Cleveland Indians: 3 reasons why the future is bright for Cleveland baseball

The future is bright for the Cleveland Indians / Cleveland Guardians despite the struggles of the 2021 season.

The 2021 season has been rough for Cleveland baseball. What will end up being the final season for the Cleveland Indians was expected to be a bit tougher than previous seasons due to the makeup of the roster after the club cut payroll. However, even then a season below .500 this far into the season was fully predicted.

As it currently stands, the Tribe are in danger of suffering a losing season for the first time since 2012. On top of that, the front office has traded away most of the top players for the organization and Terry Francona has stepped away for the rest of the season, putting his position in question, potentially, next year as well.

While the negatives are taking the headlines right now, like a 17-0 loss, there’s still a lot to be excited for when looking ahead to the future of Cleveland baseball. This team is young and developing, which should in turn create a bright future as the group grows together and finds their stride in the coming seasons.

So, to help us get through the remainder of a difficult 2021 season we’ll need to focus on those positives. In fact, these three positives should be just enough to paint a bright future for Cleveland baseball moving beyond the 2021 campaign.

Lots of Team Control Remains for the Cleveland Indians

Perhaps the best takeaway from this season for the Tribe is the amount of team control the club has with the current roster. On the team’s roster currently there are 11 players that will be under team control through the 2025 season, including nearly all the outfielders, most of the starting rotation and the backend of the bullpen. If you back it up a year, you also add Shane Bieber and Franmil Reyes through 2024.

That means that the core of this club should remain for at least the next three seasons, barring any trades. Unlike the situation with Francisco Lindor, most of these contracts should remain rather affordable through the arbitration process.

If the team can stick with this group of players they would retain the following players through the 2024 season: Shane Bieber, Franmil Reyes, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, Cal Quantrill, James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Harold Ramirez, Myles Straw, Josh Naylor, Bobby Bradley and more.

That means that the club should be able to proceed with at least a full outfield, four starting pitchers, two bullpen arms and a first baseman on bargain deals, and that doesn’t even include any prospects who could get called up.

Rising prospects to fill gaps in Cleveland Indians roster

While the current roster already has a strong foundation at most positions, the minor leagues are overflowing with talent ready to fill the remainder of the gaps. If you go back to the first slide the positions missing from the “young players under team control through 2024” list included second, third, short and catcher. Everything else was covered. Luckily, those four positions are covered by the team’s top five prospects.

Second Base/Shortstop

The Tribe have plenty of middle infield options in the minor league system right now. While the rankings haven’t been updated as recently as you would like to see, the MLB.com Top 30 prospect list for Cleveland has four middle infielders in the Top 10 and two in the Top 5.

Gabriel Arias (No. 5 prospect) has been impressing in Columbus this season and could potentially be a September call-up to see time in the middle infield. Tyler Freeman (No. 2 prospect) had to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, so his timetable is up in the air but the upside is still clearly there.

There’s also Richard Palacios who has been surging this season. While he’s only the No. 27 prospect, he’s making a push to see time before even Freeman does, especially with the injury.

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Third Base

While Jose Ramirez is locking down third base for now, the club’s ambition to cut payroll paired with Ramirez’s increasing salary on club options the next two seasons could make the waters a bit murky. If anything, his contract ends after the 2023 season regardless. Luckily, Nolan Jones is a natural third baseman and just happens to be the club’s No. 1 prospect.

Jones has struggled a bit this season at the plate, but with Ramirez’s contract he has plenty of time to sit back and figure it out. He’s the No. 1 prospect for a reason, so if he can find his swing in Columbus he should have a big impact in Cleveland in the near future.

Catcher

The No. 3 prospect in the organization, Bo Naylor has a lot of upside to his game and he’s not alone on the Top 30 list. Bryan Lavastida, who’s had a strong 2021 campaign, is on the list as well at No. 24. Both of these catchers would provide a much needed offensive boost to the catcher position that Cleveland has lacked for a few seasons.

Both Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges could be gone after the 2022 season at the latest, so watching the prospect talent behind the plate will be key. Both Naylor and Lavastida have the ability to upgrade the position offensively, but will need some defensive lessons from Perez and Hedges to keep the position at its quality.