Guardians Have To Be Better On Right Side On Infield

In reviewing the American League teams position by position using WAR (wins above replacement), the Cleveland Guardians worst spot was behind the plate. We understand the organization values defense first at catcher, but Austin Hedges’ and Roberto Perez’ offensive numbers are tough to take in.

The next two bad spots (according to Baseballreference.com) were the two spots on the right side of the infield, first base and second base. What are the current prospects for each position heading into the off-season.

First Base. Cleveland opened the season with a platoon of Jake Bauers and Yu Chang at the spot, but Bauers hit just .190 in 100 at bats (557 OPS), so the organization turned to Bobby Bradley to replace him in early June.

The left-handed hitting slugger started out like a house afire, getting 11 hits in his first 25 at bats (.440) with three homers and striking out just four times. No one expected him to keep that pace up, but after that stretch, Bradley hit just .182 in 220 at bats, fanning 95 times.

Chang was horrendous in the first half, batting .176 (498 OPS) before the All Star break, but rebounded in the second half and hit .271 (857 OPS) with seven homers. Is that sustainable? Even in the hot second half, Chang still had a poor strikeout/walk ratio, fanning 39 times with just six walks.

What happens when pitchers figure out they don’t need to throw Chang a strike to get him out?

If the organization goes out and gets some outfielders who can hit, it would also bring Josh Naylor into play. Naylor had a 700 OPS this past season in 250 plate appearances, but hit .287 with an 805 OPS vs. right-handed pitching.

Our vote would be to move on from Bradley. Sure, the power is enticing, but he doesn’t give you much when he’s not hitting home runs, and certainly consistency is a big key.

Moving Naylor to first would help the outfield defense, and we believe in the long run, he will be the better all around hitter. Naylor does need to do better vs. southpaws, as a career .237 and 608 OPS won’t cut it if he wants to hold down an everyday spot.

Second Base Cleveland started with Cesar Hernandez at the position, but when he was moved at the trade deadline, a combination of Owen Miller, Chang, Andres Gimenez, and Ernie Clement manned the position.

There is a lot to sort out here, especially involving Gimenez, who came over to the team in the Francisco Lindor deal.

First, what are the Guardians going to do with Amed Rosario, who had a solid season (.282 BA, but just 731 OPS) at the plate, but whose defense at shortstop is below par. If the organization decided it can’t live with his glove there, does he also become a candidate at second?

Gimenez did hit .245 (702 OPS) after his recall when Hernandez was dealt, but does he give you enough with the bat? By the way, he did walk more after his recall.

Miller came up in May after scorching AAA at an almost .400 clip early in the season, but struggled mightily once he arrived, swinging at everything. He hit .162 (449 OPS) in the first half. After the break, he was better, batting .250 (659 OPS) in 100 plate appearances.

With Miller, we lean on the minor league pedigree. He is a .303 (818 OPS) hitter in three minor league seasons. The hit tool is there, but can he relax enough at the big league level to approach that level in The Show?

And to us, Clement has the look of a solid utility man.

You also have the specter of Gabriel Arias, who hit .284 (802 OPS) with 13 homers at AAA this season. Arias’ issue? 110 strikeouts vs. 39 walks at Columbus. He’ll be just 22 next season, so is there a need to rush him?

Our thought would be to give Miller the first look based on his minor league numbers. That is, of course, unless Rosario slides over to second base because the Guardians feel they have a better option as SS.

Improving at these two spots will be important for Cleveland going into 2022.

A better right side of the infield is definitely needed.

When It Comes To WAR, Tribe Every Day Players Rank Low

Since we are halfway through the Major League Baseball season, we thought it would be a good time to evaluate the performance of the roster of the local nine, the Cleveland Indians.

And if look at WAR (Wins Above Replacement), at least according to BaseballReference.com, it doesn’t paint a pretty picture.

According to their version of the formula, the Indians rank third from the bottom for non-pitchers, ahead of only the Orioles and Tigers. Even with all the injuries to the pitching staff, Cleveland pitchers rank 4th, behind only the Yankees, White Sox, and Blue Jays.

To break it down further for the guys who stand on the mound, Tribe starters rank 8th, which could have been expected considering the injuries to Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, and Aaron Civale, and the performance of the hurlers who replaced them.

However, the Indians’ bullpen ranks second in the AL, trailing just Boston.

As for the position players, it’s not a pretty picture. Since there are 15 American League teams, we will consider the top eight to be in the top half of the league. Using that standing, the Tribe has only two positions ranking in the top half, third base, of course manned by Jose Ramirez, the team’s best player and an All Star for the third time, and DH.

Franmil Reyes is the usual designated hitter, and his OPS (914) leads the team. And while Reyes was out, Terry Francona used a number of players at the spot to give them rest, one of whom was Ramirez.

The next highest ranking by position is rightfield, manned most often by the now injured Josh Naylor, followed by Harold Ramirez, who has an OPS of just under 800 (785).

Cleveland ranks in the bottom three at two positions, catcher and second base. We know the team values defense first and foremost at the catcher position, but having Roberto Perez out for two months didn’t help. And that said, we felt Austin Hedges did a marvelous job handling the pitchers, many of whom are getting their first big league experience.

Despite the good defense, Perez and Hedges have combined to hit .146 with 7 HR and 22 RBI. Those numbers are slightly better than having the pitcher hitting.

At second, Cesar Hernandez has put up surprising power numbers, he is one off his career high in HR, but his on base percentage is not what the brass is looking for and his defense hasn’t been what it was a year ago.

They are one spot above that at first base and leftfield. Bobby Bradley has helped the numbers at first, but that was after watching two months of a Jake Bauers/Yu Chang platoon at the position. The left-handed hitter has belted 8 homers and drawn 10 walks to date.

Eddie Rosario has been the primary guy in left, and although he’s been hitting better in the past month, his OPS is still under 700 (685). And let’s just say, he’s not going to win a Gold Glove anytime soon.

That would leave SS and surprisingly CF as the next best positions. Amed Rosario has stabilized short, but despite being hot over the last six weeks, he still has a 690 OPS, which is below average. The Tribe is still looking for someone to take charge in center.

It just shows there is still a lot of progress needed in the everyday lineup, and how the organization has worked around this to still have a winning record.

We don’t think WAR is the end all, be all statistic in baseball. But using it to compare the production of your team vs. others seems legitimate

To Get Some Hitting, Tribe Is Compromising The Defense

We have talked about this many times throughout the baseball season, so excuse us for being redundant. The Cleveland Indians aren’t a good offensive baseball team.

They continue to rank 11th in the American League in runs scored per game at 4.05, almost a half run behind the league average of 4.42. We understand that batting average isn’t en vogue as a key statistic anymore in the game, but the team average of .221 ranks second to last (Seattle) in the AL.

They are 14th in the league in on base percentage too, and the team OPS of 679 is ahead of just Texas, Detroit, and Seattle.

To try to generate even this much offense, Terry Francona and his staff have had to sacrifice things, which is scary when you think about it.

What they have seemingly decided to ignore was on full display over the weekend in Baltimore, where the woeful Orioles took two of three from the Tribe.

It seems to get to a point where they can average a paltry four runs per contest, the Indians have given up a lot on the defensive side of the game, which is kind of weird, considering the backbone of the squad is the pitching staff.

Our guess is the theory is if you can strikeout enough hitters, defense doesn’t mean as much as it used to, because the ball isn’t in play. And currently, Cleveland pitchers rank 6th in the AL in striking out hitters. They led the league in the shortened 2020 season and were fifth in 2019.

And the defense has been lacking at key positions too.

Bradley Zimmer returned to the roster last week, and hopefully he can provide something offensively, because his defense is badly needed in CF. Harold Ramirez has been getting time out there, and he has helped with the bat in his hand (791 OPS, .278, 3 HR, 13 RBI), but he’s not acceptable defensively.

In Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, a pop fly that was in the air for a long time fell in for a hit, and there have been several other fly balls that have landed in the outfield that should have been turned into outs.

Who would have thought where Cleveland missed Francisco Lindor the most was defensively? The Tribe started Andres Gimenez at the spot to open the season, and our guess was watching Amed Rosario out there in spring training games didn’t exactly make the brass feel all warm and fuzzy.

Rosario has made several misplays, some not scored as errors, but giving the opposing teams extra outs. And he can stop trying to make superfluous throws to first when he has not realistic chance to get runners any time now.

The former Met has been okay offensively (he still has an OPS under 700), he stands out because as a whole, the Tribe doesn’t have many better than average bats, but hopefully, Gimenez can hit better because he’s the better defender, and Francona can figure out a way to get Rosario in there.

We should also mention he has plus speed.

We haven’t talked about Josh Naylor either. Naylor has spent most of the season in RF, but his best position defensively is 1B right now. Naylor works hard, and plays with joy and enthusiasm, but it doesn’t help the pitching staff when only Eddie Rosario in LF has been solid defensively.

Add in that Cesar Hernandez hasn’t been as strong in the field as he was a year ago, and you can see the traditional baseball adage of being strong defensively up the middle does not apply to the 2021 edition of the Cleveland Indians.

You want to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Unfortunately, with the current roster of players, the Tribe has had to minimize their strength (pitching) to put some runs on the board.

Hopefully, they can overcome this and stay in the AL Central race like they have to this point in the season.

Key Injuries For Tribe, And Can They Survive Them?

The Cleveland Indians avoided the injury bug for the first quarter of the Major League Baseball season, but it has come back to bite them in the past few days.

Two key members of the Tribe, continuing to battle in the American League Central at 26-21, just a game and a half behind the front-running Chicago White Sox, will be among the missing for probably 4-6 weeks, if not more.

Saturday, Franmil Reyes, the second best offensive threat Terry Francona has had at his disposal this season, strained an oblique and was placed on the injured list. Reyes leads the team in RBIs with 29 and is second in home runs with 11, one behind Jose Ramirez.

The next day saw another key injury as Zach Plesac fractured his thumb (off the field injury) and was also forced on the IL. Plesac was one of the three starters (Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale, the others) the skipper can count on right now, so the starting pitching is very, very thin right now, especially when it comes to experience.

Losing the second best hitter on a below average offense will make it even more difficult for Francona to cobble together lineups that can score runs. Owen Miller came up to replace Reyes on the roster, but really, the Tribe needs Eddie Rosario, currently hitting .228 with just 3 home runs to start hitting the way he did against the Indians when he was with the Twins.

It would also help if Josh Naylor stepped up more, and Cleveland could get more offense out of the first base position. Jake Bauers has been better lately, but a .303 slugging percentage says he’s not providing much pop.

As for Miller, he’s off to a slow start, but since the Tribe brought him up, they have to play him everyday to see what he can contribute.

Reyes’ absence also means opposing teams will have even more incentive to avoid Ramirez in late inning situations, where he has been lethal. We would let E. Rosario, Jordan Luplow or virtually anyone else to beat my team late in a contest rather than Jose Ramirez.

The loss of Plesac can be devastating. Cleveland brought up Triston McKenzie, just sent to AAA to work on control issues, to pitch last night, and right now, the only start not going to Bieber and Civale that is etched in stone is Sam Hentges going on Saturday.

The problem is exacerbated by Monday’s doubleheader (albeit seven inning games, meh) against the White Sox

The obvious thing to do (at least to us) was to start stretching out Cal Quantrill, which the club announced yesterday. With the resurgence of veteran Bryan Shaw and the emergence of rookie Nick Sandlin in the bullpen, and the fact that Francona prefers to use certain relievers when he has a lead, Quantrill has a very limited role in the ‘pen, pitching in very low leverage situations.

And remember, going into spring training, Quantrill was being groomed as a starter. He dropped out of contention for the rotation because of command issues and Logan Allen pitching lights out in Arizona.

It seems to us, right now Quantrill is more valuable to the Indians as a starting pitcher, keeping the team in games early.

We would also give a start to another rookie Jean Carlos Mejia. Mejia started the year in the rotation at Columbus, making two starts, and has pitched in two games in the bigs, allowing just one hit and fanning six in 3-1/3 innings.

Who knows, maybe the organization finds out they regained some rotation depth in Quantrill and Mejia.

This is where Francona’s one game at a time pays dividends for his team. He won’t bemoan the injuries and who isn’t there, he will just ask his team to win the game they are playing that night.

Really, that’s the best approach to take right now.

Nothing New: If Tribe Can Score, They Can Contend

So far in this 2021 Major League Baseball season, it’s quite simple: If the Cleveland Indians score four runs in a game, they win.

When the Indians get to that figure, they are 17-1 on the season. When they don’t, they are 1-13. The only game they lost when reaching the four run figure was the second Carlos Rodon/Zach Plesac matchup in Cleveland, when the White Sox beat the Tribe 8-5.

The only game they won scoring less than four? The epic Shane Bieber/Lucas Giolito game that went to 10 innings and resulted in a 2-0 Cleveland win.

Recently, the Indians’ offense has been a little better, Friday night’s no-hitter not withstanding. In their current stretch where they’ve one 10 out of 13, the Tribe has scored an average of 4.8 runs per game, getting at least four in all of the wins.

Overall on the season, the league average is 4.41 runs, and the Tribe is sitting at 4.25, so they are still below average.

So, it’s simple right? If the Indians can have close to a league average offense, they can be a contender in the AL Central. The two favorites coming into the season, the White Sox and Twins have problems. Chicago has lost two key offensive pieces in Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, and the Twins have injury and bullpen issues to date.

Now, the question is, can the Tribe put together a league average offense?

Right now, the Cleveland attack is very top heavy. They have two real good offensive players, with OPS’ over 800 in Franmil Reyes (914) and Jose Ramirez (891). They have only two other players with an OPS over 700–Jordan Luplow at 789, and his batting average is just .171, and Josh Naylor at 724.

To date, the league average OPS is 704, so Cleveland has just four hitters who are better than the American League average.

That’s not good, nor does it bode well for the future.

We believe Eddie Rosario and Cesar Hernandez’ track records indicate they will hit, and while Rosario has had several years where he has been above the 800 OPS mark, Hernandez is more of a 750 OPS batter, meaning he’s above average, but not on the elite level.

The key continues to be Josh Naylor. If Naylor can hit like he has so far in May (.300 with two home runs and a 930 OPS in a small sample size), the Tribe’s offense just may be good enough. Notice that his surge has tied in with the offense being better.

First base is still a disaster area with Jake Bauers and Yu Chang combining to go 18 for 104 with just a single home run. Please note we are again talking about 32 games, not 10 anymore.

And the defense, particularly in the outfield, has been poor. Harold Ramirez has provided a bit of a spark with the bat (five hits this week, including three doubles), but he’s not a centerfielder. We know Naylor isn’t going to win a gold glove in right, and Rosario is average in left.

Terry Francona has tried to play Amed Rosario at shortstop against lefties, but it seems like he makes one misplay in each game he is out there.

And Roberto Perez’ finger injury means we will see a lot of Austin Hedges behind the plate, and let’s be kind and say he is offensively challenged. We know the Indians go defense first behind the plate, and we understand that, but right now, that position provides a slight upgrade over a pitcher offensively.

We have already seen opposing teams start to pitch around Ramirez and take their chances with Rosario and Reyes, and so far, they’ve come through. But given a choice, it wouldn’t be shocking to see more teams simply not give Ramirez anything to hit in late innings.

Nothing really has changed for the Tribe. If they can score, they can contend. Their ability to push runs across remains the key to the 2021 season.

No One Should Be Surprised By Tribe’s Lack Of Scoring.

The Cleveland Indians’ offense continues to struggle on a nightly basis. They have played 19 games this season, and scored three runs or less in 11 of them. Even if you have the best pitching in the sport, it’s difficult to win games when you can’t score.

On April 12th, the Tribe started an 18 game stretch (now 17 games with Wednesday’s game being snowed out) in which they were playing teams who figure to contend for the post-season.

In that stretch, they’ve seen some very good pitchers, guys like Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Garrit Cole. They were no-hit by Carlos Rodon, and didn’t score over nine innings against Giolito, a game in which they won by the way.

Cleveland has played 11 of those games, and they are 3-8 so far. They have scored more than four runs (the league average is 4.41) in just two of those contests, last Sunday’s win over Cincinnati and the following game at home against the White Sox.

Of the eight games where Terry Francona’s crew has mustered more than three tallies, half of them have come against Detroit, who by the way has the worst ERA in the league.

There are people who will claim no one should make rash judgments because the season is just 19 games old, and there is some merit in that, we usually wait until 27 games (1/6th of the season) has been played.

However, it’s not like the Indians were an offensive juggernaut a year ago. They were 13th in the AL in runs per game at 4.13, almost a half run less than league average, which was 4.58.

And they let go two of their top five players in OPS a season ago, trading Francisco Lindor and letting Carlos Santana go as a free agent. The only proven bat they brought in over the off-season was Eddie Rosario, so it isn’t like the front office looked at a bad offense and said let’s address the problem.

You can make moves like that if you have a farm system with players going to be ready for the big leagues right away. Most of the Tribe’s top prospects won’t be ready until 2022 at the earliest.

No one should be shocked they rank 13th in the league in runs scored thus far.

By the way, for all the gruff directed at Santana for walking a lot, how would you like an occasional base on balls out of the players at first base? The two guys who replaced him have combined to go 10 for 66, which is a .152 batting average, with no home runs, and four walks.

We understand the ownership decided to not just lower the payroll, but take a chainsaw to it, and guys who can hit tend to cost money. Still, the free agents many people mentioned, players like Joc Pederson and Kyle Schwarber, haven’t produced either.

Going back to Santana, he was known to love it in Cleveland. Doesn’t anyone else think the two parties could’ve worked something out?

A big hope was Josh Naylor, who came over from San Diego in the Mike Clevinger deal, but he has struggled out of the gate, hitting .241 with no homers, although he has five doubles, and striking out 15 times vs. three walks.

We still have hopes he can be a solid offensive player, but he’s put up some bad at bats in key situations this season to date.

Listening to an interview with Chris Antonetti before last night’s game, he sounded confident the bats will turn around, but we are sure that’s one of those circumstances where that’s all he can say.

We don’t see where the offense is going to get better with the current roster, and dare we say, with the current coaching staff. We aren’t a believer in change for change sake, but the dugout personnel has pretty much remained the same as when Terry Francona took over.

The only changes that were made (outside of Jason Bere as bullpen coach) came from Mickey Callaway and Kevin Cash getting managerial positions, and of course, because Brad Mills retired.

At some point, perhaps the players aren’t listening to the message anymore.

It’s still early, yes, but it’s also starting to get late. A week from today, the schedule will move to May, and that 27 game benchmark will have been crossed.

Will the Indians start scoring runs by then? We’d have to say it’s doubtful they will be a run scoring machine.

Tribe Needs To Walk, And Walks Are Good.

It goes without saying that the Cleveland Indians are struggling offensively. We’ve discussed it before, but currently the Tribe is averaging less than four runs per game, 12th in the American League.

They are second last in batting average (.209), but weirdly lead the league in home runs. They have the largest percentage of their runs scored coming from homers, which might seem like a positive statistics, but really is a negative one.

They don’t score much unless someone hits a home run.

They do rank 5th in the AL in walks, and have dropped in recent days to a tie for third in striking out the least amount of times.

We are a big believer in the strikeout/walk ratio in determining the ability of a hitter.

While there are exceptions, hitters that have high strikeout totals and don’t walk a lot aren’t destined to have long careers in the big leagues. It’s fine if you have high whiff and walk rates. In Cleveland, think about players like Jim Thome and Travis Hafner.

It’s one reason we were concerned about Amed Rosario, who last season had a 39/4 ratio.

What worries us is that if a batter doesn’t know the difference between a strike and a ball, pitchers figure that out pretty quickly, and realize they don’t have to throw the batter a pitch in the zone to get them out.

It’s also why we are anxious to see how young hitters like Tyler Freeman and Owen Miller do when minor league baseball starts in May. So far in their professional career, they make opposing pitchers throw strikes to get them out for the most part.

So far, the Cleveland hitters with the worst ratio in this regard are Austin Hedges (7 K’s/1 BB), Franmil Reyes (18/3), Andres Gimenez (10/2), and Josh Naylor (12/4).

Can you imagine how lethal Reyes would be at the plate if he could lay off pitches out of the strike zone? We understand some of that comes with experience, because hitters are anxious to come up with the big hit, rather than keep the line going and pass on the opportunity to the next batter.

On the other hand, here are the hitters who have good ratios: Jose Ramirez (8/7), Cesar Hernandez (13/10), Jordan Luplow (10/7), and Roberto Perez (14/9). This is one of the reasons, despite a .167 batting average thus far, we think putting Hernandez in the leadoff spot would be a good move.

It’s also why we are encouraged about Luplow, and why we think he should start seeing more at bats vs. right-handed pitching. He leads the team home runs and RBIs, despite having just 37 plate appearances, and is 3 for 6 with two dingers against righties. The outfield has not provided a lot of offense since the beginning of the 2020 season, so why not give Luplow more chances based on this success.

So far, the Indians have been dismal hitting with runners in scoring position, which is the biggest reason they have become so dependent on the home run to score. The more opportunities these selective hitters get, we should see better results, as long as they maintain patience.

Think to Tuesday night, when Luplow fanned with the bases loaded in the fifth despite being ahead in the count, 3-1. He swung at two pitches above the zone. That inning is different if he just takes the walk, which he has done the season for the most part.

On the other hand, keep an eye on players like Reyes, Gimenez, Naylor, and to a lesser extent, Amed Rosario, and see how many times they get themselves out.

We aren’t saying it’s easy to hit big league pitching, but it helps if you limit yourself to swinging at good pitches.

The encouraging thing about Tuesday’s contest was the Indians drew nine walks. They need the base on balls to help their offense.

Asking Questions That Tribe Hasn’t Answered Yet

Spring training lasts six weeks because of the starting pitchers. They have to get enough time to get stretched out enough to throw around 100 pitches in a game once the regular season starts.

Because it lasts so long, there is plenty of time resolve most questions, but here are some we would like to have answers for, and maybe we will once the calendar changes from April to May.

What about centerfield? Our guess was the Tribe front office was hoping that Oscar Mercado would regain his 2019 form and seize the job, but the 26-year-old still has problems distinguishing a ball from a strike, so he will not be in Detroit today.

Bradley Zimmer has the same issue and was also sent down. So, Terry Francona’s options to start the season are veteran Ben Gamel, converted shortstop (and recently converted at that) Amed Rosario, and Jordan Luplow.

It’s not like Gamel hit his way on the roster either, he kind of walked his way on, drawing seven walks. He batted .171 (7 for 41). Luplow has been more of a corner outfielder since coming to Cleveland, although he is good enough defensively to play in the middle of the outfield.

The question to us, is why wasn’t Daniel Johnson given a look out there during exhibition play? He was 7 for 19 against fairly experienced pitching in Arizona.

You have to wonder how quick he will be back with the big club?

Outfield defense or lack of it? Compounding the lack of an experienced true major league centerfielder is that the two men who will play the majority of time in the corner positions are Eddie Rosario and Josh Naylor, neither of whom are known for their glove work.

The infield defense should be solid. Cesar Hernandez won a Gold Glove last year, and new shortstop Andres Gimenez won the job partly because of his glove. Jose Ramirez is very good at the hot corner.

However, perhaps the front office is counting on a lot of strikeouts because a team based on pitching like the Indians should back that strength with good defense.

Our guess is a lot of late game substitutions for defense in the outfield in games where Cleveland is ahead. That’s why the Zimmer decision was a bit curious. Although we never have been a fan because of his lack of hitting, he can go get it in the field.

Who’s Still Here in August? If the Indians get off to a slow start, expect the trade winds to start swirling, mostly involving Ramirez. The front office learned from trading Francisco Lindor was that they probably moved him too late, just one year before he was a free agent.

With Ramirez under club options through the 2023 season, it would seem the club could get maximum value dealing a superstar player with two full season left on a reasonable contract.

And if Ramirez is moved, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hernandez and/or Eddie Rosario also on the block.

If the Tribe is in contention, Ramirez is probably off the table, at least until the end of the season, but Hernandez could still be moved if one of the Tribe’s infield prospects shows they are ready to come up.

And if they are in contention, Eddie Rosario is probably having a big season.

The Cleveland management have put a lot of pressure on their young pitching staff for the 2021 season. Can they answer the challenge? If so, these questions won’t be discussed much, but if Terry Francona’s squad can’t muster up enough runs or the outfield defense is porous, you will hear a lot about all three.

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.

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.