indians | Bottlegate

Joey Wendle, as anticipated, goes back to Oakland for Brandon Moss. Final deal. Done.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 8, 2014

From 2012-14, Brandon Moss ranks 15th in MLB in slugging percentage (.504). Highest-ranked Tribe player in that span? Brantley, 70th.

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) December 8, 2014

Where would Brandon Moss have ranked on the Indians in HR the last three years?
2012: First (21)
2013: First (30)
2014: Second (25)

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) December 8, 2014

https://twitter.com/WhoIsMattAston/status/542012652189675520

Happy Monday, Cleveland. The move that was supposed to go down last week is now official. 2B prospect Joey Wendle heads west with 2014 All-Star Brandon Moss coming to The Land.

For my money, this is a great trade for the Tribe. Wendle is a decent prospect who can swing the bat pretty well for a middle infielder, but he’s 24, hasn’t played above AA and missed a chunk of last year with a broken wrist. Moss is coming off a surgery of his own (hip), but has proven at the major league level that he can do one of the things the Indians lineup needs the most: leave the yard. He should be healthy by spring training. Sure, that’s a little bit scary, as is the fact that we’re adding yet another left-handed bat to a lineup that’s already dominated by them. It’s certainly a calculated risk by the front office. But with the MI depth we have with guys like Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor and Erik Gonzalez, it’s one that I’m all for.

The AL and NL Cy Young awards will be announced today around 3:45 PM on MLB Network. Here’s a little list of reasons why Corey Kluber should triumph over Seattle’s Felix Hernandez and become the first Indians pitcher since Cliff Lee in 2008 to bring home the hardware.

WINS – Kluber 18, Hernandez 15
K/9 – Kluber 10.27, Hernandez 9.46
Left On Base % – Kluber 78.6%, Hernandez 77%
WAR (Wins Above Replacement) – Kluber 7.3 (first in MLB among qualified pitchers), Hernandez 6.2
- 2013 Cy Young Winners: Max Scherzer (6.4 WAR), Clayton Kershaw (6.6)
- Highest WAR for a SP since Roy Halladay in 2011 (8.1)
FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching…basically an ERA that only takes into account what a pitcher can control) Kluber 2.35, Hernandez 2.56
Complete Games – Kluber 3, Hernandez 0
Strikeouts – Kluber 269, Hernandez 248
Kluber’s curveball was the nastiest in the majors in 2014, a 21.5 pitch value from Fangraphs (Hernandez’ was 12.6).
Kluber needed only 85 pitches to record a complete game shutout against, you guessed it, Felix Hernandez and the Mariners on July 30 (Hernandez – 7 IP, 2 ER)
This was a real thing that happened during one of his starts

It’s too bad Mike Trout exists, or your Cleveland Indians would be sweeping the two biggest awards in the league. I’ll be stunned if Klubedaddy doesn’t win this one today. Pay the man!