Cleveland Indians outfield plan after Eddie Rosario, Jordan Luplow trades

Cleveland Indians outfield plan after Eddie Rosario, Jordan Luplow trades

Back on April 1, the Cleveland Indians opened up the 2021 campaign against the Detroit Tigers. The outfield for the Tribe in that game consisted of Eddie Rosario in left, Jordan Luplow in center and Josh Naylor in right with Ben Gamel later subbing for Luplow. Now, none of them are still on the roster.

Gamel barely made it out of April, being claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh on May 9. Naylor was later lost for the season due to injury. As for Rosario and Luplow, the Tribe sent both to other clubs at the trade deadline.

Eddie Rosario was dealt to the Atlanta Braves in a move to save salary in which Cleveland received essentially nothing after releasing the only player that came to them in the deal. As for Jordan Luplow, he went to the Tampa Bay Rays along with D.J. Johnson for pitching prospect Peyton Battenfield.

The outfield in Cleveland has slowly evolved throughout the season, but with the pair of moves at the trade deadline the Tribe no longer have any of their Opening Day outfielders on the active roster. Naylor will be back next season at some point, hopefully, but the other three aren’t even with the organization anymore.

Moving forward into the rest of the season Cleveland will be able to audition a few different positions to see what they have for the future. However, there might not be a bigger audition than the outfield. At this point, pretty much every spot is up for grabs. Some players have a better starting point to win a starting gig for next year, but it’s anyone’s race.

As we transition into the final leg of the season, these five outfielders will be competing to showcase their skills to the front office. Currently, all five are on the active roster, but that’s likely to not be the case by the start of next season. Adding at least Naylor back into the mix and there will be a few of these five on the outside looking in.

Myles Straw, OF, Cleveland Indians

Being acquired at the trade deadline from the Houston Astros for a major league reliever in Phil Maton and a catching prospect, it seems like the front office in Cleveland is high on Myles Straw. He’s a speedy baserunner with a strong glove, so there’s definitely draw to his game, but he’ll have to earn a spot in a heavily crowded outfield.

In Houston, Straw was posting a similar slash line to what Harold Ramirez was doing in Cleveland. Over 98 games, Straw slashed .262/.339/.326 for the Astros. While his slugging percentage was lower than Ramirez’s, his on-base percentage was 34 points higher and his batting average only four lower. Straw was also able to tally 13 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 34 RBI while snagging 17 stolen bases.

Debuting for the Tribe on Saturday (July 31), Straw had a decent game. During the club’s shootout with Chicago, Straw went 1-for-5 with a run scored while batting leadoff. When leading off a game he’s batting just .143, going 1-for-7 with a double on the season. That’s a very small sample size, but the leadoff spot might not be for him.

Given what the team invested in the trade to get Straw, the organization thinks highly of him. There’s clear potential with his speed and glove and his bat is similar to Ramirez, who has been a bright spot in the lineup at times. If he can settle around being a .265 hitter, that might be enough to earn a starting spot in Cleveland’s outfield.

Bradley Zimmer, OF, Cleveland Indians

A first round pick by the Cleveland Indians during the 2014 MLB Draft, Bradley Zimmer has shown flashes of his potential throughout his career. Unfortunately, finding consistency has been a bit of an issue for him, and that’s partially due to a run of injuries he’s had that limited him to just 43 major league games between 2018 and 2019.

Now, Zimmer seems to be rediscovering his swing at the major league level. Over the last 28 days, Zimmer is slashing .281/.349/.421 with two doubles, two home runs, two stolen bases and seven RBI. Much of that production has come from a change in the batting order.

When Zimmer is leading off an inning this season, he’s slashing .325/.400/.400, including a home run. In fact, when he is batting first in the order this year, he has been able to slash .318/.400/.500 with a double, a home run and three RBI. The only other spot in the order where he is batting over .300 is ninth. Everything else is sub-.250.

It’s clear that Zimmer is most comfortable either at the top or the bottom of the order. As for in the field, he’s been error-free this season with a .995 career fielding percentage. While it’s taken him a bit longer than anticipated to find his stride, Zimmer is making a strong case for more playing time, especially with the leadoff spot now up for grabs.

Oscar Mercado, OF, Cleveland Indians

After a breakout 2019 campaign, Oscar Mercado has just not been able to find his swing again. His 2020 season was rough, batting well below the Mendoza line, and while this year has shown improvement he’s still playing below what might be his level of expectations.

This season, Mercado has been slashing .226/.314/.371 for Cleveland and unfortunately his splits aren’t that much better. Over the last 28 days his average is only a bit higher at .239, but over the last 14 days it’s much lower at .192.

The upside for Mercado is his improvement with his glove. He’s been error-free for the last two seasons after having six in 2019 alone. While that’s good, a strong glove won’t be enough to stay on the major league roster given the other talent the organization has.

If he can start to improve his contact at the plate and find more base hits through the rest of the season, he has a shot. However, given the three players mentioned already and Josh Naylor’s eventual return, Mercado has an uphill climb if he wants to reclaim a starting spot in the Tribe’s outfield. The potential is there, he’s showcased it before, but the production has to be there as well and it just hasn’t been recently.

Daniel Johnson, OF, Cleveland Indians

Being one of the players to come to Cleveland in the Yan Gomes trade following the 2018 season, Daniel Johnson has played a grand total of 22 games for the Cleveland Indians. Johnson has proven time and time again that he can play well in Triple-A Columbus, but those stats have yet to make the transition to the majors.

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During the 2020 season, Johnson logged just one hit for the team over five games. His 2021 sample size has been better, but it’s still not great. Over 17 games, he’s slashing just .205/.222/.341 with a pair of solo home runs for his only two RBI. He’s also drawn just one walk while striking out 15 times.

Johnson has played mainly in right field this season and he has one error. He hasn’t had many chances so that one error has his fielding percentage down to .958. While he’s been a well regarded prospect, Johnson just hasn’t been able to translate his game to the majors.

Being the outfielder with the least amount of experience, Johnson probably has a bit longer of a leash. Even with a longer leash, though, there’s already four other names on this list and that doesn’t include Naylor. At least one player won’t be able to stay long-term and going off of stats, that player right now is Johnson.