CLEVELAND - With the Indians season entering its 73rd game on Wednesday, team President Chris Antonetti sat with the media to discu s basically anything and everything about the Tribe as they sit in first in the AL Central with a mark of 39-33 Tucker McCann Jersey . Antonetti hit on a number of topics such as the teams' bullpen i sues, the re-emergence of Michael Brantley as a top player on the team, the trade deadline and next years free agents, and even an update on the 2018 Indians draft picks. Here's a couple takeaways from the pre s conference, which ran about 18 minutes in length.1. The Bullpen The Indians have run through quite a few arms thus far in 2018 trying to keep their bullpen afloat, and with Andrew Miller still on the shelf, it's become an even harder proce s. Antonetti said that paying attention to the depth of the unit as well as making a number of signings with the hopes of finding arms is a challenge, but all in all he has been happy of the recent progre s with players like Neil Ramirez and Oliver Perez, who throwers who have nicely and are starting to gain more trust after getting some key outs in key moments recently. "Having a little bit more stability in the bullpen is good to see and see guys fitting into roles," Antonetti said. There's a long way to go, and there's going to be plenty of rumors about the team going out and getting an arm before the trade deadline, but Antonetti says that for now it's the team trying to get through the adversity of having four of their pen arms down with injury. "This season we've had some unexpected performances, and some substantial injuries," Antonetti said. "I've been encouraged about the way we've pitched over the last couple of weeks."2. The Development of Mike Clevinger Following another solid outing on Tuesday night from Mike Clevinger, the Indians hurler now stands at 6-2 with an ERA at 3.00 He's built on a solid 2017 season, and is quickly establishing himself as a force in the rotation, and is on pace to throw over 200 innings in 2018. "It's been one of the great storylines of our season so far," Antonetti said. "He's starting to become much more efficient with his pitches, where I think we saw last year he say by the fifth inning he was Ryan Tannehill Jersey getting into a lot of deep counts, was getting close to 100 pitches, not able to pitch deeper into games." Clevinger on Tuesday threw 114 pitches, and already this season he's thrown over 100 pitches in 11 of his 15 starts. He's looking like a player that can have a big impact Bruce Matthews Jersey for this team come the postseason.3. Could the Indians be a Big Buyer in the Trade Market Come Late July? Scroll to Continue With the team looking like a team that for the third straight season will make the postseason, the obvious question that many people want to know is how aggre sive this team might be around the trade deadline. There's a need for one or more arms in the bullpen, and you never know with injuries if the team might have the need to go out and get a player like they did last season after Michael Brantley went down and the team acquired Jay Bruce from the Mets. "We will always be looking for ways to improve our team, the years we've been in contention that's the way we've operated, and that's how we've continued to operate this year," Antonetti said. "Really since the day after the draft the frequency and intensity of the trade talk have picked up, and we're actively seeking ways to improve the team, whether that's the bullpen or elsewhere." A lot of what this team will do in terms of trades counts on the health of Andrew Miller, and how this pen performs over the next six weeks.4. Will Jason Kipnis Ever Be as Good as 2016 Again? Two seasons ago Jason Kipnis was a key component to the Indians making it to game seven of the World Series, hitting .275 with 23 homers and 82 runs batted in. Since then it's been a nightmare for him to try to get back to Chance Campbell Jersey those types of numbers in anyway, and after an impre sive spring in which it looked like he was turning it around, he's still not showing the power and ability to get on base in a consistent manner at the plate. Antonetti said point blank he feels that Kipnis can get back to the way he was playing in 2016, but at the same time the slow start really hindered where he stands right now in terms of numbers, hitting .208 with five homers and 27 RBI. "With Kip he's just not been able to find that same consistency," Antonetti said. "Early in the season he was having really good at bats, hitting the ball hard, just hit into some bad luck, and when those things build over time, it's human nature to try and change things, and when you do that sometimes you can start to try and chase your tail." Kipnis did have a good night at the plate on Monday, tying a season high with three hits, but this season in 72 games he's only had two or more hits in 14 of those affairs.5. On the Indians Being a Better Team in the Second Half of the Season Last season the Indians were treading water with a half game lead over the Twins when a second half team meeting really seemed to re-focus the group and get them going in the right direction again. On July 19th the team was 48-45 when they took the field, and by the time the regular season was over they sat at 101-60, meaning that they won 53 and lost 15 in their final 68 games, with the obvious 22-game win streak sprinkled in that run. "We don't plan for that, we try to NFL Tennessee Titans Jersey win as many games as quickly as we can, and as frequently as we can," Antonetti said. "It's an encouraging to note that we have that backdrop and that this group of guys under Tito has typically played its best baseball in the second half." This season there's a long way to go with the team at 39-33 and six games over .500, but as Antonetti pointed out, having the reputation of being a team that always plays well in the second half of the season.