Cleveland Indians: Roster battle between Naquin and Refsnyder

The Cleveland Indians Opening Day roster is taking shape and a lot of spots are spoken for. But there’s going to be a battle between Tyler Naquin and Rob Refsnyder for one spot.

According to Ryan Lewis, manager Terry Francona has explained to both players that the roster spot won’t simply go to whoever performs the best over the final few days of spring training. The decision will likely be made by roster construction and what their skill sets bring to the table.

It will be an interesting battle, especially considering that entering camp, few projected that Refsnyder would end up making the big league roster. Naquin had a phenomenal 2016 season but he dropped off last season and his future is completely up in the air.

This is going to be a tough decision to make for the Tribe as they look to round out their roster for the start of the season.

Tyler Naquin

Naquin is hitting .304 this spring with two home runs and six doubles. He also has nine RBIs and has drawn five walks. In 2016 he showed that he had the potential to hit .300 and finished with 14 homers, displaying his power ability as well.

He doesn’t have much range in the outfield but he doesn’t make mistakes and would be a sure asset to the team, provided his bat rebounds, which so far this spring, it appears that it will.

The Cleveland Indians have seen Naquin at his best and at his worst. Right now it appears that he’s playing at his best in spring and his lining himself up for a good season.

However, there are two things working against Naquin making the team. He has two options remaining and he’s a left handed hitter. The other two starting outfielders, Lonnie Chisenhall and Bradley Zimmer also hit left handed and the Tribe needs a righty to balance the lineup. Also, he can be sent to the minors and the the Indians don’t risk losing him. The same can’t be said for Rob Refsnyder.

Rob Refsnyder

Refsnyder is practically the opposite of Naquin. Refsnyder does not have any minor league options remaining and is a right handed hitter.

This spring, he’s hit .209 with two home runs, six RBIs, eight walks, and 16 strikeouts in 43 at bats. That’s not exactly a great stat line. But, Francona did say that the decision would not be made based on who hits the best over the final days of spring. So Refsnyder has that going for him.

He spent the first few years of his career with the Yankees and played all over the field, but he never got into more than 60 games in a season. He grades out as a better defender with a much bigger range than Naquin but his bat doesn’t have the potential that Naquin’s does.

Factors in play

There are several scenarios that could play out that could change what the Cleveland Indians think. Rajai Davis has already been told he’s making the team, so with him, Zimmer, and Chisenhall on the team, there could only be room for one.

If both Brandon Guyer and Michael Brantley start the season on the disabled list, then both players have increased odds of making the team. But it’s still likely that only one of them makes the roster.

Then there’s the decision of what to do with the bullpen. The going trend in baseball is using an eight man bullpen. If they do that, there is only one bench spot available for both of them. However, if they decide to go with a seven man bullpen to start the year, they could keep both, provided both Guyer and Brantley are on the DL.

So if the Cleveland Indians want to go with a shorter bullpen, they can keep both players and have five outfielders on the roster.

Making the choice between the two

The only way the Tribe decides to try to keep both on the big league roster is if they want to keep Refsnyder around and believe he can turn into something but also recognize that Naquin gives them the best chance to win right now. That’s the only way they make the moves necessary to bring both on the roster.

Provided they don’t do that, Refsnyder seems the obvious choice for the roster spot. While he hasn’t performed as well as Naquin this spring, he’s out of options and gives the team a right handed option in the outfield to pair with Rajai Davis to balance the lineup.

Naquin has those two options remaining and that hurts his chances of making the team out of the gate. He’ll be up at some point this season, but the spot should go to Refsnyder to start the season.

Next: Bradley Zimmer season preview

The Cleveland Indians have two very good players battling for what will likely be only one spot. Although it’s only a bench spot, there should be plenty of playing time to go around.