Clevelinks: Cleveland Indians Transaction Notes; Deadline Decisions

The Cleveland Indians need to pick a direction at the trade deadline

Today is one day closer to the trade deadline, but we still lack any acquisitions from the front office. Soon to be free agents, such as David Murphy and Ryan Raburn, are still on the team, and no players have been landed to replace the struggling Michael Bourn. With this in mind, Nick Blazek writes that the Cleveland Indians need to pick a direction to take the team.

One move that the Cleveland Indians did make, however, was promoting Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Columbus and demoting Kyle Crockett. While this move did not occur yesterday, it became significant yesterday when Jesus Aguilar started as the designated hitter.

Aguilar, now 25-years-old, first appeared in the major leagues last September, when he compiled a wRC+ of zero and amassed an impressive -0.5 fWAR in just 38 plate appearances. The power hitter managed just four singles and four walks during his brief stint in the majors.

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This year, however, has been slightly better for the right-handed batter. He has slashed an average .255/.318/.410 with 13 home runs. While this is not particularly impressive, it is worth noting that in 2014 he slugged his way to a wOBA of .401, which is about 49% better than the average Triple-A batter. As Kiley McDaniel noted in his evaluation of the Cleveland Indians’ prospects, Aguilar is a bat only prospect with raw power but limited bat speed.

Finally, Kyle Crocket found himself on the wrong side of the transaction. The 23-year-old has yet to settle in this season, and while his ERA of three is very good, he has walked 4.5 batters per nine innings while watching his strikeout rate drop. ERA estimators like xFIP and SIERA like his work around an ERA of four, but regular old’ FIP suggest an ERA over five. Needless to say, he has only pitched six innings for the Cleveland Indians, so, much of this is small sample size speculation.

More from around the AL Central:

Pregame Notes: Cleveland Indians Look to Right the Ship on Larry Doby Day – Wahoo’s on First

Cleveland Indians: Front Office Seems Confused Which Direction to Go – Wahoo’s on First

Why the Chicago White Sox Should Not Trade Jeff Samardzija – Southside Showdown

Detroit Tigers: If team doesn’t sell, Brad Ausmus needs to go now – Motor City Bengals

Kansas City Royals Should Be in on Yovani Gallardo – Kings of Kauffman

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