Cleveland Indians All-Decade Team Studs and Duds: Outfield and DH

Right Field

Right field was probably the weirdest position for the Indians this past decade though there was a relatively clear winner for the award of stud. Shin-Soo Choo takes the crown having amassed a 10.6 fWAR at the position while hitting .284/.378/.446 with an eye-popping 131 wRC+.

He was one of the best (and probably most underrated) Tribe hitters of the decade. Defensively things weren’t always so cozy in the outfield but he handled himself well enough before being traded away when he was set to be a free agent.

Coming in second here was Lonnie Chisenhall who after failing at the hot corner found a home in right field for the Tribe. He posted a 4.7 fWAR in right and had an OPS over .800 at the position. Unfortunately for him, the move to the outfield happened a year or two too late and injuries slowed him down to the point he just couldn’t stay on the field enough to wrestle the top spot from Choo.

From 2009 to 2012, Choo was the Indians starting right fielder. Since then, the Tribe has started seven different players in seven years at the position. In fact, 42 different players ran out to the position at least once, giving plenty of options for dud of the decade.

David Murphy is one of a couple of guys tied for the “lead” in fWAR at -0.3; however, he at least hit well enough overall to be league average (101 wRC+) so he skirts by without the honor. Carlos Gonzalez was horrible in his short stint with the Tribe this past season and has a case for the award as does Kosuke Fukudome. However, for me, the winner is Brandon Moss.

Moss posted the worst fWAR in right for the Tribe this decade at -0.3 and hit an ugly .217/.288/.407 with just an 86 wRC+. This after being acquired from the Athletics for prospect Joey Wendle who would go on to eventually catch on with the Rays and make a run at Rookie of the Year.

Moss was supposed to finally stabilize the outfield and provide a ton of power to a lineup that needed it. While he did hit 15 home runs, that’s essentially all he did and he was eventually shipped off to the Cardinals.

Stud: Shin-Soo Choo
Dud: Brandon Moss