Tag: cesar hernandez

It’s Time To Move Lindor…Out Of The Leadoff Spot

The Cleveland Indians need to find a new home for Francisco Lindor.

No, we are not talking about trading the four time All-Star shortstop, who is one of the best players in the game.  Rather, we are suggesting skipper Terry Francona find a new spot in the batting order for Lindor, a move that would help the Tribe score more runs.

Francona likes Lindor leading off because he “sets the tone” for the team, and we understand that line of thinking.  But everyone knows the shortstop is the team’s leader, it’s unofficial captain, so why not bat him in a spot the benefits the club more?

First, the job of the leadoff man is to get on base.  Lindor’s .335 on base percentage last season is nothing special.  His lifetime figure is .347, good but not optimal for a guy hitting first.

Cesar Hernandez, recently signed by the Indians to play second base, has a career .352 OBP.  Kenny Lofton, the great leadoff man for Cleveland in the 90’s, had a .375 mark during his time in northeast Ohio.

However, our biggest reason to drop Lindor in the order is his slugging percentage, which at .518 led the Indians.  It is odd to us that the Tribe’s best on base guy, Carlos Santana, batted in the #3 or #4 hole all season, while the player with the best slugging percentage led off virtually every game.

Lindor’s walk rate of 7% was his lowest since his rookie season figure of 6.2%.  In 2018, he had his best rate at 9.4%.

We understand in today’s game, the slugging percentage leader on a team doesn’t hit in the #4 hole, and we aren’t asking for the manager to hit Lindor there.  You want him getting more plate appearances than most players.

Still, wouldn’t you want your best power hitter batting with men on base?  With Lindor leading off, you are guaranteeing that once a game he comes up with no one on.  That doesn’t seem optimal.

For us, if you went an two seasons (’18 and ’19) with Lindor hitting first, wouldn’t it be more prudent to have Carlos Santana there?

Santana got on base almost 40% of the time (.397 OBP) last season, and has a career on base percentage of .367.  And his slugging percentage was virtually the same (.515) as Lindor’s .518 mark.

One of Cleveland biggest problems offensively was getting on base, they ranked 8th in the American League in on base average, dropping from 3rd in 2018.

That’s why getting Hernandez was a solid move, his lifetime mark in that category was 48 points more than the man he replaced in Jason Kipnis.

The Indians had only one player, Santana, among the regulars (Yasiel Puig isn’t counted because he played only two months here, but had a .377 OBP) that got on base more than 35% of the time.

By contrast, Houston, New York, and Boston all had five, and Minnesota had three.  That’s a pretty telling statistic.

Jose Ramirez topped the .350 mark in 2016, 2017, and 2018, so if he’s very capable of getting on base at a high rate, but that’s why we’d be looking in that direction if the Indians are looking for another outfielder.

It’s also why we keep coming back to Puig.

We would move Lindor to the #2 or #3 position in the batting order, and would hit Ramirez or Santana (or both) ahead of him.

It might just be a good way to kick start the Indians’ attack.

MW

Looking At Tribe OF Options

The Cleveland Indians’ infield looks to be settled with the signing of 2B Cesar Hernandez as a free agent.

Barring a deal involving SS Francisco Lindor, the Tribe will feature four switch-hitters in the infield with Carlos Santana at first, Hernandez and Lindor manning the keystone, and Jose Ramirez at third.

We also know Roberto Perez will be the primary catcher.

However, what about the outfield?

We know Oscar Mercado will go into spring training as the starting centerfielder, and Jordan Luplow will be somewhere out there vs. left-handed pitchers (at least).

And occasionally, Franmil Reyes will play right field.

There seems to be plenty of playing time available in the outfield and designated hitter spots.

Left-handed hitter Corey Dickerson, who had the highest slugging percentage on the market outside of Josh Donaldson, agreed to terms with the Marlins yesterday.  We thought Dickerson would have been a good fit in Cleveland, at the very least forming a lethal platoon with Luplow.

The veteran has an 866 OPS vs. righties (.533 slugging) for his career.  Last season, he had a 942 OPS against RHP.

A logical move would be to bring Yasiel Puig back as a free agent.  The 29-year-old had an 800 OPS (.377 on base) after coming over from Cincinnati at the trade deadline, and overall has a career OPS of 823.

Other options, probably more costly though, would be Nicholas Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna.

Both right-handed hitters, Castellanos will play at 28 years old next season, and has had OPS over 800 in each of the last four seasons.  Defensively, his best spot is probably DH, he is not known for his defense.

Ozuna has declined defensively as well since his days in Miami, but he has a career OPS of 784, but he has had just two seasons with a season over 800, last year right at that figure, and his career season of 2017, when he hit .312 with 37 HR and 124 RBI.

We look outside the organization because quite frankly, the internal options aren’t very appealing.

Tyler Naquin would be a solid platoon piece in the OF, but he will likely miss half the season with a torn ACL.

That leaves a combination of Delino DeShields, Greg Allen, Jake Bauers, and Bradley Zimmer to cover what amounts to one and a half spots in the outfield.

Here are the career OPS for that group:

DeShields  668
Allen          644
Bauers       691
Zimmer     652

We would like to see Luplow get a chance at a full time job in ’20.  His minor league splits don’t shout platoon player, and he was so good vs. lefties, he deserves a chance at regular playing time.

The Indians also have 24-year-old left-handed hitter Daniel Johnson, who hit .290 with 19 HR and 77 RBI (868 OPS) and Akron and Columbus last season.  He also doesn’t have a large platoon split.

But as with the four players listed above, it would be a huge leap of faith for a contending team to give a starting job to someone who hasn’t spent a full season at the AAA level.

Remember, last April and May, when the Indians were experimenting at a few spots due to injury and struggled mightily?  They can’t do that again.

They have money freed up from the Corey Kluber deal, and they need to get an established outfielder, which will lengthen their lineup.

That’s what a team that won 90+ games in 2019 should be doing.  However, the market the Cleveland Indians are playing in may dry up quick.

MW