Can the Indians Contend?

The Cleveland Indians were one of the worst teams in the Major Leagues last year, but with a new season comes new hope. The team made a lot of changes in the offseason including hiring former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, jettisoning soon to be free agent Shin-Soo Choo, and bringing in Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn among others. Theoretically the team looks to contend this season, but with the powerhouse Detroit Tigers looking down from the top of the AL Central, contention will be anything but easy.

The Indians look to have a strong top of the order that is arguably as good as any in baseball. Michael Bourn is a preeminent leadoff man, and following him up with Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis, Nick Swisher, and Carlos Santana is a strong top of the order. There's a bit of a drop off after that but Mark Reynolds, Michael Brantley, and Drew Stubbs have all been quality major leaguers at points in their careers.

The Indians should have enough offense to contend for at least a wild card spot, but the big question mark for the team is starting pitching. Ostensible ace Justin Masterson had a forgettable 2012, posting a 4.93 ERA  and 0.0 WAR. With only one truly good season with the Tribe under his belt there remain question about how good Masterson really is. I tend to believe he'll split the difference between his 2011 and 2012 season, and post ERA in the low 4s, but unless he can drop his walk rate he shouldn't be considered a top flight starter.

Even more questions surround former Cy Young candidate Ubaldo Jimenez who has been atrocious since coming over from the Rockies. I don't think there's any turning back for the Dominican at this point and he can only hope to be a league average starter. Zach McAllister and Brett Myers should be serviceable starters, but guys you'd more like as number 5s, than potential 2s and 3s. The club hopes to get something out reclamation project Daisuke Matsuzaka, but it seems unlikely that the former Red Sox will offer anything more than replacement level value.

The big hope for the Indians staff is that recently acquired Trevor Bauer and/or former top prospect Carlos Carrasco can catch lighting in a bottle. Bauer was dumped by the D-Backs but still remains one of the top prospects in the game. If he can live up to some of the hype this season, he would give a huge boost to a staff that desperately needs it. Carlos Carrasco is a bit more of a question mark as he attempts to come back from Tommy John surgery. Once the top prospect in the Phillies system before coming over to the Tribe in the Cliff Lee deal, Carrasco has been inconsistent in the majors thus far, but nonetheless has as much talent as anyone currently on the staff.

With a decent offense, great defense, and a solid bullpen the Indians could certainly contend if they can catch a few breaks with the pitching staff. Beating out the Tigers for the division title doesn't seem very likely, but with two wild card slots available the Indians still have a pretty good shot at a playoff spot. If the Tribe can find a way to acquire more starting pitching, they'd be in an even better spot, but as it stands now they'll need some career years from at least a couple of the starters if they hope to play in October.

Why Not Manny?

Let me start off by admitting that I am an unabashed Manny Ramirez fan, as much for helping to deliver two titles to the Red Sox, as the comedy gold he's wrought over the years. So the conceit of this post that a) he still has something to offer a team on the field and b) he wouldn't be a complete knucklehead, is admittedly pretty absurd. However, I'm not quite ready to lose Manny to Taiwan, so I'm going to attempt to shoehorn the mercurial 12-time All-Star onto some rosters.

Yankees 

The Yanks currently have brittle former Indian Travis Hafner penciled in at DH, and with the loss of Curtis Granderson for a month, the Bronx Bombers are in need of an extra outfielder. Sure by the time Manny actually gets in shape Granderson will be back, but he'll sell way more jerseys than whoever they throw out there. Plus, he can fill in at DH when Hafner inevitably goes down after the first month of the season. Would Joe Girardi stab him after about a week on the roster? Probably, but it would certainly lead to some snappy New York Daily News headlines.

Phillies

The Phillies are looking at some combo of Darin Ruf, Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr., and Delmon Young to patrol two outfield spots. Why not add a little Manny to the mix? He's probably in better shape than Delmon and can probably still get on base at a better clip than Brown or Mayberry. Would he be an absolute butcher in the outfield? You bet, but certainly the team responsible for signing Young can't be terribly worried about outfield defense.

Mets

The Mets need to make headlines this season and are also going into the year with an outfield that some pundits have actually considered calling the worst of all time. The solution to both problems: Manny. At the very least he'd be the first player to try to eat the giant apple in centerfield, which would be entertaining for all.

Orioles

Dan Duquette's biggest free agent signing of his career came when he lured Manny over to the Red Sox. Maybe he can recapture a little of the 2000's Sox magic (sure he got fired two year after signing Manny, but whateves) by bringing Manny on over to the O's. MLB Depth Charts tells me that the Orioles currently have a Wilson Betemit/Danny Valencia platoon penciled in at DH, so yeah, Manny could definitely be useful to that roster. Plus, Manny would've made a pretty awesome Wire character.

Blue Jays

If the Jays sign him he could become a Canadian citizen and recreate his famous American citizenship celebration. That's if he even realized he was in a different country. Plus, who wants to see Adam Lind at DH on that team anyway.

Marlins

Manny lives in the Miami area and the Marlins are gonna need to sell tickets after their latest fire sale fiasco. There's no way most people in Miami realize he hasn't been good in years and Jeffery Loria is certainly not above bamboozling his fan base.

Royals

Can't be any worse than Jeff Francoeur.

Diamondbacks

Kevin Towers seems intent on having an outfield logjam at all times, so go ahead an add Manny to it. Plus, you can tell him it's Mexico and watch with glee as he trots out to the field in a sombrero.

Indians

Just kidding Terry Francona.

Red Sox

Please...pretty please. At least give him one of those bullshit special assistant to the GM job, I just want Manny back in my life.