Wahoo's on First » Free Agents

Just How Much Would Jim Thome Help the Indians?

Lewie Pollis — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:27:46 +0000

Earlier this week, I attempted to bring some clarity to the debate about whether the Indians should have signed Travis Hafner by trying to quantify the impact of his bat on Cleveland’s lineup. The arguments both for and against bringing Pronk back have generally dealt with ideologies and abstractions rather than concrete numbers: roster construction, lineup protection, personal opinions of Hafner. My conclusion that the absence of Hafner’s bat will make a significant impact doesn’t necessarily mean the team was wrong to let him leave, but it at least showed that the opportunity costs of not re-signing him were not negligible. (more…)

Why Cleveland Indians Shouldn’t Sign Jim Thome

Katrina Putnam — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:26:58 +0000

Jim Thome has been playing major league baseball longer than rookie superstars like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have been alive. He is one of the most prolific players in the history of Cleveland sports, and for good reason. In the past twenty-two years, he’s put together an impressive collection of honors and awards, racked up 612 home runs, and generally made fans everywhere like and admire him. He might be 42 years old, but as long as teams are willing to offer him contracts, why should he truly think about retiring? (more…)

Should Cleveland Indians Sign Hideki Okajima?

Steve Kinsella — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:27:20 +0000

Earlier this week, I wrote that based on the remaining in-house options and the lack of quality remaining left handers on the free agent market that the Indians should be confident in their left-handed relievers. Now, MLBTraderumors reports (via Nikkan Sports) that the Softbank Hawks have let former Boston Red Sox left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima out of his contract in Japan so he can try to return to professional ball the states. (more…)