Cleveland Indians five-point checklist for the month of July

Cleveland Indians five-point checklist for the month of July

The calendar is about to flip and while the Cleveland Indians had a hard month of June in terms of injuries, the schedule in July is just as daunting. The Tribe are set to have seven games against the Houston Astros, seven against the Tampa Bay Rays as well as series against the Oakland A’s and Chicago White Sox.

July will also bring about a variety of off-the-field events over the course of the month, including the MLB Draft, the All-Star break and the trade deadline. All of that combines to make one of the most important and pivotal months of the baseball season for Cleveland.

With such an important month on deck, the Tribe will need to find ways to stay positive through what could be difficult stretches. There’s no doubt that Terry Francona and company have a plan to combat this, but having small goals that don’t always show up on the scoreboard could go a long way.

The hope is that Cleveland will be able to stay in the win column and the extra stuff will come along with it. However, the schedule raises the concern that hard times could be ahead of the team, but there’s still ways to progress forward positively even if the team isn’t winning.

If the injuries to the club has done anything it’s revealed weaknesses, weaknesses that can be addressed in the coming month. To get ready for the final two months of the regular season, the club can focus on these aspects of the game that aren’t necessarily in the win or loss column. They can definitely influence the outcome of games, but a loss won’t completely derail the plans to check these five points off by the end of the month.

So, with further delay, here’s out five-point checklist for the Cleveland Indians during the month of July.

Cleveland Indians need to get healthy in July

One of the biggest issues for the Cleveland Indians so far this season has been injuries. It’s seemed like one after another and it’s altered the team in every aspect of the game. Roberto Perez was a huge blow to the defensive side of the ball, Franmil Reyes to the offense and the club lost their three best pitchers as well.

Luckily, there’s hopefully some good news on the horizon in July. Both Perez and Reyes along with Zach Plesac have started rehab assignments and could be back in Cleveland before too long. Perez and Reyes have a handful of games completed, so a return is going to be soon for them if everything goes accordingly.

That would basically cut the injury report in half for the Tribe. There’s also been positive news surrounding Shane Bieber. That leaves just Aaron Civale as the last big blow to the team to come back, who could also return sometime in July.

If those five players can come back in July and the team can avoid further injuries that would be a huge step heading into the last two months of the season. The Tribe have been able to stay afloat without them, so getting them back could be as good as a trade at this point.

Figure out the Cleveland Indians starting rotation

There’s no question that June was hard on the Tribe’s starting rotation seeing three starters go down with injuries. However, the unit wasn’t exactly strong before the injuries happened. Bieber, Civale and Plesac were overall solid, but they had their moments of being off. As for the rest of the rotation, it was really just a big question mark.

The team has tried prospect after prospect to fill the rotation, but none have really separated themselves from the group as an answer for the duration of the season. The front office has made a few adjustments with veteran free agents, like Brad Peacock, who we’ve yet to see. Those signees could help, but that’s a big risk.

Whether it be finding someone internally or adding a player through a trade, the Cleveland Indians need to shore up their rotation to have at least four strong starting pitchers. The return of Bieber, Civale and Plesac should help tremendously, but that still leaves one more spot to address.

Oftentimes teams will go to a four-man rotation in the playoffs. If that’s the case for Cleveland this year, they still need to find one more arm to complete the unit. With time running out on ways to fix that, they need to do so in July.

Setup Outfield System

The Cleveland Indians outfield has been a bit of a mess for the last handful of seasons, but the unit seemed to be turning a corner of late. Eddie Rosario and Harold Ramirez have been strong additions while Josh Naylor and Bradley Zimmer were settling into their roles. Then, injury struck and the group is once again a bit of a question mark.

Rosario and Ramirez will still play their roles, but will the team increase Zimmer’s role? Oscar Mercado was called up, so maybe he returns to his 2019 form that convinced fans that center field was solved. There’s also Daniel Johnson and maybe even Nolan Jones as options in the minor leagues that are on the 40-man roster.

There’s also the slim chance that an outside player is brought in. There are few free agents that could be options and it remains to be seen if the team will make a trade, although there’s plenty more options there.

There’s still enough time to figure it all out, but if an external option is the route the clock is ticking. One way or another the team will need to figure out the plan in the outfield in the month of July. That doesn’t necessarily mean the names need to be written in Sharpie, but the way those names get to Cleveland needs to be decided. Hopefully, it’s Mercado and we can move on with the outfield set the way it is.

Escape July within reach of division

The end of July will mean that there’s only two months of the regular season left to play. Unfortunately, that will come after what is expected to be a juggernaut month for the Cleveland Indians as the upcoming schedule is riddled with the American League’s top teams.

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The Tribe will enter the month of July trailing the Chicago White Sox by less than five games in the AL Central and less than that behind in the Wild Card race. While July 1 might seem a bit premature to be talking playoffs, July’s schedule is the type of month that can bury a team in the standings.

Cleveland won’t have to win-out or take control of the standings in July. That will be incredibly difficult. However, if they can just stay within reach with two months left, that would be huge. Think five games out of the division lead. That seems like a reasonable ask. If they can do that in the month of July that could set them up for a late surge.

The Cleveland Indians have improved their winning percentage each month so far after being .500 in April. If that trend continues, or they at least stay at .500 or better in July, then they should be set for a late push towards the AL Central title.