And the 13th Offensive Player Is…
At this point in spring training, there are very few questions when it comes to roster management. We know the guys that are gonna land on the injured list, most of the obvious names are optioned back to the minors, and all that’s left is one or two spots on the bench or rotation. Come Thursday at 4:10pm, we will know all 26 men on the roster, but today, we still have questions about who will be the last guy on the bench. Cleveland’s starters/platoons are all but figured out:
Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas, Jhonkensy Noel, and Nolan Jones will be in the outfield, with the latter two platooning against LHP/RHP, respectively.
Kyle Manzardo and Carlos Santana will likely take turns at first base and designated hitter, depending on the pitcher.
Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio will be your likely double-play duo and Daniel Schneemann will sub in for either one when needed.
Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges will handle catching duties, with Hedgey probably getting the nod as Bibee’s personal caddy and facing lefty Cole Ragans for the Kansas City Royals.
And of course, the best for last, Jose Ramirez will man third, maybe hit second, and continue to wow us with his performance as he does day in and day out.
The bench, as mentioned, will consist of Schneemann, Jones or Noel, and Hedges, but that fourth bat is up for grabs. We got word Monday night that Will Brennan and Andrew Walters will be sent to Triple-A Columbus, so Brennan will not be the OF5 for this club on Opening Day. President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti has said that the 13th offensive player will “likely be an internal candidate,” that they “might recall a player that’s been optioned,” but that they are “also exploring external acquisitions, whether that be a waiver claim or a small trade.”
The most likely addition is an internal one in the form of INF/OF Angel Martinez. Martinez worked on his centerfield defense in the minors last year, and second base might be his most natural position, plus when Steven Kwan was on the shelf in 2024, Martinez filled in admirably in left field. Will Martinez hit well enough to be a major leaguer? Who knows. At worst, he’s a guy you can plug in all over the middle infield and center and know you’re going to get a quality at-bat, not unlike erstwhile Guard-turned-Rockie Tyler Freeman. Martinez maintained an 8.9 BB% and a 19.5 K% in 2024, numbers that show he’s capable of handling a big-league strike zone.
Other options would be non-roster invitee Will Wilson, a former prospect in the San Francisco farm system that has stuck around to the end of spring training. He hasn’t shown out much in spring, with only one home run and a K% above 33%, but weirder things have happened. If the answer is not Martinez, then it’s someone they are acquiring from outside the organization, an outfielder that is on the brink of DFA-dom or possibly someone slightly better that would require a bigger trade package. All of that feels far-fetched, but the Jones trade seemed to come out of nowhere and forced the team to rescind their comments to Brennan about making the team, so in the words of Ferris Buehler, “life comes at you fast.” We likely will find out on Tuesday who the player is before the team breaks camp and heads to Kansas City to start the season. Time will tell.
