Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team Studs and Duds: The Infield

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The decade was full of ups and downs for the Cleveland Indians and here’s a look at the best and worst players at each position, starting with the infield.

While I’m sure everyone knows the decade doesn’t actually end until the end of 2020, it’s still time to take a look at the best (and worst) of the Cleveland Indians decade. One player at each position will be picked as the “stud” and one as the “dud” starting with the infield today, starting with the catcher position.

Catcher

A position that many teams struggle to fill, the Indians have enjoyed much success at the position for a while. Victor Martinez was the clear stud last decade but with his trade in 2009, it signaled a new direction for the Tribe…sort of. The decade began with Lou Marson as the catcher…sort of. Acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, Marson appeared to be a perfectly decent backup but boy was he anything but posting negative WAR values every year with the club. However, the real prize for the Tribe was Carlos Santana, who was a top prospect in the game and looked like a Victor Martinez clone (he even had his number!). Santana burst onto the scene in 2010 and while a bad knee injury slowed him down as a rookie he was one of the best offensive catchers in the game.

However, the Indians made another move early in the decade, acquiring Yan Gomes from the Blue Jays. Gomes began as Santana’s backup in 2013 but it became clear as the season went on that his bat, and more importantly, his glove needed to be in the lineup more. By September he had bumped Santana to 1B/DH and was the Tribe’s starting catcher from 2014 through 2018. He was the only Tribe catcher to make an All-Star game in the decade and despite the great year Roberto Perez had replacing him this past season, the “catcher of the decade” award goes to Yan Gomes, slightly beating out Santana.

Stud: Yan Gomes
Dud: Lou Marson

First Base

First base turned out to be a rather easy position for “stud” of the decade. After beginning the decade behind the plate, and even seeing time at third base and the outfield, Carlos Santana eventually found a home at first base and was by far the best of the bunch, though part of that is he’s the only guy to really last there. In fact, per Fangraphs, Russell Branyan accrued the second-most WAR at the position, posting a 1.7 fWAR… Santana posted a 19.1 fWAR! Guys like Mike Napoli played better than their WAR would indicate, but even Napoli only posted a 111 wRC+ in his one season with the club (Santana was well over 120 for the decade).

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For “dud” there were a few choices including most notably failed free-agent acquisition Nick Swisher. However, at least he had one great year (2013) that helped propel the Tribe to the playoffs. Even Yonder Alonso could get some consideration here, but the dud of the decade award ultimately goes to Casey Kotchman.

Signed the year before Swisher, Kotchman was brought in to be a stabilizing presence in the Tribe’s lineup in 2012. Viewed as a good defender and high on-base guy, Kotchman was coming off a season in which he posted a .378 OBP and a 2.3 fWAR. However, things went south in a hurry for him with the Tribe. He posted a -1.4 fWAR and had a .280 OBP, about 50 points lower than his career average.

Defensively he wasn’t horrible (-1 DRS, -0.1 UZR) but he came in with a career +45 DRS and never showed anything close to that. Kotchman appeared in just six games with the Mariners in 2013 and that was the end of his major league career. Kotchman was ultimately one of the worst free-agent signings of the decade and one of the worst players at any position for the Tribe.

Stud: Carlos Santana
Dud: Casey Kotchman

Second Base

Second base is another super easy position to pick the star of the decade. Despite how he may have finished out the decade, Jason Kipnis was not only the Tribe’s second baseman for much of the decade but arguably the face of the franchise for part of it. He posted an fWAR over 22 this decade with Mike Freeman coming in second at 1.0–Freeman was the Tribe’s utilityman in 2019 alone. It appears the new decade will start without Kipnis at second base though fans should not forget what Kipnis was able to accomplish for the Tribe. One of the best second basemen in team history.

With Kipnis owning the position so long, there aren’t a lot of duds this decade. However, one that does come to mind is the late Luis Valbuena. One of my favorite players, Valbuena just never was able to find it with the Indians. He struggled to hit .200 for much of his stint here and posted a -1.5 fWAR at second base. However, he eventually found himself in Chicago and had some very good years. He tragically died after being murdered in a carjacking/robbery.

Because of that, I just can’t bring myself to give him the “dud” award. Orlando Cabrera though? In nearly the same amount of plate appearances at second base posted an OBP nearly as bad at .277 (to Valbuena’s .267). Cabrera’s only benefit was he arguably helped bring out the power in Asdrubal Cabrera but his one season with the Tribe was beyond forgettable.

Stud: Jason Kipnis
Dud: Orlando Cabrera

Third Base

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but the third base position is another easy call for stud of the decade. Jose Ramirez though did take one of the more scenic routes of our studs. Came up in late 2013 as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement before eventually becoming the starting shortstop after the trade of Asdrubal Cabrera. He was so bad there he eventually was sent back to Triple-A and came back a super-utility guy, even playing some outfield. However, something clicked in 2016 and after replacing Juan Uribe during the season he took off and became an MVP candidate at the position posting a 24.3 fWAR.

Like first or second base, there wasn’t a whole lot of competition. Lonnie Chisenhall looked like the third baseman of the future but never was able to do much and eventually moved to the outfield. Jack Hannahan had some moments as well and may have been the closest thing to competition, however, as said, this one goes to “JRam,” easily.

Somewhat surprisingly there weren’t as many duds as I anticipated given the struggle the club had at filling the position. Chisenhall never was able to lock the position down but no one ever really played enough to be a true dud. Even Uribe had moments in his half-season with the Tribe. But honestly, perhaps the biggest dud was Gio Urshela.

Yes, he had a breakout year with the Yankees in 2019 but his time with the Indians was nothing like that. Despite his plus defense, he produced a -0.8 fWAR at third in 148 games and just 453 plate appearances. He hit .225/.273/.314. He also made a costly error in Game 4 of the American League Division Series in 2017, arguably costing them the game and ultimately the series. He was eventually released…and then released again by the Blue Jays. Hopefully, for him, he’s found his home (and swing) but for the Tribe, he was a dud.

Stud: Jose Ramirez
Dud: Gio Urshela

Shortstop

Alright, I promise they all won’t be like this. But yes, shortstop is an easy call and Francisco Lindor was the stud of the decade. He’s been the face of the franchise for the last couple years and is arguably a face of Major League Baseball at this point. He’s been not only a stud with the bat but a stud with the glove, winning Gold Glove awards and looking Omar-esque at the position. Depending on how much longer he’s with the club there’s a chance he could repeat as stud of the next decade. Only Asdrubal Cabrera came “close” and even his 9.4 fWAR couldn’t compete with Lindor’s 27.2

Finding a dud was actually borderline impossible before the 2019 season. The Indians have done one thing well the last 30 years: find shortstops. From Omar Vizquel to Jhonny Peralta to Asdrubal Cabrera and now to Lindor. The Tribe’s run of star shortstops is nothing short of marvelous. This has left little room for a dud to find his place. Jason Donald got some looks for a while and while he was bad he still managed to produce a positive fWAR and his 86 wRC+, while bad wasn’t horrible.

By default here, the award may have to go to Eric Stamets. I almost feel bad for the guy as he was thrust into the Opening Day role as starting shortstop, something only six players can claim for the Cleveland Indians in the last quarter-century. He was clearly not ready and produced a -0.7 fWAR and -42 wRC+ this past season…and no, that’s not a typo, he actually had a -42 wRC+. His batting line was an ugly .049/.149/.073. He only played in 15 games though and it was only 48 plate appearances. But boy…were they ugly. One positive note (I’m trying to be kind)? He did have a 10.4% walk rate. Of course that 50% strikeout rate kind of kills it…

Stud: Francisco Lindor
Dud: Eric Stamets

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So there you have it, the Cleveland Indians All-Decade Studs and Duds of the infield. Five guys who were pretty obviously the “studs” followed by some dreadful duds. So who did I miss that you think should have been a stud or a dud? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check back for the outfield and pitching editions to come.

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