Part one of this series can be viewed here.

AAA Reinforcements

Indians beat writer Anthony Castrovince recently announced that Adam Miller, the much hyped (and injured) Indians top-prospect, is not only once again registering as high as 97 MPH on the Jugs speed guns, but will be officially moving to the bullpen to end Arizona Fall League. This has major implications for the Indians and the 2009 bullpen.

Should Adam Miller actually stay healthy as his workload lightens, and he gets to “let it fly” in the bullpen two to three times a week rather than having to pace himself in the rotation, the Indians may have a dynamite piece to the puzzle. He has a nasty two-seamer/slider mix that would fit right in late in games.

He undoubtedly will start in AAA Columbus, who as we will soon see will have quite a depth of quality bullpen arms, but depending on health Miller, he will be a part of the Indians bullpen at some point during 2009 as he gains the confidence of the coaching staff. Who knows, maybe Miller is the Indians closer by 2010.

There also other excellent options that all may develop into closing options later in their careers from this likely initial AAA roster. Jon Meloan, Jeff Stevens, and Tony Sipp all have prior closing experience, or project to have the tools to become a closer-type. These are real viable options that the Indians did not have ready to go a year ago when the injuries and problems in the bullpen hampered the team.

Jon Meloan is an interesting case of a pitcher who the Dodgers successfully propelled into one of the elite reliever prospects in the game before deciding to curb his career into a starting role. That failed, and Meloan was sold low to the Indians.

If he can hold down high walk rates, he will find a home in the Indians bullpen and utilize an excellent strikeout rate to be a high ceiling reliever. If not, he will still be on the roster sporadically, and will be on a bus down I-71 and back just as Eddie Mujica has been to Buffalo the past few years.

Though, having Meloan doing that is step up in my opinion from Mujica being that guy.

Of less risk is the “bag of balls” from the Brandon Phillips deal, Jeff Stevens. Stevens has gone from a no name prospect to highly touted bullpen option in only a couple of seasons. He has a tremendous 11.6 K/9 the last two seasons and is typically a groundball pitcher with 46 percent groundballs during his minor-league career.

At 25, Stevens will be added to the 40-man roster before the upcoming Rule V draft to protect him. Once on the 40-man, there will be less of a reason to keep him down if he keeps dominating as he has the past two seasons since becoming a reliever in the Tribe farm system.

He may be up by May and be an integral part of the Indians staff, and too just as Miller may, become the Indians closer by 2010.

The other of the premier trio of AAA prospects, is a left-hander Tony Sipp. He at one time was thought to be listed ahead of Rafael Perez on the depth charts before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2007 season. He also has a plus-slider/fastball combo that along with his change-up net huge strikeout totals, even after his injury. Sipp struck out 46 batters in 33.2 innings with a 2.67 ERA after his return in June.

Sipp is set to start at AAA Columbus for his first taste of AAA hitters before reaching the big leagues. He, just as Stevens and Meloan, is on the 40-man roster and may be called up at any time. Again, if all goes well, he will be up and begin getting experience to become an important part of the 2010 bullpen, and maybe even next seasons.

Other options are less exciting but remain very plausible major-league options. Rich Rundles found a way to rejuvenate his career as a lefty-specialist last season as he managed to significantly increase strikeout totals, and he even made the jump to Cleveland in September with brief positive work. Tom Mastny will also still be around as a depth option with minor league options remaining.

Both are 28 and in make-or-break years in their progression. There is potential there to be serviceable relievers, but they quickly may be passed over by the talent pool.

There is one last option, and quite honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if he will be put available on waivers. Eddie Mujica is out of options for next season, and has to be on the 25-man roster unless he clears waivers.

As we saw, there is a spot available for him, but locking him and Jackson both into the bullpen would leave no flexibility, and really, has Eddie Mujica really shown us anything with his 6.02 ERA in 70 career innings? Put me into the boat of placing him on waivers to protect another prospect for the upcoming Rule V draft.

So, as we have seen here, the Indians are in much better shape for internal reinforcements as compared to previous seasons. The relief talent is now at the top level of the system and no longer will the transaction bus be bringing the Mujicas, Mastnys, and Brian Slocums as fill-ins.

There will be real potential on that bus that will certainly net a couple of prize possessions from the list for years to come.

Recruiting

Externally, the Indians are out recruiting and placing calls to try and reel in some help for the upcoming season. Let’s be honest: As bright as the Indians upper farm system now is in relief talent, do they really want to rely on that in 2009 to be there and producing in a potential pennant race?

It would be great to have that happen, and likely one of them will make it next season, but you can’t expect it to happen with youth. It is a supplement until proven capable.

With that said, and with the extra spot in the bullpen, the Indians are in the market to make one big upgrade, which they should be doing. I mean, think about it. If the Indians can net a respectable closer, push Lewis back into the setup role with Perez and Betancourt, and use Jackson/Kobayashi as the less pressured relievers, there would be a better symmetry to the bullpen.

The Indians could have four proven relievers to close down games, and the upcoming infusion of youth would only supplement this core.

The rumor mills are rampant, listing names from guys like Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, Kevin Gregg, Chad Cordero, Jason Isringhausen, Trevor Hoffman, and the list could go on. All would be nice additions, some are heavier in contract and some are cheaper due to injury.

To me, the ideal solution is becoming clearer. With this nearing influx of talented arms, along with Perez/Lewis for the future, the Indians likely house the future closer of this team internally. So obtaining flexibility is key, closer or not. The Indians need to maintain the ability to transition the bullpen with guidance from experienced proven veterans.

There are a couple of names there, Huston Street and Kevin Gregg, both in arbitration years, which would help the Indians fit budget while obtaining a lower risk pitcher during their prime. These guys would not put long-term financial stress on the team if they do not work out. The Indians would just not offer arbitration the next season or even could trade away the pitcher if a market remains.

There is no way the Indians could afford to sign say a Fuentes and he becomes the next Borowski, that the team could eat $10+ million a year for that 60 innings of work per season.

Wherever the solution comes from, it most certainly will be from the trade market if the Indians go closer, the Free Agent options just don’t add up for this team right now, unless they are going setup men.

The top of this market brings the names of Bobby Howry, Juan Cruz, Jeremy Affeldt, Luis Ayala among others. This list is certainly cheaper and any additions to the bullpen would only supplement the current staff while Jensen Lewis remains the closer for the time being. Each would be within a $2-5 million range per year, about where Gregg and Street would also fall.

In the end, the likely external pickup will be someone that we have yet to read or hear about in the mainstream as of today. It always seems to be that way. So no sense in really analyzing these names too much until they are on the team.

But the point should be taken, that flexibility and the Indians not tying themselves to a large contract in terms of both years and dollars will be key to transitioning the bullpen while remaining competitive.

Battle Plan

As the Indians enter 2009, the bullpen has nowhere to go but up. And that can only help to guide this team back towards their goal of winning the A.L. Central Division once again and making the playoffs for another shot at the Series.

The Indians and their fans should take notice that the bullpen is about to become an exciting part of this team with Miller, Sipp, Stevens, maybe even Meloan, to go along with Perez and Lewis in the near future.

There are nine names internally of the 11 mentioned from AAA Columbus and Cleveland that are under control of the Indians through at least 2012 and beyond until free agency would kick in. The only two that have outs soon are Kobayashi and Rafael Betancourt, which may happen after this next season.

To help supplement this transition of veterans into youth and stay competitive in the short-term, the Indians must acquire one, preferably even two proven veterans that also provide some flexibility in their ability to transform the bullpen, a la Street or Gregg.

Following this, and assuming the talent does pan out as it looks like it should, the Indians will find themselves in an admirable position in a year with a load of bullpen talent that will be a core to this team for the foreseeable future while allowing the Indians to really focus their budget on bigger fish for the rotation or infield.

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