As much as the infield of the Cleveland Indians is certain, the outfield is just the opposite as we possibly head into a second spring training.
The only player who can seemingly be penciled in to an everyday spot is centerfielder Oscar Mercado, and he has just 115 games and 482 plate appearances under his belt, although Franmil Reyes will be in there someplace, either in the outfield or as the DH.
The front office seems to be relying on Terry Francona and his staff working their magic and put the puzzle pieces together and provide the team with the proper mix of hitting and defense.
Reyes is the starting point because at age 23, he belted 37 homers and knocked in 81 (822 OPS). He would seem to be the middle of the order power bat the Tribe has been looking for years.
The Indians would like him to at least play rightfield at a decent level so he can be out there about 25-50% of the time, opening up the DH spot to give other players a partial day off.
The hope is his plate discipline will improve with experience, making him an elite offensive player.
Another player is must figure in the Indians’ plans is Jordan Luplow, at the very least a prime platoon piece, and hopefully a guy who can figure in the everyday lineup.
Luplow, 26, hit .320 with 14 dingers vs. southpaws (1.181 OPS) last season, but his minor league history doesn’t show huge disparities in his numbers vs. right-handers. He did hit just .216 with one homer vs. those pitchers in 2019.
He’s solid defensively, so he should get a good opportunity to see regular playing time is he is capable against righties, but worst case scenario he is valuable for what he can do against lefties.
Newcomer Domingo Santana also figures to get plenty of playing time, but it may be based on how much Reyes can play in the outfield. The right-handed hitter is just three years removed from a 30 HR season with the Brewers, and before a hand injury last season was hitting .286 with 18 bombs for the Mariners (850 OPS).
He struggles defensively though, so if Reyes can’t play RF well, Francona will have to pick his spots playing him in the field.
As for Mercado, it remains to be seen how he plays this year. Here is his OPS by month a year ago–
May: 52 plate appearances, 819 OPS
June: 115 PA, 844 OPS
July: 103 PA, 757 OPS
August: 100 PA, 573 OPS
September: 112 PA, 827 OPS
And you know what they say about ignoring numbers from April and September. So, the question remains, did the league make an adjustment to Mercado, and can he make one of his own?
With the delay in the start of the season, it means Tyler Naquin should be ready to go as well. Naquin could form a platoon partner with Luplow in LF, similar to what he did when Yasiel Puig came over at the trade deadline a year ago.
But Naquin had solid numbers vs. LHP last season, albeit in limited appearances (837 OPS in 63 at bats). And he hit .289 vs. RHP with six homers. His weakness? He swings at everything, his walk rate has dropped from 9.9% in his rookie year to 4.8% in 2019.
And you also have Delino DeShields, who has struggled offensively for much of his career, and the last two seasons in particular, despite playing in an offensive paradise in Texas.
His career road numbers? .207 BA, 574 OPS
He figures to be the back up plan should Mercado have a sophomore slump, and be used as a defensive replacement (he’s a very good defender) and pinch-runner.
The partial season seems to hurt players like Greg Allen and Bradley Zimmer, who needed to be productive in the minors to rebuild their value, and also Daniel Johnson, who hit very well at AA and AAA in ’19, but it will be difficult for him to make an impact on the brass.
There is no question the outfield is the weakest part of the Tribe’s roster, but hopefully, Terry Francona puts the puzzle in the correct alignment and gets some production.
If and when the Indians start to play, the microscope will be on this group.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 