Cleveland Indians: 3 goals to aim for with postseason hopes dwindling

Cleveland Indians Goal #2: Get prospects at-bats

Like the starting pitchers, the rest of the season with be an opportunity for more chances amongst the the young prospects on the team. After trading Cesar Hernandez and Eddie Rosario, there are positions, and at-bats, up for grabs in both the outfield and the infield. The rest of the 2021 season should really just be an audition for 2022.

Cleveland knows what they have in players like Jose Ramirez and Amed Rosario in the infield and even Harold Ramirez in the outfield. As for the rest of the lineup, with the exception of Franmil Reyes as the designated hitter, it’s basically question marks.

The rest of the 2021 season should be used as a trying out period, especially once the rosters expand. Right now the club should focus on getting as many at-bats for players that they have yet to get a full sample from. That includes Bobby Bradley, Owen Miller, Ernie Clement and even Gabriel Arias in the infield. As for the outfield, more opportunities should be given to Bradley Zimmer, Oscar Mercado, Myles Straw and Daniel Johnson.

The production might not be great, but this is the time to see what those players can do with little consequences with the postseason already out of reach. Throw matchups out the window and try to get as broad of a sample as you can from all of these players so going into Spring Training there’s at least a base for all of them.