Indians heavily pursuing Pena/Kearns

[redsrbetter]

INDIANS INSIDER
Tribe hunts for Reds for October
Saturday, July 09, 2005
New York- The Cincinnati Reds are one of the teams the Indians are talking to in an effort to improve their offense.

It is no secret what the Tribe wants - a right-handed hitting outfielder to bat between Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez in the middle of the order. They hit dead ends in San Francisco and Milwaukee when they asked about Moises Alou and Carlos Lee.

The Reds, 21 games out of first place in the National League Central, offer more than one possibility.

Third baseman Joe Randa and outfielders Wily Mo Pena and Austin Kearns are right-handed hitters. Randa and Pena are having good seasons. Kearns is in the minors.

Adam Dunn, a left-handed hitter with big-time power, is another possibility.

The Indians, it's believed, are interested in any one of the four.

Randa is hitting .302 (82-for-291) with 21 doubles, 12 homers and 45 RBI. Pena is hitting .282 (44-for-156) with 12 doubles, 12 homers and 32 RBI. Kearns was hitting .224 (38-for-170) with 11 doubles, six homers and 25 RBI before getting sent down.

He was hitting .342 with 11 doubles, four homers and 16 RBI through 76 at-bats at Class AAA Louisville. One of the reasons the Reds sent him to Class AAA was to get his weight down from 255 pounds.

Dunn is hitting .243 (68-for-280) with 17 doubles, 22 homers and 48 RBI. He's walked 60 times and struck out 91 times.

Kearns already has asked to be traded, but the Reds said he wasn't going anywhere.

The Indians are believed to be zeroing in on Pena or Kearns. If they could acquire one of them, they could put him in right field, move Casey Blake back to third and strengthen the lineup from top to bottom.

The Reds, who started this season with a $60 million payroll and thoughts of contending, still are trying to decide what their next step will be. Do they blow the club up and start over or do they take a more patient approach?

GM Mark Shapiro has said he will part with the top prospects in the system for the right deal. Class AAA Buffalo shortstop Brandon Phillips could be available.
http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/plain...l=2&thispage=1

[redsrbetter]

Brandon Phillips is another SS that we definitely don't need. He is hitting .255 with a .319 OBP. No thank you.

Jake Robbins may be a decent reliever out of AAA to look at. He has a 2.64 ERA in 30.2 IP.
Jason Davis and Steve Watkins are the only SP that have decent numbers. But nothing is really impressive enough for any of our offensive players. I would not even give them Randa for anything they have.

Does anyone have any background information on any of their prospects?

[The Philly Fanatic]

Adam Miller is their top prospect. If you were to trade Dunn, he is what you should demand. I know he hasn't pitched much this season due to a strained elbow ligament but he has a great ceiling.

[redsrbetter]

OK, thanks Philly! Do you know when if he is pitching now, or is he on the dl? Also, I may not want to go with a pitcher that has a history of injuries at such a young age. Its just a gamble.

[Geki Ace]

Adam Miller gets up near 100 MPH, but they covet him (with good reason, though). We'd have to either give up something like Randa and Kearns or Dunn to land him, but he could pay off. The Indians also have Jeremy Sowers, and we know the Reds like him. He could be an interesting guy to pick up as well. I'd love to get, say, the Indians and Twins in a bidding war for Randa. They both want him, and they're in pretty much the exact same position right now.

[redsrbetter]

Great point on the bidding war and thanks for the report on Miller. I know I still would not give Dunn up for that, nor would I give Kearns. but Randa could be a very nice thought. we need to part with him anyways, so why not get a 100 mph hurler?

[realmofotalk]

Because Mark Shapiro would hang up right after DanO calls and offers Randa for Miller. Not that DanO would give that a shot, anyway.

[Geki Ace]

Miller has more than a 100 MPH fastball, and is probably one of the top five starting pitcher prospects in baseball right now. Baseball America had him at 16th overall this year. He's got a great slider, and I'd say Miller is comparable to Chad Billingsley in LA. After Felix Hernandez, Miller's probably in a group with Matt Cain and Billingsley as the best righty prospects in baseball, and it'll take more than Randa to get him. Still, if the Reds could land him in a package with Kearns and Randa or something like that, having him and Bailey in the future could be absolutely devestating to opponents.

[missionhockey21]

Adam Miller is flatout stud. It would take nothing short of Adam Dunn to acquire him and even then you might not be able to. Few prospects I would trade Dunn for and he is one of those. I doubt the Indians fans would like the deal much but I have extremely high standards for a guy like Dunn.

[redsrbetter]

Man, I did not know Miller was that good. I also had an idea that he was a releiver. So disregard my last comments on Randa. But aren't the Indians after Randa now anyway? Looks like the Indians want Randa and an OF from us. So, Miller has to be on the list of what we get from them. But I think Randa and Kearns may be a bit too much for just Miller. I may have to look into it a litttle more, but this is my initial reaction. Do you guys think we have any better possibilities out there?

[realmofotalk]

OK, thanks Philly! Do you know when if he is pitching now, or is he on the dl? Also, I may not want to go with a pitcher that has a history of injuries at such a young age. Its just a gamble.

Carolina League/High-A

RHP Adam Miller made a successful return to High-A yesterday, firing 6 shutout innings of 3-hit ball to help lead Kinston (CLE) to a 4-0 victory over Wilmington (BOS). Miller walked just one batter and struck out 2. The 20-year-old right-hander reportedly topped out at 96 MPH on the gun and he was sitting in the 93-94 MPH range with the gas. It sure looks like Miller's elbow problems are in his rearview, which is great, great news for the Tribe.

From On Deck

[The Philly Fanatic]

Man, I did not know Miller was that good. I also had an idea that he was a releiver. So disregard my last comments on Randa. But aren't the Indians after Randa now anyway? Looks like the Indians want Randa and an OF from us. So, Miller has to be on the list of what we get from them. But I think Randa and Kearns may be a bit too much for just Miller. I may have to look into it a litttle more, but this is my initial reaction. Do you guys think we have any better possibilities out there?

There is no way the Indians would accept Miller for Randa and Kearns. Randa will likely score you guys a quality pitching prospect but nothing to anchor your staff around. Probably like a near MLB ready #3 kind of pitcher or maybe a one a ways off with a higher ceiling. As for Kearns, everyone will be trying to get him for a couple batting practice bats and a jug of Gatorade. Sure his ceiling is still there and I am sure Reds fans are aware of that but getting high value for him at his lowest value ever is just not feasible.

That's my two cents though.