in the fold Sandy Koufax Jersey , the strength of the outfield may have to come from the glove"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections NewsAnalysis & EditorialsCleveland Indians prospects & minor leaguesGame RecapsTransactionsIndians may have to get defensive in the outfield next yearNew,56commentsWith a host of center fielders in the fold, the strength of the outfield may have to come from the glovethis just after his rookie year that was just so incredible, but we all saw that and knew it fools’ gold at the time. It’s just that he’s proven his doubters right in that regard. It’s not a heartening chart, either. All of them have been subpar offensive influences, though Martin offset the 36 wRC+ he recorded in 2017 with a 103 in 2018 before going down with infected blood. Him posting that for 2019 would be huge, and really help elevate the Cleveland outfield as a whole, Any offense is a nice bonus. Because these guys - or two of them at least - are pretty good in the outfield.In the past we’d have to rely on UZR from FanGraphs or Range Factor from BasebalL Reference to try to parse out how these guys are at catching the ball. Martin and Zimmer do rate well, Martin averaging a 10.4 UZR/150 in his career and Zimmer at 9.9. Naquin is, once again, the weaker link here, -8.5 UZR/150 for his career. But with Baseball Savant’s newly debuted stats this year - Outs Above Average and Directional Outs Above Average - we actually have numbers to consider. As far as OAA is concerned, Zimmer rates a +1 http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , Martin a +3, and Naquin... negative 4. For reference, the best outfielder in baseball according to OAA is Ender Inciarte, at +21 OAA.Also, graphics! Baseball Savant debuted these with actual in-game overlays during some broadcasts late this year, and thy’re quite neat. We actually get to see how players play the ball depending on how they attack it. Here’s Martin’s Directional OAA chart, telling us where he’s good going after fly balls:DOAAAnd Zimmer:And Naquin:And, just for fun, what about Greg Allen?Taken together, these charts paint an interesting picture. It allows us to think of who should play where, and perhaps who shouldn’t play at all. If the goal is sheer defensive capability, it seems like Naquin might actually miss out in favor of Allen. It would be one thing if his bat really put him over the edge, but he’s been below average for two years Hyun-Jin Ryu Jersey , and Allen didn’t look quite as lost as some expected toward the end of the year. To me it looks like Martin in center, since he’s good going back both ways ,Zimmer in right since he can help cover that gap and he’s got a great arm that will play well in Progressive, and either Allen or Naquin in left. It’s the smallest area to cover in Progressive, and he’s the worst going back and to the left. So that makes sense. Plus Martin is best moving toward left field, so he can cover up a deficiency there.Ideally the Indians sign a bat, and even if that bat’s glove is bad they can still make due with the offset in production. And it’s not like whatever solution they put together is some kind of Red Sox-lite, almost elite outfield. Martin is barely in the top 50 in OAA. So they need to figure something out, accentuate whatever strengths they do have. Defense alone won’t work, but at least for the first time in a while, it’s a bit of a plus out there. We have reached the inflection point of the Matt Harvey / Cincinnati Reds saga. MLBTraderumors is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers claimed him on revocable waivers. The Reds and Brewers now..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Farmers onlyFeaturesPlayoffsHistory/Hall of FameLatest NewsHarveyWatch: Keep your eyes on the HarvNew,52commentsByCharlie Scrabbles@ChuckScrabblesAug 24, 2018 http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey ,8:54am EDTShareTweetShareShareHarveyWatch: Keep your eyes on the HarvAndy Marlin-USA TODAY SportsWe have reached the inflection point of the Matt Harvey / Cincinnati Reds saga. MLBTraderumors is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers claimed him on revocable waivers. The Reds and Brewers now have until 1:30 this afternoon to make a deal or he will be retained by the Reds for the remainder of the season.It is a shock to none that the Brewers are the team making the claim. Back at the non-waiver trade deadline, they were the team reported to be most active in their pursuit of Harvey. They couldn’t consummate a deal then, so here we are now.There are a few ways this thing could play out over the next few hours. Both teams have all the incentive in the world to make something happen. This is the last chance the Reds have at getting anything at all out of their little experiment with Harvey. Recall that he first came to Cincinnati back in May in exchange for Devin Mesoraco. Mesoraco was more-or-less dead money, as was Harvey, for that matter. So the idea was that maybe they could work with Harvey and get his trade value back up to a point where they could get a little something out of it. And, well, it kinda worked. But just kinda. Harvey has been just about close to okay, despite what some mouth-breathing Reds fans might say. But at the very least, the Brewers believe he can be of some assistance to their pennant-chasing efforts for the next month or so. And they really, really need that assistance. Their starting rotation is Jhoulys Chacin and the backline of the 1976 Philadelphia Flyers. Which is to say, they need some guys who throw some baseball pitches. And Matt Harvey meets the state-minimum requirements to do so.So the Brewers need a pitcher and the Reds would really, really like to get something - anything - from this little gamble they made. My guess is that they work something out for a player to be named later and/or cash.