Cleveland Indians: Final player grades for the 2019 season

Francisco Lindor: B+

The young shortstop appeared in his fourth consecutive All-Star Game and launched over 30 home runs for the third time in his career. His expectations are just so high to where a year at .284/.335/.854 is good but not great. He also continues to struggle in big spots. Hopefully that will improve with age.

Carlos Santana: A-

Santana should have never been allowed to leave in the first place. He provided consistency all season long and was by far the most patient hitter, walking 108 times in 2019. His 34 home runs led the way, as did his 93 RBI. His .911 OPS was also the best among qualified hitters as the veteran made his first All-Star Game.

Jose Ramirez: C

2019 was not Jose’s year. He still did launch 23 home runs and drive in 83, but he had some major slumps and was unable to get in a rhythm late after having surgery on his hand. Just like Lindor, Ramirez enters every year with MVP expectations. That was not the reality in 2019.

Jason Kipnis: B

Not a great year. Not a terrible one. Kipnis played close to but still below most of his career averages. Yet he wasn’t a liability. His WAR of 0.5 was nowhere near worth what his contract stated, which is why the only way he returns is on a minuscule deal. It’s a shame he didn’t get a proper sendoff but so it goes in the business of baseball.

Roberto Perez: A

His WAR of 3.9 ranked third among position players as Perez had the best year of his career. Yan Gomes being traded allowed Perez to play in a full-time role and he responded with career highs in nearly every offensive category. Yet the real strength was his defense. Perez not winning the Gold Glove will be shocking and would just not make much sense.

Mike Freeman: B-

Freeman actually finished with a 1.3 WAR in his first semi-full season in the majors. The journeyman was solid in 75 games, slashing .277/.362/.390. The problem was that it may have been much wiser to give all of his playing time to a younger player. Oh well, that’s Tito.

Kevin Plawecki: C

It is tough to be too harsh on a backup catcher. Plawecki did his job in 59 appearances after coming over from the New York Mets. He did hit three home runs so at least there was some excitement for him in 2019.

Franmil Reyes: C+

Reyes is listed as an outfielder but of course he was somewhat banned from playing out there by Terry Francona. The young player struggled after coming over from San Diego. The strikeouts piled up and it became clear he is a long-term project. Indians fans should be happy he is here and not base expectations on how he struggled in two months of action. His 0.1 WAR should only go up in future years.

Oscar Mercado: A+

Our first perfect grade! Mercado stepped in as a rookie and ended up being one of the better players on the team. He is an asset in center field and the Indians have a clear guy set in that role for years to come. 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases also shows off Mercado’s dynamic abilities on offense.

Jake Bauers: D

The other young outfielder didn’t do as well in 2019. Bauers now goes down as the guy traded for Yandy Diaz, whether that is fair or not. He struck out 115 times in 117 games and was demoted for part of the season. He is going to need to forget about his -0.6 WAR and just focus on overall offensive improvement this offseason. The Indians wanted him from Tampa Bay so he should still be in the long-term plans.

Tyler Naquin: Incomplete

Naquin was finally having a bounceback year after struggling in both 2017 and 2018. He was a regular in the outfield before his season ended due to injury at the end of August. This came after missing time in May due to a calf injury. Naquin stands out as one of the key injuries during the year and hopefully he is able to return healthy in 2020 to improve upon what he started in 2019.

Leonys Martin: D-

Martin was a great story coming into 2019. Unfortunately, his play was not great and the team moved on after 65 games.

Greg Allen: C+

Allen had some flashes of success in 89 games this season. It just may take more regular playing time for him to truly shine, if that is indeed a possibility. His 0.5 WAR was a nice start.

Jordan Luplow: B+

What a pleasant surprise! Luplow came over quietly in the offseason and became a reliable member of the offense in 2019. An August injury slowed down his pace in what was still a 1.7 WAR season. His speciality was mashing left-handed pitching, yet I would like to see him get more playing time against all pitchers. How aggressive the Indians are in the offseason will determine if that is possible in 2020.

Yasiel Puig: Incomplete

It is tough to give Puig a grade after his time in Cleveland. He only appeared in 49 games and while he put up respectable numbers, I’d love to see a full season of him in Cleveland. Let’s hope the two sides can make something work for a return in 2020.

Carlos Gonzalez: Incomplete

Remember when the Indians went with CarGo over some other potential options in camp? Yeah, I do too. He only appeared in 30 games before the Indians cut him loose. Now he is the answer to a trivia question about how the 2019 Indians lineup looked back in March and April.

Shane Bieber: A+

The All-Star Game MVP emerged as an ace in a year when the Indians dealt with plenty of injuries in the rotation. In only his second season, Bieber logged 214.1 innings and struck out 259 batters. He also had two shutouts and was the only Indians pitcher to eclipse 30 starts. Bieber is an absolute bargain and is a testament to the team’s scouting department.

Trevor Bauer: B

Bauer was actually having a solid season in Cleveland. He didn’t fall apart until his trade to Cincinnati. Some fans may forget but after all the injuries, Bauer made the second-most starts on the team in 2019. Yet the rise of Bieber and a few other young guys, coupled with Bauer’s impending raise, allowed the Indians to move on.

Mike Clevinger: A

What could have been a great season was cut short due to injuries. Clevinger made 21 starts and logged 126 innings. Remove Bauer from the conversation and those 126 innings were the second-most on the team. Talk about a rough year for injuries. Clev’s 2.71 ERA was a career-best and he remains a top of the rotation guy in 2020.

Zach Plesac: B+

The 24-year-old made his debut on May 28 with a win over the Boston Red Sox and never looked back. He ended up making 21 starts and slotting in as a regular member of the rotation. He isn’t assured a spot in 2020 but he certainly made a strong case in his rookie campaign.

Adam Plutko: C+

Plutko did his job in 2019. He was the fifth starter on a team riddled with injuries, even though his 4.86 ERA is tough on the eyes. I don’t imagine he will open the year in the rotation next year, but he provides some experience when injuries do happen.

Carlos Carrasco: Incomplete

The main story of Carrasco’s year was that he came back from a leukemia diagnosis to pitch and try to help his team reach the postseason. Absolutely insane. His numbers suffered at the start of the year, though now we know why that was likely the case.

Aaron Civale: A-

Civale made 10 starts and didn’t allow more than two earned runs in any of those starts until his final one against Washington. Even then, he only allowed four earned runs. He never had big strikeout numbers, yet he still dominated in limited action. His problem was run support, which is something that should be no surprise to Indians fans. Civale will be in the conversation for a rotation spot in 2020.

Adam Cimber: B

The sidewinder led the staff in appearances and also led the bullpen in terms of earned runs allowed. While some piled on Cimber and hated his every pitch, he only allowed six home runs. That is far fewer than what some fans may have guessed. A few implosions are what fans always remember about a reliever. The truth is that Cimber just wasn’t that bad.

Oliver Perez: B-

Perez made his return and appeared in 67 games, being nailed with the loss for four of those games. The difference is that while his appearances were near Cimber’s, he only pitched in 40.2 innings. He was a reliable arm for Francona but did allow one earned run in every other inning of work.

Brad Hand: B+

Hand’s success in 2019 depends on how one values the save stat. He did record 34 saves, but had five blown saves and four losses to his name. A June 25 outing in which he allowed five earned runs against the lowly Royals skewed his numbers and likely left a bad taste in fans’ mouths. That was his only terrible outing of the season, which is going to happen.

Nick Wittgren: A

The right-hander came over from Miami and logged new career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts, appearances, and WAR. He is also very intimidating and looks cooler than most individuals on this planet.

Tyler Clippard: A

The veteran logged the most innings of any reliever and was mostly reliable all year. He didn’t have a single loss charged to him and only allowed more than two runs in one appearance. The Indians went on to win that game anyway.

Nick Goody: B-

Another reliever who did good but not great in 2019. Goody had limited action, only 39 games, and logged 40.2 innings.

Tyler Olson: B

His last appearance came on August 1 as he was out battling shingles the remainder of the season. That sounds terrible. He was doing well up until that final outing when he gave up three runs. Aside from that he had only allowed a total of 12 earned runs all year.

Dan Otero: Incomplete

The veteran only appeared in 25 games because of injuries. The team not picking up his small option means his time in Cleveland is officially over.

A.J. Cole: C+

25 appearances, 26 innings, 11 earned runs. Nothing for Indians fans to get excited about, but still a decent year for the reliever.