Cleveland Indians: Position Preview for 2021, Outfield

Bench Depth

The starting trio in the outfield is much improved for the Indians on the surface, but should one of those players be injured or start to regress, then the Tribe need someone in waiting that can take over and produce. Luckily, they should have plenty of options.

From the right-side of the plate, there’s currently two options on the 40-man roster that the Tribe could turn to and both are former high-rated prospects who just haven’t panned out. Bradley Zimmer and Jordan Luplow could both be options in the outfield, at the plate, or on the bases. They each could still have a flash left, but they’ll have to earn their chances.

As for the left-side of the plate there are two clear options and one sleeper. The clear options are Jake Bauers and Daniel Johnson. Both have been given opportunities at the major league level, albeit short especially for Johnson. The other wild card of the bunch could end up being top prospect Nolan Jones. Jones has been rumored to be in the outfield mix, along with first base, after being roadblocked at third base.

The nice thing going into this season is that the Indians don’t need to find three starters among this group like in the past. At least one spot in the outfield is set with Rosario and hopefully another with Naylor. These are just depth options.