The Sunday Drive with Jhonny Peralta, Chooing up Seattle, and Edward Mujica: Cleveland’s Man of the Year
Shin-Soo Choo exacted revenge on the Seattle Mariners last night--photo courtesy of JimCChou/flickr
I have to admit that I’ve gotten caught up in the ‘trade Jhonny Peralta‘ hype. You’ve heard all the rumors here. The most prominent rumor was Peralta to Los Angeles, based on their shortstop issues with Rafael Furcal out. A secondary rumor had the Rays inquiring about Peralta just in case they couldn’t make a move to get Rockies shortstop, Clint Barmes. I can’t deny that dealing Peralta hasn’t seemed like a good idea. At the end of the day, is it really a smart move?
The problem right now is that we have to live in a vacuum. We don’t know the moves that may or may not be made in the next week and a half. We don’t know who’s going to play where for the rest of the year. There’s no use speculating now, although on August first, we’ll take a look at the position-by-position possibilities. With that said, let’s take a look at the options for Jhonny Peralta here in Cleveland.
The first option for Peralta is to keep him at short, where his bat is a bonus and is glove is not. It’s pretty obvious that this guy can hit the ball. No, he’s not going to roll out a .300 average every year, or any year. Still, he’s a lock for 20+ home runs, and a whole bunch of RBI. He could walk a lot more, and strike out a lot less, but he is what he is. A below-average fielder, who can hit the cover off the ball when he’s on.
The second option for Peralta would be to move him to third base in favor of Asdrubal Cabrera, who is undoubtedly the best fielding shortstop in the system. At third, his bat would become average for the position, where his glove would likely stay below average. Cleveland experimented with Peralta at third in Buffalo a few years ago, and it wasn’t one that they wanted to have to revisit.
A third option for Peralta, that hasn’t really been talked about much would be a move to first base. His power would be average, but his glove would be near as noticeably bad. He doesn’t have hands of stone, like Travis Hafner. Without knowing the future moves of this club, it’s hard to say how possible this would be. Ryan Garko is there now, and doesn’t seem even a shell of the player they saw in 2006, or even 2007. Victor Martinez may be there in the future, but we aren’t sure how likely that is. Matt LaPorta or Beau Mills could be there in the future, but that’s for then. It could be an option for Peralta, should they decide to move him around.
It’s easy to forget that Jhonny Peralta is only 26-years-old. It seems like he’s been around forever. Asdrubal seems to be a lock, but obviously hasn’t had the opportunity to find the consistency because he hasn’t had the time or the at-bats. Peralta is due to make $3.65 million in 2009, $4.85 million in 2010, and has a club option for $7 million in 2011. That’s pretty good value for a guy that most Indians’ fans, including me, take for granted. Some might say that Jhonny Peralta is what he is. Of course, at 26, we may have yet to see the best that this kid has to offer.
There is no doubt that Jhonny Peralta’s skills make him a bit of a tweener, but maybe dealing away the 26-year-old Tribe shortstop isn’t the right move to improve this club. Of course, a lot would have to depend on what you got back in return.
By the way, Peralta went 2-for-5 Saturday against the Mariners with a double and two runs scored. He also drove in two runs. He’s currently riding a nine-game hitting streak that has seen him go 14-38 (.368), with four home runs, nine runs scored, and 14 RBI. Since June 14th, Peralta has seen his average rise from .222 to his current .263. Some may say it’s time to deal the shortstop while he’s hot. Others may say this is the real Peralta that we need to keep. I’m sure we’ll find out what the Indians think in the next 11 days.
Fausto Carmona was solid against the Erie Seawolves last night. He went five innings, giving up nine hits and a run in his first rehab assignment. The key for me is that he struck out two, and didn’t walk a batter. Of course, we are talking about AA umps, who were probably looking at some of the most wicked pitches they had seen all year, but it’s still a good sign. Eight of the hits he gave up were singles, to go along with one double. The word is that Carmona will make one more rehab start next week, and rejoin the Indians the week after, although I did hear that this could be his only rehab start. Doesn’t make much sense to me either way.
I’m officially beginning my campaign for Edward Mujica as man of the year. He went two innings last night, giving up a hit, and nothing else. In case you haven’t been paying attention to Tribe Report (shame…shame), Mujica has been quietly doing a fantastic job in the pen (yes, ignore his 4.38 ERA for the moment). Granted, we are dealing with mostly garbage work here, but it’s work none-the-less. You need a guy that can lock down those meat-less innings.
Mujica is finally getting a consistent look, and it’s paying off. Mujica hasn’t given up a run since June 14th, a span of eight appearances. His pitched in 9 2/3 innings during that span, giving up only four hits and one walk, and striking out seven. It seems as if consistent outings may make Edward Mujica a valuable commodity.
Don’t make Shin-Soo Choo angry. You won’t like it when he’s angry. At least that’s what Seattle management must have been thinking after Choo hit two doubles and a home run as the Cleveland Indians beat Seattle 9-6.
Choo was playing his first game in Seattle after the Mariners had dealt him to the Indians in 2006 for Tribe first baseman and DH, Ben Broussard. Choo had missed most of last season because of Tommy John surgery, and started off this season on the DL. Team doctors believe that Choo’s elbow and arm are probably close to full strength for the first time since before the injury. He showed just how much last night.
Choo got things started in the first inning, with a two-out, two-run home run. In the third, Choo hit a ground rule double that scored another run. He also doubled in the eighth inning. Hopefully this outing was more about Choo rebounding from surgery last year, than revenge, unless he feels vengeful to the rest of the AL, that is.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 6:45 am and is filed under James Pete, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Clint Barmes, Edward Mujica, Beau Mills, Matt LaPorta, Travis Hafner, Ben Broussard, Ryan Garko, Jhonny Peralta, Rafael Furcal, Victor Martinez, Tribe Report.
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13 Responses to “The Sunday Drive with Jhonny Peralta, Chooing up Seattle, and Edward Mujica: Cleveland’s Man of the Year”
July 21st, 2008 at 8:38 am
I just don’t understand all the vitriol with regard to Jhonny Peralta. Much like I never understood it with Casey Blake, either. There are plenty of problems with this team. Plenty. But from my view in the cheap seats, Jhonny Peralta ain’t it. I realize that those of you with a brain in your head aren’t saying that he’s the reason the season is gone down the drain (can’t say the same with those yayhoos over at cleveland.com … for some reason I still read those comments from time to time. a bunch of clowns.) But I don’t see short as a position that is in dire need of an upgrade. Consider: The indians, for all their faults, have the best fielding team in baseball. both in fielding percentage and in number of errors. So a shortstop on the best fielding team in the league (statistically speaking) isn’t exactly a sieve on the left side of the infield. Couple that with the fact that Peralta is the second best slugging shortstop in the majors behind Hanley Ramirez (who has 23 errors to Peralta’s 9, btw), and I’d argue he’s actually a more than serviceable MLB shortstop. In the AL, he leads in homers and slugging and is second in RBI. He projects to 28 homers and 86 RBI, and is currently in the Top 10 in MLB in fielding percentage among regular starting shortstops.
Now for every barrel full of statistics I give, I know there are plenty of Zone Rating lovers out there (Indians front office included) who will make the argument that you can’t make errors if you can’t get to the ball. Noted. Jhonny isn’t exactly Carl Lewis (he also has a paltry on base percentage of just over .300 I must note, to be fair). this guy is not without his flaws. But looking around at the other starting SSs in both leagues, Peralta is above average all around in a rather weak era for shortstops.
My point is, what does trading this guy do? We’ve got a guy there now who hits for some power, drives in some runs, and fields balls that are hit to him. We could put in a faster, more agile defender (and we just so happen to have one), and there’s no guarantee that he’ll hit. We could go out and GET a faster, more agile defender, and that person won’t put up the same kind of numbers at the plate as does Peralta (most likely). Also, as you see with a lot of the high-error counts of a lot of MLB shortstops (most of whom are faster and quicker than Peralta), you’ll notice that raw athleticism does not always a sure-handed fielder make (see: Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Julio Lugo, Christian Guzman, for example).
I agree with the “no one is untouchable” idea that if a trade exists that makes this team better, no matter who it involves (within reason), you pull the trigger. But to actively shop Peralta around makes no sense for a team that’s not looking to fold it in and rebuild for the next four years. His contract is extremely club friendly, there’s no sure thing replacement within (we still haven’t seen Cabrera hit outside of last August-September), and there aren’t REALLY that many more attractive options out there. At least not any that would be available, or would be able to be gotten with what we have to offer.
Lets fix the bullpen. Lets find a lights-out closer. Lets get Hafner a bionic arm. Lets get Garko and Gutz straightened out or show them the door. Those are real problems with this team. Having Omar Vizquel in his prime again would be great, but that alone wouldn’t fix this team. Lets attack the most glaring flaws first, no?
July 21st, 2008 at 9:31 am
I agree that Jhonny is a low priority given this teams many issues. I also agree with the critics in that Peralta should not be the Tribe’s long term solution at SS. I would like to see a better defensive, more athletic middle infield in the future with the power coming from the corners. Jhonny’s offense still makes him a valuable SS but that same production is a lot less valuable if he is moved to 3B or elsewhere as some have suggested. I’m not among the “run Peralta out of town” crowd but if he could be moved for equivalent or greater value, I’m all for it.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
I’m from the very old school that says SS is a defense-first position. A good one saves a lot of runs.
My prolems with Pertala are two-fold.
He is a statue at SS and he is inconsistent at the plate.
We can “project” that he will hit 28 HRs, but who knows. He is in the longest hot streak of his life that I can recall. The problem with him is he may just as easily go into a six-week period where he hits .185 with 1 1/2 Ks a game.
Then what do you have?
He may not necessarily be much at 3B either, because he does not have the quickness needed over there.
I wouldn’t want to trade him at all costs, but we might be able to fix some of the very problems mentioned above by trading him, and we do know we have a superior replacement defensively - which to my mind is what that position is - and should be - about (especially on a team with Fausto Carmona hoping to be its ace next year.)
July 21st, 2008 at 11:01 am
I guess I look at it like this: If he’s as bad as Indians fans like to say he is, who’d want him? Who wants a statue who only hits in bunches? Why would contending teams be inquiring about him? And if they WERE, why would they be offering anything of any value (esp immediate value) that would help correct the very problems mentioned above? Look, I really am a reasonable person. I see both sides here. If you can trade him to someone willing to give up something that could really, really help the team, as soon as April 2009, then of course you strongly consider it. But IF Peralta is so coveted that teams are lining up wanting to get him on their team, why would we want to get rid of him? And if we need him to anchor the left side of the infield because we have a groundball pitcher as our number one starter, then how on earth did that same pitcher nail down 19 victories with a statue at short?
I don’t love Jhonny Peralta but I certainly don’t think he’s the problem with this team, and, moreover, I ALSO don’t think his departure would be any sort of savior. His sheer absence doesn’t make the team any better, and to think that this guy we’ve been shitting on all year is gonna bring back MLB ready (or established) talent that will help us immediately doesn’t make any sense. Not if he’s as bad as we say he is.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:05 am
Clarification: The sentence about “if we need him to anchor the left side of the infield…” was written incorrectly. instead of “him” it should have said “a slick fielding shortstop.”
July 21st, 2008 at 1:00 pm
If you need one solid, agile, slick fielder in an infield, where might you play him?
Jhonny is tradeable (and I WOULD) because of the very reasons mentioned here. He’s a hitter who does not have a shortstop’s body or range who just happens to play shortstop for the Indians. It harkens to the day when John Hart decided there needed to be a weapon at every position.
Most teams would be happy to have a good hitting SS who makes plays right at him. Those teams probably don’t have Asdrubal Cabrera sitting across the diamond. Cabrera is not a proven hitter, but he’ll hit well enough. I want to get rid of Peralta because he has some value, the Indians have a more than viable replacement and I can’t stand to watch him wave at balls as they go by and refuse to charge balls.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Personally I’d still like to attempt to pry Clayton Kershaw away from the Dodgers as the Indians do need to replenish pitching. If Peralta can help do that in any combination of players including Blake, Carroll, Marte, Adam Miller, Jeremy Sowers, Jordan Brown, Ben Francisco, etc . . . they need pitching.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’m with you on Eddie Mujica. I remember a couple of years ago when he was essentially unhittable for half a season in the minors (at 2 levels, I think). A pitcher who can do this can be a factor. I’m not looking for lights-out (though that would be nice) but for consistent excellence, like the Raffys last year or the top setup guys on other teams.
Re: Peralta, I agree that he doesn’t belong at short. I don’t get why Wedge won’t try him at 3rd and play A-Cab at short (with Barfield at second when ready). I might or might not trade Peralta depending on the offer. We don’t need to get rid of him but if he could fetch a decent pitcher I’d consider it.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:50 pm
He’ll “hit well enough?!” How do we know that Asdrubal will hit enough? These kinds of assumptions are the same kinds of thoughts we’re criticizing Shapiro for having this offseason. Not going after that power hitting outfielder because “Gutz should hit enough” and “Garko should continue to progress” and “Hafner should bounce back.” We gave Cabrera a half a season to prove he could hit major league pitching and he responded by coming in below the mendoza line as an every day player. That’s historically bad (to borrow a Shapiro-ism). That’s worse than what got Brandon Phillips and Josh Barfield sent down. There is NO indication, other than a fast-out-of-the-gates stretch late last year, that Cabrera can hit major league pitching. There are plenty of former slick-fielding working stiffs back home in the DR or Venezuala, or Puerto Rico who may have had a different life if they’d just been able put the bat on the ball. What Cabrera has going for him is that he’s so young. Maybe he’ll get it. but to hand him shortstop next year if he doesn’t show a major improvement at the plate is not the way to “look to 2009.”
Until Cabrera shows that he can even hit .250 (a 70-point increase on his current batting average, mind you), we ARE one of those teams who should “be happy” to have a good hitting shortstop who fields balls hit right at him. A-Cab could pull baseballs out of his top hat and make them disappear and it wouldn’t be worth a .210 hitter (which, for the record, would be a THIRTY-point increase on his current average, give or take).
How long would it take watching a shortstop flirt with .200 before Shapiro would be called a fool for letting someone who played the same position while hitting .260/20/75 get away?
July 21st, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Jeepers, JB, what — is Jhonny your cousin or something?
July 21st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
No, but did he murder your dog or something?
July 21st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Maybe Marte murdered A-Cab’s dog, explaining why he hit like a girl scout for two months - and why Wedge refused to let Marte get a third as many at bats.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Actually, Marte murdered Wedge’s dog and is Shapiro’s cousin, explaining why he’s still on the team yet never plays.
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