Guardians: Walks Down, So Is The Run Count

Heading into the 2022 baseball season, our biggest concern about the offense of the Cleveland Guardians was the inability to get on base.

It looked like this improved in the first six games of the year, when the Guardians drew four or more walks in five of the first half dozen contests.

And the team scored seven or more runs in four of those games.

However, since then, Guards’ hitters have drawn four or more bases on balls just once (Monday night in Anaheim, they were shutout anyway), and have only scored more than five runs twice.

And one of those games was an 11-1 win over the White Sox in which the opponents committed four charged errors, and it could have been more.

After the initial six games, Guardian hitters have had a game with 15 strikeouts and no walks, 12 punchouts and one walk, and 10 K’s with two walks.

Cleveland currently sits fifth in the AL in on base percentage, mostly because they have the second highest batting average in the league (.253, my how the game has changed).

They are 11th in drawing walks, so really not that much improvement.

Myles Straw leads the Guards in walks with 10, followed by Steven Kwan with nine, and Jose Ramirez with seven. This trio has a little more than half the free passes Cleveland has received through the first 17 games of the season (26 out of 50).

The best strikeout to walk ratios belong to these players:

Batting average OPS
Kwan 6:9 .341 956
Ramirez 7:7 .353 1.151
Straw 14:10 .261 .669
Owen Miller 8:5 .450 1.300

As you can see, if you know the strike zone, you can be a better hitter. Compare those figures to these–

Batting average OPS
Oscar Mercado 14:0 .185 655
Franmil Reyes 30:3 .161 430
Austin Hedges 13:3 .125 405
Andres Gimenez 11:1 .286 804

Gimenez is the only Guardians’ hitter with a poor strikeout to walk ratio that is putting up good numbers.

On Monday, Reyes came to the plate with runners on first and second and no one out, and actually had a 3-0 count, before swinging at two pitches out of the strike zone. That’s probably the worst at bat by a Cleveland hitter this season to date.

Certainly, with Straw, Kwan, and Ramirez at the top of the lineup, for the most part, they are making opposing pitchers work to get outs. They see a lot of pitches in most plate appearances.

The rest of the lineup save for Miller? Not so much.

It is odd that notorious hacker Amed Rosario, is tied with Miller at five bases on balls, but he is usually up there swinging if a pitch is close, and that causes him to get himself out at times.

Meanwhile, the three players who have poor numbers at judging a ball from a strike, Mercado, Bobby Bradley, and Yu Chang have combined to strikeout 22 times without drawing a walk. Again, most of that has been done by Mercado.

For the offense to pick up again, the Guardians’ hitters have to be more selective and stop swinging at bad pitches. We know, easier said than done.

And Reyes has to be better. We know he can be streaky, and part of the reason is his idea of the strike zone. Teams have already started to pitch around Ramirez. The opponents have to pay for doing that.

Some Trends Developing For Guardians

As we found out, the COVID 19 virus is still very much among us and the Cleveland Guardians have had four players test positive. This has forced roster moves we are sure the organization didn’t want to make.

We figured to see Enyel De Los Santos sometime after the starting pitchers were sufficiently stretched out. The former Phillie and Pirate right-hander pitched well enough in spring training that is was a surprise he didn’t come north to start the regular season.

However, Kirk McCarty and Tanner Tully were not in the plans at least in April, but here they are because Cal Quantrill and Anthony Castro had to be put on the injured list.

Losing the red hot Owen Miller doesn’t help the batting attack either. Miller was 14 for 28 with seven extra base hits to start the season, and along with Jose Ramirez, was the best hitter Terry Francona put in the lineup.

While it is still early, there are trends from Francona in doling out playing time.

First, despite the talk about playing Amed Rosario some in left field in spring training, that appears to be dead. Rosario dropped a fly ball on a very windy opening day and apparently that was the end of that.

The problem is that Rosario is a below average shortstop defensively. Andres Gimenez is better and when Gabriel Arias was up yesterday, he’s also better. Both of those young players are playing second base while Rosario continues to play the most important defensive spot on the infield.

Very, very odd.

As for Gimenez, it seems the organization is viewing him as a platoon guy right now. He’s had two at bats vs. LHP so far, and when a southpaw starts for the opposition, the Guardians have used Yu Chang, Miller, Arias, and Ernie Clement at second.

He has hit when he’s played, going 5 for 17, although he has fanned four times without drawing a walk.

It could be that Francona is simply finding time for guys like Clement and Chang against a left-hander, but it seems odd to make a 23-year-old a platoon piece.

Something to watch over the next week or two is how the Guardians handle Bobby Bradley. The left-handed slugger already lost playing time to Miller when the latter got hot, and now with Josh Naylor back, how does the skipper find at bats for him?

Naylor has split his time thus far equally between first base and right field.

Maybe with Miller out, Bradley gets a shot at some playing time, but it looks like the organization already is sour on him because of his extreme swing and miss tendencies, something the management seems to be getting away from.

A player who is getting playing time regularly is Oscar Mercado, and he started out hot, belting three home runs. However, he’s just 9 for 39 overall, and has fanned 11 times without drawing a walk. Just how long is his new found power (six extra base hits) sustainable with that strike zone judgment.

He’s another who could lose time with Naylor back, and don’t forget, Oscar Gonzalez has started off hot in Columbus.

Plenty of these young players are getting opportunities with the big club right now. The guys who take advantage should get a long look at the beginning of this 2022 season.

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.

Cleveland Baseball Has Big Chore In Improving Offense This Winter

The Cleveland baseball team ended it’s season on Sunday, just missing a non-losing season at 80-82, their first non-winning season since 2012, when they finished 68-94 and Manny Acta lost his job.

They finished 13 games out of first in the AL Central, and 12 games out of a wild card spot, but despite almost breaking even this year, hopefully the ownership and front office realize there is a lot to fix if they want to be in the hunt for a playoff spot in 2022.

There are a lot of weaknesses on this ballclub that need to be addressed. According to Baseballreference.com, the Guardians have the worst catching in the American League, the second worst play out of their first basemen, and the fourth worst second base play.

Looking at the division winning White Sox, they have no positions ranking last or second to last in terms of value. NOTE: This is using WAR.

No doubt this organization values defense and handling a pitching staff at the catching position, but Austin Hedges and Roberto Perez were pretty much useless with a bat in their hands this season.

Hedges hit 30 points higher than Perez (.178 vs. .149) but still had a lower OPS (527 vs. 564) because he simply refuses to walk. It is doubtful (to us) that both will return in ’22, and our guess is that Hedges will be the regular. He is younger and makes less money.

Cleveland simply needs to get more offense out of the position going forward.

At first base, while Bobby Bradley looks like Ted Williams compared to Jake Bauers, especially in the power department, the fact remains, the Guardians need more offense out of the position. Bradley did slug 16 home runs, but by and large is an out maker, with an on base percentage of just .294.

He also still has severe contact issues, fanning 99 times in 279 plate appearances.

We are a little bit more optimistic at second, because we think Owen Miller’s minor league hitting prowess will translate. That said, it didn’t in the second half, but he did hit .236 (638 OPS) in the second half.

If we were in charge, he would get the first shot at the everyday job in spring training.

This team also needs guys who can get on base, and by this we mean not “out makers”. The only measurement of baseball is the number of outs, and Cleveland has a lot of players who make a lot of outs.

It is not a surprise that the top five teams in runs scored in the AL all rank in the top six in the league in on base percentage. We understand you need extra base hits too, to get those runners home, but the Indians/Guardians/Tribe has one player that gets on base more than 35% of the time: Jose Ramirez. Myles Straw fell just short at .349.

And there are not many who avoid making outs in more than 70% of the plate appearances either. The next closest player to Straw is the strikeout prone, hit by pitch king Bradley Zimmer at .325, followed by Franmil Reyes at .324, and then Amed Rosario, who finished at .321, despite a .282 batting average.

By the way, that’s tough to do.

We talked about catcher, 1B, and 2B, but in reality, Cleveland should be satisfied only with Ramirez, Reyes, and Straw. They should be looking for an upgrade at every other spot.

That’s a tall task for the front office.

You win with pitching, but you have to score runs to get to the post-season. Four of the playoff teams in the American League rank in the top five in the league in runs scored.

Cleveland has to improve their offense next season. Hopefully, the front office isn’t fooled by some brief glimpses of hope by certain players in the last two months of the 2021 season.

Tribe Needs To Do Better Vs. Good Pitching

It would not be shocking to say the Cleveland Indians need offense in the off-season. After all they rank 10th in the American League in runs scored, 12th in drawing walks, and 13th in on base percentage.

They also have a dreadful record against the better teams in the league, save for the divisional rival Chicago White Sox, who they have an 9-9 record against.

They are 9-25 against the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, and Blue Jays, all of whom have won 85 games or more this season, so they will all approach 90 victories. And throw in the beating administered at Progressive Field by Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago, and that mark drops to 9-28.

After an offensive resurgence in August, the hitting has been abysmal in September, as Friday night marked the fifth time (in 24 games) that the Indians were whitewashed. They have also scored 3 runs or less 14 times (more than half for non math majors) in the last month of the season.

The league average for runs scored by an AL team this year is 4.6, and Cleveland averages 4.38, making them below average, which we already established.

We wanted to see how they did against the best pitching staffs in the league. Tampa leads the AL in ERA and in the seven games against the Rays, Tribe hitters scored 23 runs, just 3.3 per contest.

New York is second, and thanks to the pair of drubbings in Yankee Stadium last weekend, the Indians averaged over five runs per game. They also had the best record against them out of all the AL East post-season contenders.

Third best in ERA is the White Sox, and although the Tribe is 9-9 against them, they are only scoring four runs. Fourth place Houston? Cleveland went 1-6, averaging exactly 3 runs a game.

Toronto is known for their hitting, but they are 5th in ERA and the Tribe scored just 22 runs in the seven games, which is a 3.1 average. Then comes Oakland, whom the Indians went 2-4 against, mainly because they scored just 17 runs in the six games, which is less than three per contest.

Why have the Tribe struggled against the good teams? Because they can’t score against good pitching staffs, and they have to get some bats that can succeed against the better hurlers in the game.

We have long maintained that you have to score runs to get to the playoffs. The top five in the Junior Circuit this year? Houston (likely AL West champs), Tampa Bay (playoffs), Toronto (wild card contender), Boston, (wild card leader), and the AL Central champion White Sox.

And against good teams, you have to execute offensively. How many times this season have the Indians had a leadoff double, only to see the runner never move off second? It happened Friday night when Owen Miller got to second base with no one out, only to see Roberto Perez, Oscar Mercado, and Bradley Zimmer not even put a ball in play.

Yes, the Indians are a young team, so there is room for improvement and growth, but on the other hand, we haven’t seen many hitters making adjustments from at bat to at bat against good pitching, recognizing what the opposing guy on the mound is trying to do and then counteracting it.

Some times you have to tip your hat to the pitchers. We have seen opponents have to do that to Tribe pitchers.

It can’t just be Jose Ramirez though. The Indians have to be able to handle good pitching, and it hasn’t just been this season. It’s one of the reasons the franchise hasn’t won a post-season game since they took a 2-0 lead against the Yankees in the 2017 Division Series.

Is The Tribe Finding Out About Anyone?

Since the Major League Baseball trading deadline on July 30th, the Cleveland Indians have been focusing more on the 2022 season than on securing a post-season berth. But six weeks into the process, have they learned anything that will help them?

The Tribe has used a revolving door at second base, in both corner outfield spots, and in the bullpen. We feel they know they have a leadoff man and centerfielder in Myles Straw, but do they know anything more about the players they have been running in and out of the lineup.

First, let’s discuss Straw, who has played 39 games with Cleveland, getting on base 37.5% of the time, stealing 10 bases, and playing tremendous defense in center. Straw plays shallow, which we love, because he has a tremendous ability to go back on the ball.

At the other spots, though, do we know any more than we did before the end of July.

In the outfield, Bradley Zimmer had a nice hot streak where he belted some long home runs, but in the last 28 days, he’s hit .203 with a 613 OPS and just two homers. Perhaps the front office has finally learned he isn’t a part of the future, but if that’s true, then why not get more of a look at Daniel Johnson, who has had just 42 at bats since the All Star Game.

Oscar Mercado? He’s gone 22 for 97 since the trade deadline, with 3 home runs. He’s improved his strikeout/walk ratio but he’s still not getting enough hits. On the other hand, he’s only had 96 at bats, so is that enough to make a judgment on him?

At second base, the Indians has used a mixture of Owen Miller, Andres Gimenez, Yu Chang, and when he was here, Ernie Clement at the position, and to date Chang has been the hottest hitter, and seems to have received the least amount of at bats.

Perhaps that shows what the organization thinks of the 25-year-old infielder, who over the last month has gone 14 for 49 (.286) with four home runs.

Miller has gone 16 for 61 (.262) with two dingers, and Gimenez is 14 for 67 (.209) since the deadline.

The bigger question is does a 70 at bat stretch give you any insight as to who should the organization thinks can help the Guardians next season? Or will the team go through the process of being unsure in spring training and then into April and May about who can play everyday?

Wouldn’t it have been better to just say, Miller will play second base after the Cesar Hernandez deal, and given him 150-200 at bats to see if he’s the answer there? Or just play Zimmer or Mercado everyday to find out if either is a viable everyday player in the bigs?

To us, this is a major flaw for the front office, they are afraid to trust their judgment and possibly make a mistake. We are called this the “Aguilar Syndrome”, named after Jesus Aguilar, who received 58 at bats in three seasons for Cleveland, and then went on to have solid career (a 30 HR season, and likely his second 100 RBI season this year) for Milwaukee and Miami.

That should be a regret, but a player like Gio Urshela, who had over 400 at bats with the Tribe and hit .225 should not.

The Indians could have used the last two months to pick two or three players and make firm evaluations. Instead, they went with the revolving door method to give everyone a chance. Do they know any more about any of these players?

Maybe Zimmer, who is going to be 29. But we fear not anyone else.

Things To Watch For Tribe In September

In many ways it feels hard to believe that the Major League Baseball season has just one month left. It seems like yesterday that Shane Bieber allowed a home run to Miguel Cabrera in a snowstorm at Comerica Park in Detroit.

But here we are, and the Indians have just 33 games remaining. And that’s literal too, because once the campaign is over, the name goes away, and when spring training starts next February, the Cleveland baseball team will be the Guardians.

Even though the front office seems to be focused more on the 2022 season and finding out what players currently on the roster will be able to help next season, the Tribe is still just five games out in the lost column for the second wild card spot and we have always felt there is a chance if you enter September five games or less out of a playoff spot.

That’s a long shot, obviously.

What else is there to look for with the season winding down towards a conclusion?

One thing to watch is the return of Aaron Civale and Shane Bieber. If all went well for Civale last night, he should return to the rotation when the team returns home on Labor Day. By the way, we know pitchers’ wins doesn’t hold the cache it used to, but even though the right-hander has missed a little more than two months, he’s still 7th in the AL in wins with 10.

Bieber could start to make rehab appearances in minor league games next week, which could have him back on the mound in a major league game by the middle of the month.

We have said before it would be important for the organization and the pitchers’ themselves to know they are healthy heading into the off-season.

And we will be left imagining a rotation of Bieber, Civale, Cal Quantrill, Triston McKenzie, and Zach Plesac heading into the ’22 season.

A baseball axiom is not to trust anything done in April or September, but the outgoing position battles in the outfield and at second base bears watching.

At second, we will likely see a revolving door with Andres Gimenez, Owen Miller, and Yu Chang getting opportunities.

Chang has hit well over the last month (12 for 34, 5 HR), Miller has an excellent minor league pedigree as a hitter, and Gimenez, the only left-handed hitter of the trio, hasn’t hit well since being recalled, but has shown a much better eye at the plate.

Can one of them get a leg up on the starting job heading into Goodyear?

The same goes for the ongoing competition in the outfielder, really in the corners, because it appears Myles Straw has taken command in center.

Harold Ramirez has returned and he will be added to the mix along with Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, and Daniel Johnson.

Zimmer has had a great deal of success since the All Star break, hitting .272 with 6 homers (806 OPS) in that span. However, he’s also fanned 48 times in 142 plate appearances (33.8%), which is very high. He’s hit long, long home runs, true, but is that type of production sustainable.

Mercado has improved his walk rate, but has hit just .223 in the second half (625 OPS), and for the year hasn’t done well vs. RHP (.205 batting average). As a right-handed hitter, he isn’t as good as Ramirez, who has decent enough numbers against righties, although Mercado is a better defender.

As for Johnson, he’s gone 15 for 50 with four dingers in the second half of the season, even though he was sent to AAA during that stretch. It looks like the organization has decided he can’t hit lefties, because he’s pinch hit for whenever a southpaw is throwing.

Johnson has a terrible strikeout to walk ratio (23:3), but we would like to see him get some opportunities vs. lefties.

It would be interesting to see what would happen though, if the Tribe won five or six in a row and got within, say, three games out in the loss column? That would be fun to see.

Who Among The Young Tribe Is Stepping Up?

With the Cleveland Indians basically treading water right now, hovering right around the .500 mark for the season, the balance of the schedule has become important for other reasons. Mostly, it is a chance for a bunch of unproven players to make their mark and get a leg up on a roster spot in 2022.

Who is taking advantage of the opportunity? We wouldn’t completely rule out anyone is has struggled, but certainly there are players seizing the moment.

Bradley Zimmer is one of them. The 28-year-old former first round draft pick has certainly done his part to say don’t forget about me. He’s hit .284 with 5 HR and an 847 OPS since the All Star break. He’s still striking out a lot (30 times in his last 87 at bats), but is making an impact at the plate and the glove, mostly playing RF since Myles Straw was acquired.

Speaking of Straw, he’s made a good impression since his arrival in town, batting .289 with a .365 on base percentage in a Tribe uniform. Frankly, we would like to see him (and his teammates who have speed) start running more often. And his defense has been excellent in CF.

We kind of think of Ernie Clement as a utility man type, able to play all the infield spots, and play them well. He’s made a number of outstanding plays at third already this season. At the plate, he’s been okay perhaps some people have expected, hitting .250, including a couple of home runs. He’s earning the trust of the coaching staff and getting more playing time.

When Daniel Johnson was sent back to AAA a couple of weeks ago, we felt it was strange because he was actually starting the swing the bat much better. Since the break, he’s gone 10 for 32 with three dingers, meaning before the 2 for 4 Tuesday, he was 8 for 28 before he was sent down. He needs to be more selective, walking only once, but it appears he’s starting to get comfortable in The Show.

As for the players who have not yet taken the bull by the horns, Oscar Mercado continues to struggle, batting just .191 (550 OPS). The outfielder is walking more (11 times vs. 13 K’s in 89 at bats), but he’s not getting hits. His defense has been very good, but he needs to start raising his on base percentage, which sits at .280.

Owen Miller’s minor league numbers are impressive (.300 lifetime batting average and over 800 OPS), and we still believe he will hit at the major league level, but he continues to struggle, hitting .190 (578 OPS) in the second half. He is being more patient at the plate, and perhaps that is a portend he is feeling more at ease in the majors.

Bobby Bradley burst into the big leagues this season with a bang, but the slumps associated with someone who strikes out as much as he has have cropped up. Currently out with the knee injury, the slugger has gone 7 for 46 since the break, striking out 26 times vs. five walks. Power or no, you can’t earn regular playing time with that kind of production.

Andres Gimenez joined the team just a couple of weeks ago, but hasn’t shown much of a difference in his production, going just 4 for 24 since his recall. He has walked six times vs. one strikeout, so that is a good sign for him.

The opportunity to stake a claim to be a Guardian is right there for these players. Can they close the season doing enough that the front office wants to see more?

Tribe Season Now Is About Getting Answers

In the middle of June, the Cleveland Indians looked like a team that could challenge the White Sox for the AL Central Division title, and be in the mix for a post-season berth.

After beating Minnesota on June 24th, the Tribe was ten games over .500 at 41-31 just two games behind Chicago. Yes, they seemed to be doing it with mirrors, but they were winning.

On the other hand, you felt it was a matter of time before the injuries to the starting pitching staff would take its toll.

Cleveland lost 11 of their next 12 games and the team fell 8 games off the pace.

Suddenly, the rest of this season becomes about not just winning baseball games, but also finding out things, getting answers of players.

We would think based on the current players in the organization, the only positions that can be etched in stone for 2022: Jose Ramirez at 3B, Franmil Reyes at DH, and probably Myles Straw in CF.

Here are questions to be asked, and our thoughts on the answers.

Can Bobby Bradley claim a regular job heading into spring training 2022? To us, the key to that is can Bradley develop enough plate discipline. He’s more patient for sure, but it hasn’t translated into drawing walks. His strikeouts are down a bit (40.8% to 35.6%) and walks are up (8.2% to 10.3%) from his brief appearance in 2019.

You can live with the strikeouts if he can draw more walks, but can he do that.

Our guess is the Tribe will be looking for someone else to play the spot, perhaps Josh Naylor?, in 2022.

Can Owen Miller figure in the mix? His minor league pedigree (.305 batting average, 818 OPS) say he should be able to, but he’s hitting .139 in 72 at bats thus far. Since getting called back up, he been slightly better (5 for 21, 3 walks), but has to start putting together consistent at bats.

We’d give him a long look because of those minor league numbers. The Indians could use a solid bat, and need to see if Miller can be one.

What’s the future of Amed Rosario? Rosario has one of the higher batting averages on the team, and he has great speed, but he doesn’t walk (just 23 in 405 plate appearances) and really doesn’t provide any pop. His 697 OPS is below league average and his defense at short has been very shaky.

With Andres Gimenez back up, it will be interesting to see how Rosario is used. The Tribe has to feel Gimenez is the better glove, so where does that leave Rosario? Especially when they have to see what Miller can do with consistent at bats.

We get that isn’t a popular opinion, but we don’t see Rosario in the long term future for the Tribe.

What about the outfield? Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff didn’t get Straw to sit, he’s going to get everyday playing time in CF. So, can someone out of Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, Harold Ramirez, and even Daniel Johnson seize a spot for next year?

Remember, Zimmer is the oldest of that quartet at 29, Johnson the youngest at 25. Like it or not, that could be a determining factor. We are sure that management would love it if one of them got hot at the plate and take a job. Right now, only Ramirez is even average with a bat in his hand.

The front office has to find out the answers to these questions because otherwise they will likely be stuck with the same logjam when they take the field in Goodyear next February.

The dynamic of the team and the coaching staff will still be to win as maybe games as they can, but with an eye on development of these players, some of whom aren’t as young as you think. As Antonetti says, it’s like threading the eye of a needle.

An Intriguing Week For The Tribe, To Be Sure.

With the Major League Baseball trade deadline at the end of July, Tribe fans had to know it would be an eventful week, and it lived up to the billing.

Yes, team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff made some deals, but the big news was the announcement that Terry Francona was leaving the team for health reasons, and would not be back this season.

Francona’s health has now caused him to miss parts of the last two seasons, and we hope that he gets the medical attention he needs and will be back in the dugout for Opening Day 2022. And if he chooses to retire, his next stop will be Cooperstown.

Many Indians’ fans have decried the trades as throwing in the towel on the season or as ownership cutting more payroll.

Let’s face it, the Tribe has an uphill battle to make the post-season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep battling for interim skipper DeMarlo Hale, and although Cesar Hernandez and Eddie Rosario were among the highest paid players on the team, it’s not exactly like they were having all-star caliber seasons.

Hernandez did have a career high in home runs, but his on base percentage was down almost 50 points from a year ago and almost 40 points from his career mark. And his defense noticeably dipped as well. So, the team will get a look at youngsters Owen Miller and/or Andres Gimenez, although when the latter comes up it should be to play shortstop.

Would we be shocked if either provided more offensively than Hernandez? We would answer only slightly.

As for Rosario, everyone was excited by his signing because of the way he hit against Cleveland as a member of the Minnesota Twins. That Eddie Rosario didn’t show up this season, certainly in terms of power. His slugging percentage is almost 100 points less than his days in the Twin Cities.

He was second on the team in RBIs when he was injured, so he did contribute there.

Still, the team’s production at both positions was below league average, and in the case of Rosario, he was unlikely to be back in 2022.

Both of those moves were predictable, but the other two deals weren’t to us. We figured a reliever might be moved, but most thought it would be Bryan Shaw. However, it was underutilized (at least to us) Phil Maton that went to Houston for a very intriguing piece in CF Myles Straw.

Straw was the Astros primary centerfielder, hitting .262 with a 665 OPS. He’s got speed, currently 4th in the American League in steals. Oddly, Straw didn’t like hitting in Minute Maid Park, compiling a .297 batting average and 739 OPS on the road. Hopefully, that’s the guy the Indians will see.

What does Straw means for the future of Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, and even Daniel Johnson in a Cleveland uniform? We would certainly like to see more of Johnson, who after starting the season 0 for 9, actually has gone 9 for 35. Not great, but an Indians who gets a hit in every four at bats isn’t exactly common.

Trading Jordan Luplow thins out the crowded (not production wise) outfield, and that was the biggest surprise. Luplow had tremendous number vs. southpaws and we would have liked to seen him get a full time chance because his minor league numbers showed he could hit righties.

The pitcher Cleveland received from Tampa for Luplow, Peyton Battenfield, has 95 strikeouts in 67-1/3 innings this season in the minors, so it could be the Tribe really wanted the arm. This year showed they needed some pitching depth in the high levels of the minor leagues.

Are the Indians a better team than they were on Wednesday? It remains to be seen, but they didn’t exactly break up an offensive juggernaut. Maybe Straw provides better hitting than what Tribe centerfielders have contributed so far. Maybe Owen Miller starts to show the stroke he had in the minors.

While not truly giving up on the season (see, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals), the front office is looking toward 2022. And based on the last month, which saw a nine game losing streak, why not?