Cleveland Indians: Yandy Diaz’s impact on the rest of the roster

Yandy Diaz returned to replace an injured Michael Brantley. What will be the long-term impact of his return to the Cleveland Indians, if any?

Yandy Diaz was hot in Triple-A Columbus before making his return to the Cleveland Indians. With Brandon Guyer struggling, Austin Jackson out, and both Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte regressing back to the mean, is Diaz up permanently?

Usually, top prospects stay in Triple-A until they are ready to receive a full-time role in the bigs. The reason is that these prospects need as many at-bats as they can earn to help player development.

Since Diaz was up earlier in the year to play third base, it is strange to imagine a situation in which Diaz is up again without any long-term plans.

Who will be affected the most by Diaz?

There are a few players who could see significant playing time drops with Diaz back in the fold. Diaz is currently playing left field for Michael Brantley, but he could easily switch over to right field, and he could maybe even play a bit of center field.

As a right-handed hitter, Diaz can fill in for Chisenhall and Brantley against left-handed starting pitchers. But is this something more? Is Diaz a platoon player?

There is a chance that Francona knows something we do not about Chisenhall or Almonte. No one would have thought that Lonnie Chisenhall would be the Tribe’s everyday center fielder at the beginning of the year.

Abe Almonte has played well, but he really thrives in more of a part-time role. With Abe’s switch-hitting ability and strong defense in center field, we could see a shift toward a true platoon with Chisenhall and Almonte in center field.

Could Diaz play first base?

Diaz has not played first base regularly in his career, but the team is looking at all defensive alignments to optimize their offensive lineup. If Diaz shifts to first base, we could see Santana head back to right field, where he has played in inter-league games.

If Diaz plays right field and first base, we could definitely see a quasi-rotation between Santana, Encarnacion, and Diaz rotating between first base, right field, and designated hitter. It is easy to see Francona playing with matchups and defensive alignments to see what works best.

Will the Indians keep seven relievers?

In a bold move, the Indians called up Diaz to replace a reliever, in this case Shawn Armstrong, to go to what many consider the minimum in the bullpen: seven relievers. Armstrong pitched well, and Nick Goody has pitched well. Both deserve a shot at the bigs.

But with Bryan Shaw, Dan Otero, Andrew Miller, Zach McAllister, Boone Logan, and Cody Allen all dominating to levels reminiscent of the 2016 playoffs, there is no need for the Tribe to carry many relievers.

If the Tribe runs into more problems with their starting rotation, i.e., Trevor Bauer or Josh Tomlin failing to get past the fifth inning, then maybe it would make sense to call up an eighth reliever. But if the rotation is gelling, and McAllister and Goody can serve as multiple inning relief arms, the Tribe is in a great situation to only carry seven relievers long-term.

Shaw and Miller have also shown the ability to throw multiple innings in high-leverage situations, so the Tribe is pretty much set, especially with starters who regular break into the seventh inning.

What happens when Brantley and Jackson return?

This is the real question here. Michael Martinez now serves as the catch-all utility guy who can pretty much play every position on the field. Jose Ramirez can play three infield positions. We have at least three guys who can play first, if not more. Guyer, Almonte, and Chisenhall can all play multiple outfield positions, and Santana can play pretty much anywhere as well.

When Brantley returns, I expect the Tribe to make a hard decision with Guyer. While Guyer has value with his innate ability to get on base via the hit-by-pitch, he really does not play that great of defense.

With center field in flux, it makes more sense to keep versatile guys like Almonte on the roster than Guyer. Guyer signed a cheap contract, and he would not hurt financially to let go. When Jackson returns, he might not have a spot left on the team if Diaz plays lights out. I do feel bad for Jackson because he was looking to bounce back and played well in his limited action.

Prediction

I predict that Diaz’s versatility as an infielder/outfielder keeps him on the roster long-term, as long as he hits. If Diaz can produce at a .240 average with some power or ability to get on base via the walk, he will stay.

This means that the new outfield alignment will probably look something like LF: Brantley/Diaz, CF: Chisenhall/Almonte, RF: Diaz/Santana.

Next: 3 prospects who can help in 2017

Because Michael Martinez and Jose Ramirez can also both play in the outfield, it does not make sense to keep extra utility men. This means that Brandon Guyer will get cut or something similar. Michael Martinez will stick as the utility infielder, and we could see a lot of guys rotations around at first base before the season ends.