Tribe Roster Battles Rage On

It seems like spring training just started for the Cleveland Indians, but when the sun sets on St. Patrick’s Day Wednesday, Opening Day will be just two weeks away for Major League Baseball teams.

For the Tribe front office, it seems like the biggest questions that remain are centerfield, first base, and who will make up the last few spots on the pitching staff.

Right now, it appears the decision has been made to play Josh Naylor in right, so that spot is settled.

At first base, the discussion centers on Jake Bauers and Bobby Bradley. As we predicted last week (patting ourselves firmly on the back) Yu Chang has started to get reps at the position as a platoon partner for the two left-handed bats in Bauers and Bradley.

Complicating the matter is that Bauers does not have an option left, so if he doesn’t make the final roster, he is subject to waivers. Bradley can be sent down this season without that penalty.

Bauers has displayed a good eye in Arizona, walking six times thus far, but has just two hits in 13 at bats (.154), and has the better glove at first, and he can also play the outfield. Bradley has hammered the baseball to date, going 7 for 18 (.389) with two homers and four doubles. He has had strikeout issues throughout his time in the minors, but has fanned just three times thus far.

Here’s the rub. It’s difficult to judge Bradley in spring training because breaking balls don’t have the bite they normally have in the desert air, and that’s usually where the strikeouts come for players with contact issues.

If the front office wants to give Bauers a good last look before making a decision, then he will make the roster and Bradley will start at the satellite camp. Look for both to get plenty of at bats during the next two weeks.

Centerfield is a little less cut and dried. Terry Francona said Amed Rosario will start to get reps at the position because A). Andres Gimenez seems to have beaten him out at shortstop, and B). Oscar Mercado hasn’t shown much at the plate.

Now, Rosario could also be getting time in the OF because the skipper would like to give Eddie Rosario or Naylor a day off against a tough left-hander as well.

But, it is no sure bet that Mercado will get the bulk of the playing time in center once the regular season starts. He is just 4 for 18 with a double. And Bradley Zimmer (6 for 17, but 7 K’s) and perhaps Daniel Johnson (4 for 13, 2 HR) are still in the mix, possibly as left-handed platoon options with Mercado.

As for the pitching, the rotation has three spots nailed down in Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, and Aaron Civale, and it would be a shock if James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Wittgren, Phil Maton, and Blake Parker aren’t in the bullpen.

The last two spots in the rotation come down to Cal Quantrill, Triston McKenzie, Adam Plutko (out of options), with Logan Allen making a hard charge. Plutko and Quantrill could stay as relievers too, but the organization appears to want to give every chance for latter to be a starting pitcher.

If McKenzie doesn’t make the team initially, it is probably to manage how many innings he throws throughout the season. Remember, he’s pitched just 33 innings in the last two seasons.

If Plutko does start the year in the ‘pen, that leaves two or three spots (depending on whether Francona wants 8 or 9 relievers) open. One spot will be used on a southpaw, either Anthony Gose or Oliver Perez. Gose, a converted outfielder, has been impressive in four innings, allowing just two hits and whiffing five hitters.

Perez is Perez, tricking hitters with a variety of deliveries and arm slots. Could they keep both lefties? We can see that.

We would guess veteran Bryan Shaw has a leg up on the last spot in the bullpen. We understand the angst from some fans, but really, why not give him a shot. He wouldn’t be the first relief pitcher to have a couple of bad years and then bounce back.

It probably comes down to Shaw or rule 5 draftee Trevor Stephan for the last spot. Stephan, of course, would have to be offered back to the Yankees if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster.

Don’t forget, there is always the possibility of a strained muscle to keep an extra player around and buy some time for the organization to make decisions as well.

What we mean is, things can and probably will change before the Tribe breaks camp in two weeks. That’s how this usually works.

Tribe Seems To Need Right-Handed Bats

When you get a week or two into Spring Training, people start to speculate on what players will make the Opening Day roster. Who will be in Detroit on April 1st when the regular season starts.

Most of the debate centers around players like Bobby Bradley, Jake Bauers, Daniel Johnson, and Bradley Zimmer. However, those four players have one commonality–they are all left-handed hitters.

We know Terry Francona like to use the platoon advantage. And right now, his biggest platoon weapon against southpaws is OF Jordan Luplow, and right now he has not played because of a foot issue. If he isn’t ready for the opening of the season, then what alternatives does the skipper have?

The starting outfield may be set with Eddie Rosario in left, Oscar Mercado in center, and Josh Naylor in right. If Francona wants to sit either Rosario or Naylor against a tough lefty, what is his alternative?

Could this be where Amad Rosario finds his niche, as a platoon piece vs. left-handed pitching? Against righties, the former Met Rosario is a .257 hitter with a .378 slugging percentage (667 OPS). But against lefties, he’s a beast, with a .300 batting average, slugging .473 and an 812 OPS.

The Mets had plans to play Amad in the outfield, but to date, he has played only shortstop where he is competing with the man he came to Cleveland with, Andres Gimenez. Gimenez is the better defender, and has hit well so far, leading some to believe he is the frontrunner to be the starter there on April 1st.

Another candidate for the outfield is newcomer Harold Ramirez, who also hits right-handed. It will be interesting to see how his at bats get ramped up (or not) as the games progress.

Now, let’s look at first base. As we said before, both Bradley and Bauers swing from the left side, as does Naylor, who can also play there. It would seem that there is not room on the roster for both players (Naylor is a for sure), and it is also doubtful that Francona would want to have four left-handed hitters (E. Rosario, Naylor, Gimenez, and either Bradley or Bauers) in the batting order against a lefty.

So, can a Yu Chang make the squad as someone who can play 1B as a platoon piece? Remember, the other candidate for the utility infield spot, Mike Freeman, also hits from the left side. However, we haven’t seen Chang at first in a spring training game as of yet.

The number of left-handed bats would seem to make it very difficult for Johnson, who has had a good spring so far to make the team unless he becomes a platoon piece in centerfield with Mercado. The same holds true for Zimmer.

And if Luplow gets back out there soon and does get enough at bats to be ready by the end of camp, that reduces one spot on the roster.

It will be interesting to watch how Francona handles things defensively as the exhibition schedule continues. If you see players like Amed Rosario and Chang move around playing different (for them) positions, it shows they are candidates to come north as part of the 26 man roster.

Francona likes to keep extra guys in the bullpen, so versatility is needed among the extra position players. But if you can hit right-handed, you might have an edge to make the squad.

A Big Spring For Bradley, Chang, Zimmer.

Some things have changed since the Indians gathered in Goodyear, Arizona last spring, besides the pandemic. The Tribe will have a new shortstop, two of the pitchers who opened the season in the starting rotation are gone, and there is no slated in right now to be the closer.

However, for three players this spring is much like a year ago, except they are a year older, and in their current situations that is not good.

It is kind of make it or break it for Bobby Bradley, Yu Chang, and Bradley Zimmer, and it didn’t help any of them that last year was reduced to producing in the satellite camp in Eastlake. Now, they need to have big springs to make an impression on the front office and Terry Francona.

Bradley, who will turn 25 in May, didn’t get a chance with the big club last season despite the Tribe’s offensive woes. That’s because he was blocked at DH by Franmil Reyes and at first base by Carlos Santana. He had a 912 OPS in his last minor league season with Columbus in 2019, but did get 49 plate appearances with the Indians, but only hit one homer and struck out 20 times.

That’s the issue for the left-handed swinger, contact. He fanned 153 times at AAA (453 plate appearances), but did belt 33 round trippers. He will get an opportunity to win the job at first this spring, but will have to battle Jake Bauers with Josh Naylor also in the mix.

If an outfielder hits well, that will push Naylor to first and probably knock Bradley off the roster. It is difficult to judge Bradley in spring training because he won’t likely see the quality breaking pitches he needs to demonstrate he can hit to make the team. Our guess is he has an uphill fight to open the season with the Indians.

Chang will turn 26 during the 2021 campaign, and was the sensation of the summer camp, hitting home runs seemingly in every intersquad game. He did get 11 at bats in the regular season, getting two singles. He has 97 big league plate appearances, recording a .179 batting average (551 OPS).

His problem in the minor leagues has been getting on base (.326 on base). He has some pop, but has a low batting average and doesn’t draw a lot of walks, although he has 13 in the majors. He is in the mix at shortstop with the two newcomers from the Mets, Andres Gimenez and Amad Rosario, and could also make the squad as a reserve because he has played second and third base.

For Zimmer, time is really getting against him as the former first round pick in 2014 is now 28 years old. He’s had the most extensive look at the big league level, registering 510 plate appearances with a 649 OPS. He’s battled injuries, but he’s another player with contact issues, fanning 164 times versus just 41 walks.

Since the second half of his rookie year, Zimmer has hit .194 with 6 HR and 26 RBI in 304 at bats, striking out 121 times against 29 walks. Zimmer is an athletic freak, his speed is off the charts, but as the saying goes, you can’t steal first.

He’s competing for the CF job with Oscar Mercado, the newest Indian Harold Ramirez, non-roster invitee Billy Hamilton and perhaps Ben Gamel. He needs to hit and get on base. He’s probably the best defender of the group, but it doesn’t matter how good you are with the glove, you have to be able to contribute offensively.

It’s really a crossroads for these three players. If that don’t make an impact in spring training, it’s doubtful any of the trio will be back in Goodyear a year from now trying to make the 2022 Cleveland Baseball Team.

On Lindor’s Comments…

The Cleveland sports world went crazy this week after former Indians’ shortstop (it still pains us to say that) Francisco Lindor’s first press conference at the New York Mets’ spring training camp.

As we are sure you have all heard by now, Lindor said he didn’t work as hard as he normally would have in the weight room toward the end of the shortened 2020 season. Of course, many people stopped listening before he said “weight room”, so the narrative by many in Cleveland is than the four time all-star quit on his team.

We watched pretty much every game a year ago, and at no time did we feel Lindor didn’t give his best effort. He didn’t have his best season, that’s for sure, hitting just .258 with 8 home runs and a 750 OPS. The batting average and OPS figures were career lows. But many other stars didn’t have good seasons in the 60 game sprint.

Christian Yelich, the NL MVP in 2018 and the runner up in 2019, hit just .205 with a 786 OPS. Jose Altuve, a lifetime .311 batter, hit just .219. The 2019 NL MVP, Cody Bellinger had an off year. What would Jose Ramirez hit in ’19 if the season would have ended after 60 games? His average was .207 (617 OPS) at that point in that season.

Perhaps if a full 162 season was played, Lindor would have come close to his average season, that being a .285 batting average, 29 home runs, and an 833 OPS. We will never know.

But back to Lindor’s comment. It has been extrapolated to mean the shortstop was dogging it in games, he checked out on his teammates, he wasn’t giving a full effort for his salary, which by the way was not the $17.5 million he was awarded in arbitration because it was pro-rated. And yes, we know he was still making more money than most.

We don’t recall Lindor do anything but putting out his best effort on the field in 2020. And for those who will point out his batting average with runners in scoring position, his poor record in that category could be the result of trying to hard instead of “dogging” it. We felt he went out of his strike zone in those situations, and we believe he felt he had to because of the Indians’ struggles offensively a year ago.

We also may have been affected by his contract status as well. Athletes are people too, they aren’t robots. Is it possible Lindor knew the Tribe wasn’t going to come up with the money he wanted to remain in Cleveland? Think about how you would feel or do feel because you don’t think you are being paid enough to do your job.

Look, we know baseball players make a lot of money, more than most of us will ever see in our lifetime. However, it’s not a stretch to see how Francisco Lindor could’ve been tired from the way the season played out. No fans, a short year, impending free agency, etc. Some players rise up and perform to extraordinary levels when coming up on their first shot at free agency. Others play well once they have the security.

And while we have been frequent critics of the Dolan ownership, we aren’t taking a shot here. Frankie Lindor wants to be paid like one of the best players in the game, that’s his right. The Indians’ ownership didn’t think he was worth that kind of money, and that’s their right.

Lindor was one of the best players, if not the best to wear a Cleveland uniform in the last 20 years. We had five excellent seasons here, maybe he would have recovered in a full season last year and made it a sixth. We should be appreciative of that. We are. But accusing him of not trying his best? There’s no need for that.

Overall, Not Spending Means Not Winning In MLB

When people talk about Major League Baseball teams that compete on small budgets, the most common names that are brought up are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A’s. Obviously, the Cleveland Indians want to join that club by slashing their payroll over the past three seasons.

In 2020, two of the teams that ranked in the bottom five in payroll made the playoffs. The AL Champion Rays were one, and the Miami Marlins were the other. The other three were all under the .500 mark, led? by the Pirates, who had the worst record in the sport at 19-41.

The others were the Orioles and Royals.

The last season in which 162 games were played, which is a better comparison because more teams made the post-season in ’20 due to the shortened season. Only the Rays, among the five lowest payrolls in the sport, made the playoffs. The other four teams, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Miami, and the Chicago White Sox were a combined 117 games under the break even mark.

We understand that sometimes payroll is tied to a team’s success. For example, rebuilding teams, organizations that choose to tear down their rosters to go with young talent instead of declining veterans, will have low payrolls. And in the 90’s, when the Indians had perpetually contending teams, we remember GM John Hart defending his high payroll by saying the Tribe had a lot of good players, so they should rank high on the list of teams with big salary expenditures.

In 2018, the lowest payrolls belonged to Tampa Bay (90-72), Oakland (97-65 and made the playoffs), White Sox (62-100), Miami (63-98), and Pittsburgh (82-79).

And the lowest payrolls in 2017 belonged to San Diego (71-91), Oakland (75-87), Milwaukee (86-76), Cincinnati (68-94), and of course, Tampa Bay (80-82).

Because we wanted to show five full seasons (not counting 2020) of data, in 2016, the teams spending the least on players were Tampa Bay (68-94), San Diego (68-94), Milwaukee (73-89), Oakland (69-93), and Miami (79-82).

When people talk about being successful with small payrolls, they are really only talking about two organizations: The Rays and the A’s. That’s two teams out of 30, which isn’t a good percentage. Only Tampa Bay last season made the World Series. So, having a low payroll doesn’t exactly translate to success in the post-season.

The other organizations which were mentioned several times earlier included Pittsburgh, which had one season over .500 and that was 82-79, and Miami, which probably only made the playoffs in 2020 because they expanded the post-season last year, and would they have made it if the season were 162 games?

It also seems like there is room for only one small payroll team in the post-season each season. So, this year, the Indians and their slashed payroll have to compete with Tampa, because as of today, the A’s have moved out of the bottom five for 2021.

The White Sox were in the bottom five many times in this piece, but again, they were in rebuild mode, waiting for their young prospects to be good, and then spending to complement them, and San Diego pretty much did the same, although they collected a ton of prospects and then traded many of them (not all) for established players.

Yes, we understand the success that Tampa Bay and Oakland have had, but they are the only two organizations have success. Can the Indians join them as teams that don’t spend and still can compete? The odds say no, and that’s way it’s a huge gamble.

If it doesn’t work, the folks that will pay the most are the people who buy tickets. The Dolan ownership has already burned a lot of bridges with the baseball fans here, this move could be the final straw.

Tribe Pitching: Talented, But Lack Experience.

Last week, we took a look at the questions regarding the everyday players for the Cleveland Indians, a group that ranked 13th in the AL in runs scored and has substracted Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana.

This week, we look at the team’s strength, the pitching staff, which led the league in ERA in the shortened 2020 season, led by Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber. Still, there are questions for the Indians on the pitching mound.

Really, when you think about it, why shouldn’t there be? In the past two seasons, the front office has traded Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, as well as Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger. That the Tribe still has a solid staff speaks to the way the organization develops pitching.

Outside of Bieber, the most innings thrown in the big leagues by the candidates to join him in the rotation are the 217 thrown by Adam Plutko, who if he makes the team out of spring training will likely be either the fifth starter or working out of the bullpen.

The other spots behind Bieber figure to be Zach Plesac (171 big league innings), Aaron Civale (131), Triston McKenzie (31), and Cal Quantrill (135). That’s a lot of inexperience. None of that quartet have pitched the number of innings a regular rotation starter throws in a normal 162 game schedule.

While we like Plesac a lot, and McKenzie and Quantrill have electric stuff, we do have concerns about Civale, who faded last season after a complete game win over Pittsburgh. In his last 40 innings in 2020, he gave up 28 earned runs, a 6.30 ERA.

They do have some depth in this area, but it is young, unproven depth. Left-hander Logan Allen, who came over in the Bauer deal in ’19, has had a couple of cups of coffee in the bigs, but has thrown just 38 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He will be 24 in May.

Another lefty who came in that deal, 26-year-old Scott Moss, has yet to make his debut, and has only four AAA starts, but did have a 2.96 ERA for three teams in 2019. And yet another southpaw is Sam Hentges, who suffered through a 2-13, 5.11 ERA at Akron in 2019, but is well regarded by the organization.

You also have righty Eli Morgan, 24, who had a 3.39 ERA across three levels in 2019, making one AAA start.

Our bet is Plutko opens the season as the fifth starter, with McKenzie. Moss, and Allen getting some starts in Columbus to open the year. Plutko is out of options, so this delays the decision the organization has to make on him.

In the bullpen, closer Brad Hand left via free agency, so it appears James Karinchak will assume that role in 2021. The rookie fanned 53 in 27 innings in 2020, and even earned his first big league save. He did walk 16, but when he can throw strikes, he is basically unhittable.

A PED suspension in spring training did not allow us to see the other young Tribe arm with electric stuff out of the bullpen in Emmanuel Clase. The right-hander had a 2.31 ERA with Texas in 2019, and reportedly throws a 100 MPH cutter. Frankie Lindor said he was nasty when the Indians faced the Rangers in ’19.

The rest of the bullpen will include veteran reliable Nick Wittgren, Cam Hill, Phil Maton, and perhaps some of the guys who don’t make the rotation.

Wittgren has pitched to a 2.99 ERA in two years with 88 strikeouts in 81 innings with the Indians. Hill was solid as a rookie in ’20, although he ended the year with a couple of rocky outings, and Maton became Sandy Alomar’s go to guy late in the season, and probably got overused.

There is also Kyle Nelson, a rookie lefty who made just one bad appearance a year ago, but has fanned 176 hitters in 122 minor league innings.

We would like to see the organization bring in one more veteran arm (we always like Tijuan Walker), to take some pressure off of the youngsters.

We know that won’t happen because of the financial limitations the ownership has put on the front office.

The rotation could be among the league’s best, but there are a lot of questions in terms of experience. That’s a big worry for us in evaluating the 2021 Cleveland Indians.

Tribe Has Many, Many Questions Heading To Goodyear

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.

Some Praise For The Tribe: Getting Hernandez and Rosario A Plus

It has been reported that Indians’ president Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff had to ask Paul Dolan for additional funds to sign free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario. If that’s true, it should be a troubling situation for fans of the team.

Thankfully, the ownership gave them the okay.

However, on face value, it was good to see the front office improve the 2021 edition of the Tribe. Adding 2B Cesar Hernandez and Rosario certainly give the lineup a better chance to score runs.

Hernandez gives Terry Francona a legitimate leadoff option. He has a lifetime .352 on base percentage, and was slightly higher than that a year ago at .355. We know people don’t like the label of “ballplayer” in describing players, but that’s what Hernandez is, he knows how to play the game.

Rosario gives the Tribe a left-handed power bat they needed. A lot of pop from that side of the plate left with the departure of Carlos Santana and the trade of Francisco Lindor. But Rosario is a hitter who has a 162 game average of 28 HR, 90 RBI, and a 788 OPS.

And as a Twin at least, he loved hitting at Progressive Field, belting 11 homers in 45 career games, batting .353 with a 1031 OPS. He tormented the Indians for years while in a Minnesota uniform.

You would have to think the top five in the batting order is now set, with Hernandez and Rosario joining Jose Ramirez, Franmil Reyes, and Josh Naylor. This quintet should be very productive, especially if Naylor become the kind of hitter we think he will be.

However, we believe you need seven solid hitters to have the kind of offense needed to make the playoffs. That means two of the other four batters have to come through.

Right now, we believe those four are Roberto Perez at catcher, Andres Gimenez at SS, and whoever emerges in rightfield and centerfield.

We would love to see rookie Daniel Johnson claim one of those spots, and you have to figure Jordan Luplow with be somewhere in the mix, especially against left-handed pitching. We would still like him to get a shot at playing full time, because as we have said in the past, he didn’t have huge platoon splits in the minors.

By the way, we also think the Rosario signing probably forces Naylor to first base.

Now, as for the comment about needed to go to ownership to get extra money to sign Rosario.

As vociferous critics of the Dolan ownership, this just makes us shake our head. Even with Rosario, the payroll would appear to be around $50 million to start the season. Outside of Tampa Bay, who else is competing with a payroll that low?

It is another reason we believe one of the catchers, either Perez ($5.5 million) or Austin Hedges ($3.28 million) will be moved before the season gets underway. It doesn’t make sense if you want to reduce spending on players to have one of the highest paid guys in uniform on the bench in every game.

It would also be a reason that the club is listening to offers for recently acquired Amed Rosario. If the Tribe is going to slot Gimenez in at short, A. Rosario is likely headed for a super utility man with Cleveland, and perhaps a candidate for an outfield spot, probably CF.

However, it has been reported both Oakland and Cincinnati are interested in the former Met, so maybe the Indians can strengthen another area, rightfield, bullpen, an added starting pitcher, in a deal.

The Tribe’s season will come down to scoring enough runs and can their very young rotation hold up over a 162 game (or whatever the season will be) campaign.

They did get better in the former last week. However, is it enough?

No Surprise, Tribe Ain’t Spending The Cash They Saved

Imagine being a regular customer at a department store, say Macy’s, and you go into the store and find they are no longer offering clothing from Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, or Nike.

Think about going to a high class restaurant like Morton’s and finding out the best thing on the menu is now hamburger.

You’d be a little disappointed, correct? That’s how is was for supporters of the Cleveland Indians on Sunday morning reading the team is interested in free agents like Kevin Pillar and Jonathon Schoop.

Talk about generating excitement? Well, this falls about a mile short.

While these guys aren’t bad players, Pillar had a career best OPS in the shortened 2020 season, and Schoop has had solid seasons, but outside of 2019 with the Twins, hasn’t really been a regular on a good team in recent years.

Still, it’s a step down from having a roster that included Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, Edwin Encarnacion, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, and Mike Clevinger. Ramirez is still here and the team still has the current Cy Young Award winner in Shane Bieber, but most of the balance of the roster hasn’t proven much at the major league level.

Once again, we aren’t saying the Indians should have a $170 million payroll, although we do not believe for a minute that any major league baseball owner is suffering financially. On the other hand, we don’t get gutting the payroll to around $40 million, which would be one of the lowest figures in the sports.

Cleveland isn’t the Pittsburgh Pirates. After winning 98 games in 2015 and losing the Wild Card game, the Bucs win total has dropped since then, to 78, 75, 82, and then 69 in 2019. They finished with just 19 wins in 2020.

At that point, a total rebuild is understandable, and probably necessary. The Indians win totals over that same time period are 81 in 2015, to 94, 102, 91, 93, and then a 35-25 record last season. Wouldn’t you want to see how long you can keep the success going?

If fans are allowed into Progressive Field at some point in 2021, our guess is it won’t be long until we hear about attendance issues, and how people aren’t flocking to the ballpark.

This complaint is developing into a game of chicken with the ticket buyers, and it’s one the Dolan ownership will never win. They are insulting the customers, and tell us in what business does that work?

Yes, the number of fans going through the turnstiles has dropped since 2017 (FYI, the Indians don’t tell you they had the second largest increase in attendance from ’16 to ’17), but it hasn’t dropped like a proverbial rock.

The largest drops from ’17 to ’18 was in Toronto, followed by Miami, Kansas City, Detroit, and Baltimore. From ’18 to ’19, the most significant decreases were in Toronto, Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, and Washington, who by the way, won the World Series that season.

The Tribe’s 2019 attendance (1.74 million people) ranks fourth since 2010 (behind 2011, 2017, and 2018). So, it’s not as bad as the ownership would like you to believe.

What happened in 2009 to cause attendance to fall off then? It was the last salary dump by the organization, trading Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez. Funny how that works.

Since the end of the 2018 season, the Indians have traded Kluber, Yan Gomes, Bauer, Clevinger, Lindor, and Carrasco, and let Michael Brantley and Santana walk away as free agents.

Eventually, that’s going to have an effect in the standings and among the fan base.

It’s a heck of a gamble by the ownership that their front office will be able to cobble together a contending team with that sort of talent drain.

They are also underestimating the intelligence of their fan base.

All Kidding Aside, Having Many Shortstops Is A Good Thing

We joke a lot about the number of shortstops the Cleveland Indians have on their top prospect list.

According to Baseball America’s ranking of the farm system, the Tribe has three shortstops and a second baseman among their top ten–Tyler Freeman is third, Gabriel Arias is sixth, Brayan Rocchio is 7th and the second baseman, Aaron Brocho is #10.

And don’t forget, the two major league players the team received for Francisco Lindor, Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario also play short, and so can Owen Miller, who came over from San Diego with Arias. That’s seven pretty good prospects playing the same position.

Look, it makes sense. Generally, shortstops are the best athletes on the field, and if you can handle the position at a competent level, you probably can play any spot on the diamond, outside of pitcher and catcher.

So, stockpiling good players who can play the most important defensive position on the diamond is smart. They can be moved to other positions of need and it’s always good to be able to be in a position to deal from strength if another organization needs someone to play in the middle of the diamond.

It’s the offensive equivalent to having pitching depth.

The question is how soon will the front office use the excess talent at the position to improve other areas of the roster? We think the Tribe has to be very careful about moving more pitching after the recent trades involving Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Carlos Carrasco.

We wrote last week that outside of Shane Bieber, the 2021 starting rotation will be manned by hurlers who haven’t thrown 200 innings at the big league level. Adam Plutko has pitched the most frames outside of the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner.

There is depth in case an Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac takes a step backward in their development. Terry Francona and Carl Willis can plug in a Scott Moss or Logan Allen to make some starts if that occurs. But there isn’t a lot of experience for the rotation.

That leaves the glut of middle infield prospects as the lure to get some outfielders who can hit. That doesn’t mean we don’t believe Daniel Johnson deserves an opportunity or that we’ve given up on Oscar Mercado, but the Indians do need a couple of proven bats to go with Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes.

Minnesota non-tendered OF Eddie Rosario, who tormented Cleveland for years, and he’s a possibility. He batted .257 with 13 HR (792 OPS) in the shortened 2020 season, and .276 with 32 HR and 109 RBI (800 OPS) in 2019. He’s a free swinger, but would be someone who could hit in the middle of Francona’s batting order.

For now, the talent evaluators within the Indians’ front office need to decide who is the future at shortstop and who has enough hitting ability to be able to move to another spot. We really like the hitting potential of Freeman and Miller, both of whom are said to project more as second basemen.

Could either become a piece in the outfield, the organizations’ biggest area of need?

What happens if Gimenez shows he’s the guy to hold down the position for the next five years (we don’t go beyond that because, you know)? That would put the Indians in an enviable position with other teams.

The one thing that will be intriguing over the next few years, is how the players like Rocchio and Bracho develop. That’s why we want minor league baseball and their box scores in 2021.