Tag: Francisco Lindor

Indians 26 man 2020 Roster

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

Well, the Indians missed the playoffs, my postseason ticket refund took forever to arrive and the Indians cut payroll. Despite all of this, I remain optimistic. Spring Training is starting so why not do a 26 man roster projection?

I’ll start with a few assumptions. Tito is the manager so we will carry 5 SP, 8 RP, 2 Catchers. The toss up is the extra spot on the bench. Here we go.

Lets start with the rotation. I think Cookie is able to get back into SP form and Civali shows he is major league rotation material. The 5th spot comes down to Adam Plutko or Zach Plesac. Plutko is out of options but there is room in the bullpen. Plesac gets the spot.

SP:

  1. Mike Clevinger
  2. Shane Bieber
  3. Carlos Carrasco
  4. Aaron Civali
  5. Zach Plesac

The bullpen is interesting. Lot of overhaul over the years here. I think the first four are pretty easy. Clase is too electric to not be here as is Karinchak. I think Hunter Wood and Plutko start out here but there is potential for some guys like Jefry Rodriquez, Scott Moss, James Hoyt and Phil Maton to take a spot. None of the non-roster guys this year intrigue me.

RP:

  1. Brad Hand
  2. Oliver Perez
  3. Adam Cimber
  4. Nick Witgren
  5. Emmanuel Clase
  6. Hunter Wood
  7. Adam Plutko
  8. James Karinchak

Catchers are easy. Nothing to say here.

Catcher

  1. Roberto Perez
  2. Sany Leon

The infield is up in the air. First four are locks but what else they do is unknown. I think Chang finally gets his shot and makes the roster.

IF

  1. Francisco Lindor
  2. Jose Ramirez
  3. Carlos Sanatana
  4. Cesar Hernandez
  5. Yu Chang

The outfield has some decisions to make and Domingo Santana is likely to sign soon and make this team. Reyes, Mercado and Luplow are locks in my opinion as well. I think Deshields makes this roster out of spring because of his speed and defense. Tyler Naquin will be hurt to start the season, otherwise he would be on this team.

OF

  1. Franmil Reyes
  2. Oscar Mercado
  3. Jordan Luplow
  4. Domingo Sanatana
  5. Delino Deshields

This leaves one last spot. The new 26th man. My options here are Greg Allen, Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer, Mike Freeman, Christian Arroyo, Andrew Velazquez, Daniel Johnson and Bobby Bradley. These last two will start in AAA. Team doesn’t need them yet. No room for Arroyo and Velazquez yet. Zimmer needs some time on the farm after his injury too. This leave us with Allen, Bauers and Freeman. Allen’s role is filled by Deshields for now. Freeman had a fantastic year but we can’t expect that from him. Jake Bauers makes this team as a DH/OF/1B/PH. Welcome back to the show Jake.

26th Man: Jake Bauers

Projecting the Indians ALDS Roster

On By Chris ElliottIn baseballLeave a comment

The regular season is close to wrapping up and while the Indians are still playing to secure home field advantage, it is not too early to start thinking about the playoff roster for the first round.

Majority of the spots I feel are pretty secure. A few guys are injured right now and (knock on wood) hopefully no one else gets hurt at this point. So right now, I am assuming Brantley, Zimmer, and Guyer will be out. I am also assuming Lonnie Chisenhall makes it back.

Saying that, let’s start with the pitching staff. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer are locked in as the 1, 2 and 3 spots in the rotation. The fourth spot is one of my question marks. In the pen, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Mike Clevinger, and Joe Smith are all for sure going to make it. Still leaves 2-3 pen spots open depending on how many arms Tito wants to carry.

Now, the easiest position is catcher. Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez are locks. That position is set. Edwin, and his parrot, at DH is locked as well.

The infield is easier than the outfield so let’s go there. Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez are all set. Giovanny Urshela will make it at third and I’m going to go with Yandy Diaz making this roster as well.

So heading into the outfield now, we have 16 spots reserved with at least 3 more going to pitchers. Austin Jackson, Jay Bruce, and Lonnie Chisenhall will all make it. I also believe Jason Kipnis gets a spot. Now, how many outfielders do the Indians keep out there is a big question.

With five spots left, this is where it gets tricky. The starting rotation spot is a battle between Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin. It’s a real toss up here but I think Tito goes with Salazar. Tomlin deserves to be on this roster but I don’t see it in the cards for him unless Salazar has a meltdown in his next start. 21 spots down.

Now to the pen. Keeping Salazar means you need another pen arm with his limited innings. I think Tito picks 8 and that means to me that Dan Otero, Nick Goody and Tyler Olson all make this roster. Ryan Merritt and Zach McAllister are the two arms that get left off for this round. 24 secured leaving us with 1 more position player.

This is really coming down to three players I believe. Erik Gonzalez, Abraham Almonte, and Greg Allen. Gonzalez is a great utility guy and a speedster on the base paths but I think Urshela, Jose and even Kipnis being able to come back to the infield eliminates his need. Which means it’s Almonte or Allen. Allen is the better defender here and for that reason I think the kid makes the roster. There you go. 25 man roster complete.

Here is the quick run down again.

Starting Pitchers:

Corey Kluber

Carlos Carrasco

Trevor Bauer

Danny Salazar

Pen:

Mike Clevinger

Bryan Shaw

Cody Allen

Joe Smith

Andre Miller

Dan Otero

Nick Goody

Tyler Olson

DH:

Edwin Encarnacion

Catchers:

Yan Gomes

Roberto Perez

Infield:

Carlos Santana

Yandy Diaz

Giovanny Urshela

Francisco Lindor

Jose Ramirez

Outfield:

Jay Bruce

Austin Jackson

Jason Kipnis

Lonnie Chisenhall

Greg Allen

Go Tribe!