Cleveland Indians: An offensive rebound is needed to make any sort of postseason run

While the Cleveland Indians have one of baseball’s top pitching staff’s, they’ll need their offense to step up in order to make a deep postseason run.

It’s no secret that pitching is the identity of Cleveland Indians baseball. Having the luxury to trade three top-end starters in the span of 13 months while maintaining one of the league’s best pitching staffs speaks to the organizational depth.

Another not, so secret identity of the team is its struggling offense. With the trade deadline coming and going and Cleveland not grabbing a high powered satiable bat draws ire towards the front office.

Josh Naylor, acquired in the Mike Clevinger trade, is the closest the team gets to an offensive revolution. The young left fielder does not have the resume to jolt the 2020 offense, but true to the Cleveland way; this is a foundational move for years to come.

The question arises, why didn’t general manager Mike Chernoff go out and get a bat?

One piece of this answer certainly stems from being a small market ball club. The team consistently shows discipline operating in a financially conservative manner. Continuous prospect development and replenishment matters to maintain a competitive team while avoiding tumultuous rebuilds. The current financial impact and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 increases the need to ensure future financial viability.