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Guardians Rumors

Quick Hits: Lindor, Galvis, C. Taylor, Olympics

By Connor Byrne | March 5, 2020 at 1:01am CDT

As recently as mid-February, Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor called Cleveland “home” and expressed a willingness to stay with the club. No extension has come together yet, but Indians president Chris Antonetti said Tuesday that “neither side has given up trying,” per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. However, Lindor noted he has an “early March” deadline on contract talks, so it appears the Indians are running out of time to lock him up in the near future (if they haven’t already). Odds have long been against the Indians finding a way to keep Lindor from hitting free agency when his team control runs out after 2021, as the 26-year-old is on pace to wind up with one of the largest contracts in the history of the game if and when he reaches the open market.

  • Reds shortstop Freddy Galvis suffered “a quad strain during a baserunning drill,” according to manager David Bell (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Galvis underwent an MRI, but the severity of the injury isn’t known at this time. The Reds looked ripe for an upgrade at short during the offseason, but they instead stuck with Galvis, whom they claimed from Toronto last August and then retained by way of a $5.5MM club option during the winter. Now, if Galvis’ injury is severe enough to cost him regular-season time, it’s unclear who will fill in at short for the Reds. Alex Blandino and Kyle Farmer might be the most logical in-house choices, but neither brings much experience to the table.
  • Dodgers utility player Chris Taylor’s out of action for the moment after taking a pitch off the back of the left shoulder, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. There’s no indication that it’s anything but a minor injury for Taylor, whom a fractured left forearm limited to 124 games in 2019. The versatile Taylor was a highly valuable player for the Dodgers from 2017-18, but his numbers dipped last season during a campaign in which he batted .262/.333/.462 with 1.7 fWAR in 414 plate appearances.
  • Major League Baseball and the MLBPA reached a deal with the world baseball governing body that will allow minor leaguers to participate in this summer’s Olympic Games, the Yonhap News Agency relays. The agreement will give national teams the right to select minor leaguers from MLB teams’ 40-man rosters to participate in the Olympics, but anyone on a 26-man roster will be protected. That means there could be some familiar names to baseball fans in the Olympics, which will include the sport for the first time in 12 years.
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Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Dodgers Notes Chris Taylor Francisco Lindor Freddy Galvis

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Indians’ Emmanuel Clase Out 8-12 Weeks With Teres Major Strain

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2020 at 9:59am CDT

The Indians received another injury blow Thursday, as an MRI revealed a moderate strain of the teres major muscle in hard-throwing young reliever Emmanuel Clase’s back (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). Clase, the main player Cleveland received in the trade that sent Corey Kluber to the Rangers, is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks of game activity.

If the injury sounds familiar to Indians fans, that’s because it’s the same muscle strain that sidelined right-hander Mike Clevinger for more than two months early in the 2019 season. Clevinger landed on the IL on April 9 and was able to make it back on the shorter end of that timetable — returning to action in just under 10 weeks’ time, on June 17.

The loss of Clase is tough for the Indians not only because it leaves them with only Delino DeShields Jr. as an immediate return for Kluber but also because Clase had been expected to be a key late-inning weapon for manager Terry Francona. Clase made his big league debut at just 21 years old last year, showing off a triple-digit sinker that helped him pitch to a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio and a whopping 60.6 percent ground-ball rate in 23 1/3 innings of work.

Clase has been heralded as a potential closer of the future in the Indians organization, although for the time being (once healthy), he’s likely to serve as a setup piece for All-Star closer Brad Hand. With Clase sidelined, the Indians will likely look to right-hander Nick Wittgren as the primary setup option for Hand. Other options in the ’pen include veteran lefty Oliver Perez, as well as right-handers Adam Cimber and Hunter Wood. There’s a fair bit of competition for the final few bullpen spots to begin the season — particularly now that Clase will begin the season on the 15-day injured list. (Remember: Major League Baseball upped the minimum IL stay for pitchers from 10 to 15 days, effective in 2020.)

While it’s a disheartening start to the beginning of Clase’s Indians tenure, he’ll have plenty of time to make an impact with his new club. Clase has yet to accrue a full year of MLB service time, though he’ll likely cross that threshold at some point in 2020. He’s under team control through at least the 2025 season and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until the completion of the 2022 season.

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Health Notes: Clase, Nimmo, May, Stock

By Steve Adams | February 26, 2020 at 8:53pm CDT

The Indians are awaiting the results of an MRI on flamethrowing relief prospect Emmanuel Clase, the team told reporters Wednesday (link via Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer). The 21-year-old righty has been feeling discomfort in his latissimus dorsi recently, including during yesterday’s throwing session, per GM Mike Chernoff. Clase, armed with a triple-digit sinker, was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Corey Kluber to Texas over the winter. Cleveland received the young righty and backup outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. in that swap, so any notable injury for Clase would leave the team with a part-time outfielder (and, of course, salary relief) as the immediate return for Kluber. If healthy, Clase should factor prominently into the Cleveland ’pen in 2020. He made his MLB debut in 2019, pitching to a 2.31 ERA with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 innings of relief for the Rangers.

Some more injury situations worth monitoring…

  • Brandon Nimmo gave Mets fans something of a scare today, though details surrounding his status are still somewhat sparse. Nimmo was scratched from today’s game after the team’s cardiologist recommended that he undergo additional cardiac testing, the club told reporters (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Manager Luis Rojas eventually labeled the extra tests as “precautionary” and downplayed the severity of the issue, but it’s certainly out of the ordinary to see players go through multiple waves of cardiac examinations. The 26-year-old Nimmo missed a good chunk of the 2019 season due to neck issues and hit .221/.375/.407 through 254 plate appearances when healthy. Nimmo has been an on-base machine in his career, as evidenced by a lifetime .254/.387/.440 slash, but the 2018 season remains the only year in which he’s even played 70 games at the MLB level.
  • Prized Dodgers pitching prospect Dustin May is still being slowed by muscle pain in his side and hasn’t thrown off a mound since the first day of camp, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. May impressed in his MLB debut in 2019, pitching to a 3.63 ERA with 32 strikeouts and just five walks in 34 2/3 innings of work despite the fact that he just turned 22 this past September. He ranks within the game’s top 25 overall prospects at Baseball America, FanGraphs, MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and The Athletic. However, between the acquisition of David Price, the return of Alex Wood and May’s early discomfort, it’s not clear whether the touted young righty will factor into the Opening Day mix for the Dodgers. He should play a significant role on their pitching staff in 2020 regardless, but he’s a ways behind the rest of the club’s pitchers in camp at this point.
  • Perhaps no team has seen more bullpen injuries than the Phillies over the past year, and it seems that trend is continuing. Manager Joe Girardi tells Matt Gelb of The Athletic that right-hander Robert Stock is dealing with forearm tightness — possibly a flexor tendon issue. That’s an ominous outlook for any pitcher, though at this point there’s no timetable or definitive diagnosis, as he’s still undergoing testing. Stock, 30, is far from a household name but is on the Phillies’ 40-man roster, so a notable absence would likely lead to some additional moves. He spent the past two seasons with the Padres, struggling through 10 2/3 innings in 2019 but posting a sharp 2.50 ERA with just under a strikeout per inning in 39 2/3 frames back in 2018.
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Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Notes Philadelphia Phillies Brandon Nimmo Delino DeShields Jr. Dustin May Emmanuel Clase Robert Stock

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Health Notes: Suarez, Piscotty, Archer, Clase/Civale

By Jeff Todd | February 24, 2020 at 4:39pm CDT

Fortunately, there hasn’t been much in the way of negative health news to this point of Spring Training. Let’s check in on a few issues that have arisen …

  • Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez is feeling both excitement and some trepidation as he nears readiness to test his recently tweaked shoulder, as Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Indication remains that Suarez could conceivably be ready to roll on Opening Day. He says he’s getting his timing down even as he avoids throwing or swinging full-bore. But there are also some nerves as he prepares to ramp up. “Just a little bit because I know I have something there,” Suarez said when asked whether he’s nervous. “I don’t want to get hurt again. I have to be careful. We’ll see what happens.”
  • After a disappointing 2019 season, the last thing Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty wants to deal with is another injury issue. Right now, the hope is that his oblique/rib cage problem isn’t going to represent a major limitation, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. But Piscotty might be down for another week and it’s beginning to look like Opening Day readiness could be in doubt. That’d be a disappointment, of course, but it’s surely better than rushing back and ending up with a bigger problem.
  • Neck tightness kept Pirates righty Chris Archer from making a scheduled outing today, as Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. There hasn’t been a substantial update just yet, but there’s no reason to believe that this is more than a minor blip.
  • It’s a similar situation in Indians’ camp, where righties Emmanuel Clase and Aaron Civale have been limited. As MLB.com’s Mandy Bell tweets, the former is dealing with lat discomfort and the latter a sore groin. While Clase is going to slow his build-up to let things calm down, Civale is preparing to throw a sim game.
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Lonnie Chisenhall Retires

By Mark Polishuk | February 23, 2020 at 11:03pm CDT

Lonnie Chisenhall is retiring after eight MLB seasons.  As reported by J.J. Smith of the Carteret County News-Times, the former Indians third baseman/outfielder discussed his decision while attending a jersey dedication ceremony in his honor at his former middle school in Newport, North Carolina.

“I’ve only played 29 games in the past two years.  So between that, and I have three kids at home, they are all in school, traveling around the country wasn’t practical anymore.  It was a pretty easy decision,” Chisenhall said during a question-and-answer portion of the assembly with Newport Middle School students.

The 31-year-old hangs up his cleats after 688 Major League games, all with Cleveland from 2011-18.  Chisenhall was a highly-touted young player, drafted 29th overall by the Indians in 2008 and given high placements (31st in 2010, 25th in 2011) on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect lists.  Unfortunately, injuries were a constant presence in Chisenhall’s career and perhaps prevented him from fully living up to that top-prospect status, though he still managed to be a productive player over his eight seasons.

Chisenhall hit .268/.320/.427 with 64 home runs over 2360 career plate appearances, good for a 102 OPS+ and wRC+.  Most of that success came against right-handed pitching for the lefty-swinging Chisenhall, though he produced good numbers against both lefties and righties over his final two seasons, which saw him post an .872 OPS over 365 PA while battling numerous injuries.

The most notable of those injuries was a series of nagging calf problems that, ultimately, brought an end to Chisenhall’s career.  As he noted while talking to Newport’s students, he was limited to only 29 MLB games in 2018 and then didn’t appear at all in the big leagues last season, playing just seven games with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate after signing a one-year, $2.75MM deal with Pittsburgh last offseason.

MLB Trade Rumors wishes Chisenhall congratulations on a fine career, and wishes him well in his post-playing endeavors.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/20

By George Miller | February 23, 2020 at 4:51pm CDT

Let’s keep up to date with the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Indians announced that they’ve inked left-hander Ty Boyles to a minor league contract. The 23-year-old southpaw, a 2013 draftee of the Reds, has spent his entire 7-year professional career in the Cincinnati organization, reaching as high as the Double-A level last year. After beginning his career as a starter, Boyles transitioned to a full-time relief role last year, getting into 47 games and working 66 total innings. He struck out 64 batters against 34 walks, notching a 4.36 ERA in his first full season in the bullpen. He was a 2018 participant in the Arizona Fall League. He’ll report to minor league camp with his new organization.
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Quick Hits: Puig, Arbitration Process, Royals, Montgomery

By TC Zencka | February 22, 2020 at 8:14am CDT

The status of top remaining free agent Yasiel Puig remains up in the air as Spring Training baseball kicks off today. The mercurial and ever-entertaining pugilist got everyday at-bats in 2019 after a couple years of more judicious playing time with the Dodgers – but the results don’t have teams lined up with contract offers. Puig hit .267/.327/.458 across 611 plate appearances with the Reds and Indians with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. Puig’s singular personality makes his on-field contributions just a part of the overall package, but even after a year of modest production (101 wRC+), Puig ought to be able to find a job somewhere. Latest reports have the White Sox and Rockies as potential landing spots for Puig, per Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101. The Athletic’s Nick Groke downplays the Rockies interest (via Twitter), however. 

  • CAA agent Jeff Berry lost two arbitration cases this week. Arbitration panels chose the team award amount in cases for J.T. Realmuto and Josh Hader, two transformative performers trying to make their cases to earn beyond the scope of their positional historical comps, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Said Berry of the proceedings, “This was about two guys (Hader and Realmuto) willing to go to the mat to fight for what’s right, and hopefully other players take notice.”  It’s possible to look at the results and presume that Berry overestimated his cases for both superstars (within the confines of the current system). It’s surely a fine line between fighting for the best result in an uneven system and politicking for change. Either way, the arbitration panel could use some work. Rosenthal brought a particularly interesting point to the foreground, noting that either the players’ union or MLB “can unilaterally fire any arbitrator at any time.” That’s certainly an inflection point for turning a supposedly unbiased system into one rife for manipulation.
  • After trading for Cubs’ swingman Mike Montgomery in July, the Royals believe he can reach another gear when settled into a starting role, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star. The Cubs thought the same thing when they acquired Montgomery in the middle of 2016. Though the Cubs never found consistent work for Montgomery in the rotation, he played an important role as a swingman for Chicago. And of course, never forget, he earned the save in game seven of the 2016 World Series. Not for nothing, but Montgomery has desired a rotation slot for some time now, and it could be that the consistency and trust the Royals plan on giving him in his role will have the desired effect – but only time will tell. In 13 starts after the trade last season, Montgomery went 2-7 with a 4.64 ERA/5.23 FIP while striking out 7.2 batters per nine innings.
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Carlos Carrasco Day-To-Day With Hip Flexor Strain

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 9:20am CDT

February 21: Indians fans can breathe a sigh of relief, it seems. Bell tweets that the MRI revealed a mild strain of Carrasco’s hip flexor but nothing more serious. The club has listed him as day-to-day.

February 20: In more ominous news surrounding an already banged-up Indians rotation, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that righty Carlos Carrasco is slated to undergo an MRI on his right leg. MLB.com’s Mandy Bell tweets that Carrasco entered the clubhouse this morning using a crutch after experiencing discomfort in his most recent workouts. The club offered no further specifics, Hoynes adds.

Carrasco, 33 next month, won American League Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2019 after stepping away from baseball in May following a leukemia diagnosis but returning to great (and well-deserved) fanfare just three months later. He struggled in a bullpen role down the stretch, but the results were secondary to the rapid, remarkable recovery for one of the game’s best and most respected pitchers.

Cleveland is already down a starter following Mike Clevinger’s meniscus surgery. There’s hope that he won’t be sidelined for much of the regular season, but he’s still very early in the recovery process. Regardless, the pair of injuries to two of the Indians’ three most notable starters is a worrisome development — particularly in light of the offseason trade that sent Corey Kluber to Texas.

Right-hander Shane Bieber is the top healthy name in the rotation mix at present. The Indians have a characteristically deep mix of alternatives from which to draw. Right-handers Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Jefry Rodriguez and Adam Plutko all threw in the big leagues last season. Lefties Logan Allen and Scott Moss could be options, too, and well-regarded prospect also Triston McKenzie looms in the upper minors. If the Indians want to add some depth from outside the organization, there are still a few notable names who’ve yet to sign (e.g. Jason Vargas, Andrew Cashner, Clay Buchholz, Clayton Richard, Matt Harvey).

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AL Notes: Red Sox, Rusney, Sale, Indians, Pujols

By Connor Byrne | February 20, 2020 at 11:44pm CDT

Remember Rusney Castillo? Signed to a seven-year, $72.5MM contract in August 2014, the Cuban outfielder had a rough season in the majors with the Red Sox the next year and has barely appeared in the majors since. The Red Sox have minimized their luxury-tax bill by keeping Castillo in the minors, and he’s likely to stay with Triple-A Pawtucket this season, but he’ll be a free agent thereafter. The 32-year-old discussed his status with Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, saying: “My goal remains the same: I want to make it to the big leagues. And if given the opportunity, give 100% to Boston. That’s the goal, to get up there.”  As Mastrodonato notes, there’s at least an outside chance Castillo will return to Boston late in the season if the team’s well under the tax threshold by then (he’s due a $14.3MM salary, so it could be a tall order to fit him in). Castillo will first have to impress in Pawtucket for that to happen, though. He wasn’t great at the highest level of the minors in 2019, when he hit .278/.321/.448 with 17 home runs in 493 plate appearances.

  • Sticking with the Red Sox, ace Chris Sale has been on the mend from 2019 elbow problems and a recent bout of pneumonia, but he’s recovering well. Sale’s “progressing quickly and could begin to face live hitters soon,” Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. However, it’s not clear whether Sale will be ready for the start of the season. The 30-year-old had a stunning amount of difficulty preventing runs in 2019, when his ERA ballooned from 2.11 the prior season to a career-worst 4.40, but most of his other numbers looked fine. Sale notched a 3.39 FIP/2.93 xFIP with 13.32 K/9 and 2.26 BB/9, suggesting he’s still a front-of-the-rotation talent.
  • Indians closer Brad Hand turned in excellent overall production yet again in 2019, but his effectiveness waned to a worrisome degree from late June through the end of the season. That was thanks in part to injuries that limited him to 57 1/3 innings – his fewest in more than a half-decade. Hand dealt with left arm fatigue that kept him out of action for a large portion of September, and he ended the year with his worst average fastball velocity (92.9 mph, compared to 94.1 in 2018) since 2012. “For whatever reason this tired arm affected my arm slot and pitches,” Hand told Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com, adding, “This year I’ll probably take a few more steps and stay ahead of it.” Manager Terry Francona’s hopeful that Hand will build up his velocity slowly this spring, as opposed to maxing out before the season starts. This is the last guaranteed year on Hand’s contract, but if he continues to hold his own, it’s hard to believe the Indians (or, if they trade him, another team) won’t exercise his $10MM club option for 2021.
  • Angels manager Joe Maddon will sit down with first baseman/designated hitter Albert Pujols nearer to the season to discuss his 2020 role, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer appeared in 131 games last season, but it went down as the third straight campaign in which he logged below-replacement-level numbers. Pujols batted .244/.305/.430 with 23 homers and minus-0.2 fWAR over 545 plate appearances. The majority of his work came at first, though he may have to battle Tommy La Stella for reps at the position this season. And Pujols probably won’t get much time at DH because of the presence of Shohei Ohtani.
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Camp Battles: The Indians’ Outfield

By Mark Polishuk | February 20, 2020 at 8:52pm CDT

For a team that has averaged 95 wins a year over the last four seasons, the Indians have consistently taken a mix-and-match approach to their outfield amidst this run of success.  Of course, having star infielders (i.e. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez) and a seemingly neverending pipeline of starting talent can allow a club to put less of a focus on its outfielders, and Cleveland would’ve ideally hoped that more of its highly-regarded outfield prospects would have taken the leap to everyday status by this point.  Still, the Tribe is now entering a fifth season of outfield uncertainty, and hoping that at least one of its question marks can enjoy a true breakout campaign.

Let’s begin with the one everyday lock in Oscar Mercado, though Mercado’s actual position on a game-by-game basis could be in flux.  The 25-year-old is coming off a solid rookie season that saw him perform decently well at the plate (95 wRC+, 96 OPS+) and impressively well with the glove in 698 2/3 innings in center field — +6 Outs Above Average, +5.8 UZR/150, +9 Defensive Runs Saved.  It’s safe to assume that Mercado will get the lion’s share of time in center again in 2020, though his ability to play all three positions will allow manager Terry Francona to shift other players into the outfield based on matchups.

Those other players?  It’s quite a long list:

  • Delino DeShields: Depending on your defensive metric of choice, DeShields was either slightly behind (UZR/150, DRS) Mercado in defensive value last season, or ahead (Statcast ranked DeShields tied for fifth among all outfielders in baseball with +12 OAA in 2019), plus DeShields has a longer track record of outstanding glovework.  It stands to reason that DeShields will handle center when Mercado is used in the corners, though it remains to be seen if DeShields will hit enough to move beyond mere fourth-outfielder duty.  The 27-year-old hit only .246/.326/.342 over 1936 career plate appearances with the Rangers, though it’s possible the change of scenery from Texas to Cleveland could help.
  • Domingo Santana: Signed to a one-year MLB contract (with a 2021 club option) earlier this week, Santana is decidedly not an option in center field, and even the corner outfield might be a stretch for a player who posted some of the worst defensive numbers of any player in baseball.  If Santana does indeed end up being used mostly as a designated hitter, the fact that he was signed at all could hint at the Tribe’s belief that…
  • Franmil Reyes is capable of better things as a right fielder after two seasons of mediocre fielding.  Acquired as part of the three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster last summer, Reyes hit .249/.310/.512 with 37 home runs over 548 PA between the Padres and Indians in 2019.  The power is already there and the overall hitting potential has shown some flashes of improvement, and though Cleveland used Reyes almost exclusively at DH after the trade, the team surely hopes that they can get at least a couple of seasons’ worth of passable fielding work from Reyes to maximize his overall roster value (even if a mostly-DH role is ultimately in his future).
  • Jordan Luplow: Among all qualified hitters in 2019, only J.D. Martinez and Alex Bregman had a higher wRC+ against left-handed pitching than Luplow, who crushed southpaws to the tune of a .320/.439/.742 slash line and 198 wRC+ over 155 PA.  Even with other big righty bats like Santana and Reyes on hand, Luplow’s incredible splits will ensure that he’ll at least see platoon action, and Luplow has the added defensive edge of being able to play the corners decently well (and could even handle center field in a pinch).  If Luplow is to play a larger role, he’ll have to greatly improve his desultory .596 career OPS over 225 PA against right-handed pitching.
  • Greg Allen: The switch-hitting Allen offers a bit of balance to all of these right-handed hitters, though he hasn’t much from either side of the plate over 586 Major League plate appearances.  Allen can technically play all three outfield positions, though his glovework in the corners is much more highly regarded than his performance in center field.  Assuming at least one of the left-handed bats remaining on this listing emerges, Allen may find himself beginning the 2020 season in the minors.
  • Tyler Naquin: He likely won’t factor into the Opening Day picture, as much as Naquin is making excellent progress after suffering a torn ACL at the end of August.  Still, Naquin looks on pace to return on the shorter end of his original seven-to-nine month recovery period, which adds another left-handed bat to the Indians’ mix.  2019 was shaping up as easily Naquin’s best season since his 2016 rookie year, so a post-hype breakout might yet be in the cards for Naquin if he can get healthy.
  • Jake Bauers: Acquired as part of last offseason’s three-team deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland, Bauers’ first year with the Tribe was a disaster, as he posted an overall sub-replacement season (-0.4 fWAR) while struggling at both the plate and in the field.  Bauers is still only 24 years old and is a former top-100 prospect, so it’s clearly far too early for the Indians to give up on him, but he’ll be on a much shorter leash than last season.
  • Bradley Zimmer: Speaking of former top prospects, Zimmer missed almost all of the 2018-19 seasons due to shoulder surgery.  MLB.com ranked Zimmer as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 campaign, but a forgettable rookie season and then his extended injury absence turned Zimmer from building block to afterthought.  He could be the biggest wild card of any player on this list, assuming Zimmer is healthy.
  • Daniel Johnson: A part of the three-player package the Indians received from the Nationals in the November 2018 Yan Gomes trade, Johnson’s first season in Cleveland’s farm system was a successful one, as he hit .290/.361/.507 over 547 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  MLB.com’s scouting report notes that Johnson’s strong throwing arm and overall defense alone could earn him steady work as a fourth outfielder at the big league level, so if he can manage to hit as well, there’s certainly room for Johnson gain playing time with the Tribe.

One bit of good news for the Indians in sorting out all these players is that they don’t face any specific roster crunch, as Santana is the only one of these players who no longer has a minor league option.  That affords Francona and the front office the opportunity to freely evaluate these players during Spring Training without feeling forced into a tough roster choice based on team control.  Given the sheer number of outfielders on hand, it also wouldn’t be entirely shocking if the Tribe dealt away from this surplus.  If a few of these names really stand out during camp, Cleveland might feel comfortable enough in its depth to consider one of the other players expendable if another outfield-needy team came calling with an interesting trade offer.

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Cleveland Guardians MLBTR Originals Bradley Zimmer Camp Battles Daniel Johnson Delino DeShields Domingo Santana Franmil Reyes Greg Allen Jake Bauers Jordan Luplow Oscar Mercado Tyler Naquin

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    Shane Bieber To Begin Season On Injured List; Bowden Francis To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Rays Sign Nick Martinez

    Tigers Sign Framber Valdez To Three-Year Deal

    Anthony Santander To Undergo Shoulder Surgery, Out 5-6 Months

    Rockies Sign Tomoyuki Sugano, Place Kris Bryant On 60-Day IL

    Recent

    Angels To Re-Sign Chris Taylor

    Yankees, Rafael Montero Agree To Minor League Deal

    Marlins Designate Josh Simpson For Assignment

    Elroy Face Passes Away

    Yankees Injury Notes: Cole, Rodon, Schlittler

    Yankees Re-Sign Paul Goldschmidt

    Do The Brewers Have Another Move Up Their Sleeve?

    Dodgers To Sign Keston Hiura To Minor League Deal

    Rockies Sign Jose Quintana

    Marlins Sign Chris Paddack

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