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Indians Continue To Use Platoon Approach At Shortstop Early In 2021

By Steven Kubitza April 20, 2021 @kubitzawrites

Cleveland Indians shortstop Andres Gimenez (0) throws to first base for an out during the fourth inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians on April 11, 2021, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH.
(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

 

The Cleveland Indians sent one shortstop to the New York Mets this offseason and got two in return.

Francisco Lindor was sent to the big city and both Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario headed to Northeast Ohio.

Gimenez had beaten out Rosario late last season and appeared to win the starting job for the Indians in spring training.

But so far, fans are seeing plenty of Rosario as well.

That remains true Tuesday as the Indians look to get a hit against Carlos Rodon.

Our lineup on this #DogeDay. 🚀#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/o4FUb5Kdwf

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 20, 2021

So will this trend continue all season?

 

Amed Rosario Playing Two Positions 

The shortstop position is interesting because Rosario’s playing time may be determined by how Jordan Luplow performs at the plate.

Rosario may get less time in center if a natural outfielder is playing better.

Thus, center field and shortstop are two positions now intertwined.

Luplow has been looking great early on and that resulted in Ben Gamel being sent down to the alternate site.

Amed Rosario reflects on the skill of always being ready and the trust he's earned from Terry Francona.#OurCLE | @DreKnott pic.twitter.com/3VkUryxL7k

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 14, 2021

If Luplow keeps it up there is no reason why he should be sent to the bench for any sort of platoon role.

He and Rosario are both right-handed batters so if both are raking, Gimenez may be the odd man out.

However, Rosario is only batting .200 on the young season.

 

Figuring Out Andres Gimenez’s Role

Gimenez should be the shortstop of the future, for now.

Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias are two young studs behind him in the organization just waiting for an opportunity.

Having this surplus at the position is great for the team, but does put pressure on Gimenez to perform.

The young shortstop has appeared in 12 games so far this season and does have a solid OPS of .797.

He is also still only 22 years old and 2021 will be his first full MLB season.

Normally, the Indians may have stashed a player like Gimenez in the minors to start the season to add an extra year of team control.

But having so much depth at the position made such a move pointless.

The team needs to see what Gimenez can do and adding one extra year down the line may not even be necessary if Arias or Freeman could eventually take his spot.

 

A Platoon For Now

Francona going with a platoon for now works just fine.

We are still early in the season and the organization needs to figure out full-time roles at several positions.

Gamel losing his job was just the start of the changes that will be made this season.

Easing Gimenez into action may also help his confidence at the plate.

This also allows the Indians to see what they have in Rosario.

His name came up in trade rumors during the offseason and that should still be the case up until the trade deadline this summer.

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Filed Under: Cleveland Guardians Rumors And News (Updated Daily), Cleveland Indians News And Rumors (Updated Daily) Tagged With: Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, cleveland indians

About Steven Kubitza

Steven has been an Indians fan since the day he was born. Lucky enough to not remember the World Series losses in the 90s, he will never forget the magic and the heartbreak of Game 7 in 2016. He wore the No. 13 playing baseball growing up because of Omar and still rocks a Cody Allen jersey for good luck.

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