Son advises Joba on important decisions Indians reliever likes seeing problems from younger Joba Chamberlain Victor Martinez

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1 Son advises Joba on important decisions Indians reliever likes seeing problems from younger perspective By Jordan Bastian / February 21st, 2016 GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The beard is not entirely gone, it just is not as pronounced as it was during Joba Chamberlain's past two seasons in Detroit. After coming up through the Yankees' clean-shaven system, the reliever jumped at the chance to embrace his facial freedom. Now with Cleveland, Chamberlain is not sure he will be bringing the full beard back. "My son wasn't a huge fan," Chamberlain said with a smile on Sunday afternoon. "He probably is not going to say, 'That's a good idea, Dad.'" Truth be told, Chamberlain leans on his son, Karter, when making many decisions. When the Indians offered Chamberlain an opportunity to come to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, giving him a shot at cracking the Opening Day bullpen, Chamberlain consulted a few people. He talked to his old friend Jason Giambi, who played for Cleveland in He spoke with Tribe manager Terry Francona, whose teams have squared off against Chamberlain many times over the years. Most importantly, Chamberlain asked what Karter, 9, thought of the possibility of going to the Indians. "Every time I sign somewhere, he is the first person I talk to," Chamberlain said. "He gives me the most unbiased talk I will ever have in my life, because he thinks about things I don't think about. He thinks about flights. He thinks about, 'Hey, Dad, when I come see you, how's the travel? Is there a direct flight?' It's just things you don't think about. "With him, it's the [most real] conversation I'll have. My agent is going to say one thing. My parents are going to say another thing. The organization is going to say one thing. At the same time, this is the only thing he's ever known his entire life. He knows the grind, he knows Indians fans remember Chamberlain most for his role in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series against the Yankees. During that postseason tilt -- known as the "Bug Game" -- Chamberlain blew a save in the eighth inning in Cleveland, while trying to pitch with a swarm of bugs swirling around him. Chamberlain said his son is very familiar with that famous game. "He's seen it. Obviously, his buddies watch it," Chamberlain said. "He's just like, 'Dad I hope that doesn't happen again.' And I was like, 'Dude that makes two of us.'" Before Chamberlain signed with the Tigers for the 2014 season, Karter talked things over with Victor Martinez's son. Chamberlain's son did not chat with anyone from the Indians this time, but he did ask his dad a few questions about the team. "The first person he asked about, he goes, 'Dad, is [Michael] Brantley cool?'" Chamberlain said wiith a laugh. "And I was like, 'No, he's terrible.' No, I was like, 'Yes, he's awesome.' [Karter's] excited about getting here and seeing some guys. He'll be here in a couple weeks." In a couple of weeks, Cleveland will have started its Cactus League slate and the 30-year-old Chamberlain will be in the thick of the club's bullpen competition. Chamberlain is in camp as a non-roster invitee -- along with fellow veterans Ross Detwiler,Tom Gorzelanny and Joe Thatcher -- but he has a realistic shot at making the 25-man roster. Over the past few years under Francona, the Indians have not shied away from picking a non-roster player or two for their Opening Day team, and it looks like the same will hold true this spring. "He's been in the thick of it, in the fire, innings of leverage," Francona said. "I know he's worked very hard to put himself in a position where he can help the ballclub. He's pretty excited to be here. We're excited. We're excited about a lot of guys. We're pretty realistic and pretty honest with the players, and I hope ourselves. There's going to be some non-roster guys who make our team. It's been that way every year." A year ago, Chamberlain split his time between the Tigers, Blue Jays and Royals organizations, appearing in the Majors with Detroit and Kansas City. In 36 games, the right-hander struck out 23 batters in 27 2/3 innings, posting a 4.88 ERA and an 18 percent strikeout percentage (lowest of his career). Chamberlain still averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball, though, and his offspeed pitches were at his usual career levels for pitch speed. Chamberlain wasted little time in deciding to sign with Cleveland, doing so on Dec. 1 and quickly heading to the team's Spring Training complex. Working with the staff in Arizona, Chamberlain identified a delivery flaw with his hands and is working on an adjustment to correct the issue. "[I'm] in a great spot, not only physically and mentally," Chamberlain said, "but in a great spot with a great ballclub and a great organization. You can't ask for anything better." Chamberlain has Karter to thank. "He's kind of the pants in the family," Chamberlain said. "So, whatever he says kind of goes. He makes the decisions and I incorporate my son in every decision I make." Indians LF Michael Brantley hitting off a tee; RP Tommy Hunter could be out until Mid-May By Ryan Lewis Published: February 21, 2016 Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has already reached another small milestone in his rehab, as he s begun hitting off a tee according to manager Terry Francona. Brantley is still expected to miss roughly the first month of the season as he works his way back from off-season surgery on his non-throwing (right) shoulder. The speed at which he progresses with hitting drills will be the biggest factor in determining his actual return date. Brantley began taking swings earlier this week in Goodyear and has since graduated to hitting off a tee. He s already done that, Francona said. He s going pretty quick. But the progression will just continue every time he hits a milestone or whatever you call it. Then he ll progress to the next thing. This is an intriguing sign, but the Indians know they can t push it with their No. 3 hitter and one of the stars on the team. So, the club is intent on seeing progress but in incremental spurts. The idea is kind of common sense, Francona said. You re just trying to build up intensity and volume, but probably not both on the same day. He s put so much time into this, he s been so diligent. Now, you can t rush what you can t rush.

2 Not hunting The Indians could also be without their recent acquisition to the bullpen on Opening Day. Francona told MLB.com over the weekend that Tommy Hunter, whom the Indians signed to a one-year, $2 million deal recently, could be out until mid-may. Hunter had off-season core muscle surgery and was believed to be questionable to be ready by April 4, when the Indians open the season against the Boston Red Sox. It now seems as though Hunter s road back could be longer than previously thought. Relief pitcher Craig Stammen, who has been invited to spring camp as a non-roster invitee, could also miss the start to the season after having surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon. Hunter s injury likely means there are three and possibly four (if the bullpen has eight members, though at this point that s not expected) spots open in the bullpen for Opening Day. Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Zach McAllister and Jeff Manship figure to have the first four spots. Hunter will have the fifth once healthy. That leaves a couple spots open, with at least one going to a left-handed pitcher. Kyle Crockett and Giovanni Soto have the upper hand, while Tom Gorzelanny, Ross Detwiler and Joe Thatcher all received invitations to spring camp. Austin Adams, Shawn Armstrong, Dan Otero and spring invitee Joba Chamberlain figure to be the top contenders for a spot as well. As of now, the Indians have a couple of openings and plenty of competition. Vegas love The Indians have already captured the top projected spot in the American League Central according to Baseball Prospectus PECOTA rankings, FanGraphs and other projection models. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has followed suit. The SuperBook has the Indians at 9/5 to win the division, followed by the Kansas City Royals (5/2), the Detroit Tigers (5/1), Chicago White Sox (5/1) and Minnesota Twins (6/1). Though at this point, Indians fans could just be waiting to see who Sports Illustrated picks to win it all this season. Akron Beacon Journal LOADED: Cleveland Indians' Michael Brantley making progress, but opening day still unrealistic Paul Hoynes, CLEVELAND, Ohio Michael Brantley still isn't ready to start on opening day, but in the words of manager Terry Francona on Day 5 of spring training for the Indians, "he's going quick." Brantley started taking dry swings Wednesday and has progressed to hitting off a tee. "He's coming quickly," Francona told reporters at the Indians training site in Goodyear, Ariz. "He's put so much time into it, he's been so diligent. Now you can't rush what you can't rush, but the minute he's ready to move on the trainers let him, and he's going quick." Brantley had surgery on his right shoulder in November to repair a torn labrum suffered in September when he tried to make a diving catch at Target Field. James Quinlan, head athletic trainer, said after the surgery that the Indians were preparing for Brantley to miss part of April. Since then the timeline has fluctuated from late April or early May, but no one knows for sure. "He's going quick," said Francona. "The progression will continue and whenever he hits a milestone, he'll progress to the next thing. The idea, and it's kind of common sense, is that you're trying to build intensity and at the same time volume. But probably not both on the same day." Brantley, the Indians starting left fielder and No.3 hitter, will have a big impact on this season depending on when he can join the lineup and how effectively he performs. Test swings for Michael Brantley Dreamland: First baseman Mike Napoli underwent surgery for sleep apnea after the 2014 season with Boston. The procedure was called bimaxillary reconstruction and involved the breaking of his upper and lower jaw. Napoli didn't have a great season last year, but he told reporters that he was finally able to sleep more that a few hours at night because the surgery created a larger airway for him to breath. "Anytime you're further removed from an invasion of your body, you're going to be better," said Francona. "There are a number of reasons he's going to feel better. " Francona said he knew about Napoli's sleep apnea before he had the surgery, but added, "When somebody is on another team, there's no a real need for me to lose sleep over him losing sleep. I was aware it." Another option: If Brantley isn't ready to start the season, and the Indians stand pat from here until opening day, the top three outfielders will most likely be Rajai Davis, Abraham Almonte and Lonnie Chisenhall. Collin Cowgill and Joey Butler are next in line as the two reserves. The Indians claimed Butler off waivers from Tampa Bay. What put him on their radar other than the fact he ruined Carlos Carrasco's no-hitter last year? "He got off to such a good start last year and while he didn't carry it the whole year, we caught part of it when he was really hot," said Francona. "He's got an option left and you don't find that very often with players in that situation. "If push comes to shove, there's some outfield depth. If he makes the club and he's really hot, he's the type of hitter who can stay hot for a while." Tribe's outfield without Michael Brantley What about Naquin? tyis in camp and for the first time has a chance to make the club out of spring training. It's a long shot, but there's a difference between going to camp because you're a No.1 pick and going to camp with a real chance to make the club.

3 "Naquin has had a lot of injuries that have cut into his development," said Francona. "But he's healthy and he's at a point that the way he plays can maybe determine where he ends up playing. I imagine that's pretty exciting." The Indians drafted Naquin out of Texas A&M with their first pick in Tyler Naquin bouncing back at Class AA Akron Come one, come all: Francona stated again that some non-roster players will make the opening day roster. The Indians have 20 non-roster players in camp. Veteran reliever Joba Chamberlain is one of them. "Joba could bring experience to our bullpen," said Francona. "He's been in the thick of it, in the fire. He's pitched innings of leverage. He's worked very hard to put himself in a position where he can help a ballclub. "He's excited to be here. Really, we're excited about a lot of guys here. We're pretty realistic with the players and ourselves -- there are going to be some non-roster guys make our team. It's been that way every year. They are not at a disadvantage." Opportunity knocks in Tribe's bullpen Finally: Position players reported Sunday and will undergo physicals Monday. The Indians first full-squad workout will be Tuesday. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: Race for first base will depend on defense: Cleveland Indians morning briefing Paul Hoynes, CLEVELAND, Ohio Indians position players report to spring training Sunday. Physicals and individual meetings with the manager and front office follow on Monday and full-squad workouts begin Tuesday. But through the baseball pipeline namely manager Terry Francona Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli already have a good idea about who's going to play the most first base this year. In talking to reporters in Goodyear, Ariz., after Saturday's workout, Francona said he's told Santana and Napoli that the best defensive first baseman is going to play the most. "The way I look at it is if they were they manager I bet you they'd probably play best defensive first baseman," said Francona "That would be my guess, so that's probably what I should do." Right now that probably means Napoli has the edge. He was a finalist in the AL Gold Glove voting last year when he played for Boston and Texas. Napoli played 111 games at first last season, while Santana played 132 for the Tribe. Fangraphs, based on the Fielding Bible, says Napoli ranked +3 in defensive runs saved above the average player in Santana ranked -4. For their careers, the converted catchers ranked +20 and -9, respectively. In August, when the Indians were playing the Twins at Target Field, Santana was unhappy about losing playing time at first base. Francona, who rarely puts a player in a bad light, said if Santana wanted to play more at first than he had to start working harder at his defense. Who's on first for Indians? Circumstances intervened namely Chris Johnson was bitten on the hand by a spider and had to go on the disabled list so Santana never saw his playing time at first decline, but that was a shot across the bow that should have made an impression. If Napoli does win the job, he's not going to play there every day. It means Santana won't be regulated to DHing every day, which is good for him especially since this could be his walk year. The 30-year-old switch-hitter doesn't want to hit the open market pegged strictly as a DH after failed tests at catcher, third and first. "We didn't get him (Napoli) here to platoon, but especially against left-handers he can do some damage," said Francona. "Depending on how guys are swinging the bat, we can move guys around the batting order. There will probably be times this year he goes through dry spells. He's that kind of hitter. "If you're not patient, you don't get to see him come through the other side." Santana led the Indians last season with 19 homers and 85 RBI. He hit just.232 (127-for-550) for the second straight year, while his homers dropped from a career high 27 in Santana did play with a sore back last season so that had to hamper him. Napoli hit.224 (91-for-407) with 18 homers and 50 RBI for the Red Sox and Rangers last season. At 34 he's five years older than Santana, who turns 30 on April 8. "He's kind of down-and-dirty baseball player," said Francona of Napoli. "He'll be a good presence in the locker room because he has a little edge to him which is good." Last year Napoli hit.191 (49-for-256) against right-handers and.278 (42-for-151) against lefties. He hit 12 of his 18 homers against lefties. Santana hit.211 (73-for-366) against righties and.268 (51-for-19) against lefties last year. At first glance, Francona might not have much of a platoon option there, but Santana hit 15 of his 19 homers and drove in 61 of his 85 runs against righties. Talking Tribe: What people are writing about the Indians and former Indians. Zack McAllister will get tested as a starter: cleveland.com Will this be Carlos Santana's walk year? cleveland.com Opportunity knocking, who will answer? cleveland.com

4 Carlos Santana will do whatever it takes to help Indians win. mlb.com Indians former No.1 pick Jeremy Guthrie signs minor league deal with Texas. mlb.com. Trevor Bauer loves to fly his drones. Indians baseball insider Catcher Roberto Perez has slimmed down. Indians baseball insider Twitter updates: Following the Indians on Twitter. Carlos "Cookie" Carrasco is living up to his nickname today. #Indians #TribeSpring pic.twitter.com/uiqai9dqxg Hayden Grove February 20, 2016 Got the cops called on me again for flying my drone in a perfectly legal manner. What is it with you people!? Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) February 18, 2016 She's way stronger than her pic.twitter.com/emol1opgrv Jason Kipnis (@TheJK_Kid) February 19, 2016 Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: Indians: Mike Napoli counting on big things for himself and Tribe by Chris Assenheimer - The Chronicle-Telegram GOODYEAR, Ariz. Mike Napoli has high hopes for himself this season. He s pretty optimistic about his new team in Cleveland, too. It almost feels like the situation I had signing with Boston in 2013, said Napoli, who won a World Series with the Red Sox that season. I want to go somewhere that I believe that we can win. Looking up and down the roster, (we ve) got five legit starters, the back end of the bullpen and some guys that can play the game on the offensive side. Winning has been something Napoli has done often throughout his career with the Angels, Rangers and Red Sox. The 34-year-old veteran has reached the postseason seven times in 10 seasons, appearing in 51 playoff games and advancing to the World Series twice. That winning experience, coupled with his power-hitting potential, is one of the reasons the Indians made Napoli their highest-profiled addition this offseason, when they signed him to a one-year contract worth $7 million. He s a baseball player, a grinder, manager Terry Francona said of Napoli, who is one of only eight players in the majors to hit at least 17 home runs each year from He really kind of plays with an edge. He s been on some winning teams. He s got a catching background, which I think never hurts anybody. He s changed to first base and actually made himself a pretty good first baseman through a lot of hard work. We didn t get him here to platoon. He s kind of the down and dirty baseball player. He ll be a good presence in (the clubhouse) because he s got a little chip going, a little edge to him, which is good. Napoli s addition creates a competition this spring with Carlos Santana, Cleveland s primary starter at first base the past two seasons. But even if he doesn t win the job, Napoli figures to be a fixture in the lineup at designated hitter. I like being on the field and being able to play first base, he said. I take a lot of pride in defense. It s Tito s decision to make the lineup and try to put the best lineup out there. I ll do whatever he asks me. If they were the manager, I bet they would probably play the best defensive first baseman, Francona said. That s probably what I should do. Napoli, an all-star in 2012 with Texas, wasn t brought aboard to strengthen the Indians defense. He s here to provide assistance at the plate for Cleveland, which struggled to support its talented rotation for much of last season. However, he arrives on the heals of a down offensive performance in 2015, when he hit.224 with 18 homers and 50 RBIs in 133 games for Boston and Texas. Napoli s issues began in Boston.207 batting average in 98 games but he found a groove after being traded back to Texas, where he hit.295 with five homers and 10 RBIs in 35 games for the West Division-champion Rangers. I went through a really long rough patch early in the season, but I felt like I found my way by the end of the year, Napoli said. Sometimes you gotta go through things like that to humble yourself. I definitely feel like I m still a good hitter and able to produce.

5 Hopefully I can provide some power in the middle of the lineup. I definitely feel like over my career I ve been able to do that. I m just going to stay within myself and try to play the game the right way. There will probably be times this year when he goes through dry spells, Francona said of Napoli, who owns a lifetime average of.253. He s that type of hitter. If you re not patient, then you don t get to see when they come out on the other side. The Indians don t expect Napoli to carry the offense, but he will likely bat in the magnified middle of the lineup and is being counted on to produce as Cleveland s version of the big right-handed power hitter. I ve been in this situation with Boston, Napoli said. I was hitting behind (David) Ortiz in a big market in a place you re expected to win every day. I don t take it as pressure. I m going to go out there and try to execute every time I m up there. It s going to have to be a group effort. It s not up to one guy to do it. We ve got to work as a group to score runs and do it any way we can. Indians notes: Jason Giambi set to begin guest instructor role by Chris Assenheimer - The Chronicle-Telegram GOODYEAR, Ariz. Former American League MVP Jason Giambi, an elder statesman and clubhouse leader for the Indians from , is expected to begin serving his role as guest instructor today. It will be his first involvement with the game he played on the major league level for 20 years, since he ended his career with Cleveland two seasons ago at the age of 43. I m thrilled, manager Terry Francona said. Obviously, it s great for us. I hope it s great for him. It will be fun to see how the guys react to him. Francona said Giambi spoke with team president Chris Antonetti about the possibility of helping out this spring, then called the manager, who jumped at the idea. Giambi is expected to remain in training camp for a week. I told him I d like him to stay longer, Francona said. Hopefully he ll really like it and want to come back. Giambi, who owns a lifetime batting average of.277, with 440 career home runs and 1,441 RBIs, hit 11 homers and drove in 36 runs in 97 games for the Indians. He is one of a number of Indians alumni who will serve as guest instructors this spring, including former manager Mike Hargrove, Carlos Baerga and Travis Hafner. Brantley bit Michael Brantley is still expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season while recovering from right shoulder surgery, but Francona said the rehab process has begun very well. Brantley, an all-star in 2014, has already begun hitting off a tee. He s coming quickly, Francona said. He s put so much time into this thing. He s been so diligent with it. You can t rush what you can t rush, but the minute he s ready to move on (the doctors) let him and he s going quick. The progression will just continue every time he gets to a milestone. The idea is kind of common sense. You re just trying to build up intensity and also, at the same time, volume, and probably not both in the same day. McAllister moment Though he will likely begin the season pitching out of the bullpen, right-hander Zach McAllister will be stretched out this spring, possibly drawing some starts in exhibition games. McAllister, who made 61 starts for the Indians from , pitched almost exclusively in a relief role last year (one start), posting a 4-4 record and 3.00 ERA in 61 games. McAllister threw his first bullpen session Sunday, with Francona relaying positive results to reporters. He s somebody that you never have to worry about being prepared in spring training, because he s comes in in great shape and he s always ready to go, Francona said of McAllister.

6 Roundin third Indians players were scheduled to report to Arizona on Sunday and to be in camp Monday, with the first full-squad workout set for Tuesday. Single-game tickets for regular season games go on sale today at 10 a.m.