Cleveland Indians: Position Preview for 2021, Outfield

Cleveland Indians Position Preview for 2021, Outfield

While the Cleveland Indians have had success over the last few seasons, one glaring area of need during the span of good fortune has been the outfield. Outside the play of Michael Brantley in 2017 and 2018, the outfield in Cleveland has been questionable at best. However, a combination of moves and timing on prospects could change the forecast at the position in the upcoming season.

The front office has made it a point to continuously add help in the outfield in an effort to pinpoint some sort of consistent play from the position. Of the nine players who could be in the mix to play in the outfield this season, at least four have been added through trades over the last few seasons and the signing of Eddie Rosario could be the final piece to the puzzle.

Now, the results won’t be immediate. There’s still a lot of question marks, but adding Rosario gives the Indians at least one solid outfield contributor, which is more than they’ve had the last few seasons. The key for the outfield unit during the 2021 season, will be getting all three pieces to work not only at the same time, but consistently. Those two areas have been lacking the past few seasons.

Luckily, the Cleveland Indians are already ahead of the curve a bit with the players they have in place. Going into the season we have a decent grasp on who should be starting, or at least getting majority of the playing time. In the past, it was an all out guessing game.

While trading Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco seemed questionable at the time, the recent moves have affirmed that this isn’t going to be a throw away season in Cleveland. Success could come differently, but adding much needed help in the outfield will play a big role in determining how the 2021 season pans out.