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by TFIR
Just because I'm clogging up the Articles folder:
Predicting Tribe's 2021 Opening Day roster
1:51 PM MST
Mandy Bell
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The Indians entered Spring Training with more possible position battles than they’ve had over the past few years. And even with over two weeks of camp under their belts, there still isn’t a tremendous amount of clarity about where the roster will stand when the team leaves Goodyear, Ariz.
There are some guarantees when it comes to the 26-man roster and a lot of question marks. Let’s take an early look at how the Indians’ 2021 Opening Day roster could shake out:
Catcher (2): Roberto Pérez, Austin Hedges
After two years of battling through injuries, Pérez entered camp in excellent shape, having dropped 25 pounds over the offseason. There’s no question that Pérez will be the club’s primary catcher. What’s left to determine is just how much Hedges will spell Pérez. In a year of trimming payroll, the Indians decided to keep Hedges, who signed a one-year, $2.8 million deal to avoid arbitration. The two are very similar defensively, and could be a solid duo behind the dish.
First base (1): Bobby Bradley
It’s still nearly impossible to predict how the Indians’ first-base situation will work out. The Indians told Josh Naylor to focus on right field, leaving Bradley and Jake Bauers as the top two candidates for first base. Bauers is probably the better option defensively, and the 25-year-old talked about the positive changes he made to his mental approach after a tough 2020. However, Bradley’s power is undeniable, and after losing 35 pounds over the offseason, he feels lighter on his feet on defense. If he can become more consistent at the plate and cut down his strikeouts, he may be a hard bat to ignore. But this battle may be the tightest one the Indians have to figure out this spring.
Second base (1): Cesar Hernandez
There’s no doubt Hernandez, who earned a Gold Glove Award in a strong year at second base in 2020, will be back in that position for the club in 2021. When last season ended, both Hernandez and the Tribe expressed interest in keeping the second baseman in Cleveland, but the Indians weren’t sure if they’d have the financial flexibility to make it happen. But after a handful of offseason moves freed up their budget (even if it was just a little), they were able to ink Hernandez to a one-year, $5 million deal.
Third base (1): José Ramírez
There’s no contemplating when it comes to Ramírez’s position.
Shortstop (1): Andrés Giménez
This will continue to be a close fight between Amed Rosario and Giménez. While Rosario has more Major League experience and could be the Opening Day starter to allow Giménez to start in the Minors (for service time purposes), the Tribe could also choose to move Rosario into the outfield mix and start Giménez at short. However, because the Triple-A season will be delayed by a month, the Indians may decide against having Giménez sit at the alternate site to start the year.
Designated hitter (1): Franmil Reyes
No surprises here. Reyes’ power has him locked into the Indians’ DH role.
Utility (1): Mike Freeman
He may be on a Minor League deal, but Freeman has been in this position before. Similar to last offseason, Freeman was designated for assignment to open up some space on the 40-man roster for other roster moves. The Indians were able to re-sign the utility man to a Minor League deal, and after filling that role seamlessly for the last two seasons, Freeman immediately became the favorite to win the job once again. He’ll be competing against Yu Chang and maybe Ernie Clement this spring, but it’d be hard to imagine a situation where Freeman doesn’t break camp with the Tribe.
Outfield (5): Eddie Rosario, Josh Naylor, Oscar Mercado, Jordan Luplow, Amed Rosario
Because we have Giménez at shortstop for now, Rosario will get penciled in here. The one guarantee is that Eddie Rosario will man left field, and it’s expected that Mercado will reclaim his starting job in center. That leaves a battle between Naylor (who can also back up at first base), Luplow (who has yet to see Cactus League play due to an ankle sprain) and Daniel Johnson to win the other corner outfield spot.
Starting pitchers (5): Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill
The Tribe’s top three starters are a lock, and assuming McKenzie doesn’t run into any problems with injuries, it seems safe to assume that he proved enough in '20 to secure his place in the rotation. The fifth spot will likely come down to Quantrill, Logan Allen and Adam Plutko. The Tribe has Plutko stretching his arm out as a starter right now, but the team has indicated that could change at some point in camp. Quantrill has been the favorite to win the job, but Allen lost 35 pounds over the winter and revamped his mechanics to put himself in a strong position to compete for the final opening spot.
Relievers (8): James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Wittgren, Phil Maton, Oliver Pérez, Adam Plutko, Bryan Shaw, Kyle Nelson
Without Brad Hand, Karinchak seems to be the most obvious option to take over as the Indians' closer. The team will certainly have options in Wittgren or Clase (they’ll probably need to see a little of Clase before he’d earn that title after he missed '20 with a suspension), but Karinchak remains the favorite. From there, the bullpen could go in many different directions. Maybe Shaw and Pérez will be the non-roster invitees who break camp with the club or Blake Parker could end up having a strong showing this spring.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain