Today we’re going to take a look at the Cleveland Indians, a team that has been one of the better teams in baseball over the past 5 years or so.  However, there are some signs that perhaps that era is coming to an end as the Indians have traded away their franchise superstar and one of their better pitchers to the Mets for some decent players but nothing compared to what Lindor can bring.  And Carrasco was the last piece of that amazing rotation with Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber – and now they’re all gone.  Fortunately, Shane Bieber has come along but he can’t do it alone.

Arrivals

• 2B Cesar Hernandez (Re-Signed)

• 2B Andres Gimenez (Trade – Mets)

• SS Amed Rosario (Trade – Mets)

• OF Billy Hamilton (Minor League Deal)

• OF Eddie Rosario (FA)

• RP Blake Parker (Minor League Deal)

• RP Bryan Shaw (Minor League Deal)

• RP DJ Johnson (Minor League Deal)

• OF Ben Gamel (Minor League Deal)

One nice move by Cleveland was re-signing second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who turned in an extremely strong 2020, winning a Gold Glove and hitting .283 while leading the league with 20 doubles.  He will be back in the Cleveland infield, which shows the Indians are not completely giving up after the Lindor deal which landed them Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez.  They are still bringing back Cesar Hernandez and still have Jose Ramirez so the infield should be pretty good even without Lindor.  Eddie Rosario was also a big free agent signing, bringing a power bat over from Minnesota on a pretty nice $8 million deal.  He hit 28 home runs in 2019 then 13 more last season in 210 at bats.  He has also apparently loved hitting at Progressive Field with a career .353 average and an OPS over 1.000 when hitting in Cleveland.

But the most recent notable signing is the speedster who was in Giants camp last season, Billy Hamilton.  He is only 30 years old so can probably still fly which is going to be his main asset, especially considering the horrific extra innings rule will be in effect in 2021.  With the Mets and Cubs last year, he could only muster 4 hits in 32 at bats with a home run to go along with 4 steals while being caught twice. Hamilton is no guarantee to make the team with some competition like Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer, but neither were good in 2020 either so there will be some outfield spots up for grabs.

Lineup

1.       Cesar Hernandez 2B

2.       Jose Ramirez 3B

3.       Eddie Rosario LF

4.       Franmil Reyes DH

5.       Josh Naylor/Bauers? 1B

6.       Roberto Perez C

7.       Andres Gimenez SS

8.       Mercado/Zimmer CF

9.       Johnson/Luplow RF

Starting with a glance at the lineup, like I said, Hernandez was a huge re-signing to continue to have that bat and glove in the lineup.  Then it’s Jose Ramirez, who seems to just be getting better.  He finished second in the MVP race and absolutely obliterates fastballs.  He’s got quick hands and strong defense in the field and at just 28 years old, I am predicting he tops 40 home runs for the first time in his big-league career.  Eddie Rosario was another important signing just to keep pitchers honest with another power threat in there.  He’s always a threat to go deep and in the past was known as a good defender although he’s been declining a bit in that area. 

Franmil Reyes is a beast who averaged 92.4 exit velocity last season and will hit close to if not 30 home runs in 2021.  He strikes out a bit too much but also has good speed for his size and is a perfect DH to compliment some of the other power bats in this lineup.  Josh Naylor, a former Marlins first round pick, is just 24 years old and can also hit the ball extremely hard.  He’s a good baserunner and decent fielder as well.  Unfortunately, he’s never been able to show consistent home run power or adjust to good breaking stuff.  Jake Bauers did not play in 2020 after a rough 2019. He spent the season working to improve his plate coverage at the secondary location and should get an opportunity this season to make the team. Roberto Perez is there for his elite defensive abilities behind the plate – he can frame, block would-be wild pitches, throw out baserunners and if nothing else at the plate, can go deep, hitting 24 home runs in 2019.

Andres Gimenez is a strong fielder but a light hitter, especially compared to Francisco Lindor.  Nevertheless, he held his own at the plate last year, hitting .263 with a .333 on base and 3 home runs in 118 at bats.  In the outfield will be either Mercado or Zimmer unless Hamilton wins the starting job, which I highly doubt.  Zimmer was a pretty big prospect back in 2017 but since then has had some injury issues and has been pretty miserable at the plate.  He hit .162 in 2020 after going 0 for 13 in 2019.  He’ll be pushed by Oscar Mercado, who has a massive swing but rarely connects, at least last season.  He did hit .269 in 2019 with 15 home runs.   Finally, Daniel Johnson and Jordan Luplow will be in the mix for the other outfield spot.  Luplow went 2-for-31 to start 2020 and ended up hitting .192 while Johnson hasn’t gotten a big sample yet but hit .290 with 19 home runs in the minors in 2019.

The lineup is actually not as terrible as you’d think after trading one of the best players in the game for a couple of light hitting infielders.   There is some definite power threats but the lineup fizzles out after this first 5.  Still, that top 5 is pretty potent.  Overall, I’m going to give this lineup a C+ but if some one like Daniel Johnson or Oscar Mercado have a big year at the plate, it could be quite a bit better.  

Rotation

1.       Shane Bieber

2.       Zach Plesac

3.       Triston McKenzie

4.       Aaron Civale

5.       Logan Allen

Scott Moss

Looking at the rotation, it still looks rather good even without Mike Clevinger and Carlos Carrasco.  It starts with one of if not the best in the game, Shane Bieber.  He won the Cy Young Award and has multiple elite pitches including one of the best curves in the game and a sick cutter.  His 122 strikeouts in 2020 looks like a typo given it was just a 60-game season.  He was also 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA by the way.  Next is Zach Plesac, who offers some nasty sliders with a plus changeup.  He had a dominant 2020 himself with a 2.28 in 8 starts giving up just 38 hits in over 55 innings.  After that, the success of the 2021 Cleveland Indians really rides on the arms of some of these youngsters.  2015 First Round Selection Triston McKenzie looked good in six 2020 starts and at 6’5” with a 95 MPH fastball and a plus curve, he could develop into a damn good if not elite starter. 

Aaron Civale has been pretty solid throughout his young career with a 3.69 ERA in 20 starts.  He’s not afraid to attack hitters and has a nice cutter and curve but hasn’t had a full season yet to prove himself.  Finally, Logan Allen has four solid pitches including a nasty curve and the “Vulcan,” his change-up.  His past numbers indicate more of a back-end of the rotation guy or long-reliever, but he’s got the stuff to become good if he can just hone his skills and improve his control.  Scott Moss is also in the system and should make his big-league debut in 2021.  He’s got strikeout stuff and minor league career 41-17 record with a 3.28 ERA.  All said, this rotation is outstanding though 2 and then you hope for the best with some arms that have tools but lack experience.  I believe McKenzie will be legit and after that they’ll be good times and bad times.  Overall, with a Cy Young Award winner, a great arm in Plesac and some serious potential with the rest of it, I’m going to give this rotation a B-.

Bullpen

• James Karinchak

• Nick Wittgren

• Emmanuel Clase

• Adam Plutko

• Phil Maton

• Cal Quantrill

• Cam Hill

• Kyle Nelson

• Blake Parker

• Heath Hembree

• Bryan Shaw

• D.J. Johnson

Here are the names that could in that bullpen for the Indians, some of these guys like Heath Hembree and Blake Parker and D.J. Johnson are on minor league deals and could definitely make the team.  As for the main guys, James Karinchak should be the closer with his high heat and nasty curve that he used to strike out almost 50% of his opponents last year.   He has definitely earned the opportunity and could become a big-time MLB closer now with the departure of Brad Hand.  Nick Wittgren has nice stuff as well with a 10.6 strikeout rate in 2020 and just 6 walks to 28 strikeouts.  Emmanuel Clase was great with Texas in 2019 with a 2.31 ERA before a PED suspension.  He was hitting triple digits with high spin last time we saw him but it remains to be seen what he’ll bring in 2021 after his suspension.  Phil Maton can also bring the heat with spin and has a great strikeout rate but also a somewhat high ERA.  Cal Quantrill and Adam Plutko are solid options as well and look out for Rule 5 selection Trevor Stephan, a Yankees 3rd round pick, who has a nasty fastball/slider combo and showed great strikeout stuff in the Minors.  Kyle Nelson flew through the minors quickly for a 15th pick, showing dominance at every level.  He’ll have a good chance to make the team as one of the few lefties they have available.  Obviously this pen will miss some good arms like Oliver Perez and Adam Cimber and, of course, Brad Hand, but it’s still pretty good.  They could use more lefties and a lot depends on how Clase bounces back from missing 2020 but overall, I like his pen and I’m going to give it a B.

So, there you have it for the 2021 Cleveland Indians, a team that still has a lot of talent even after losing Lindor and Hand and others.  They’ve regained a lot of power and defense with Rosario and Herandez and they have other prospects I didn’t mention like Nolan Jones and Tyler Freeman on the way soon and could be ready at some point in 2021 if needed.  All around, this team is still good enough to be competitive but it’s going to be tough with the Twins and White Sox both looking amazing.  I still think this team has a chance to slip into the playoffs though and I’m going to give the Cleveland Indians an overall score of a B-.