Cleveland Indians: Three last chance prospects this spring

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Bradley Zimmer #4 of the Cleveland Indians (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Three Cleveland Indians prospects who are on their last chance this spring

Each year the Spring Training roster for the Cleveland Indians raises as many questions as it answers and this year both lists are rather long. With so many moving parts this past offseason, question after question has been marked down. While we hope to have answers by the time the season begins, the list is only getting longer at the moment as we get further into Spring Training.

With so many moving pieces, new faces have arrived on the roster and they come at nearly every position. While there are more openings this season than in the past, the pool of players vying for those spots is much deeper. Additions of prospects like Andres Gimenez and Gabriel Arias have thickened the pot for the middle infield while a slew of players have been put into the first base conversation, including No. 1 prospect Nolan Jones.

In the same regard, free agent additions have made races that were wide open before narrowed to just a spot or two. Eddie Rosario will be locked in as a starter while Billy Hamilton’s speed will give him a unique advantage in the center field competition. Those two join a position group that already had far more players than positions last year, but with majority of players on the same level of talent the spring will be very telling of who makes the final cut.

When it comes down to it, there are going to odd men out like any other year. However, the deepened pool of talent this year is most likely going to result in at least a few surprises and maybe even a few roster moves to follow. While it might not be “Hot Stove” talk, these three players need to impress this spring or they could be on the move or stuck in Triple-A for a long time.

Jake Bauers

For starters, we have to take a moment to recognize the sunglasses that Jake Bauers brought to Spring Training, or maybe they are ski goggles? Like his eyewear, Bauers is going to need to stand out this spring to have a shot at the roster.

The good news for Bauers is that of the players on this list he’s the most versatile and his versatility comes at two positions that are likely to have question marks around them heading into the season. First base and the corner outfield positions are the biggest “concerns” for the Cleveland Indians and Bauers could play both.

At first base, he’ll mainly be competing with Bobby Bradley and possibly Nolan Jones. As for the outfield, the list is much longer. Since arriving in Cleveland, Bauers has played 117 games for the Tribe, all being in 2019 after not appearing in 2020. Normally, the sign of not making it to the big leagues last year would be a red flag, but neither did Bradley or Jones.

For Bauers to make the roster this season it might take an all-around improvement. Bradley has looked better in the field and already flexed his power. While Bauers might be a more balanced player, the improvements that Bradley is showing doesn’t bode well for Bauers.

Yu Chang

It was only a few months ago that we were talking about Yu Chang being one of the players on the roster that could start in the infield. However, a handful of moves have shifted the tides and now Chang might be fighting for a roster spot once again, and really by no fault of his own.

Chang came up as a third basemen, but Jose Ramirez is locked in there with Nolan Jones probably being the next man up. So, Chang tried second base which seemed promising. That is until the Indians resigned Cesar Hernandez. Then, Chang was tossed around as a replacement for Francisco Lindor, but Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario were part of the return in the deal and seem like the front runners.

Now, Chang is in the group of Rosario, Mike Freeman and others that are fighting to earn the infield depth role on the roster of the Cleveland Indians in 2021. The road blocks on the roster has provided Chang with a nice resume of versatility, but so does everyone else on the list that he is a part of.

An 0-for-4 start at the plate in two games has put Chang behind the eight ball, but there’s plenty of time to regroup and rebound. Having only played 38 games in the majors and just 10 last year, he’ll need a strong spring to gain a roster spot given the competition.

Bradley Zimmer

It seems like every season we get these high expectations for Bradley Zimmer and whether it be an injury or lack of production or opportunity, he falls short. Zimmer’s name was tossed around in trade talks all offseason, but he still enters the spring on the roster of the Cleveland Indians.

Luckily, the Indians are still figuring out the outfield, but the catch for Zimmer is that his odds of making the team have gone down each year, especially this season. The additions of Eddie Rosario and Billy Hamilton will only make it more difficult in a room that includes Josh Naylor, Jordan Luplow, Oscar Mercado, Daniel Johnson and others that we might not even know of yet.

The downside for Zimmer is that between his injury history and age, he’s already at a disadvantage heading into the spring. If it comes down to him and someone who is younger, odds are the younger player will get the opportunity. To make the roster, Zimmer will need a strong Spring Training and maybe more to stay on the roster once the season begins. If he doesn’t get that, then I have a feeling he starts the season in Triple-A or with an different organization.

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Three Cleveland Indians prospects who are on their last chance this spring

Jake Bauers

Yu Chang

Bradley Zimmer

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