Inbox: Do Tribe catchers factor into rotation issues? By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | August 8th, 2016 + 3 COMMENTS @MLBastian what are the pitching staff's stats w and w/o Gomes? Is it a coincidence the recent struggle have been w/o him? Mike, Mt Vernon 11:28 PM - 7 Aug 2016 · Mount Vernon, OH, United States Retweets 1 1 like A lot of Tribe fans have written in with similar questions, wondering if catchers Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez are at fault at all for Cleveland's recent rotation issues. To me, this looks more like a good old fashioned bad week for the pitching staff. It happens. Unless it persists, it seems mostly like coincidence that the struggles have come without Gomes doing the catching. Consider this: Gomes was injured on July 17. From July 18 through the end of the month, Cleveland's rotation had a 3.41 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and a .227 opponents' average while working with Perez and Gimenez. No one was blaming the catchers for bad pitch-calling during that stretch. Taking it one step further, Corey Kluber, who had used Gomes as his personal catcher for 40 consecutive starts prior to the catcher's injury, has gone 2-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his past four starts with Perez. Granted, things have been uglier of late for the starting staff. In the first seven games of August, the rotation has a bloated 9.74 ERA, a 2.07 WHIP and a .358 opponents' average in 32 1/3 innings. One thing to keep in mind is that includes a two-inning outing from Danny Salazar, who ended up on disabled list with a right elbow issue. Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger (Salazar's temporary replacement) have had rough outings in that stretch, too. Overall, Gomes posted a 3.62 catcher's ERA this season, compared to a 3.88 mark for Gimenez and a 4.89 average for Perez. The pitchers have enjoyed working with Perez and Gimenez, and I expect that to remain the case. I wouldn't go sounding the alarms over a one-week sample of innings. The Tribe's rotation is talented, but not immune to a bad week. @MLBastian Do you know if the Indians have expressed interest in signing Napoli beyond this year? 9:35 PM - 3 Aug 2016 Retweets likes With a handful of exceptions over the years, the Indians' usual policy is to handle extension talks before or after the season. Now that the non- waiver Trade Deadline has come and gone, though, it's certainly possible that Cleveland will approach Mike Napoli about his future. He has enjoyed playing for the Indians and the team has been thrilled not only with his production on the field, but his impact in the clubhouse. Napoli's age (34) and injury history make this an interesting case. At the very least, the Indians could explore extending him a qualifying offer for 2017 before the free-agent period begins. Banged On @unibanger @MLBastian What's the status of Michael Brantley? Are we going to see him this year? And if you had to guess, when? #indiansinbox The Indians' left fielder continues to work through a hitting program, but there remains no firm timetable for his return to game activity. There might be more information when the Indians return to Cleveland, where manager Terry Francona can sit down with the medical team and Brantley in person to discuss his progress. At this point, given the ups and downs of his rehab this year, I wouldn't try to guess if or when he will be back for the Tribe. I realize that the non-waiver Trade Deadline has come and gone, but I seem to recall having heard of teams making moves after the Deadline in some cases. Is there any chance the Indians will be able to make some sort of move before the postseason? -- Kevin S., Walnut Creek, Ohio You are correct, Kevin. There is an Aug. 31 deadline for players to be eligible for a postseason roster, but it's a little more complicated than the non-waiver trading period. In order for a player to be dealt to any team, he would first have to clear waivers. If a team puts in a claim on a player exposed to revocable waivers, that team can then try to work out a trade to acquire him. The Indians will surely monitor the waiver wire, especially when it comes to bullpen or bench help, but I don't anticipate them being very active via August trades this year. @MLBastian Now he's cleared waivers, any CLE interest in McCann ($$ aside)? Eric Berkey, Arlington, VA #indiansinbox I don't think "money aside" applies in this case. McCann is 32 years old and is owed $17 million in each of the next two years. While the Indians did target catcher Jonathan Lucroy at the non-waiver Trade Deadline, his contract was more affordable ($5.25 million) next season. In terms of upgrading at catcher, it felt like Lucroy or bust for the Tribe. I don't see McCann being a fit. @SportsNom @MLBastian As someone who hasn't been watching a ton, why wouldn't you just keep Uribe? He seemed to be decent + Uribe was definitely a good influence behind the scenes. He helped the development of some younger players -- Jose Ramirez comes to mind - - and certainly kept things loose in the clubhouse and dugout. Clubhouse leadership can't always overcome poor production, though. Uribe was sporting a .591 OPS and 56 weighted Runs Created Plus (indicating that he was 44-percent below league average offensively). Something had to give, and now Ramirez can shore up the situation at third base. @MLBastian has there been any talk of promoting Yandy Diaz to the bigs? Matt, Boardman OH #IndiansInbox If the Indians believe Diaz can help down the stretch, he will no doubt be considered for a promotion. The only logistical issue standing in the way right now is the fact that the 25-year-old Diaz is not on the 40-man roster, which is at capacity. A subsequent move would need to be made to add him. For now, Diaz (a third baseman by trade) will continue to get experience in the outfield for Triple-A Columbus, where he has posted a .909 OPS through 74 games. The Cleveland Indians' offense has been much better than you might think Zack Meisel CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Thanks to an abnormally horrendous week of pitching, the Indians' offense appeared inferior to the booming bats of the club's opposition last week. In four losses in a span of five days, Tribe adversaries amassed 48 runs and 33 extra-base hits. The onslaught overshadowed the Indians' own offensive feat: They scored five or more runs in nine straight games, their longest streak since 2002. That the Indians' lineup produced to that degree shouldn't come as a shock. After all, the Tribe's lineup ranks fourth in the majors in runs per game (4.99). The Red Sox are the only American League team ahead of Cleveland in scoring. This isn't a one-dimensional offense, either. Sure, the catcher position has morphed into an offensive black hole at the bottom of the batting order. The rest of the lineup, however, has excelled with power, speed and some timely hitting. All without Michael Brantley, too. Who would have envisioned this? Power The Indians rank eighth in the majors with 144 home runs, though they sit only five long balls from fourth place. During that nine-game stretch, the Indians belted 19 homers. First baseman Mike Napoli slugged six himself. His presence in the middle of the order (28 homers, 79 RBI, .513 slugging percentage) has made his $7 million salary a bargain. Napoli open to talking extension Napoli isn't the only one enjoying a power surge this season. Home runs: Napoli: 28 (career high: 30) Carlos Santana: 24 (career high: 27) Jason Kipnis: 19 (career high, including minor-league seasons) Francisco Lindor: 13 (career high, including minor-league seasons) Tyler Naquin: 13 (career high, including minor-league seasons) Rajai Davis: 10 (career high, including minor-league seasons) The Indians rank sixth in the majors in slugging percentage. Speed The Indians lead the American League (fifth in the majors) with 80 stolen bases. They have done so at an 80 percent success rate, the second- best mark in the majors. The Indians also rank second in the majors in Baseball Reference's extra-base taken category, which measures how often a team advances from first to third on a single, first to home on a double and so on. Of course, to be able to exploit these advantages on the bases, players have to reach base. The Indians rank ninth in the majors in batting average (14th in on-base percentage). Davis has been responsible for much of the Indians' havoc on the basepaths. He has swiped 28 bags in 31 attempts, the best rate of his career. Davis: 'I've always been faster than everyone else' On Thursday, Davis singled, stole second, stole third and scored on a wild pitch (before executing some sort of Michael Jackson-like moonwalk). Timing The Indians rank fifth in the majors with a .790 OPS with men on base. That, paired with the extra-bases taken stat, creates a prosperous formula. Naquin has thrived when his teammates reach base first. He has posted a 1.098 OPS in such situations.