Jury’s out on whether Cleveland Indians front office did enough at deadline

The Cleveland Indians head into August fresh off a month some trades improved the club down the stretch, but our Voice of the Fan wonders if it was enough.

The trade deadline is over and pending a waiver wire move, this is pretty much the club Chris Antonetti and Terry Francona are going to roll into the postseason with.

Did Antonetti, along with GM Mike Chernoff do enough to put this team over the top?

Well, they lost their Nos. 1 and 8 prospects in the farm system, so you’ve got to ask if they recouped enough for what was lost. Time will tell but what’s it look like now?

After all, it’s been 70 long years since this team won a World Series championship!

Let’s look at this team to see if we can get a sense of what’s to come:

1. Sure, the Indians will be in first place in  possibly the weakest division in baseball, but what does that say about this team?

In any other division they wouldn’t be sniffing first.

Remember they play the most games against their division. Therefore, their regular schedule is among the weakest in the league.

2. I think by now we all know pretty much the weakness of this team. They needed relief help badly and they picked up two arms, but what is the track record of the men they acquired?

Brad Hand was the center piece of the trade for Francisco Mejia. Adam Cimber was secondary. Don’t get me wrong because the Tribe needs all the help in the pen they could get.

But until a year or so ago Hand was a starter playing in Miami and not doing well. So when San Diego got him on waivers they turned him into a closer.

He was an All-Star the past two years, but at a position new to him.

Let’s just say this: Hand’s had it easy playing on the West Coast. What happens when the lights start signing bright and 40,000 people are hanging on every pitch. Yeah, there’s a lot to like about, but until he proves anything, it’s wait and see.

Cimber was only brought to the big leagues this year. He’s a gimmick style pitcher throwing side arm who really reinvented himself this past year. Not much of a track record.

The same school of thought applies to the reliever. He hasn’t come close to knowing the pressure of having to pitch in October. Hopefully, the moment won’t be too big for him.

3. Lastly after all the talk about Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper, Chris Antonetti gets us center fielder Leonys Martin, who isn’t setting the league on fire. He hitting .251 with nine homers in 78 games for Detroit. He a .248 career hitter.

He seems to be about what the Indians had in center field that being an injured Bradley Zimmer and a hurt Tyler Naquin.

Martin is good defensively which is a plus but the Indians needed a bat two as was proven this year.

4. Finally, is the window for this team coming to an end. Remember both Cody Allen and Andrew Miller are free agents at the end of the season. How these two new guys perform will dictate how much longer can realistically stay open.

Fannie Lindor is under team control for awhile, but since he hasn’t signed an extension, believe me, the clock is ticking on this front office to finally end the championship drought.