48 special minutes: LeBron, Cavs survive Celtics and conquer the East again – The Nail in the Coffin, Episode 120
May 29, 2018Finding peace before the NBA Finals: While We’re Waiting…
May 31, 2018The Memorial Day outfield for the Akron Rubberducks consisted of Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Brandon Guyer. The trio of Tribe outfielders are at different stages of their rehabilitation assignments, but it helps to demonstrate the 2018 Cleveland Indians will soon need to make quite a few roster decisions. Add in Tyler Naquin beginning to run on his balky hamstring, and the entirety of the current outfield– other than Michael Brantley– could be changed over in the next few weeks.
Assuming manager Terry Francona wants five outfielders at his disposal (as has usually been the case), then the main two questions become:
- What players should the Indians keep on the 25-man active roster?
- What players will the Indians keep on the 25-man active roster?
The candidates
Michael Brantley: Offseason questions about his durability and status of his recently operated on ankle aside, Dr. Smooth has proven to be a plus hitter. It is still early in the season, but Brantley is having the best season since 2014 when he finished in the Top 3 of the AL MVP voting. The crazy part is he might only be the third best hitter in the lineup despite his .333/.372/.552 slash line.1
Lonnie Chisenhall: Those offseason durability questions perhaps should have been levied against Chisenhall though having his contract locked in through 2018 helped him skate by the offseason without much conjecture. Unfortunately, his injury history has lingered as an injury present. Which version of Chisenhall returns for 2018 is a valid question though he has always found a way to provide the ballclub with some value be it with right field defense, hot hitting, or newfound power.
Bradley Zimmer: The kamikaze fielder has made some spectacular plays though his body has not been able to withstand the pounding associated with them. At the plate, Zimmer has was striking out at an inordinate rate, which helped torpedo his offensive value. He needs to find a way to get on base more often to help provide the value he can with his speed.
Brandon Guyer: Despite having less than 100 plate appearances, Guyer has the worst fWAR on the team (-0.5). He has paired terrible defense with a complete lack of ability at the plate to put forth one of the more awful performances of 2018. However, an important mark about his futility with a bat in his hands has been the left-handed pitcher platoon half being forced to face right-handed pitching. His line against southpaws is still quite good (.229/.339/.500, 127 wRC+) with his atrocious performances against right-handed pitching helping to bring down his overall numbers (1-for-32, two walks).
Rajai Davis: In his age-37 season, Davis is still quite fast as his Statcast measured 29.5 feet per second sprint speed is currently ranked as the No. 13 best in all of MLB. So, he has that going for him, which is nice. We’ll leave out the rest of his profile because it is… not as nice.2
Melky Cabrera: 5-for-28 with two walks is a small sample size to make any long-term proclamations. It probably is not fair to assume the 33-year-old can regain his prime numbers. Cabrera finished 2017 as a league average hitter, but he hasn’t been anywhere near such for the Indians. His bat possibly regains some value, but his defense will be expected to remain as a major negative, so the question will be is how long the front office is willing to give him.
Greg Allen: Shhhh… after going 0-for-12 when first getting the call to Cleveland, Allen is batting .302/.348/.442 over his last 13 games including the first MLB walk-off home run of his career on Sunday. Couple his hot bat with just as much speed as Davis has, and the value of getting him more MLB at bats seems to be there.
Tyler Naquin: He was striking out far too much, not walking enough, and getting some good fortune on batted balls. Still, Naquin was raking3 and it is not as if the above options are foolproof. If he is to take the Chisenhall role in 2019, then seeing him get an extended audition in 2018 seems important.
Who will make it?
- Michael Brantley
- Bradley Zimmer
- Lonnie Chisenhall
- Brandon Guyer
- Rajai Davis
Otherwise known as the outfield the Indians expected on Opening Day had everyone been healthy. The youngsters have options, there is a good chance Melky Cabrera flies through waivers and back to the Columbus Clippers given his initial struggles. Manager Terry Francona has already confirmed Zimmer will be rejoining the team.
Who should make it?
- Michael Brantley
- Greg Allen
- Lonnie Chisenhall
- Brandon Guyer
- Tyler Naquin
The Indians should be bold and go for the highest ceiling possibilities rather than continuing to make what is considered the safer decision. Playing the young outfielders would allow them to learn and grow at the MLB level. The only exception above is to give Zimmer some more time to regain his confidence and swing in Columbus before rejoining the MLB club sometime in June. By that time, whether or not Allen or Naquin’s hot starts were mere blips should be better knowns as the sample sizes grow. If all three of them are crushing the ball, then that is just a good problem to have.
What do you think?
The Indians outfield is finally getting healthy. Michael Brantley, Bradley Zimmer, Brandon Guyer, and Lonnie Chisenhall have their spots pretty well guaranteed (whether or not you agree).
Who should (not who will) get the last OF spot on the 25-man?
— michael bode (@mgbode_WFNY) May 29, 2018
The Indians outfield is finally getting healthy. Michael Brantley, Bradley Zimmer, Brandon Guyer, and Lonnie Chisenhall have their spots pretty well guaranteed (whether or not you agree).
Who will (not who should) get the last OF spot on the 25-man?
— michael bode (@mgbode_WFNY) May 29, 2018