Cleveland Indians: Five positives Indians fans should focus on for 2021

While there are a lot of unknowns about the Cleveland Indians heading into the 2021 season, here are five positives for fans to focus on.

Fans of the Cleveland Indians have every right to be bitter or upset at the moment. The team currently has the longest active World Series drought with their last title coming in 1948 and they are most likely going to lose one of their best players in Francisco Lindor this offseason, or at least in the next year, through an evitable trade. Unfortunately, that’s just the Indians and doesn’t include the Browns or Cavs for Cleveland die-hards who have been through a lot over the last five decades or so.

Luckily, there are positives to focus on heading into the 2021 season for the Cleveland Indians. Most times, the negatives are emphasized if the team doesn’t win the World Series, talking about why the team lost and how those areas should be improved. However, there are also positives that can be talked about, and should also be focused on.

For the Indians, they have been able to make the playoffs four of the last five seasons, while also being above .500 for the last eight seasons. While stats from past years are great, they don’t always carry over. However, the positives go beyond record and playoff appearances as well.

Believe it or not, the future is still bright for the Cleveland Indians. Sure, they could lose some pieces this offseason, but that’s nothing that the team hasn’t gone through before. The front office has managed to work their way through the bumps and bruises and have still been able to field a highly competitive team year in and year out.

So, as the team moves into the 2021 season, what are some of the positives that fans can focus on? What will help drown out the negativity and work to keep the Tribe at the high level of play we’ve come to expect each season?

Positive #1: Terry Francona

The Indians will get a big boost back in the dugout when the 2021 season rolls around. After missing most of the 2020 season, Terry Francona is set to return to the manager role for the Cleveland Indians.

While Sandy Alomar Jr. did a solid job filling in this season, proving that he is ready whenever the time comes for Francona to step down, there’s just a sense of calmness that comes with Francona. He’s been around the game so long and we won’t have to worry about the learning curve of Alomar.

Francona hasn’t posted a losing record as a manager since 2000, which was his final season with the Philadelphia Phillies. Since then, he’s won two World Series with the Red Sox and appeared in another with the Indians while making the playoffs in 10 of his 16 seasons with Boston and Cleveland. He’s also been named Manager of the Year twice over that span.

Assuming that Francona is healthy and can continue to manage moving forward, that only should give Indians fans hope for the future and a positive to focus on. As long as Francona is behind the wheel, he will find ways for the team to be productive and competitive.

Positive #2: The Rotation

In all honesty, this could simply be Shane Bieber, but the reality is that it isn’t just Bieber that will be a positive for the Indians. The entire five-man starting rotation for Cleveland is something that will be a driving force for the club for years.

Bieber is obviously the leader of the group, putting up historical numbers during the 2020 campaign that should win him the American League Cy Young Award. Even beyond Bieber, the rotation proved to be strong, and in most cases young.

Carlos Carrasco is the oldest of the bunch and was solid, but could be moved around depending on how the rest of the team develops around him. Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale showed that they can produce in a full season, or at least as full of a season as we were going to get in 2020. They were then joined by rising prospect, Triston McKenzie who showed he’s ready to stay in the big leagues.

With a budding star in Bieber, followed by three young studs in Plesac, Civale and McKenzie and rounded out by the veteran Carrasco, the Indians rotation should be set for years to come. Even when the time comes to move on from Carrasco, Cleveland has plenty of options in the minor leagues to easily slot in, keeping their starting rotation as one of the best in baseball.

Positive #4: Jose Ramirez

After a slow start to the 2020 season, Jose Ramirez found his form and elevated his play to MVP-level. While Lindor is normally regarded as the best player on the team, it was Ramirez that made the difference more times than not this past season.

Luckily for the Cleveland Indians, they locked up Ramirez before he blossomed into the player we see today. He will still earn one of the more expensive contracts on the team in 2021, but it will be far below what his value will be.

In 2021, Ramirez is set to make $9.4 million before his contract jumps to a club option of $12 million in 2022 and another option for $14 million in 2023. These numbers seem high, but when you consider what he would get on the free agent market now, it seems like a bargain for his play.

Ramirez has also turned into a leader for the team in the dugout. Normally, he’s the biggest cheerleader when he isn’t in the field. That energy, chemistry and leadership will play a big role in how the season goes for the Cleveland Indians in 2021. The team will need him to continue to step up both on and off the field, especially if Lindor is indeed traded.

Positive #5: Prospects

Most of the talk during the offseason is about the players that will be leaving the team, rather than joining. That’s why this year has already been filled with the negative thoughts of Lindor leaving. While that will hurt, there are players to be excited about as well.

The Indians have become known for one of the stronger farm systems in baseball that seems to turn out a new rising star every year. The rising star of 2021 could be Nolan Jones.

Currently ranked as the top prospect in the organization, Jones will be trying out first base and outfield this fall in Arizona. A third basemen by trade, the Indians are trying to find a way to get Jones into the lineup during the 2021 season.

Odds are, it won’t just be Jones arriving to The Show in 2021 for the Tribe. The Indians’ minor leagues are full of rising talent that will be ready to make the jump to the big leagues. While there won’t be many holes to fill, as stated a few slides ago, there will be opportunities to showcase their skills in smaller roles.

Regardless of when the prospects make their debut, Indians fans should take comfort in knowing that the future of the club is still very bright, even if there are less household names on the roster at the start of the 2021 season.