Cleveland Indians: 3 players who can start the season at second base

There are only three options to start at second base for the Cleveland Indians to begin the 2017 season if Jason Kipnis is set to miss any amount of time.

Unfortunately, All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis is not going to be ready to start on Opening Day. In a bad way to start 2017, Kipnis injured his rotator cuff. He is supposed to be out for two weeks, but that is exactly what we heard about Michael Brantley last year. That did not go very well.

Thankfully, the Cleveland Indians have a few options who might start the season and get an opportunity to impress. The three options are not great, but all make sense in one way or another. I am going to take a look at Jose Ramirez, Michael Martinez, and Erik Gonzalez. I will weigh the pros and cons of adding each of these guys to the Opening Day lineup and provide an offer on what the Tribe should do.

As a bonus, I will see what Ronny Rodriguez’s odds are to break the lineup to start the season. All of these guys have different values at second base, and they are all at very different points in their careers. The impact of knowing that one of these guys is only a short-term solution at second base is also something to consider as Kipnis really cannot play anywhere else at this point in his career if someone takes off. I’ll start with Jose Ramirez, and work down to Gonzalez.

Jose Ramirez is the most logical choice to move over to second base, a position he has played in the past. Ramirez moving over would give Giovanny Urshela, the defensive savant stuck in Triple A, an opportunity to show his skills off early in the season. Ramirez is a pretty good defender, and he broke out last year as a hitter. He is definitely a utility man, and he only stuck at third base because the Tribe cut Juan Uribe.

Urshela has not hit in the bigs, and he has shown that he can defend the position with the best of them. If he can hit in the big leagues, it opens up many opportunities for the Indians to experiment with different lineups, both offensively and defensively. Urshela would also take a ton of pressure off of Kipnis to come back quickly, which can never hurt.

If Ramirez falters at second base, he can always head to the outfield, where he spent most of last year. Both Urshela and Ramirez has big league experience at third and second, respectively, so this would be the “easiest” move.

The challenging aspect of it is moving Ramirez to second base with the intention of moving him back to third base. He would lose out on growth at third if he spends a few weeks or month or so at second to start the season.

Who knows how it might impact his offensive performance. It would make more sense to hang out with Martinez and Gonzalez in a platoon type role, with both knowing that they are not going to be starters. Otherwise, the Indians risk hurting two big league prospects instead of really only one or none.

Martinez, and to a lesser extent Ronny Rodriguez, are the Indians’ super utility men. Martinez is fast, and he can play pretty much every fielding position outside of first base and catcher. The Tribe has only used him in a utility role in his big league time, and Tito uses him frequently late in ball games. Martinez has had a large impact on the Indians’ success, more than it would seem on paper.

The danger in playing Martinez as the second baseman on a regular basis to start the season is that he would not provide that burst in late innings. It would be more challenging and require more substitutions to put Martinez, for example, in left field or at third late in the game.

He also cannot pinch run then, which is one of his biggest strengths. He is more of a super utility man and less of an everyday player at this point in his career. Tito does not like messing with his situational guys. Martinez is unlikely to make an impact as a starting second baseman because his impact is lessened in that role. The Indians don’t want to lose a couple of one-run games because they decided to start Martinez at second base

From my perspective, Erik Gonzalez makes the most sense for starting at second base on Opening Day. He will get big league time to audition for other teams. He is a natural shortstop, and Francisco Lindor is not going anywhere, so Gonzalez could be a trade chip later in the summer.

Gonzalez is a plus defender, and though he has not hit yet in the big leagues, he has every incentive to make the most of his experience. The Tribe can send him back down as soon as Kipnis returns, as he only has one option left. He will continue to make an impact in AAA, hopefully continuing to boost his trade value.

Related: Cleveland Indians 2017 top prospects: No. 17, Erik Gonzalez

If Gonzalez could hit .240 and play plus second base defense, he could be auditioning for an everyday job somewhere else. This makes the most sense for the Indians, too, as he has the lowest “impact” on the roster. Starting Gonzalez at second does not harm the growth of Ramirez at third, does not impact Urshela, and keeps Martinez in his utility role.

Gonzalez has been up a few times, and he has not made the most of his time, so this is his last chance to impress. If Gonzalez does really well, the Indians have a trade chip. If he does poorly, he goes back down to AAA for the last time. This is a win-win for both Gonzalez and the Indians.

Ronny Rodriguez is the AAA version of Michael Martinez. He has even suited up at first base for the Clippers. Rodriguez cannot hit, and he’s a good enough defender. He runs well and plays hard. If the Indians don’t want to waste Gonzalez’s last option to start the season, they could look to Rodriguez as an emergency second baseman to start the season. There is almost no chance he would stick, though.

In summary, Erik Gonzalez is the safest choice at second to start the season. He can play the position, and he will be fine. Ramirez is the most interesting choice, as pushing Urshela to third could mean the end of Ramirez at the position. If that were to happen, he would move to the outfield, probably left field, where Brantley plays.

It’s not the worst problem to have, but an everyday outfielder could get shoved out by Ramirez. Martinez is the boring option. He would also be fine, and he can manage a starting role. The Tribe just would be missing out on maximizing his talent.

Next: Breaking down the 25-man roster

The Tribe could also pick someone up from waivers or sign a free agent like Kelly Johnson to man the fort so they do not mess with anything. Kelly Johnson is actually an intriguing option. A power-hitting infielder who can play outfield in a pinch. Nevertheless, the team has options if Kipnis ends up missing significant time.