andy marte's value and status

by gorilla_baller on Jul 24, 2009 12:37 AM EDT

Andy Marte is 25 years old. The days of him being called an organization's top prospect are behind him. But his slash line of .319/.359/.564 (before his 4-hit, 2-HR performance tonight) indicates that he might have made the necessary adjustments to contribute at the major league level.

His position is listed as 3B but he has been playing 1B lately. With Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Garko's performances leaving something to be desired at both of those positions with the parent club, I can think of no reason why Marte isn't deserving of an extended look.

Why on earth is he not wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform? And if the Indians were to decide to trade him what kind of value does he have? He's out of options for what it's worth.

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One of the reasons Marte isn’t in the majors now is because he’d have to be rostered again. I don’t think they want him on the 40-man roster unless he sticks with the big league team, otherwise he’d have to through waivers and this time he’ll be claimed.

Also, the Tribe brass and Wedge in particular were never that fond of Marte. I don’t know why, but if and when Marte played, he’d rarely get a full game in — pinch hit for in the late innings, defensive substitutions, etc. Which is the reason he’s playing 1st base now, because they want to see how Hodges does at 3rd. That shows you, that even with him having his best season in pro ball so far, how little they think of him and that he has no part in any future plans.

As far as his value is concerned, I’m not sure. He was obviously highly touted, but that was years ago and I’m not sure that raking in AAA as a 25-year old makes teams forget about the enormous struggles he had with the Indians. I’m a fan of him and amongst some of the other die hards, Marte has sort of a cult status. General consensus is that he wasn’t really given a fair chance, but he also showed too little whenever he did get one. I hope he works out for some team, I just don’t think the Indians can expect anything more than a PTBNL or a low level prospect who’s barely a blip on the radar screen. He’s probably best suited as part of some bigger trade package.

There are some teams in the NL that could use him imo, such as the Marlins, Astros, Giants, and in the AL the Mariners and A’s. Why not take a chance on him?

by JP_Frost on Jul 24, 2009 5:18 AM EDT reply actions

I understand the roster issues

But in my thinking I wish they would just bring him up and plug him in the lineup for the remainder of the season. If he sucks say goodbye if he’s half decent try and keep him. Lets please not let him go the route of Guthrie/Philips/and coming soon Franklin Guttierez. Then again some guys just need a change of scenery.

by kershaw_equals_stud on Jul 24, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions

The Indians have made it pretty clear that Marte doesn’t factor in any plans for the future. Just trade him. Give the kid a break and let him try elsewhere.

by JP_Frost on Jul 24, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

i think that’s been made abundantly clear… but what are the alternatives? JP isn’t as bad as he’s looked this year, so I still hold onto the hope that he’ll rebound come 2010. But he’s also expressed great displeasure over playing 3B. I don’t buy into the whole “clubhouse chemistry” bit as much as other people, but an angry Jhonny Peralta can’t be a great thing to have around. It’s not like he produces like angry Albert Belle.

If Marte can provide the marginal defense he has in the past along with an improved bat, then why not give him a shot? It’s not like Chiz (heir apparent?) is going to be ready by next year. So explore the options, right? Especially if the return for Marte would be minimal.

by gorilla_baller on Jul 24, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

hey, you’re preaching to the choir. I just don’t see it happening. The Tribe brass need to make up their mind about the infield alignment. If they feel that Peralta is the 3rd baseman for the next couple of seasons just stick with it, if not let Marte play and see what you do with Jhonny.

I just don’t think they’ll call him up. Wedge would rather have Gimenez, Carroll, Barfield or heck even Garko play 3rd than deal with Marte again.

by JP_Frost on Jul 24, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Because

Once they call him up, he needs to be up for good. If he realize he has something to work on in the minors (or something like that) he would get claimed. I think it’s like the Rick Ankiel situation a couple years back.

http://yankeesmtom.blogspot.com/

by hallofamer2000 on Jul 24, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

No reason not to bring him up

Yes, if he doesn’t work out, he would need to be DFA and someone will pick him up. Yet, if they leave him in the minors, he will be taken at year-end as a minor league free agent. Yet, you need to bring him up to see what he has or doesn’t have with his adjustment against the best.

If they leave him in the minors, he will not get on the 40-man roster as there are better prospects ahead of him including Rondon, Gomez, Brantley, Hodges, Logren, … based on his past record. So add him to the 40 man to prove or disprove the recent surge is a fluke. If he can’t hit the breaking ball again, defer him. If he shows promise keep him on. Yet, you don’t know what you have until you bring him up one last time.

And, like it would be a hardship for Cleveland to keep him on the 25-man roster. If he slumps, but you want to keep him at year-end, he needed to be on the 40-man at year-end and it’s not like you will ruin your playoff chances by keeping in up in the majors on the 25 man during August. What does Cleveland have to lose by putting him even at shortstop if their Carrol is traded or injured and Marte is taking the extra roster spot needed? Yet, if you don’t test him, you could miss out at the next player that just needed extra time to turn it around.

by Petes999 on Jul 24, 2009 12:38 PM EDT reply actions

Eh...

I feel if they brought him up this time and tried to pass him through waivers again, someone might very well claim him now. Last time he had been terrible for like… a year beforehand.

by alskor on Jul 24, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions

You will lose him anyway at year-end ... unless he succeeds now in the majors

What is the difference you lose him now if he sucks and you need to drop him from the 40 man roster versus someone picking him off the minor FA wires at year-end (6-year free agent)????

by Petes999 on Jul 24, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions

Well

youre getting some success out of him somewhere, for the first time… ever.

Id let him play for now and see if he can keep it up.

by alskor on Jul 24, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

exactly

couldn’t agree more

Draft guru in training.

by tj.hendricks on Jul 27, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

Is it really that hard for a bad team to keep him on the 40 man roster for the rest of the year and give him an extended look to see what he has?

He’s still only 2nd in line for Indians prospects who shouldn’t be in the minors right now.

by cowboy4eva on Jul 24, 2009 7:19 PM EDT reply actions

Word is...

that the Tribe is shopping Garko with an eye towards having Marte replace him. That means playing 4-5 games a week or so. That’s a healthy amount of audition time.

by slamcactus on Jul 26, 2009 5:54 PM EDT reply actions