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| Kelly Shoppach popped a two run homer in Sunday's 5-3 exhibition win over the Philles. |
Our View: Shoppach was just 1-for-3 in the game, but the homer was already his second this spring. His competition behind the plate, Dioner Navarro, went 3-for-3 so this is a battle that bears watching. Shoppach's power likely gives him the edge, but the two will share time at some point.
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| Kelly Shoppach has avoided arbitration by signing a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Rays, according to ESPN. |
Our View: Shoppach is a career .241 hitter, but hit just .214 with 12 homers and 40 RBI for Cleveland last season. He will split Tampa's catching duties with Dioner Navarro in 2010.
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| According to Marc Topkin on Twitter, the Rays player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach deal will be announced on Monday. |
Our View: This took almost a month to come to fruition, as the deal was made on December 1st. Regardless, the player heading to Cleveland likely won't be a household name.
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| Updating an earlier item, Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach has been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later, according to CBS Sports. |
Our View: This may mean that the Rays are planning on not offering Dioner Navarro salary arbitration. Shoppach hit .214 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 2009.
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| The Rays are in talks with the Indians about acquiring catcher Kelly Shoppach, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. |
Our View: He would serve as a back-up to Dioner Navarro, or maybe even as an insurance policy were his 2009 offensive struggles to bleed into 2010. Despite hitting just .214 last season, Shoppach did manage to swat 12 home runs and collect 40 RBI.
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| Kelly Shoppach went 2-for-3 with a double and a solo homer off Brandon McCarthy in tonight's 10-5 loss to the Rangers at Progressive Field. That was the second game of a doubleheader. |
Our View: Shoppach snapped a 13-game drought without a homer, and has 11 for the season. Hopefully fantasy owners won't have to wait long for his next shot.
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| Kelly Shoppach carried the Indians in tonight's 6-2 win at Chicago, as he went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. He hit a single and two homers. |
Our View: Shoppach has a hit in five straight games, with eight RBI over the span. Keep the veteran catcher active in fantasy lineups while swinging a hot stick.
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| Kelly Shoppach was productive in Wednesday's 9-3 loss at the Angels, as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI. He hit a single and a double. |
Our View: Shoppach has four hits and three RBI over his last two games. The Indians would remain in good shape behind the plate if they decide to trade Victor Martinez.
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| Kelly Shoppach carried the Indians in Thursday's 10-8 win at Chicago, as he went 1-for-3 with five RBI. His hit was a grand slam off Clayton Richard. |
Our View: Shoppach now has seven homers for the season, but holds a dismal .199 batting average, and his fantasy value remains low.
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| Kelly Shoppach had a nice night at the plate on Sunday in the Indians' 3-0 win over the Cardinals. Shoppach went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, a run scored, and an RBI in the win. |
Our View: Shoppach looked very good at the plate tonight, but he is still hitting .212 on the season. He has no fantasy value at this point, so no need to monitor his performance.
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| Kelly Shoppach went 2-for-4 with a home run, a run scored, and two RBI in the Indians' 6-5 loss to the Royals. |
Our View: Shoppach looked good at the plate tonight, but he still has no fantasy value since he does not play every day. He is Cliff Lee's personal catcher for the most part, so he will get a few games in per week regardless.
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| ESPN.com reports that Indians manager Eric Wedge plans to use Kelly Shoppach and Victor Martinez according to situations. Shoppach appears to be the primary catcher for Cliff Lee and should see about three starts per week. |
Our View: While Martinez will see time at first base when he's not catching, Shoppach may see time on the bench as long as Travis Hafner and Ryan Garko demand at-bats at DH. The result is Shoppach's value figures to take a hit.
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| Kelly Shoppach was 2-for-4 on Wednesday and hit his fourth home run of the spring. He also scored two runs and upped his average to .263. |
Our View: Shoppach is having a nice spring and should see a decent amount of time at catcher this season with Victor Martinez getting time at first base and DH. Shoppach has a good power stroke (21 homers in 2008), but needs to cut down on the strikeouts (133 in only 352 at-bats).
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| Kelly Shoppach was 1-for-3 with two strikeouts as the Indians lost to the Rockies 5-0 on Wednesday. |
Our View: Shoppach struck out 37.8 percent of the time last season, which is the same rate as Mark Reynolds. He still managed to produce 21 home runs, 27 doubles, 67 runs, and 55 RBI in only 352 at-bats. His success rate has a good chance of declining this season as he held a .357 BABIP in 2008.
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| The Indians are yet to decide how their catching platoon will work between Victor Martinez and Kelly Shoppach, but the club has decided that Martinez will catch Fausto Carmona and Shoppach will catch Cliff Lee, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Manager Eric Wedge said, "These guys are here to win a championship. They understand that. Whatever we need to do to put out the best ballclub every day, that is what we are going to do. And they are both on board with that."
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Our View: Martinez should be drafted as a top-5 fantasy catcher, but Shoppach should still see enough at-bats to keep him in the top-12 in a thin position.
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| MLB.com reports that the Cleveland Indians have avoided arbitration with backup catcher Kelly Shoppach by signing the free agent to a one-year deal. |
Our View: Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but one can assume Shoppach could have attracted a very fair price compared to his 2008 salary of $400,100. He led all AL catchers in home runs a year ago with 21, and was fourth in RBI.
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| The Indians have tendered Kelly Shoppach a contract Friday prior to tonight's deadline, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Shoppach would have became a free agent if the Indians didn't tender him a contract. Shoppach provides favorable depth behind Victor Martinez at catcher, and notably crushed 21 homers over 112 games in 2008.
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| Kelly Shoppach or Victor Martinez might end up wearing another uniform next season as the Indians are considering trading one of their backstops to bolster their bullpen or infield, according to The Plain Dealer. |
Our View: The Indians certainly need bullpen help, but with the health of Travis Hafner completely up in the air, why don't the Indians just stick Martinez at first and allow Shoppach to catch? If either backstop is moved, they will likely bring a bounty in return.
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| Kelly Shoppach underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday, according to the AP. |
Our View: The procedure was performed by Dr. Mark Schickendantz and was considered minor by the team. He is expected to be fully recovered by spring training. He hit 21 homers this season over 112 games while filling in for the injured Victor Martinez.
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| Kelly Shoppach has continued his hot streak on Monday night, with his 21st home run. |
Our View: Shoppach has four home runs in his last five games and seven RBI in that same span. This season for Shoppach has been a pleasant surprise for the fantasy owners.
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| Kelly Shoppach went 2-for-5 on Friday and connected for his third home run in as many games. He added three RBI to his total. |
Our View: Shoppach, 28, has been a pleasant surprise for owners this season. His homer on Friday was his 20th of the season.
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| Kelly Shoppach homered not once but twice Wednesday night in the Indians 7-1 win over the Orioles. |
Our View: The two home runs for Shoppach were his first in nine games and his 18th and 19th of the year. Even though his average is low at .271, he continues to pile up the home runs.
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| Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach was the voice of reckoning tonight as the Tribe earned the exciting 9-7 win over the Tigers, going 3-for-5 at the plate with his 17th homer of the season, driving in three and adding two runs scored. |
Our View: Shoppach has six homers on the month, one of his best ever. His average has dropped, hitting just .221 through August after hitting .318 last month. However, he continues to hit the long ball and drive in runs.
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| They had to wait for the relief pitching to come on to complete the feat, but the Indians found the 8-5 win over Kansas City with a late-inning surge led by catcher Kelly Shoppach. Shoppach went 2-for-3 at the plate with two home runs, his 13th and 14th of the season, totaling two RBIs and two runs scored on the night. |
Our View: After a tremendous month of July, hitting .318 with six homers and 14 RBIs, Shoppach has fallen off the pace, hitting just .214 with three homers and eight RBIs through August.
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| Kelly Shoppach got two hits in five at-bats, scored two runs and knocked one home, but it wasn't enough as Cleveland was downed by the Orioles, 11-6. |
Our View: Shoppach's fantasy value has gone by the wayside as he slumped in August, but he clearly has one or two good nights in him every once in a while.
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| Kelly Shoppach may not have set any records on this night, but he still went 2-for-4 giving him seven hits over his last two games. |
Our View: Six of those seven hits have gone for extra bases as Shoppach has produced the pop that the team was longing to see from Victor Martinez all season long (he has 11 home runs and 18 doubles in 203 AB).
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| We have already highlighted Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach's record-matching night, posting five extra-base hits on the night to tie a major league record. Now we give you the full story following the 14-12 win, earned over 13 innings, by the Detroit Tigers. Shoppach went 5-for-6 with one walk, three doubles, and two homers to post three RBIs and four runs scored on the night. |
Our View: Shoppach has four homers last month and carried four more through July into this matchup. He now touts six homers with 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored on the month.
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| Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach tied a major league record Wednesday night with five extra-base hits, including two home runs and three doubles, according to Yahoo Sports. |
Our View: Shoppach doubled and scored in the second, third and fifth innings. He hit a two-run homer in the sixth and tied the score at 12 with a one-out solo homer in the ninth. Shoppach became the eighth player in the majors to get five extra-base hits in a game, including two before 1900. He was only the second AL player to accomplish the feat — Indians Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau did it in 1946 with one homer and four doubles.
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| Cleveland enjoyed another strong effort off the mound but catcher Kelly Shoppach was there to bring the offense in the Indians' 6-2 win over the Mariners. Shoppach went 2-for-4 with his eighth homer of the season, hit with two men on to give Shoppach a total of four RBIs and one runs scored on the day. |
Our View: Shoppach is trying to keep his power-hitting prowess going, coming off four homers for 14 RBIs in June with three homers for seven RBIs thus far through July.
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| Kelly Shoppach went 3-for-3 with two RBI in Friday's 12-3 loss to Minnesota. He hit two singles and a two-run homer. |
Our View: That was his second homer over his last three games. He also has registered multiple hits in two of his three outings in July. He is worth starting in AL-only leagues while he is hot.
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| Kelly Shoppach had two hits and scored two runs for the Indians in their 4-1 victory over the Giants. |
Our View: That's six games and counting for Shoppach with a hit as he has raised his average from .223 to .246. As long as Victor Martinez is on the sidelines, Shoppach makes an excellent #2 catcher with his ability to pop the odd long ball and hit for a decent average.
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| Kelly Shoppach had a hit on Wednesday night to extend his mini hitting streak to five games. |
Our View: Unfortunately Shoppach has had only one hit in each game, but he has knocked in four runs in that time and is doing a nice job replacing the production that the club was receiving from Victor Martinez.
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| Kelly Shoppach made his first start in place of the injured Victor Martinez on Wednesday, and he performed favorably as he went 1-for-3 while drawing a walk in a 7-2 win over the White Sox. He helped guide Fausto Carmona to a four hit win as well, with four strikeouts over seven innings. Martinez remains day-to-day with his hamstring ailment, and the team is seemingly in good hands at catcher until he returns. |
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| Kelly Shoppach replaced Victor Martinez at catcher after he suffered a leg injury in the second inning on Monday. There is no word on the severity of the Martinez injury as of now. |
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| Last year Kelly Shoppach was Paul Byrd's personal catcher, though with the team wanting to have Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko's bats in the lineup every day, Shoppach may find himself on the bench more frequently, this according to MLB.com. "We're going to match them up, but I'm not saying they're going to be matched up every single time," manager Eric Wedge said. "There may be situations that dictate otherwise, depending on the rest of our lineup." The other option for the team would be to sit Travis Hafner, and that isn't any more palatable an option than sitting Garko or V-Mart, so the bottom line is that Shoppach may find it difficult to match last seasons total of 161 AB. |
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| Kelly Shoppach has become the personal catcher for Paul Byrd, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Byrd is behind the move as well; he's 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA. "Right now, I do like it," Byrd said. |
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