Guardians’ Roster Pretty Set Starting Camp

When we last saw the Cleveland Guardians, they lost a series deciding fifth game to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series. They had a 2-1 series lead after a dramatic walk-off win in game 3 but couldn’t finish off the Bronx Bombers.

Still, they were the youngest team in baseball and went farther than anyone expected in the 2022 season.

This weekend, the Guards start a much-anticipated spring training, getting ready for a season which they hope will end with another Central Division title.

While the season could be memorable, this training camp likely will not be. After a major roster turnover last year, the front office and Terry Francona shouldn’t have too many decisions to make, of course, barring injuries.

From our point of view, there are only three decisions that need to be made: Backup catcher, extra infielder, and the last spot in the bullpen, probably a left-hander.

Mike Zunino was signed as a free agent over the winter and will serve as the primary catcher, assuming he is fully recovered from the thoracic outlet surgery on his left (non-throwing) arm done last year. Cleveland would like to have rookie Bo Naylor start at AAA to play everyday at the beginning of the season, so the second catcher on the roster is up in the air.

The team brought in former Royal Cam Gallagher (career OPS 656), Meibry Viloria (556), Zack Collins (623), and still has Bryan Lavastida, who opened last season with the big club.

Viloria and Collins are left-handed hitters which give them a platoon advantage, but with the Guardians’ organizational philosophy, it will come down to who the team trusts the most defensively and in handling the pitching staff.

We believe Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Richie Palacios will vie for the two bench spots that are available. We know who the starters are and Will Brennan will likely take one bench spot. Arias played a little outfield at AAA and in winter ball, and Palacios played mostly outfield with the big club (he played three innings at 2B) and being able to play in the dirt and on the grass probably gives them an edge.

Freeman has strictly been an infielder in the minors and we believe the organization is higher on him than the other two long term, and because of that, they may want him to start the year playing everyday at Columbus.

As for the bullpen, it may come down to whether or not the staff wants a reliever who can soak up multiple innings in a game, which would give an edge to a Cody Morris or Konnor Pilkington, or do they want another lefty to team with Sam Hentges?

Many think 26-year-old southpaw Tim Herrin will get a long look. Herrin struck out 101 hitters in 69-1/3 innings last year between Akron and Columbus. He did have a 5.36 ERA in AAA last year, giving up six home runs in 47 innings.

Relievers who walk people and give up home runs don’t have a long shelf life in the big leagues. But Herrin is someone to watch in Arizona. As for Morris, the front office may want him stretched out as a starter in case he is needed in the major league rotation.

The exhibition games start a week from Saturday and some players could get extra opportunities because of the World Baseball Classic. As for that event, our sincere hope is no one from the Guardians gets injured playing in it.

Guardians Going Free Agent Route Is A Bit Of A Surprise.

The Cleveland Guardians had two big needs heading into the post-season, another power bat and a catcher since Austin Hedges was a free agent.

It is a surprise that Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff filled both via free agency though, signing catcher Mike Zunino to catch, joining Josh Bell who came to the Guardians a week earlier.

Remember, Cleveland values defense and handling pitchers first and foremost from their backstops, and Zunino certainly is very good defensively. With a bat in his hand, think Hedges with a lot more power potential.

When Hedges first arrived in the big leagues with San Diego, he had some pop, hitting 18 homers in his first full year with the Padres, and then 14 in 91 games the following season. In the four years since, Hedges’ high in roundtrippers was 11 in 2019, and his best batting average was .178 with Cleveland in 2021.

Zunino does two things more frequently than the man he replaces: Hit dingers and strikeout. He missed much of last season after shoulder surgery, but since 2017, he belted more than 20 homers three times, including a career-high 33 in 2021. His lifetime slugging percentage is 79 points higher than Hedges.

However, his strikeout to walk ratio per 162 games is 196:39. As a comparison Hedges, who is one of the game’s worst hitters, has a ratio of 148:33. That’s how often Zunino fails to make contact.

We would not be surprised if prized catching prospect Bo Naylor (Guardians’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America) opened the season at AAA and another free agent signee, Meibrys Viloria, starts the year on the Opening Day roster as a left-handed hitting option behind the plate.

Not that Viloria is much of a hitter, he has a career OPS of 553, with a .201 batting average and three homers.

That the Guardians filled their biggest need via free agency means they haven’t addressed the glut of middle infield prospects. Yes, they did move Owen Miller to Milwaukee for a player to be named later or cash to clear a roster spot for Zunino, but they still have Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman, who both played in Cleveland for a bit, with Brayan Rocchio (#5 prospect) knocking on the door.

Not to mention what to do with the back end of the starting rotation. We believe Aaron Civale will be the fourth starter behind Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill, but we wouldn’t be shocked if Zach Plesac is moved to make room for say, a Cody Morris.

If a move is made to thin out the prospect glut, what do the Guardians get in return? Younger prospects to guarantee a promising future, or do they someone on the big-league roster and try to upgrade the spot they are dealing from?

So, as a result of the Bell and Zunino additions, not only does Cleveland have a stronger major league roster, but they still have one of the five best farm systems in the sport.

That gives the front office a lot of options as spring training approaches. That’s an awful good position to be in.

Bell Fits Perfectly For Guardians

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about what the Cleveland Guardians might be looking for this off-season and pointed out they have a “type”.

Really, it’s an organizational philosophy and the front office tries to stick to these principles when building their roster, and who can argue with them. They’ve had a lot of success over the past 10 years.

In that framework, Tuesday’s signing of 1B/DH Josh Bell makes all the sense in the world.

First, it’s a two-year deal with the potential of a buyout by Bell after the first season, meaning if the switch-hitter has a huge season, he’s going to be a free agent again after the 2023 campaign, but the Guardians will be the beneficiary of that big season.

They say there is no such thing as a bad one-year contract, so committing a lot of cash to a player for two years isn’t a tremendous risk for an organization who treasures payroll flexibility.

Second, the Guardians appear to be embracing a more contact-oriented approach, and no doubt it paid off for them in 2022. Bell fits the bill here too. His strikeout to walk ratio per 162 games is 118:77, a relatively low whiff rate for someone who averages 25 homers per year in that same span.

And readers of this site know we love hitters who have a good walk to strikeout rate. The Guardians need to walk more often, and Bell’s 81 free passes last season would have led Cleveland in 2022.

Bell also fills a couple positions of need. Cleveland hitters batted just .240 with a 646 OPS vs. left-handed pitching a year ago, and for his career, the new Guardian has a 767 OPS against southpaws, and last year hit .276 with an 816 OPS.

And remember, for most of the season, when Terry Francona gave Josh Naylor a day off against a tough lefty, his usual choice was Owen Miller. Bell is much better with a bat in his hands.

It goes without saying that having Bell as an option will allow Francona to keep Naylor’s legs fresh too.

A short-term deal for a power hitter who can play 1B/DH and has success against lefties? Sounds like a match made in heaven for Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff.

What does it mean for the rest of the roster? Well, right now, you have to wonder if Miller has a spot. It would seem he has a battle on his hands to make the team with Gabriel Arias. And don’t forget Tyler Freeman as well. One would think a trade is on the horizon for one, if not, more of those players.

You have to think getting at least one catcher is next on the agenda for the front office, and likely whoever they trade for, or sign will be an offensive upgrade. When your primary catcher had an OPS of 489, that’s not a big stretch.

After an off-season where the big moves were signing Luke Maile and Enyel De Los Santos, it’s good to see the organization understanding how close they were to getting to the AL Championship Series and a shot at another World Series visit.

How The Guards Handle Their Prospects Will Be Interesting

The Cleveland Guardians have one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball, and that’s after they graduated players like Steven Kwan, who is a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year, and Oscar Gonzalez.

While this bodes very well for the future, how the front office handles the glut of young players who should be ready to be in the big leagues over the next couple of years should be very interesting.

Some teams with great farm systems trade a number of their prospects for an All-Star type player. Think about the Cardinals trading for Paul Goldschmidt or Nolan Arenado. However, the Guardians don’t seem to operate that way, being averse to long-term, high-priced contracts.

Let’s look at the shortstop position for the Guards. Amed Rosario is the incumbent, and certainly was a big contributor to the 2022 Central Division title team, batting .283 (715 OPS). He is arbitration eligible and can be a free agent in 2024.

The organization also has Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, both of whom spent most of the season at AAA, but did play in the bigs, and the player we believe is the future for the organization in Brayan Rocchio, who hit 18 HR and knocked in 64 runs with a 755 OPS at Columbus and Akron.

Now Rocchio probably won’t be ready for the bigs until 2024, but what will Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff do with Rosario, Arias, and Freeman? One of them could change position or be a utility infielder, we did see Arias play 1B in the playoffs, but does the other go back to AAA? And if that happens, doesn’t that block Rocchio?

The same situation exists in the outfield where Will Brennan is knocking on the door. Terry Francona could use the outfield spots and DH in a rotation, but that would preclude the front office from getting a power bat that could play a corner outfield spot, and perhaps first base as well.

And we haven’t mentioned George Valera, who is likely on the same timetable as Rocchio. The soon to be 22-year-old hit .250 with 24 homers and 82 ribbies (816 OPS) between AA and AAA this past season and could be ready sometime during the ’23 campaign.

We haven’t mentioned the pitching staff because the top prospects, Daniel Espino, Gavin Williams, and Tanner Bibee aren’t considered candidates to make the big-league roster to open the season, but we could definitely see one or more of them making a start in the second half of the ’23 season.

And we didn’t mention the hurlers who came up last year to help: Hunter Gaddis, Xzavion Curry, and Konnor Pilkington, nor did we say Peyton Battenfield, who went 8-6 with a 3.92 ERA at Columbus.

It’s easy to give these young players a shot on a non-contending club, but the Guardians made the post-season and were baseball’s youngest team in 2022.

This isn’t to say, there still isn’t room for improvement. We have said before it before, standing pat would be the wrong thing to do. But it will be interesting to see how Antonetti and Chernoff handle this situation.

Most organization would trade three or four of the prospects for a big-time talent, but we don’t see that as an option for Cleveland. That isn’t to say the payroll won’t increase, but the philosophy of the front office isn’t to have many long-term, big money deals on the books.

Guardians’ Offense Needs To Rebound As Calendar Turns

Man, has this year and this baseball season flown by. The season enters it’s final month (yes, I know there are four regular season games in October) on Thursday, and the Cleveland Guardians are still in the thick of a post-season race.

They lead the Central Division by a game and a half, and before people make snarky comments about the relative strength of that division, be advised the Guards are just 2-1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the third best record in the AL, behind just the beasts of the league, Houston and New York.

Terry Francona’s squad has 36 games remaining, 24 of them being played at Progressive Field, where the Guardians have gone 35-24, despite scoring less runs per game than they do on the road. Cleveland hitters have a 685 OPS at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, while they have a 702 OPS on the road.

Their pitchers are also better at home (3.60 ERA vs. 3.74 on the road).

So the hitting has step it up, particularly this week with two fellow post-season contenders, Baltimore and Seattle come to town.

For the season, Cleveland averages 4.2 runs per game, but over the last 12 games, that figure has dropped to 3.5, and over the last 25 contests, they are scoring just 3.76 per game.

Oddly, the offense for the catchers, which had been abysmal, has come alive in this span. Austin Hedges has hit .214 over the last month (not good unless you consider he’s batting .183 for the year) and Luke Maile has hit .361 with a 994 OPS in that span.

Josh Naylor has been in a slump, batting just .203 in the last 28 days (518 OPS) with just a single home run, and Amed Rosario has cooled off too, with a .257 batting average, although he’s hit four dingers this month.

We really liked Owen Miller’s hitting numbers in the minor leagues, but he appears to have lost his confidence at the plate and it’s tough to justify putting his name in the lineup, particularly when he plays at first, and he makes mistakes due to inexperience at the position.

Gabriel Arias has been getting time at first in Columbus, and although he’s batting just .231 at AAA, he does have 12 homers. The other downside is a 63:15 strikeout to walk ratio. It might be grasping at straws, but swapping them out might just help.

We think Myles Straw is just suffering through a deplorable offensive season, but he is an elite defender in centerfield. And we have no idea why he hasn’t tried bunting with his speed.

Will Benson has struggled since his recall (4 for 30), so it might be time to see Will Brennan, who has had a tremendous minor league season, batting .308 at AAA with a .369 on base percentage and 817 OPS. Between Columbus and Akron, he is hitting .309 with 10 HR and 95 RBI.

His strikeout to walk ratio? 59:47, meaning he fits right in with the contact approach the Guardians have.

Why not give Brennan some time in center, and if you have the lead, bring Straw in for defense?

As we head down the stretch, the Guardians’ offense has to get back on track. They can’t make a trade, so it has to happen from within. Maybe these moves can help. It’s been tougher to score at home this year, and they have a ton of games there the rest of the season.

Dreaming Of Soto In Cleveland (It Won’t Happen, But We Can Dream)

By now, everyone is aware that Washington Nationals’ slugger Juan Soto will likely be traded before the August 2nd trade deadline. His agent, who quite enjoys seeing his name in lights, turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nats.

Washington will be looking for a boatload of prospects in exchange for the 23-year-old (he won’t turn 24 until after this season) slugger, and so the Cleveland Guardians, who may have the deepest farm system in the game were linked to Soto in some articles.

Now, let’s start by saying we understand the likelihood of Cleveland dealing for Soto is extremely slim. That’s not how this organization has done business over the years. Heck, Jose Ramirez left a lot of cash on the table to remain in town for hopefully, the rest of his career.

However, should the Guardians be interested, especially with the supposed influx of cash coming into the team from new minority owner David Blitzer?

If ever any team would make a gigantic financial commitment to a young player, it would seem to be Juan Soto, who again will start next season at age 24.

Soto led the National League last season in on base percentage at .465, and has already belted 118 home runs in his five years in the big leagues.

And he’s 23-years-old. The prime seasons for a typical major league baseball player are age 27 to 29, meaning Soto should still be getting better over the next few seasons. He was a seven win player last season.

If there is anyone a team like the Guardians would be willing to deal top prospects from a loaded farm system, it would be someone like Soto, and it’s not like Cleveland would have to deal every one of their current top ten either.

We talk ourselves into thinking that every minor player who puts up big numbers is going to wind up playing their way into Cooperstown. That’s simply not the case.

Here were Cleveland’s top prospects five years ago (2017):

Francisco Mejia
Bradley Zimmer
Triston McKenzie
Brady Aiken
Bobby Bradley
Yu Chang
Will Benson
Nolan Jones
Erik Gonzalez
Greg Allen

Granted, in 2017, the Cleveland farm system was not nearly as good and deep as it is now. Certainly, McKenzie has paid off, and hopefully Jones will too. And Mejia was used to get Brad Hand.

You have to figure Washington would want George Valera in a deal for Soto, so if you packaged him with say, Gabriel Arias and Logan Allen in the trade, you still have a very good prospect pool to work with.

Everybody loves Valera, and with good reason. At 21, he’s hitting .272 with 13 homers (857 OPS) at AA Akron, in a pitchers’ league. But will he ever be as good as Soto?

The equalizer is you would get six years of service from Valera, while Soto has only 2-1/2 years before he is eligible for free agency and with his agent being who he is, he’s going to take that route.

We have two points here. First, not all prospects, no matter how highly we think of them turn out to be superstars.

Second, if you can move prospects, even highly regarded ones, for a young, proven superstar, it should be considered. Let’s say Soto winds up being as good as Mike Trout. What would you give up for the last five or six years Trout put together. (Don’t consider the Angels’ record, that’s not Trout’s fault).

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.

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.

Doing Something New Wouldn’t Be Bad For Guardians

It is pretty clear by now that the Cleveland Guardians aren’t making any major moves to improve the offense or the bullpen heading into the 2022 campaign.

There appeared to be some free agents to be had on affordable one year contracts, players like Tommy Pham (who signed with Cincinnati), Andrew McCutchen (Milwaukee), or even Anthony Rizzo (Yankees). The Guardians passed on all of them.

Since they made that decision, hopefully they understand that last season’s offense was not up to the levels a good major league should have, and they are willing to do something different.

For example, we hope beyond hope that Bradley Zimmer and/or Oscar Mercado are not going to be getting regular playing time. We really wonder if they should be on a major league roster at all.

Let’s hope Terry Francona and the decision makers are willing to try something different.

One huge question is who will flank Myles Straw in the outfield.

There has been talk about using Amed Rosario in left field as well as shortstop, but we hope this is just spring training discussions. Rosario is an average shortstop at best with the glove and we doubt moving him back and forth between two positions will make him better.

We aren’t enamored of Rosario’s hitting (no walks, little power) but if the front office wants him in the lineup every day, just put him in left field and be done with it.

Shortstop is the most important defensive position on the diamond, and we feel it would be better if the same person, hopefully a good defender played it day in and day out. Perhaps someone like Andres Gimenez or maybe even rookie Gabriel Arias.

We would like to see Steven Kwan get a chance right from game one in Kansas City on April 7th. A left-handed hitter, the 24-year-old has demonstrated an ability to get on base, a .380 on base percentage throughout his minor league career. And that’s the biggest need this team has offensively.

Why not find out about Oscar Gonzalez too? Also 24 years old, the right-handed hitter belted 31 home runs between Akron and Columbus last season. He doesn’t walk, and never really has in his minor league career, but he’s also batted .281 in the minors. He doesn’t appear to be an all or nothing swing for the fences guy.

And giving that duo time in the outfield would free Josh Naylor to move to first base, his natural position.

With the news that James Karinchak will miss the opener, the bullpen has to be considered a problem. Who will pitch the eighth inning in front of Emmanuel Clase?

We hope Francona doesn’t lean on his pitcher of comfort, newly signed Bryan Shaw. We don’t have a problem signing the veteran, but having him pitch the 8th, that seems a little ambitious.

Right now, we would guess it would be Trevor Stephan, who spent the entire season with Cleveland last year as a Rule 5 selection. Nick Sandlin would be in the mix, but he has not appeared in a game in Arizona just yet.

Flame throwing southpaw Anthony Gose likely has the team made, but there will be plenty of bullpen spots open, particularly with the extra roster spots granted to each team because of the shortened spring training.

There will be a lot of opportunity for young guys, unless the front office signs an available veteran.

There isn’t a benefit to trotting out the same players who couldn’t get it done last season with the hope they will improve greatly. Those guys have long enough track records to show improvement isn’t likely.

Embrace playing the young guys. Find out about them. And maybe, you’ll find some solid young players.

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.