Cleveland Indians: What Could a Postseason Roster Look Like?

The No-Brainers

For the most part, we know who will be a part of any postseason run Cleveland makes. The guys that have done the work all season and put the club in its current position are well-known to the opposition and fans alike.

On the mound, the quartet of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer have been among the American League’s best all season (despite some post-all-star break struggles), and are perhaps the No. 1 reason that fellow playoff teams will not want to see the Indians in the opposing dugout.

Collectively, those four have a 3.47 earned run average in 2016, and Tribe starters as a whole have held opposing hitters to just a .246/.302/.420 slash line and an OPS+ of 91, making them one of the most formidable rotations in all of baseball.

The four key cogs in the bullpen also appear written in stone, with Dan Otero, Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller, and Cody Allen being the arms that Francona has leaned on in high-leverage situations. Cleveland’s relief corps has held opponents to a .236/.308/.384 slash line for the year, but has been much-improved since the addition of Miller at the deadline.

In the field, we know that players like Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez, Mike Napoli, and Carlos Santana will continue to be in the lineup every day. The outfield of Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis, Brandon Guyer, and Coco Crisp will also keep up their platoon rotation, with the one notable absence of Abraham Almonte, who is ineligible for the postseason due to his PED suspension in spring training.

Add it up and 18 of the 25 spots on the playoff roster are no-brainers. The question that will become ever present for the Indians once the postseason arrives, though, is how those final seven spots will be filled.

Next: Behind the dish.