Cleveland Indians: What Could a Postseason Roster Look Like?
Sep 7, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona (17) makes a call to the bullpen in the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Indians are in the home stretch with their eyes on a Central Division title. If the Tribe holds on and makes the playoffs, what might the team’s roster look like.
Heading into play on Friday, the Cleveland Indians hold a six-game lead in the American League Central Division, sitting just a game and a half back of the Texas Rangers for the best record in the AL. While a trip to the postseason isn’t guaranteed yet, the Tribe has put itself into great position with just 23 games remaining in the regular season.
As such, we began to wonder what Terry Francona’s roster might look like for a playoff series. A majority of the 25 players that would comprise the active roster for a Divisional or League Championship series are pretty easy to pin down, but there will be some tough decisions that have to be made, and some major contributors may be left off.
Cleveland’s magic number to clinch the AL Central currently stands at 18 after an 8-2 homestand. With the rest of the club’s regular season schedule coming against divisional opponents, its destiny is truly in its own hands.
The Tribe is 36-17 this season against the Central, so the schedule the rest of the way wouldseem to bode well for them. There isn’t a single opponent remaining that the team isn’t at least .500 against.
So let’s take a look at who Francona and the Indians will likely have in uniform should the team make its playoff aspirations reality, and who could be left behind to watch it on television just like the fans.
The No-Brainers
Sep 6, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
For the most part, we know who will be a part of any postseason run Cleveland makes. The guys that have done the work all season and put the club in its current position are well-known to the opposition and fans alike.
On the mound, the quartet of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, and Trevor Bauer have been among the American League’s best all season (despite some post-all-star break struggles), and are perhaps the No. 1 reason that fellow playoff teams will not want to see the Indians in the opposing dugout.
Collectively, those four have a 3.47 earned run average in 2016, and Tribe starters as a whole have held opposing hitters to just a .246/.302/.420 slash line and an OPS+ of 91, making them one of the most formidable rotations in all of baseball.
The four key cogs in the bullpen also appear written in stone, with Dan Otero, Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller, and Cody Allen being the arms that Francona has leaned on in high-leverage situations. Cleveland’s relief corps has held opponents to a .236/.308/.384 slash line for the year, but has been much-improved since the addition of Miller at the deadline.
In the field, we know that players like Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez, Mike Napoli, and Carlos Santana will continue to be in the lineup every day. The outfield of Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis, Brandon Guyer, and Coco Crisp will also keep up their platoon rotation, with the one notable absence of Abraham Almonte, who is ineligible for the postseason due to his PED suspension in spring training.
Add it up and 18 of the 25 spots on the playoff roster are no-brainers. The question that will become ever present for the Indians once the postseason arrives, though, is how those final seven spots will be filled.
The Catchers
Apr 24, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez (55) against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Indians won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
One of the sore spots on the team all season for Cleveland has been its backstops, and this position group presents an interesting quandary for Francona if the club makes the postseason. Roberto Perez, who missed a significant chunk of the year with a broken thumb, appears to finally be rounding into form, and will no doubt be a part of the playoff push.
From there, though, the signal caller situation gets murky. Yan Gomes, who was having an epically awful season at the plate before suffering a dislocated shoulder in mid July, is currently on a minor league rehab assignment and should rejoin the team within the next week to 10 days. Whether he will be physically capable of putting on the catcher’s gear, and whether he will be able to contribute offensively at a level higher than he was before his injury are questions that will have a ripple effect on the roster.
Even before Gomes went down, Chris Gimenez was earning a reputation as a pitcher whisperer of sorts, helping to corral and control Bauer. More recently, he has been catching Salazar and helping to pull him out of his second half funk. While Gimenez isn’t much of an offensive threat, he has put together a better season at the plate than Gomes.
Will Francona carry all three catchers? Or will one of Gomes or Gimenez be staying home? How quickly Gomes comes back to the big league club and how the final three weeks of the regular season play out will help determine the answers to those questions. For now, though, the Indians’ catching unit remains up in the air as it has been for most of the season.
The Utility Man
Aug 13, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Michael Martinez (1) lays down a bunt during the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Progressive Field. Cleveland Indians catcher Chris Gimenez (not pictured) scored on a throwing error by Los Angeles Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar (not pictured). Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The inability of Michael Brantley to overcome his offseason shoulder surgery and get back on the field everyday has been a narrative arc for the Tribe all year long. Brantley, who had season-ending surgery once again, appeared in a mere 11 games in 2016, and coupled with the ineffective play and subsequent release of veteran Juan Uribe, Francona was forced to remove Ramirez from the team’s utility role.
That move has paid serious dividends, as Ramirez has been among the breakout surprises in all of MLB this season, but it leaves a void at the utility man position that the team has had a little trouble filling.
For most of the season, Michael Martinez has filled the role more or less competently. Martinez has slashed .253/.280/.342 in 46 games for Cleveland, with an OPS+ of just 59, but has been serviceable at several positions with the glove. In all likelihood, a postseason roster will include the 33-year old.
The question, though, is whether or not it should. Martinez is statistically one of the most ineffective offensive players in big league history, and any fan of the Indians knows how a playoff series can turn on one crucial at-bat. In a perfect world, Martinez would not find himself at the plate in a postseason series, being utilized exclusively as a defensive replacement when warranted, but situations can’t be predicted.
The only other real option the Tribe has is Erik Gonzalez, the 25-year old who has spent most of the season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Gonzalez, chiefly a shortstop, though he has spent time at second, third, and in the outfield at times in 2016, has received just 10 plate appearances at the big league level, and is probably too green for Francona’s tastes in a playoff scenario.
The Bullpen
Aug 24, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Jeff Manship (53) throws the ball during the seventh inning against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kenny Karst-USA TODAY Sports
Assuming Cleveland adds one of Gomes and Gimenez at catcher and one of Martinez or Gonzalez at utility man, the postseason roster will stand at 20 players. That leaves five open spots, which will presumably all go to relief pitchers. The team will have some tough choices to make here, and a few deserving arms will be disappointed.
The most likely candidates to fill out the playoff bullpen will come from the group of Zach McAllister, Jeff Manship, Kyle Crockett, Mike Clevinger, Shawn Armstrong, Perci Garner, Cody Anderson, and Joe Colon, all currently on the active roster, and Austin Adams, T.J. House, Shawn Morimando, and Ryan Merritt, who are currently in the minors.
McAllister, Manship, and Clevinger all seem like pretty safe bets from that group. Crockett likely is, too, as the team will need a left-handed arm in the bullpen that isn’t named Andrew Miller for LOOGY purposes. This leaves just one additional spot up for grabs among the eight other options.
Who Francona chooses, and how the other spots shake out, will tell a lot about how the Tribe plans on attacking the playoffs. The skipper has been there before and proven he is among the game’s best at pushing the necessary buttons with his roster to win at the highest level. While the postseason still isn’t a guarantee, the subplots of competition for roster spots if the club does make it will add another interesting dimension for fans to follow through the home stretch.
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