them there? If that’s their intention, they might as well release both of them right now.

6. Jim Decker points out that when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, 2007, and 2013, they had a former Brewster Whitecaps player from the Cape Cod League on the team — Mike Myers in ’04, Bobby Kielty in ’07, and David Ross in ’13. Decker points out that newly acquired setup man Tyler Thornburg is also an ex-Whitecap.

Updates on nine

1. Yoan Moncada, 2B, White Sox — The White Sox are 100 percent committed to keeping Moncada at second base, according to a team source. Moncada was shifted to third base late last season by the Red Sox, and when they recalled him in late August, they wanted him to start there the remainder of the season. But Moncada was shaky at third and overmatched at the plate. The No. 1 prospect in baseball will hone his second base skills at Triple A Columbus to start the season. The White Sox feel Moncada will be with the big league team as early as the All-Star break.

2. Matt Wieters, C, free agent — Wieters is surprisingly still available in free agency. The Orioles did not re-sign Wieters because they felt his catching skills had diminished and he wasn’t quite the same after Tommy John surgery in 2014. One major league source said that Wieters’s initial contract demand was three years, and nobody has shown a commitment to that length. The Braves were a potential landing spot, but no longer after they signed Kurt Suzuki. The Blue Jays showed interest, but they opted for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Astros remain a possibility, as do the Rays, who won’t have Wilson Ramos available until June or July.

3. Chris Carter, 1B/DH, free agent — Carter remains a free agent after hitting 41 home runs last season. The Marlins and Rays have checked on him, but there’s nothing doing at the moment. The Royals thought about it, but would prefer a lefthanded bat.

4. Jason Hammel, RHP, free agent — Hammel won 15 games with the Cubs last season and remains a free agent. The Royals have renewed interest after the tragic death of Yordano Ventura. The Royals are also looking at other options, such as Doug Fister, who may come cheaper. Kansas City may also inquire about the Rays’ Jake Odorizzi and Alex Cobb.

5. Adam Lind, DH/1B, free agent — Lind is going to be an add-on for a team in need of a lefthanded hitter who can hit righties. Lind is below average as a first baseman and certainly as an outfielder, but his lefthanded bat may fit a team such as Cleveland or Baltimore.

6. Joe Blanton, RHP, free agent — At the beginning of free agency, Blanton’s name popped up often as a middle reliever/setup man. The market seemed to pass him by, but a few teams have come knocking in the last couple of weeks. Blanton has shown to be valuable given his multi-inning capability. He’s probably better suited for the NL.

7. Jake Peavy, RHP, free agent — There hasn’t been much action on Peavy, who’s considered a tack-on starter at this stage of his career, but there has been some talk about Peavy reuniting with the Padres, with whom he began his career. Peavy had a terrible season in 2016 with a 5-9 record and 5.54 ERA, and the Giants demoted him to the bullpen. Peavy, 35, does add a leadership quality and would definitely need to stay in the NL.

8. David Robertson, RHP, White Sox — Robertson is more than available, but the White Sox want a good haul for him. At worst, the White Sox believe Robertson will have a lot of value at the trade deadline, or if a team’s closer goes down. The White Sox and Blue Jays have had discussions this offseason, and the Yankees have at least thought about it, but New York is unwilling to give up the quality prospects the White Sox want. At some point, Robertson will be in greater demand.

9. Rob Leary, scout, Diamondbacks — The former Red Sox coach and Marlins bench coach was hired by Arizona as a major league scout. Leary is one of the best catching instructors in baseball and should do well helping Mike Hazen’s staff find talent at the toughest position to scout.

Extra innings

From the Bill Chuck files — “There have only been 24 occasions in which a batter hit 40-plus HRs but did not drive in 100 runs, and three players (Chris Carter, Brian Dozier, and Todd Frazier) did it 2016, the second most ever only to 2015, when Nelson Cruz, Carlos Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Albert Pujols did it.” . . . Also, “Since 2014, nine players have hit over 100 home runs, but just three had more RBIs than strikeouts: Edwin Encarnacion (115 HRs, 336 RBIs, 318 Ks), David Ortiz (110 HRs, 339 RBIs, 276 Ks), and Nolan Arenado (101 HRs, 324 RBIs, 271 Ks).”

Boston Globe LOADED: 01.29.2017Brantley's swing 'encouraging' to Quatraro