Cleveland Indians have numerous options to replace Byrd, Brantley

1. Let Tyler Naquin Play Every Day

The first idea the Indians should consider involved a player that’s currently on their 25 man roster. Tyler Naquin broke camp with the Indians on their opening day roster, but has been sent down to AAA twice this season, and both times have not been because he was slacking at the major league level, but so he could work on two specific things, his power hitting and his walks. And if Naquin’s latest stint in the Majors is any indication, Naquin might not be down in Colombus for a long time. 

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Naquin has played in five games for the Indians since his most recent promotion, and in those five games, he has gone 6-14 with three home runs, five runs batted in, and three walks. Naquin is also a better option then the other “Quad-A” outfielders the Indians have in Colombus (Joey Butler, Collin Cowgill, Michael Choice). Letting Naquin play and platooning with Lonnie Chisenhall would be the best in-house option the Indians have, and it is by no means a bad one.

2. Trade for Josh Reddick

The Indians will most likely have to end up making a big trade for an outfielder if they want to stay in contention this year, and one of the outfielders that they should consider picking up is Josh Reddick.  Reddick is currently on the shelf now with a broken thumb, but he hopes to be back in the lineup by the end of the month, and despite the injury, has been Oakland’s most reliable position player for the better part of five years now.

The A’s are currently 25-32 and 10 games back of the Rangers in the AL West, and are starting to move towards the rebuilding process, and luckily the Indians have a lot of young team controlled arms that they would be willing to part ways with (see Rob Kaminsky, Mike Clevinger, Trevor Bauer). Reddick gets on base a ton, and would bring some pop to the middle of the Indians order. 

Next: Two NL West Options to Consider