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Players with big-league ability will start in minors
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, Mar 17, 2008
TAMPA: All teams aspire but few achieve the goal of putting together a team with depth.
It's difficult enough to have all the bases (literally) covered at the major-league level. It is rare to manufacture a club that can withstand injuries at every position by plucking talented players from its minor-league system.
However, the Indians managed to do just that last year. When Cliff Lee went down with an injury in spring training, Fausto Carmona came to the rescue. When Lee returned, Jake Westbrook took his place on the disabled list and Carmona took over his spot in the rotation.
But that's an understatement. Carmona went on to post a 19-8 record and 3.06 ERA (second in the American League) as a virtual rookie starter.
And that was only part of the story. Tribe deep thinkers were expecting Josh Barfield to make a relatively smooth transition from the National League, where he spent his rookie season locking up the second base job with the San Diego Padres.
Instead, Barfield failed to get untracked at the plate, and Asdrubal Cabrera was summoned from Triple-A Buffalo. Club officials were hoping that Cabrera's presence would help light a fire under Barfield. Instead, Cabrera ended up replacing Barfield and made huge contributions at the plate (.283
average) and in the field the final seven weeks of the season.
Franklin Gutierrez did the same thing in right field, when Casey Blake was forced to take over at third for Andy Marte. Initially, manager Eric Wedge tried other alternatives but finally settled on Gutierrez, who played most of the time in right the second half of the season.
Jensen Lewis performed the same function in the bullpen after being promoted from Buffalo in July and working his way toward the back of the bullpen to compile a 1-1 record and 2.15 ERA.
The question is this: What if the Tribe needs the same kind of infusion of talent this year? Wedge thinks the pieces are there.
''Right now, I think we have depth in all areas,'' he said Sunday. ''It's a matter of how deep. Everybody needs to have guys in that second tier.''
The second tier is Triple-A. At the moment, it isn't quite clear (but almost) which players will lose out on roster jobs and begin the season at Buffalo.
Unlike most teams, the Tribe has lots of starting pitchers. With a three-way battle going on for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, the two losers of the competition will go to Triple-A and form a solid wall of protection for the big-league starters.
At the moment, Lee is the front-runner to round out the rotation, with Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey relegated to Triple-A, where they would be a heartbeat away from the big leagues. Both pitchers have solid credentials, even though neither has a wealth of major-league experience.
In addition, this could be the season that Adam Miller makes the breakthrough from top prospect to a job in the big leagues. It won't happen in the next month or so, but it's possible that by midseason, Miller will have worked his way into a position to be more than an afterthought if the Indians need another starter.
Barfield almost certainly will start the season at Buffalo, which gives the Tribe a good defensive option at second or short, a player who also has the potential to be a contributor at the plate.
First- and third-base replacements might be a little more uncertain. Andy Gonzalez and Danny Sandoval have played third briefly in the big leagues, but it's difficult to imagine that either would be an impact player.
On the other hand, if Michael Aubrey adapts quickly to Triple-A and stays healthy — his biggest question mark — he has the kind of offensive potential that could make a difference.
Shin-Soo Choo and Ben Francisco should give Wedge a sense of security if he needs to reach down to Triple-A for outfield help. Choo is still rehabbing from last year's Tommy John elbow surgery, but he is expected to be ready to play in May. If he does not stay on the major-league roster (he will begin the season on the DL), he could be lost on waivers.
Two areas of the club seem to be lacking in depth: catcher and the bullpen. Yamid Haad, signed last year as a minor-league free agent, has received lots of playing time in spring exhibition games. Club officials also like Wyatt Toregas, who played for the Double-A Aeros in 2007, but he has yet to be tested at Triple-A.
Wedge doesn't necessarily agree that bullpen depth is thin, saying, ''I think we have a couple of guys there; the two guys we sent down the other day, for example. And we still have five or six pitchers competing up here.''
Maybe, maybe not. The two pitchers he referred to, Rick Bauer and Edward Mujica, have had control issues. Jorge Julio might be an option if he gets his act together. At one time, he was considered a hotshot prospect and amassed 83 saves for the Baltimore Orioles from 2002-04.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
TAMPA: All teams aspire but few achieve the goal of putting together a team with depth.
Get the full article here.
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