- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
After nixed deal, Tribe eases prospects’ minds
- Updated: December 16, 2016
CLEVELAND — Players are typically kept in the dark when it comes to trade rumors. Just like baseball fans, they are often left monitoring news sites and social media for updates. If they have been traded, the hope is that their phone will ring with a call from the team before their name scrolls across a TV screen.
Greg Allen had heard his name mentioned — his family and friends made sure to keep him updated on what rumblings were out there — but his phone had yet to buzz. Sitting inside the clubhouse at Canal Park, where Allen and his Double-A Akron teammates were watching MLB Network, the young outfielder found out that catcher Jonathan Lucroy had blocked a trade to the Indians on July 31.
There was a sense of relief mixed with a bit of confusion.
“There were a whole lot of unknowns,” Allen said. “When I saw he had vetoed the trade, I obviously didn’t really know what was going to happen next, if there was going to be a counter offer or different things like that. It was pretty crazy to be a part of.”
The Indians are one of the best teams when it comes to keeping information close to the vest, but information leaks are as old as the game itself. Leading up to the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline, Allen and fellow prospects Francisco Mejia, Yu-Cheng Chang and Shawn Armstrong all heard they were part of the package that was going to bring Lucroy from the Brewers to the Indians. Then, Lucroy nixed the deal, the players stayed put and that was that.
In the aftermath of that very public ordeal, though, the players were surely left wondering about their respective futures. Front-office leaders like assistant general manager Carter Hawkins (the farm director at the time), along with assistant directors of player development Alex Eckelman and Eric Binder, plus the coaches at each level, had to explain what happened to the players.
“We spent a lot of time [on that],” Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said. “Our coaches did a tremendous job with those guys. [They helped] them understand that this is a positive, that this is their careers taking off and teams really like them and we really like them. Our coaching staff, Carter, those guys did a tremendous …
