The Cleveland Indians open the 2021 regular season in less than a week, so the Opening Day roster needs to be finalized soon.
The team announced several decisions Friday afternoon that answer plenty of questions fans have had all month.
Zack Meisel of The Athletic shared the news that will have fans talking all weekend.
Cleveland roster decisions:
Jake Bauers will be the Opening Day first baseman.
Oliver Pérez and Yu Chang have made the Opening Day roster.
Bradley Zimmer, Blake Parker, Anthony Gose, Kyle Nelson and Bobby Bradley did not make the Opening Day roster.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 26, 2021
Let’s break this down in several parts.
Jake Bauers Wins First Baseman Job
Jake Bauers was put at first base in spring training and Bobby Bradley was his top competition.
Regardless of stats, Bauers seemed to have the edge because he is out of minor league options.
That meant he either needed to make the roster or be sent to waivers.
Some fans are going to be mad about this news.
Bauers is batting .200 this spring and did not even make an appearance with the team in 2020.
Yet the team acquired him in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays several years back and had high hopes.
If he struggles, expect to see Bradley sooner than later.
This also achieves the team’s goal of holding onto Bradley’s service time for another year.
Answering the Center Field Question
Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer have seen their stars fade fast.
Now it is Ben Gamel and Amed Rosario set to compete for time in center.
They're still sorting out how they'll divvy up center field playing time. Ben Gamel and Amed Rosario will certainly be in the mix.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 26, 2021
Gamel should land the starting job considering Rosario has never played in the outfield before.
What this shows is that the front office is much lower than expected on both Mercado and Zimmer.
The other possibility is this could be a familiar situation where someone like Mercado just gets a month or two to relax and figure out his swing before coming up again.
That all depends on how Rosario and Gamel look.
Answering the Utility Question
Shifting Rosario to center opened up the utility infielder spot.
Yu Chang rightfully won that job.
The 25-year-old has had brief appearances with the team in 2019 and 2020 and made sense in this role.
The Indians were not going to have top prospects like Nolan Jones or Tyler Freeman sit on the bench as backups.
Chang can play all over the infield and shows up as that rare younger utility guy.
Perhaps he can have a similar path to what Jose Ramirez had.
Fans will recall Ramirez began as a utility guy before breaking out into an MVP candidate.
Another Veteran in the Bullpen
Oliver Perez joins Bryan Shaw as two returning veterans in the bullpen.
The only real surprise is that Blake Parker was not able to land a job.
However, Perez and Shaw being former Indians likely helped the decision-making process.
Once again, this could be a scenario where the Indians opt for cheap veterans over younger arms.
If Perez falters, someone like Anthony Gose could get his opportunity later in the season.
Injuries must be taken into consideration as well.
The Opening Day roster is coming together and the key spring position battles are not going to disappear in April.
If players falter, replacements are waiting ready to go.
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