Is Tribe Selling Hope Or Success?

We have always said the two things professional sports franchises can sell their fans are a championship contending team or hope of future success. That’s why the Indians are having a tough time with their fan base, particularly those who have been around longer.

First, we understand the Tribe has a good farm system, but we also understand that’s a highly speculative thing. As the late, great Pete Franklin used to say, until proven otherwise, prospects should be called suspects.

As it stands right now, the Cleveland Indians probably aren’t in the mix for an American League Central Division title. They could be in it for a wild card if they can muster enough runs. They ranked 13th in the AL in scoring last season, and they no longer have three of the top five on last year’s squad in OPS (Francisco Lindor, Cesar Hernandez, and Carlos Santana).

Can someone emerge from the organization to replace that run scoring capability? Of course, anything is possible. We like Josh Naylor, who will play somewhere, and certainly Daniel Johnson deserves a real shot at everyday at bats.

However, that’s the real question. Assuming Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes are the best two hitters in the everyday lineup, who is the third best hitter? Is it Naylor? Or does a Jordan Luplow finally become a hitter who can be productive against right-handed hurlers, meaning he can play in most games?

There is no question the strength of the Indians is their starting pitching staff, led by Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, but without Carlos Carrasco as a veteran anchor, the rest of the starting rotation doesn’t have much of a track record.

For example, barring an injury issue, Bieber will start Opening Day in Detroit on April 1st. Who pitches the rest of the series? You could assume Zach Plesac goes in the next game, but he’s thrown less than 200 innings (171) in his big league career.

As for the rest of the rotation, Aaron Civale has pitched 132 innings. Triston McKenzie has logged 33 frames, Cal Quantrill has 135. Does Adam Plutko sneak back into the mix? If he does, he’s the old man of the group at 217.

None of these guys have pitched an entire major league 162 game season. So forgive us if we are a tad skeptical if they can pitch at a high level from April until the end of September.

The good news is more starters should be ready soon. Guys like Scott Moss, Logan Allen could get shots in 2021, and don’t count out Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, and Joey Cantillo, who came over in the Mike Clevinger deal.

Where the lack of hope comes in is does anyone have any faith in anyone staying in Cleveland past the time they will be a free agent? Does anyone believe Jose Ramirez will be here beyond 2023, when his club options expire?

Lindor and Clevinger both alluded to how this organization does business now. If a player is about to make big money, they are traded. Maybe it’s just those two, but my guess is this is discussed in the clubhouse, and that will make it difficult for the front office to convince any player to take less money to sign long term.

That makes it difficult to get attached to players and/or a team. Why do people gravitate to the Tribe teams of the late 1990’s? Kenny Lofton played here nine years in a decade span, Omar Vizquel was here 11 seasons, Jim Thome 12 years before coming back for a swan song. Charlie Nagy was here for 12.

When players are part of an organization for that long, they become family.

We understand the sport has changed, but are simply saying having a revolving door in the locker room doesn’t help build an identity with the fan base. That’s why trading Carrasco hurt many. He was here for ten years.

Just remember this. The last Indians who played more than 10 years in Cleveland and never played anywhere else retired in 1956! That was Al Rosen.

Success Of Lindor Deal Rests On The Young Wild Cards

When the rumors started about the possibility of the Cleveland Indians trading Francisco Lindor rather than sign him to a long term deal, some folks were giddy about the possibility of getting several top prospects from a team.

We didn’t think that would be the case. We always figured it would be a top prospect, a major league player who wouldn’t be close to the player the Indians were giving up, and some younger prospects.

Which is exactly what the Tribe received. The only problem was that was the haul for Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.

Our opinion is if you keep giving up $20 bills in exchange for a $10, a $5, and a couple of dollar bills, you will eventually wind up with out any money, definitely less than you started with.

Whether this deal turns out to be a plus or not really depends on how the two youngest players pan out, right handed pitcher Josh Wolf and left-handed hitting outfielder Isaiah Greene.

The problem is neither have any track record in professional baseball, Wolf is 20-years-old and has pitched just eight professional innings. While Greene was just drafted last season, and because of the pandemic, has yet to play in the minor leagues.

These two may wind up becoming top prospects in a few years, or they may never get to play for the Akron Rubber Ducks. That’s what a little track record the duo has.

They are pretty much draft picks, which by the way, Cleveland could have received had they kept their all-star shortstop in 2021, and given him a qualifying offer.

To us, Andres Gimenez is the best player to come from New York. A 22-year-old left-handed bat, Gimenez is very good defensively, and was a Top 100 prospect in both 2018 and 2019 from Baseball America. Unfornately, he fell out of that ranking prior to 2020.

He has a bit of an issue with strike zone judgment, walking just seven times vs. 28 strikeouts, and he has good speed, stealing eight bases in 49 games in ’20. The Mets moved him around, he played SS, 2B, and 3B, but he will probably open the season at short for the Tribe.

Gimenez’s strike zone control may not be great, but compared to Amed Rosario, he’s Ted Williams. Rosario last season walked just four times, against 34 punchouts. In his big league career, he’s played 403 games, and still hasn’t walked 100 times. In fact, he’s taken just 67 free passes.

He did hit .287 (755 OPS) in 2019 with 15 homers, but took a step back in the shortened season. Can he comeback? Of course, we will play 2021 at age 25, but projections for the 2021 have him not producing numbers better than Gimenez.

By contrast, at age 22, Lindor hit .301 with 15 homers (794 OPS) and won the Platinum Glove, and at age 25, which was 2019, he hit .284 with 32 bombs (854 OPS) and won his second Gold Glove.

And again, they added a starting pitcher who as little as two years ago won 17 games, and the year prior to that won 18.

So, the Indians really weakened themselves offensively, defensively, and in the pitching area as well. That neither Gimenez nor Rosario is Lindor isn’t their fault, but forgive Cleveland baseball fans if they aren’t saving their money for playoff tickets in 2021.

Team president Chris Antonetti said the team will reinvest some of the money saved in the deal, and if they didn’t they would have one of the lowest payrolls in the game.

The Tribe still has a big gaping hole in the outfield, so the possibility remains some of the middle infield prospects the team has, six of their top 15 are SS/2B, for some help in this area.

We also feel the Indians will move one of their catchers (Roberto Perez and/or Austin Hedges) before the season begins too.

It figures to be a season of transition for the Cleveland Indians, and let’s hope that time period is limited to just one season.

Another Heartbreak For Indians Fans

Just because something is expected to happen doesn’t mean it won’t upset you when it does. That’s how we felt when the Cleveland Indians traded all star SS Francisco Lindor and the longest tenured Indian, Carlos Carrasco to the Mets for infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, RHP Josh Wolf, and OF Isaiah Greene.

There is so much that irritates us about this deal, beginning with our thought that nothing has changed since the 1960’s through the 1980’s when the Tribe developed several good players, guys like Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Dennis Eckersley, Buddy Bell, and Julio Franco, only to see them move on to other teams, usually contenders.

Back then, the team played in cavernous Municipal Stadium, which was by that time was to put it nicely an armpit. That it had over 70,000 seats made it difficult to sell season tickets.

It might have been easier to be a fan then. There were no expectations. We grew up knowing the Indians were a middle of the pack team, if they were over .500, we were happy.

But in 1994, Jacobs Field was built and Cleveland had its own baseball palace, and started an eight season (1994-2001) period where they were among the best teams in the sport. The place was packed and the owner spent money. We actually signed big name free agents like Jack McDowell and Roberto Alomar.

However, 26 years later, we have returned to those dreary days of our youth.

In the past few seasons, the front office have seen these players depart: Michael Brantley, two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Santana, Mike Clevinger, and now Lindor and Carrasco.

Tell us what has changed?

Does anyone really believe the Indians are going to make an effort to keep Jose Ramirez in a Cleveland uniform when his club options run out following the 2023 season? Or do you think Shane Bieber, the latest Cy Young Award winner produced by the organization will be here when he can hit the open market?

Since Terry Francona took over as manager before the 2013 season, the Indians have made made five post-season appearances, and played in the seventh game of the World Series in 2016. Cleveland doesn’t have an aging roster and a bloated payroll.

Their best two players (Ramirez and Lindor) were in their late 20’s. Overall, the team is younger that the major league average, and their projected payroll with Lindor and Carrasco was $69 million, at this point, that’s the lowest in the AL Central. Yes, lower than Kansas City and Detroit.

At that level, they could have paid Lindor a market value deal and still kept the payroll at a level where it wasn’t among the top tier in the sport.

Instead, the organization served the fans another crap burger.

Think about it, in addition to losing the players already listed, fans have had to endure the loss of the team’s mascot, Chief Wahoo, and the name of the team will be changed sooner than later.

Now, we understand the reason for those changes, but that doesn’t make it any easier to take.

Could this trade be the key to a quick trip back to contention? Sure, anything is possible, but it’s not hard to envision this deal being the beginning of another trip to baseball oblivion. The one thing we can cling to is having a very talented front office, something those teams of our youth didn’t have.

Usually this time of year has us looking forward to spring training and Opening Day. It will be tough to do that in 2021.

A Realistic Plan For Tribe

Over the weekend, the Indians payroll (or lack of it) was in the news again, as the front office worked through the media to justify the reduction of the money being paid to players.

The situation noted was Tampa’s letting pitcher Charlie Morton leave via free agency, although we would say not paying a 37-year-old starting pitcher over $10 million isn’t quite the same as what the Tribe is doing.

First, using the term “reducing” when it comes to players’ salaries in Cleveland is being gentle. When you go from $130 million in 2017 to something projected to be under $70 million in 2021 should be categorized as “gutting” the payroll.

And that figure is with Francisco Lindor on the team. If he is traded, which seems like a certainty, the likely number could be closer to $50 million.

Unfortunately, the owners of the Indians don’t want to address the situation publicly. We understand if Paul Dolan were to speak to the media, he would use the pandemic, attendance loss, blah, blah, blah, and no one would press him (nor would he give you a truthful answer).

It is curious how the virus hasn’t affected teams like the Padres, White Sox, and Nationals from appearing like they want to add talent this winter, and the Royals have been making moves as well.

We were challenged on social media, since we have a huge problem with this salary cut being done during a period where the Indians have made the playoffs in four of the last five years, and won 93 games in the season where they didn’t qualify.

We get that the Indians cannot spend with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers, but a payroll of $100 million shouldn’t be out of the question.

Based on this, signing Lindor to a multi-year deal between $25-$30 million per year would put the projected salary figure in the $80 million range and you now have the foundation of two superstars in their prime (with Jose Ramirez) and one of the best starting rotations in the game as a basis of contending.

Besides, as we’ve seen this week with Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, you can always trade a star player in the middle of a contract if you decide it’s not working out.

While we would be interested in playing younger players in ’21, we would spend money, preferably one year deals on some hitters to help the lineup transition to a younger look going forward.

We would like to plug in Daniel Johnson in CF, and see if Owen Miller and/or Yu Chang could hold down 2B, but we would provide Terry Francona with some options.

If you are contending, there is a limit to how much you can watch young players struggle. On the other hand, if the lineup is producing runs despite the struggles, a team can be more patient with young players.

FYI, we didn’t include Nolan Jones because he’s only played a half year at the AA level, and it appears he will also be making a position switch.

We would look at adding guys like a Nick Markakis, Robbie Grossman, or Tommy LaStella as low cost free agents (you might have to wait until late January or early February to see if asking prices come down). They could tie you over in a corner outfield spot or at second base if the young guys aren’t ready.

We would also add another bullpen arm. We would go into camp with James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase being the primary late inning relievers, but why not take a shot on pitchers like Sean Doolittle or a Hector Rondon if you can get them at a solid price.

Now, we understand the ownership doesn’t care what we would do. They would rather cry about money even though as a family they have a tremendous amount of money, more than we or any other fan has.

There is absolutely no reason for this type of dismantling of a contending baseball team. This is not an aging team and it is also not a squad on the decline in terms of the record on the field.

If you are a fan of the Indians, it’s a sad, sad time.

An Endangered Species? Tribe Players Making More Than A Mil

It’s not a secret that the Cleveland Indians are on a cost cutting mode. Everything they’ve done over the last three off-seasons have had that in mind.

Since the end of the 2018 season, the front office has said goodbye to Michael Brantley, Cody Allen, Andrew Miller via free agency and traded Yan Gomes, Edwin Encarnacion, Corey Kluber, and Trevor Bauer. All except Encarnacion were big time contributors to the American League champions of 2016.

All either were or had the potential to make big money, and in reality, the front office was correct on most of the players. While Brantley and Bauer have been very productive since leaving the Tribe, the rest have declined significantly since departing.

That’s not a bad percentage, although with the production of the offense the past two seasons, particularly in the outfield, the loss of Brantley stings big time.

Unfortunately, with all the money saved with these departures, very little has been reinvested in the team. Since the Indians won 93 games in the last complete season, and made the expanded playoffs in the coronavirus shortened 2020 campaign, you could make the argument that it hasn’t affected the operations of the team.

Looking ahead, as of right now, Cleveland has just six players making more than $1 million on the roster, meaning Brad Hand’s payout is the 7th highest paid Indian.

One of those half dozen players is Francisco Lindor, who by all accounts (and much to our chagrin) will be traded before the season starts. That leaves Carlos Carrasco, Jose Ramirez, Roberto Perez, Austin Hedges, and Nick Wittgren, who settled with the team yesterday on a contract as the lone millionaires on the roster.

And there are rumors that Carrasco, the longest tenured Indian, and a candidate to be someone who plays in the major leagues for more than ten years with all of them in a Cleveland uniform, could be moved this off-season as well.

That would leave just two players, Ramirez and Perez, making over $5 million this season, although that depends on who comes back in any deal for Lindor and Carrasco?

If you get beyond the gutting of the payroll, it’s quite an odd mix. Two of the highest paid Indians play the same position, catcher. It’s hard to imagine investing so much cash in a spot where only one of the men can play each day.

And quite frankly, it’s odd to have a middle inning reliever as one of the highest paid players as well. We aren’t saying Wittgren isn’t a good guy to have on the roster, he’s been pretty effective in his two years here, but if you want to cut payroll, why not start with a pitcher who doesn’t start and doesn’t usually pitch in the 8th or 9th innings?

We are sure several major league teams are looking enviously at Tampa Bay and their success over the past three seasons and think we can do that too. The Rays have actually have been over .500 in nine of the past 13 seasons.

But Tampa is a team with a roster that is always turning over. They make any move they can if they feel it improves the team, and that isn’t how the Tribe has operated over the years. They can be loyal to a fault.

Is the Rays’ way a blueprint other teams can follow? Right now, no one else spending so little has done it. We guess that doesn’t stop teams like the Indians from trying.

Time For The Tribe Owners To Speak.

No one will ever accuse the Cleveland Indians of having good timing or a savvy public relations department.

We wondered on social media Sunday if the Tribe front office would ruin their fans’ holiday season by announcing a Francisco Lindor trade on Christmas Eve. We were correct on the bad timing, but not on the announcement.

The New York Times reported the team will announce the name change of the team perhaps as early as this week.

Look, we knew this was inevitable, and quite frankly, in today’s climate, it’s the correct move. But they couldn’t wait until mid-January to open up a new discussion on this topic?

Again, timing is everything.

In reality, fans of the Indians have other reasons to feel uneasy, more important reasons, than changing the name from the Indians. Heck, we understand Major League Baseball probably wouldn’t like it, but we would have some days commemorating the history of the name, and would embrace the gate receipts that went with it.

We understand that each time Paul Dolan speaks, he is apt to insert his foot in his mouth, but it’s time he step forward and answer some huge questions regarding the future of the baseball team he owns.

For example, is there any negotiations going on with the city of Cleveland about extending the lease for Progressive Field, which ends 2023? Until a new agreement is reached, supporters of the Tribe should be worried about a possible move of the franchise.

Why does it seem like the payroll isn’t being slightly reduced, it is being slashed, going from the lower middle of the pack a few years ago to a projected bottom three in the sport for 2021? What is the reason for this, and by the way, citing falling attendance would not be an acceptable answer.

Yes, attendance has dipped, but not at the level the salaries are being cut, and the ownership and front office haven’t exactly tried to increase the number of people going through the turnstiles at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

Mr. Dolan should also be asked if the team made a legitimate offer for Francisco Lindor or why the organization seems to be intentionally closing the window on contention even with a young, controllable pitching staff and two of the top 20 position players in the sport, both being in the prime of their career.

The fans deserve answers to those questions, particularly the one about the lease at the ballpark. Many fans have commented to us that it seems the Dolan family is deliberately trying to destroy the relationship with the fans so it would be easy to move the team to a new city.

That may be fallout from the Browns leaving 25 years ago, but having one professional sports team vacate the area makes sports fans a bit jumpy.

If and when Dolan speaks, we cannot have the usual coddling the local media gives the family, meaning no “we understand this is a small market and you are losing money” BS. Ask him difficult questions. We understand he may duck and dodge them, but at least he will be on record.

As for the name change, it shouldn’t be a big surprise. It was announced months ago, but as we said, why bring it up right now?

Turn it around and create some interest in the name change. Channel your inner Bill Veeck and put some butts in the Progressive Field seats.

Isn’t there anyone in the offices at Carnegie and Ontario who ever brings up how certain things will play with the fan base, the customer? Doesn’t seem like it.

Signs Were There For Tribe Fans The Past Two Years

It started when Michael Brantley departed via free agency after the 2018 season. We made a compelling argument that the Indians organization was simply reallocating funds to add younger pieces with more upside.

After all, Brantley was 31 years old and missed a good chunk of 2017 and almost all of 2016 with various injuries. It would be a smart move to take the $15 million or so (he got $16 million from Houston) he would demand on the open market, and find younger players who wouldn’t be in the decline phases of their careers.

Except the front office didn’t use the money saved by letting Brantley go, they just lowered the payroll for 2019.

The following winter, the Tribe dealt two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to Texas for an outfielder that couldn’t hit and a promising young bullpen arm in Emmanuel Clase. It was a salary dump, but again, we felt you couldn’t judge the trade until you could see what the organization would do with the money saved by moving Kluber.

Except, for the most part, they put it in their pockets.

Keep in mind, both of these moves occurred before COVID-19. At that point, there wasn’t a season played without fans, or with a 60 game slate, instead of the normal 162.

The ownership was hacking away at the payroll, in the midst of a run where they were on of the best teams in the American League. They had some age on the roster, but after Jason Kipnis left via free agency and the trade of Kluber, the oldest key players on the roster were Carlos Santana (33), and Carlos Carrasco (32).

What we mean is this is not the traditional aging team that management decides should be overhauled before they bottom out. The pieces are in place. You have a pair of great players in the midst of their prime in Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor.

You have a young, controllable starting rotation starting with Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber (26), Zach Plesac (26), Aaron Civale (26), Cal Quantrill (26), and Triston McKenzie (23) to go along with the veteran Carrasco.

It would seem having a pair of superstars with an excellent pitching staff would be a good foundation to build on, right?

Instead, the organization is going to deal one of the young stars before he enters his prime (age 27-29) because they are unwilling to pay him, and rumors are out there about Carrasco being on the block too.

Frankly, as much as we like and respect Carrasco, if you were moving him to free money to sign Lindor, it would make sense. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Instead, it appears the Indians are giving up on contending for awhile. The White Sox are on the rise, and being aggressive and the Twins are the two time defending Central Division champs. Instead of trying to beat them, compete with them, Cleveland has decided to regroup.

And the only motivation for doing this seems to be saving money. We get the revenues around the sport decreased in 2020 because of the unique season, but that’s true for every other major league team.

We have said many times that we understand the Indians cannot spend like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, other teams in huge markets. But the Tribe might be around or below $50 million in 2021, about half of where they should be.

We can only think about the Indians’ teams of the 1950’s, contenders in most years, but only got to one World Series in 1954. However, that run of big success was ended by a general manager making terrible trades involving future young stars.

In both cases, it wasn’t age that ended the run, it was management. Unfortunately, no one can fire an owner. We just have to wait until some billionaire wants to buy the club and wants to win. It’s apparent the current owners do not.

The Decline Of The Tribe Hitting Since ’16

It wasn’t that long ago that the Cleveland Indians had one of the best offenses in the American League. In 2018, the Tribe finished in the top three in the AL in runs scored for the third consecutive year.

So, what happened in the past two seasons?

Let’s start with 2016. The American League champs finished second in the league in scoring, with four starters having OPS over 800: Carlos Santana (865), Jose Ramirez (825), Jason Kipnis (811), and Mike Napoli (800). Francisco Lindor fell just short of that mark.

In addition, two essentially platoon players, Tyler Naquin and Brandon Guyer, who was acquired at the trade deadline were over 800. If you include Lindor, it gave Terry Francona six guys in the lineup who were big threats at the plate.

That was Napoli’s last good season, and in 2017, the Indians replaced him with Edwin Encarnacion, and Cleveland finished third in the Junior Circuit in runs scored.

That season, five regulars had OPS of 800 or more (Santana, Ramirez, Lindor, Michael Brantley, and Encarnacion) along with platoon pieces Austin Jackson and Lonnie Chisenhall, again giving Francona six very good hitters most days in his batting order.

And the front office went out an acquired Jay Bruce when Brantley was injured to maintain the offense. It was also the last year the Indians won a post-season game.

Unfortunately, Kipnis’ last very good season hitting was ’16, and the ’17 campaign was the last healthy season for Chisenhall, and that was the last year in which Francona had more than four regulars with OPS over 800.

This meant second base was not as productive, the outfield offense was starting to decline, and Santana departed via free agency.

In 2018, the number of very good hitters written into the Cleveland lineup was down to four, but one of them was Ramirez, who set a blistering pace until the middle of August, winding up his second straight year finishing in the top three in the MVP voting. He likely would have won without his late season slump.

The other three were Lindor, Brantley, and Encarnacion.

A larger shift occurred during the off-season, when Brantley departed as a free agent, and Encarnacion was traded with the primary return (other than shedding payroll) was Santana who returned and had an excellent 2019 season.

Brantley’s departure meant the outfield was now an offensive hole, the only player putting up good numbers in 2019 was newcomer Jordan Luplow, a platoon piece.

The only everyday players with 800+ OPS’ were Santana, Lindor, and Ramirez, who struggled through May before getting red hot until he broke a bone in his hand in September.

Cleveland wasn’t getting any offense from the outfield, DH, and 2B (we eliminate catching because of the team’s philosophy of defense first at the position), which necessitated getting Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes when they dealt starter Trevor Bauer, although Puig was a free agent to be.

Not coincidentally, the Indians dropped to 7th in runs scored in 2019.

That ranking is excellent compared to being 13th in the COVID shortened 2020 season. The only Indians’ hitter with an OPS over 800 was Ramirez, the AL MVP runner up. The hitters closest to that figure were Reyes, Lindor, and 2B Cesar Hernandez, who was an upgrade at that position.

The inability of the organization to replace guys like Brantley, Kipnis, and have two effective platoon players at spots has led to this. This leads us to the question of how does this situation get corrected?

Hernandez is a free agent, and it is tremendously likely Lindor will be dealt in the off-season, meaning Ramirez is the lone wolf from the 2016 season, although we would think Reyes can get over the 800 OPS threshold next season.

We have demonstrated that good offenses have five or six players of this type (800+ OPS) in the batting order regularly? Care to tell us beyond Ramirez and Reyes who those players will be?

It will be very difficult for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff to find three or four solid bats for Francona to use in 2021. It also demonstrates that trimming the payroll usually results in forming holes on your baseball team.

The hitting slowly disappeared over time and no one reacted. The organization failed to find suitable replacements. And the result is what happened in 2020.

Tribe OF Has To Be Better, No?

It is difficult to imagine the Cleveland Indians’ outfield will be worse in 2021, after all it was dreadful to be honest during the 60 game 2020 season.

As a whole, the Tribe outfield ranked last in the American League in WAR, and individually by position ranked 12th in leftfield, and 14th in both right and centerfields.

The most used player out there was Tyler Naquin, who played in 40 games, hitting .218 with 4 HR and 20 RBI and a 632 OPS. Naquin is arbitration eligible and if we were running the team, we would non-tender him, making him a free agent. It doesn’t seem like it, but the left-handed hitter will turn 30 years old in 2021.

Making the second most appearances out there is Delino DeShields, who batted .252 with 7 RBI and a 628 OPS. He’s another candidate to be non-tendered, and as with Naquin, we would support that move. DeShields will be 28 next season, and has never demonstrated an ability to hit.

Oscar Mercado was a rookie sensation in 2019, but never got it going last season, winding up with a .127 batting average, 348 OPS, and a single homer. Striking out 27 times compared to five walks didn’t help either. We don’t hold a lot of hope for the right-handed hitter because of his command of the strike zone, but he’s worth a look.

Josh Naylor wound up playing in left after coming over from San Diego, and could be a regular there this season, but he could also be a candidate at first base, and might be the favorite there.

Jordan Luplow should be in the mix for 2021 at least as a platoon piece, as he hit .270 vs. LHP last season and has a 982 OPS vs. southpaws for his career. He got off to a spectacularly bad start to the season, but hit .313 with a 983 OPS from September 1st on.

In reality, if Naylor moves to first, Luplow should be the only player guaranteed a spot to be on the roster when the Indians visit Detroit on April 1st for Opening Day.

Daniel Johnson received 12 big league at bats, none after August 3rd, getting just one hit. However, after hitting .306 in 84 games at Columbus in 2019, he should have received more of a look, especially because the players being used were quite frankly, dreadful.

He should receive a full blown shot at the job in ’21, and probably should be a starter from day one.

It will also be interesting to see how much of a chance, the Tribe’s top prospect, Nolan Jones gets. Jones has been working in the outfield in the instructional league, as he is a third baseman by trade, and the Indians have Jose Ramirez.

Jones will be 23 next season and is a left-handed bat, and shows a good knowledge of the strike zone in his minor league career, drawing 96 walks in 2019 between Lynchburg and Akron.

He has yet to play in AAA, but you have to wonder how much stock the organization will put in participating in the satellite camp this past summer for the minor league prospects.

You also still have holdovers Bradley Zimmer, who still hasn’t shown anything offensively since his rookie season, and Jake Bauers, who spent the entire 2020 season in the satellite camp. We would think both of them would have to have a tremendous spring training to open the year with the big club.

You also would think Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff will be looking for outfield help in the likely trade of Francisco Lindor as well.

No matter what happens, it’s time for the organization to change course on the current make up of these three spots and move on. Over 162 games, we doubt the Indians can handle such dismal production from the outfield.

Tribe Infield Likely To Be Way Different in ’21

The Cleveland Indians had an everyday infield in 2020. Each game, either Terry Francona or Sandy Alomar Jr. wrote down the names of four switch-hitters to play the infield, most days batting them in the first four spots of the order: Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Cesar Hernandez, and Carlos Santana.

In 2021, it appears only Ramirez will remain in the Cleveland lineup, another example of how different next year’s Tribe lineup will look different.

Obviously, the impending and likely deal of star shortstop Lindor will hopefully bring back a player or two who could fill at least one of these spots, but right now, here is who Tribe fans should be getting better acquainted with next spring.

First Base: The likely candidates, barring trades, would be Josh Naylor, Jake Bauers, and Bobby Bradley, all left-handed hitters, although we could see Santana brought back at a lower salary.

Right now, Naylor (who will be 24 next year) would be the front runner even though he had a 621 OPS between the Indians and the Padres in 2020. He did have a 719 OPS in 253 at bats with San Diego in ’19, and he makes more contact than the other two. His projected numbers in ’21 (according to Baseball-Reference.com) is 252 at bats, 8 HR, 31 RBI, .254 average, 730 OPS.

Bauers (25) spent all of the ’20 season at the satellite camp, and was a big disappointment in ’19 after coming over from Tampa Bay, hitting .226 with a 683 OPS. In the second half, he batted just .170. His projected numbers?: 210 at bats, .229, 727 OPS, 8 HR, 28 ribbies.

Bradley (also 25) also didn’t see a big league at bat in 2020, and his problem has been contact, striking out 153 times at AAA in ’19, and 20 times in 49 plate appearances with the Indians. The organization seems to have soured on him after that big league stint. His projection?: 182 at bats, .236, 735 OPS, 7 HR, 24 RBI.

Second base: Gold Glove winner Hernandez is likely gone, and the primary replacements would seem to be Yu Chang or Owen Miller, who came over in the Mike Clevinger deal in August.

Chang (25 next year) feels like he has been around forever, and has some pop, but has had contact issues, his strikeouts are more than double his walk totals in his minor league career, and he has just a .251 batting average in the minor leagues. He’s also a candidate at shortstop, depending on the return for Lindor. His projection for 2021 is 189 at bats, .233 average, 702 OPS, 6 HR, 24 RBI.

Miller’s (24) numbers in the minors are impressive. He’s a career .307 batter (808 OPS) and has never struck out more than 86 times in a season. The only issue here is he’s never played above the AA level.

He’s been mostly a SS in his professional career, but has spent time at 2B too. He doesn’t have a big league projection for 2021, but he’s definitely a player to keep an eye on when spring training starts.

Shortstop: Chang and Miller figure into the mix here as well, along with two younger dark horse candidates, and presumably whoever the Indians get back in a Lindor deal.

The two younger players are Gabriel Arias (21 next year) who came over in the Clevinger deal. He hit .302 in Class A in 2019, but hasn’t played at a higher level as of yet. He’s a right-handed hitter, but has had contact issues thus far in his minor league career.

The other is top prospect Tyler Freeman, who will turn 22 in ’21. He also hasn’t played above the high A level, and is a .319 lifetime hitter in professional ball (.379 OBP). He’s been a doubles machine in the minors.

It’s hard to imagine the Tribe going with either of the latter two, as we are sure they would like to see both at a higher level of the minors.

Again, we believe the return for Lindor will have an impact on the infield, because his immediate replacement may be part of the return in the trade. And the front office will be looking for less expensive free agents as a one year stop gap as well.

Fans thought the outfield was unsettled in 2020. They may be looking at 2/3rds of a lineup being that way this upcoming season.