Cleveland Indians: Jason Kipnis in the outfield isn’t the right move

The Cleveland Indians are thinking outside the box with trying Jason Kipnis in center field but it’s the wrong move for the playoffs.

This will probably come as a shock to those that have followed my writings and internet ramblings for years, but I’m not a fan of the decision to put Cleveland Indians veteran infielder Jason Kipnis in center field to try to see if he can handle the position in the playoffs.

That has to sound weird coming from the guy that wanted Jose Ramirez in center field before last season and has been calling for Carlos Santana to be in the outfield for years. There are a couple of reasons why I think it’s a wrong move to put Kipnis in the outfield at this juncture.

For starters, Kipnis has struggled with the bat this year. It all began when he missed nearly all of spring training with an injury, and he just never got off to a good start in 2017. Overall he’s hit a measly .228 with a .691 OPS and 77 wRC+.

Compare that to Austin Jackson who is hitting .318 with a .870 OPS and 129 wRC+ on the season, and it’s a fair question on whether the Indians are a worse team with Kipnis in center versus Jackson.

Lately, Jackson has been getting time in left field while Lonnie Chisenhall is on the shelf, which allows Kipnis to play center with Jay Bruce in right field. But what happens when Chisenhall returns from injury?

The Indians could platoon Chisenhall and Jackson in left field and keep Kipnis in center; however, Chisenhall has been one of the Tribe’s best hitters versus left-handed pitching this year (.986 OPS) while Jackson has hit righties well enough to play everyday (.753 OPS).

It’s not a stretch at all to say that even without factoring in Kipnis’ defense in the outfield, the best offensive outfield alignment for the Indians is Chisenhall in left, Jackson in center and Bruce in right.

That’s not to say Kipnis doesn’t still have a place on this Indians’ squad, far from it. Current starting third baseman Yandy Diaz has been much better in his latest stint with the big league club, but he’s still not hitting right-handed pitching that well. He has killed lefties this year though, posting a .769 OPS and 119 wRC+ versus southpaws, compared to just a .632 OPS and 69 wRC+ versus righties.

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Diaz is not showing that he’s an everyday guy to this point and considering the Tribe is bound to face more righties than lefties in the playoffs, they could use more help on the infield.

This is where Kipnis fits in. He’s still struggling versus right-handers this year, with just a .720 OPS and 85 wRC+, but that’s still much better than what Diaz brings to the table. Against lefties though, Kipnis has just a .638 OPS and 64 wRC+ this year, clearly much worse than Diaz.

This isn’t something totally new for Kipnis either as his career OPS versus righties is .803 while it’s just .683 against lefties.

So expecting Kipnis to magically turn things around over the last few weeks of the season and start mashing lefties is probably asking too much considering the injury-riddled season.

But a Jason Kipnis-Yandy Diaz platoon could work out very well for the Indians in October. Jose Ramirez is clearly capable of playing either third or second base, and switching between the two hasn’t proved an issue at all. The Tribe can also still use Giovanny Urshela as a late-inning defensive closer regardless of which one of Diaz/Kipnis starts.

The Cleveland Indians appear set on trying Kipnis in the outfield though and an infield platoon doesn’t seem likely at this juncture. To Kipnis’ credit, he hasn’t looked horrible in the outfield and as Mike Petriello of mlb.com pointed out, given the Indians pitching staff, it’s not the worst idea for the team to try. While I agree with that, I still think leaving him at second is the best all-around move for the Tribe.

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So what do you think? Should the Indians continue trying Kipnis in the outfield or should they platoon him on the infield with Yandy Diaz?