The people who run Major League Baseball seem to want to delay the season, but the players didn’t agree, so it appears spring training will start in about 10 days in Goodyear, Arizona.
What does the season hold for the Cleveland Indians? There are probably more questions surrounding the Tribe that for any other team in the sport.
It would not be surprise to us if the Tribe won anywhere from 75 to 90 games in the 2021 season. That’s how much uncertainty we have.
The starting lineup has few people entrenched. Jose Ramirez will play 3B, Cesar Hernandez will be at second, Eddie Rosario will be in the outfield, Franmil Reyes will be the DH, and Josh Naylor figures to be in there somewhere, outfield or 1B.
Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges will share the catching spot, and we would guess Jordan Luplow will be in the lineup whenever the Tribe plays a left-handed starting pitcher. Oh, and Shane Bieber will be the Opening Day starter, if he is healthy.
At first base, Terry Francona has a bunch of candidates. We believe Naylor is the frontrunner, but Jake Bauers, who spent all last season in the satellite camp, is out of options. He hit .226 (683 OPS) when we last saw him in 2019. There is also Bobby Bradley, who will turn 25 during the ’21 campaign. He hit 33 HR in AAA in ’19, but struck out 20 times in 49 plate appearances in the bigs.
Bradley hasn’t been on a Top 100 prospect list since 2017, so this spring is probably make or break for both him and Bauers.
At shortstop, which player obtained in the Francisco Lindor deal does Francona go with? Andres Gimenez or Amad Rosario?
Gimenez is 22, a left-handed hitter and had a 732 OPS a year ago. Rosario is 25, a right-handed hitter, but had a bad year in ’20, hitting just .252 with a 643 OPS. Gimenez is the better defender, while Rosario could also be a candidate to play centerfield.
As we said, the outfield is up for grabs with half the positions open. Rosario will play everyday and Luplow at least vs. southpaws.
Centerfield would seem to come down to Oscar Mercado, who had a solid rookie season, but was terrible last season, hitting .128 with a 27:5 strikeout to walk ratio, the perpetually tantalizing Bradley Zimmer, who outside of the first half of his rookie season (2017) has had contact and production issues, or could A. Rosario be in the mix?
And what about Daniel Johnson, who had a 868 OPS in the minors in 2019? He’s mostly played rightfield, but can and has played in the middle of the outfield.
We would rather see Johnson out there, at least as part of a platoon with Mercado, than Zimmer, who continues to struggle making contact.
Or does Johnson platoon in RF? Or does Naylor, if Bauers or Bradley win the first base job?
The thing to watch when exhibition games start (at the end of this month!) is who is hitting, and who are they hitting against?
And don’t forget the utility infielder spot. Does Yu Chang have the inside track for the spot? Don’t forget the Tribe brought back veteran Mike Freeman as an invitee, and although many don’t like him because Francona uses him like a security blanket, he is perfect in that he doesn’t require regular at bats to keep his swing ready.
The only question behind the plate is whether or not both Perez and Hedges open the season with the Indians. Both are among the highest paid Indians, and does the front office want to have two highly paid guys paying the same position?
That seems to be an odd question, but that’s life as we currently know it for supporters of the Cleveland Indians.
While many regard (and rightly so) the starting pitching staff as the strength of the team, but there are many questions there as well. We will discuss those next week.
Just think, next week, baseball fans can start getting reports about on the field activity. Finally. After a crazy 2020, that’s something to look forward to.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 