Cavs Ink A Trio, But Haven’t Addressed A Huge Need.

The NBA free agency period started last week, and the Cavaliers did sign three players to help the 2022-23 roster, although they still haven’t addressed their biggest need.

We are sure every fan of the wine and gold are thrilled by the return of Ricky Rubio. The veteran was a key to the Cavs fast start last season, averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 assists in 34 games before tearing his ACL, and then being dealt to Indiana right before the trade deadline.

Rubio provided a veteran playmaking role and was a great mentor to Darius Garland.

He likely will not be able to play until January, so the front office went out and signed another veteran point guard in Raul Neto, who has averaged 8.1 points over the last two seasons with Washington. He had a three to one assist to turnover ratio last year and will be Garland’s backup until Rubio is ready.

They also added veteran big man Robin Lopez. And for those questioning adding another center, remember the Cavaliers were forced to use Moses Brown when Ed Davis showed he could no longer provide quality minutes. He did average 7.1 and 3.5 boards in 36 games with Orlando last season.

However, the team still needs help at the wing position. Yes, they did draft Ochai Agbaji, who should help, but he’s a rookie. You simply cannot count on him.

When looking at the team’s depth chart, we will assume for now Caris LeVert as the starter at the #2 spot, so the starters would be Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen up front with Garland and LeVert at the guards.

Who is the next five? Obviously, Kevin Love and Collin Sexton (assuming he’s resigned) and Neto will be in the mix. Folks are going to mention players like Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro, but we would submit those guys aren’t good enough if you are a playoff contender.

Those guys can be contributors and can help in spots, but really the wine and gold need a veteran, someone they can count on.

Stevens and Okoro are solid defenders, but opposing teams aren’t really going to devote much attention to them on the offensive end. Okoro did hit 35% of his three pointers a year ago, it’s just that he’s hesitant to shoot. Stevens is a solid guy, and normally knows what he can and can’t do on the floor. That’s a good thing.

But if you have your sights set on home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which Cleveland should, your second unit has to be better.

We also have to mention the strategy for the three second round picks in the draft were odd. Two of the three picks are guys (Khalifa Diop and Luke Travers) who clearly won’t be playing in the NBA this season, and the third is Mobley’s brother.

That doesn’t really help this year’s team.

Now, we are very early in the off-season, so there is plenty of time to improve the roster, so no time to be really concerned as of yet. But although we don’t have a problem with the free agents the Cavs inked, they still haven’t addressed a big need.

Guards Weathered The Storm, Now Back To The Division

After concluding a series at home against the Oakland A’s on June 12th, the Cleveland Guardians started what appeared to be a brutal stretch of games, starting with a nine game trip.

Through the end of June and going into the beginning of July, Terry Francona’s squad was going to play Minnesota eight times, and also have three game series against the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.

If this group of Guardians wasn’t up to being a contender, surely, we would see it during over that three weeks of contests.

Coming into the last of those games today, Cleveland has acquitted themselves very well, going 7-9 thus far.

They took two of three from the Los Angeles, and five of eight against the Twins. They were swept at home by Boston, but two of those games very good games, and the offense went ice cold for a week during this period, which didn’t help.

Following today’s game against the Yankees, the Guards go back into the division pretty much through the end of the month, with only series against Boston and Tampa at the end of July interrupting the Central Division battles.

Cleveland is currently 17-11 vs. the AL Central as of today. However, they have to maintain that kind of play going forward.

Through July 25th, when they arrive at Fenway Park, the Guards have a seven-game trip to Detroit and Kansas City, followed by a homestand that will take them into the All-Star break. They will play a pair of four game sets against the White Sox and Tigers, and then have another quartet of contests (including a doubleheader of course) in the Windy City.

If they continue to play well in the division, that will seem to ensure Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be buyers at the trade deadline. The division would certainly still be in play, with the Guardians, Twins, and White Sox vying for what might be one spot, as the division winner.

In reality, it probably doesn’t make a difference either way. The organization has a glut of young players currently on the 40-man roster, and really doesn’t have room for all of them.

Look at the infield for example. Andres Gimenez might wind up making the Midsummer Classic roster this year, so he should be in the team’s plans going forward. So, what does that mean for Tyler Freeman, Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio, and even Owen Miller.

We have been on record as saying we believe Arias is the one to be moved and being called up this past weekend doesn’t do anything to make us feel differently.

We feel that way because Arias’ strikeout to walk ratio in the minors doesn’t seem to fit in with the current hitting philosophy of the organization. Plus, his recall is curious. He’s been injured for much of the season and was hitting under .200 for the year at AAA.

And the back end of the Cleveland bullpen, save for Emmanuel Clase, needs an upgrade. We’ve seen in the series against Boston and New York, there have been games where the starters have kept it close, but the bullpen allowed the game to get out of hand.

We understand the Guardians’ front office want players who will under control for a few years, so they won’t be looking for rentals. But if they can help this year’s team by giving up organizational depth, they almost have to do it.

They have a lot of baseball to play, but they’ve weathered a difficult part of the slate. With divisional games and some rest due to the All-Star break coming up, it’s not a stretch to think Cleveland will be in the thick of a post-season race.

If Watson Is Out For A While, Browns Can’t Sit Idle

As the Deshaun Watson saga continues, the thing that keeps creeping into our minds is what happens if the NFL decides on a full year suspension for the recently acquired quarterback.

Or really, any suspension longer than eight games, a little more than half of the season.

If Watson would be out of action for a span of more than 50% of the league’s schedule, it would seem GM Andrew Berry would be back in the market for a QB. There is too much at stake for this franchise to have to play Jacoby Brissett for a majority of the schedule.

This isn’t a knock on Brissett, who is a very good back up signal caller, and perfectly capable of guiding the Browns to some wins in a limited time span. However, we don’t think anyone believes he’s a guy who can lead a team to the playoffs.

And why is it important for the Browns to be able to be in the playoff mix this season? Simple, look at the roster and the number of great players in the prime of their career. Nick Chubb is 27, Myles Garrett is 27, Denzel Ward is 25, Amari Cooper is 28.

Add another year to all of those guys if the 2022 season comes and goes without a long playoff run.

Three of the oldest players on the squad are offensive linemen in Joel Bitonio (31), Jack Conklin (28) and Wyatt Teller (28). We saw first hand what happened last year when Conklin went out after the Chargers game.

There is no question this is one of the strongest units on the roster. Will they still be able to play up to the 2020 standards in ’23? Maybe, but the wear and tear takes its toll at some point.

The Browns were the fourth youngest team in the NFL a year ago at 25.61 years of age by average. Let’s just say Cleveland would be at 26.61 this year. They’d be the seventh oldest relating to the ranking for the 2021 season.

Now, we know that won’t be the case because rookies will make the team and some veterans on the end of the roster will be replaced by younger players. But it does show how closely bunched the age of the men on an NFL roster is.

You can be a young team one season and a grizzled veteran team in a span of two years.

And that’s why if Watson is ruled out for most, if not all of the 2022 season, the front office has to find a better option than Brissett. And no, it won’t be Baker Mayfield, the Browns have napalmed that relationship, although we understand why to national people it would make the most sense.

We have suggested before, could Mayfield be traded for another QB? A proven one? Outside of Jimmy Garoppolo, there probably isn’t one out available, but could the Browns be interested in bringing in the veteran for one season?

You would think they most definitely would.

No doubt Berry is already doing some groundwork in the event the ruling is a one year suspension for Watson. With a talent laden roster, wasting a year isn’t an option for the Cleveland Browns.

Guards’ Roster Problems Aren’t Simple

It was a lost weekend for the Guardians, but they did have a chance to win two of the games against Boston, and let’s face it, the Red Sox are red hot right now.

There seems to be an ongoing discussion among Guards’ fans about the bottom of the team’s 26 man roster, but in looking closely at the situation, it’s not as easy as it seems to be.

From the position player standpoint, the last man on the bench (that’s not being pejorative, by the way) would seem to be Ernie Clement, who can probably play all four infield spots and has been used in left field by Terry Francona as well.

The problem would seem to be that Clement is being used as a platoon player, in the lineup whenever a southpaw is on the hill for the opposition. And it’s a problem because Clement doesn’t profile as this type of player.

In 98 career at bats vs. lefties, Clement has a .204 batting average and a 563 OPS. So, putting him in there instead of Andres Gimenez or Steven Kwan doesn’t really help you offensively.

However, even though the Guardians have a deep farm system, they really don’t have an alternative to Clement. Why? Because of his limited role as a utility man.

We are sure the front office want Tyler Freeman, Nolan Jones, and Gabriel Arias to play everyday at Columbus rather than getting sparing at bats at the big league level. And that makes total sense to us.

The only real solution we can think of is using Owen Miller more at 3B to give Jose Ramirez a day that he doesn’t have to play in the field. Francona could use Franmil Reyes in the outfield say, two days a week, therefore creating a chance to use either Ramirez or Josh Naylor at DH.

When Clement plays, he simply has to swing the bat better. He’s always been a patient hitter in the minors, with a 84/106 walk to strikeout ratio. In the bigs, he’s fanned 37 times against 14 walks. That would seem what he needs to do now in the majors.

The same roster problem exists with the last spot out of the bullpen. Since Nick Sandlin was sent down to find the strike zone (he hasn’t so far), the Guardians have used Anthony Castro, Yohan Ramirez, and Tanner Tully to try and protect the rest of the relief corps.

Tully was designated for assignment yesterday in favor of Ian Gibaut, who likely will get the same treatment today prior to the doubleheader.

The only other options currently on the 40 man roster are Kirk McCarty and Tobias Myers. McCarty didn’t fool anyone when he made a couple of brief appearance with Cleveland, and Myers isn’t pitching well at AAA.

The difference between this job opening and the utility spot is if a pitcher comes up and pitches well, he very well could stay on the roster for a while.

The point is sometimes it’s not as easy as just sending someone down, you also have to have someone ready to take that player’s role. And at times, especially for a bench player, you don’t want to use a prospect that needs to play.

Agbaji Should Help Right Away

NBA Draft night was uneventful if you were looking for blockbuster trades, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did alright for themselves.

We have said since the results of the lottery were known that it should be difficult for the Cavs to draft a project. We understand that’s what the draft has become, trying to project what a college player, usually 19 or 20 years old, will become.

Koby Altman and GM Mike Gansey should have been looking differently. After being in the top four in the Eastern Conference standings as late as the All Star break, the wine and gold (we guess we should say, new gold) need to finish in the top six in the East next year. That’s the next step for the franchise.

To that end, they needed to add either a veteran by dealing the pick, or take someone who is ready to step in and contribute immediately.

On a good team, which the Cavaliers are now, it is difficult for a guy picked in the middle of the first round to get minutes. Usually, it’s because they don’t know how to defend at the NBA level.

Cleveland took a four year college player in Ochai Agbaji from Kansas, voted the Most Outstanding Player at this past year’s Final Four. Agbaji is 6’6″, 215 pounds and has improved his shooting, particularly from three point range, every year.

And he has been a good defender at the college level as well, and can switch on the perimeter (which we think is a blight on the game, actually), the way most NBA teams do it.

He may not have a high ceiling, but he has a low floor, and at pick #14, that’s not a bad thing. Adbaji is probably a better player right now than many of the players picked ahead of him. Three years from now, that might be a different story.

But again, the Cavs aren’t in the business of long-term development anymore. And it’s not like they have a bunch of grizzled veterans. They were the 8th youngest team in the league last season, and that’s with Kevin Love, Ed Davis, and Rajon Rondo.

The age of their core players, Darius Garland (turns 23 in January), Evan Mobley (21 last week), and Jarrett Allen (24 in April), would put them in the top three in terms of youth.

Let’s not forget that Agbaji also fills a position of need. The Cavs aren’t exactly teeming with 6’5″ or 6’6″ players who can shoot the ball. The rookie should get plenty of opportunities to contribute.

The free agency period is coming up and the trades will probably start throughout the NBA after the calendar turns to July.

Hopefully, Altman and Gansey aren’t standing pat. We believe the wine and gold need another veteran wing and another veteran big man as well as a point guard, unless they have decided Collin Sexton fits as both a #1 or a #2.

And they still need shooting.

They did a good job in the draft though, getting someone who can help right away. This is a key year for the franchise. They can’t settle for another play in game season.

Francona Has Guardians Surprising Again

Mike Hargrove used to say that there are two things everyone knows they can do better than anyone else, cook a steak and manage a baseball team.

With that in mind, we know that Terry Francona gets criticism from baseball fans on pretty much an every day basis. We know that because we do it too. From lineup construction to the use of relief pitchers to his famed patience (or stubbornness), we question what Francona is doing all the time (like bringing in Anthony Castro last night).

The truth of the matter is he is going to go the Hall of Fame when he retires. He currently ranks 17th all time in wins with 1817 and we are fairly confident he will pick up the 19 victories he needs to pass Lou Piniella to move into 16th place before the end of the season.

The health problems that have affected him the past couple of seasons appear to be behind him, so if he stays with the Guards another two years, he should become the 13th skipper to reach 2000 victories.

He’s already Cleveland’s all time leader in this department with 788 wins.

We remind everyone of Francona’s accomplishments because despite the questions and complaints we and many other fans have, the Guardians currently sit at 35-28 and lead the AL Central, something no one would’ve predicted heading into this season.

It’s quite remarkable to say the least.

Baseball x’s and o’s aside, what Tito is translates to all walks of life. He manages people. We believe that every single player (and probably coaches and equipment men too) know exactly what is expected of them, and the skipper takes the responsibility if something goes wrong and the player doesn’t succeed in a spot they shouldn’t have been in.

You also never hear Francona talk about himself when the Guardians’ win. It’s the players who win games, but when they lose, the manager takes it upon himself.

Players have to love that.

We chuckle at times when folks on social media want to know when Tito is going to talk to a player about a mistake made on the field. He does it, but he’s not going to do it in a postgame presser. He’ll handle it behind closed doors. Wouldn’t we all love our bosses to do it the same way?

By the way, we agree with people who believe the front office has more to do with lineup and roster construction than many think. Who plays, who stays, and who gets sent down is put together in conjunction with Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Francona, and the coaching staff.

It’s a collaborative effort.

The organization moved away from players like Bradley Zimmer (7 for 63 with Toronto, 433 OPS), Bobby Bradley (hitting .202 at AAA), Yu Chang (5 for 44 for the season with the Guards and Pirates) and now Oscar Mercado (.202 batting average, 604 OPS) relatively quick this season.

At least quicker than most fans thought.

It has spurred a new offensive strategy, grinding out at bats, putting the ball in play. That has helped in the success thus far in 2022.

Because Francona has seemingly done this before, getting players to overachieve, you have to give him a good part of the credit.

That doesn’t mean we will stop second guessing though. Now, about that steak…

Guardians’ Pitching Gives Them A Chance Daily

To be honest, when the Cleveland Guardians embarked on this trip to Colorado, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, we would have taken a 4-5 record. Just tread water and get back to Progressive Field, where they haven’t played much this season.

Six games into the trek, the Guards have already picked up five wins, thus clinching a winning trip and now head into a span where they play the team ahead of them in the AL Central standings, the Twins, eight times in the next ten days.

Minnesota sits one game ahead of Terry Francona’s squad, but because the Guardians have had so many games postponed because of weather, Cleveland is actually two games ahead in the loss column.

And when the team returns hope from the Twin Cities on Friday night, they will likely have played 39 of their 65 games on the road, meaning of course they will play 55 of the last 97 contests on the schedule at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

While the contact oriented hitting approach has been widely discussed and praised, the efforts of the pitching staff should not be ignored.

In this three week span where the Guards have gone 15-4, they have allowed more than four runs in a game just five times. This means most nights, the starting pitcher has given his team a shot at winning.

In 13 of those 19 games, the opponents scored no more than three tallies. The offense doesn’t have to be hitting on all cylinders to win games when your pitching is that good.

We don’t think fans realize how special that is. Even this past weekend, the pitching held the mighty Dodgers (yes, they were without Mookie Betts) to three runs or less in two of the three games, both of which resulted in Cleveland victories.

Ace Shane Bieber has made 13 starts in 2022 and has allowed more than three runs just once, an 8-3 loss to Toronto on May 7th. Since that start, he’s pitched 45-1/3 innings, allowing just 11 earned runs, a 2.18 ERA.

Triston McKenzie has started 11 times this year, allowing more than three runs in a game just twice. He’s allowed just 46 hits in 70 frames for the season.

Cal Quantrill has a dozen starts under his belt this season and has allowed more than three runs just twice, the second coming this past weekend in Dodger Stadium. He’s gone at least five innings in all but one start this year.

Zach Plesac can’t match the consistency shown by the trio already mentioned, but he’s allowed either one or two runs in three of his last four outings. No doubt that’s a trend Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis would like to see continued.

Rookie Konnor Pilkington has made four starts since Aaron Civale went on the injured list, and he didn’t allow more than four runs in those appearances.

Give your team a chance.

That’s the mantra the Guardians’ starting staff uses and it works. Give the offense a chance to scratch out some runs and who knows? It’s worked pretty well so far. As long as the rotation can do its job, the Guards will be in the mix.

It’s a simple formula really.

New Minority Owner For Guards, New Hope For Fans

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced it Thursday, the Cleveland Guardians have a new minority owner in David Blitzer, who reportedly owns about 25% of the team.

This should be good news for baseball fans in northeast Ohio, although it did bring out a number of the Dolan defenders on social media.

Let’s face it, for most of the time the Dolan family have owned the team, they have been run on a shoestring budget. And since we are firmly in the camp that no Major League Baseball team is struggling to stay solvent, that means the Cleveland owners have made a lot of money having the Indians/Guardians as an asset.

Does the family have some positive attributes as owners? Of course. They are notoriously great in hiring good management and letting the baseball people run the organization. Team president Chris Antonetti and his front office are the envy of many teams, and recently, other organizations have targeted the Cleveland baseball people for high management roles.

You have to think the owners do step in when it comes time to pay the better players who were drafted and/or developed by the baseball people when the time comes.

Since the Dolans’ have controlled the purse strings, the franchise has traded C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, and Francisco Lindor because the team would not pay the going rate for talent like theirs.

Defenders point to the Jose Ramirez deal as proof the owners were willing to spend, but as we have said before, we can’t give the Dolans credit for Ramirez staying. They were lucky that one of the best players in the sport decided to leave a considerable amount of cash on the table to stay with the franchise.

No doubt the atmosphere, created by the folks the owner hired, was important to Ramirez, but if Ramirez had wanted to be paid like the superstar he is, he’d be wearing a different uniform today.

It isn’t just spending on players’ salaries that has been lacking by the current ownership. Hopefully Blitzer, who has been involved in professional sports for some time, talks to the controlling owners about doing a better job promoting and marketing the Guardians.

The Dolans have complained about attendance, but it has seemed for years that their belief seems to be winning is the only thing that matters. The local television ratings have been among the best in the sport, but it doesn’t translate to putting folks in the stands.

Has anyone ever bothered to find out why?

There are also reports that Blitzer has plans to develop the area around Progressive Field in order to bring in money from other areas. This is similar to what the St. Louis Cardinals’ ownership did.

Quite frankly, it seems like a great idea.

We would also like to see a more fun gameday experience at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Professional sports are entertainment and going to a game should be a fun time and affordable for families.

Get fans in the park, show them a good, fun time, and they will come back, particularly if the team in winning, that’s seems to have been ignored for some time with the Cleveland franchise.

So, forgive us if we aren’t holding a parade in honor of Larry and Paul Dolan. On the other hand, here’s hoping having a new minority owner means the pocketbook will open up more often.

At least, it is encouraging off the field news for the Cleveland baseball franchise. It’s been a while since that could be said.

Next Season For Cavs Starts Next Week

Tonight is game six of the NBA Finals, and the season could reach its conclusion if Golden State takes the game, wrapping up the franchise’s fourth title since 2015.

However, most teams are looking forward to next season, and that kind of kicks off a week from today with the NBA Draft. For those hoping to be playing in the Finals, this is their first chance to start to improve their roster.

Since the Cavaliers did not make the playoffs this past season, making it only to the “play in” tournament, obviously they are a team that needs to get better so they can finish in the top six of the Eastern Conference standings in 2022-23.

Much of that improvement will come from experience. Remember, the wine and gold’s three best players are very young. All Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen will be 22 and 24 respectively when next season begins.

And rookie of the year runner up (he was snubbed for the honor) Evan Mobley, will be 21. This trio will get better from experience if they put the time in on the practice floor.

That will make the team better.

And remember, if the Cavs can come to a contract extension with Collin Sexton this summer, he played just 11 games due to a knee injury and having him on the court will also improve the squad.

Conversely, how will Kevin Love play next season, a year in which he starts as a 34-year-old. His minutes were down to 22.5 per game, the lowest number of his career, as he embraced the bench role for J.B. Bickerstaff.

Love nailed 39.2% of his three-point attempts last season, his highest percentage 2017-18, the last time he made the All-Star team. He also played the most games since 2014-15, his first year in Cleveland, playing in 74 games.

We don’t anticipate much of a drop off for the veteran. He was happy last season because the Cavs were winning though, if they get off to a bad start, you have to wonder if Love will still be happy.

Bickerstaff and his staff need to be prepared to combat what other teams may do against the three seven foot front court starters the Cavaliers use. And if Caris LeVert is still here, how does the staff make best use of him.

The one criticism we had of the head coach was that he did a great job developing a style of play early in the year, but in the second half, they seemed to move away from it.

We get injuries were a factor, but the defense and rebounding did slide as the season went on, and that wasn’t due to injuries, the attitude seemed to change.

In conjunction with that, GM Koby Altman can’t have the end of the roster filled with G League guys and veterans there for locker room presence.

At the beginning of the season, Altman signed Kevin Pangos and Ed Davis for depth. While Davis contributed early, by the end of the season, he shouldn’t have been on the floor. As for Pangos, in his first NBA action, it was obvious he was not an NBA player.

That cannot happen again this off-season.

There are also players the organization needs to make decisions on, notably Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler.

It’s obvious the organization isn’t enamored with Osman, and most times, they don’t use his best skills (driving, creating). They seem to want to make him a three-point specialist.

Windler has had injuries and just hasn’t produced when he is on the court. Holding on to both doesn’t sound optimal.

Next year starts in one week. We will see if Altman has anything up his sleeve in moving playersa as the first round unfolds.

Moves Coming For Guardians When They Come Home?

Not only are the Cleveland Guardians entering a tough part of their schedule, starting with a nine game trek to Colorado, Los Angeles, and Minnesota, but the front office will have to make more tough decisions when it comes to the make up of the 26 man roster.

DH Franmil Reyes is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow night in Columbus, so his return to the active roster will likely come, barring a setback, when the Guards return to Progressive Field on June 24th against the Red Sox.

The player called up when Reyes was placed on the injured list isn’t likely to be going back when he returns. Oscar Gonzalez has provided the offense with a jolt since his arrival, batting .391 in 65 at bats and a 931 OPS. Although Gonzalez hasn’t cleared the fences for a home run, he has totaled nine doubles after joining the big league roster.

Terry Francona has enjoyed using a rotating DH spot with Reyes out, enabling him to give Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor some extra rest, so when the big man comes back he could find himself in the outfield more frequently.

We know the offense has done well in Reyes’ absence, but make no mistake, the Guardians could very much use the guy who belted 30 homers last year in the middle of their lineup. Outside of Jose Ramirez, no one has hit more than seven long balls (Naylor and Andres Gimenez).

Cleveland is 12th in the AL in home runs.

So, who departs when Reyes is activated? Do the Guards stay with an extra infielder who occasionally fills in out in LF like Ernie Clement? Or does Oscar Mercado, who hasn’t hit much since the calendar turned to May stay on the roster because of his speed and defense in the outfield?

Mercado started the 2022 season hitting the long ball, with three dingers in April, but since, he’s gone 9 for 46 with just one homer and has walked just twice with 13 punchouts. He’s also hitting just .174 (447 OPS) against lefties.

Clement can play 2B, 3B, and LF, and probably could play an acceptable shortstop too, and is hitting .217 (519 OPS) against southpaws.

The problem for Clement is Francona could use Owen Miller the same way, although we’ve only seen Miller at short in the bigs for one game.

So, what plays better roster wise, Mercado’s ability to play all three outfield spots or Clement’s ability to play infield and left?

Also, Mercado is out of options, so he would have to be DFA’d if he was the casualty when Reyes returns.

Another move could be coming to the bullpen when James Karinchak is ready, and again, that could happen when the team returns home.

If Karinchak is throwing strikes, he can fill the set up man role which has been a revolving door recently for Francona, with Eli Morgan currently the guy he trusts the most.

If Morgan continues to do well, he gives the skipper two options.

Trevor Stephan got off to a great start in April, but has struggled since.

The most likely candidate to be sent back is Nick Sandlin, who right now seems to have home plate jumping around on him, with 16 walks in 17 innings. We have long said there are two things relievers have to avoid: home runs and walks.

Sandlin has only allowed two long balls, but the walks are a problem. He may need to go back to Columbus and find his control and then come back up to the big club.

Of course, someone could get banged up on the trip and force different moves, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Reyes and Karinchak are back in Cleveland after the nine game trip.