The Cleveland Indians still have too many holes in their lineup for our liking. As the roster currently stands, they have three “for sure” very good offensive players.
Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are the studs. Lindor has finished in the top 15 in the American League MVP voting each of the last four seasons, and has had an OPS over 800 in four of the five years he has worn a Cleveland uniform.
Ramirez is working on a streak of four straight seasons with an OPS over 800, although many doubted he could get there in 2019 after his extremely slow start.
The other is Carlos Santana, who even if his average drops from the career high .281 last season, still has pop and can get on base so much as anybody in the game. He has a career .367 on base percentage.
There are some players who we expect will be solid, most notably Franmil Reyes, who will be just 24 next season, and should hit a ton of home runs, but can he draw more walks and cut down on strikeouts.
We would also hope for progression from Oscar Mercado, who will be 25 and should still be getting better.
There are a lot of ifs offensively with this group, and there will probably be a regression for Roberto Perez at the dish. Perez hit a career high 24 homers in 2019.
So, how do the Indians improve themselves offensively? Luckily they have depth in a category most of the major league teams are looking for, and that would be starting pitching.
With the return to good health for Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, the Cleveland front office has depth in this area.
Shane Bieber made the All Star team (won the game’s MVP) and finished 4th in the American League Cy Young Award voting. And Mike Clevinger went 13-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts after missing two months early in the season.
So, when Kluber and Carrasco are back, they really are the 3rd and 4th starters coming into 2020 with Clevinger and Bieber being the aces.
You can’t forget Aaron Civale, who had a 2.34 ERA in 10 starts late in the season, and had people reminded of a younger Kluber.
Of course, you need depth in the rotation to get through a 162 game season, especially when two of the starters are over 30 years old, and the Tribe has that too.
Zach Plesac (25 next year) made 21 starts and had a 3.81 ERA, allowing less hits than innings pitched and striking out twice as many batters as he walked. And Adam Plutko emerged as a serviceable fifth starter, making 20 starts.
And don’t forget Jefry Rodriguez, who made eight starts for the Indians a year ago, and southpaw Logan Allen, who came over in the three way trade at the deadline and was ranked as a top 100 prospect.
Triston McKenzie, another top 100 arm, is also now on the 40 man roster, although he missed all of last year with an injury.
So, the Indians can afford to move a starting pitcher to get some offense, and still have depth to sustain an injury or a performance not up to the expectations the organization would have.
And that might be a more palatable way to improve the hitting rather than spending big money on a free agent.
The best trades in baseball are always made from organizational depth. The Indians have what other teams want. It’s time to reap something they need for it.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 