The Cleveland Indians have a surplus of young talent at the shortstop position.
That is great news for the team, but bad news for Amed Rosario.
Rosario came over in the Francisco Lindor trade alongside fellow shortstop Andres Gimenez.
In fact, Gimenez was set to take Rosario’s starting job with the New York Mets before both were traded.
Now that scenario is happening in Cleveland.
Rumors floated around earlier this offseason the Indians may be looking to trade Rosario.
But he is still only 25 years old and did show plenty of promise during the 2019 season.
It appears his best chance to make the roster as a long-term piece will be as an outfielder.
Amed Rosario will start taking fly balls in center field over the next week. He'll gradually start to work out at other spots – "We'll go one position at a time," Terry Francona said. In related news, Andrés Giménez's shortstop stock keeps soaring.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 11, 2021
Rosario Getting Work in Center
This is another good news, bad news scenario.
The good news is for Rosario, who is clearly showing enough for the Indians to want him to have a spot somewhere in the lineup.
However, this is bad for players like Oscar Mercado and Bradley Zimmer who may believe they each deserve that job in center.
Rosario played one single game in left field with the Mets and that came in 2019.
So basically the Indians are hoping his natural athleticism can translate into one of the most important positions on the field.
The result could be a Rosario-Rosario duo in the outfield as Eddie Rosario is already holding down the job in left field.
Josh Naylor or Daniel Johnson could land the job in right field, meaning players like Mercado and Zimmer are left wondering if they will ever get another shot with the team.
Several Scenarios Still in Play
#Indians 22yr old (SS) Andres Gimenez inside the park 3 run HR vs the Mariners today his 2nd HR of the spring. Gimenez spring training numbers to date:
5-12 2R 1(3B) 2HR 6RBI 1BB .417 AVG .462 OBP@andresgimenez #Future #CLESpring pic.twitter.com/vKj1eHWCCH
— Indians Prospective (@indiansPro) March 8, 2021
The focus now goes back to the shortstop position.
It is clear the Indians want Gimenez to get plenty of time at the position in 2021.
But do they want to maintain an extra year of team control by not having him start on the Opening Day roster?
That would be a clear act of service time manipulation and may not even be necessary considering all the depth at the position in the organization.
Aside from Rosario and Gimenez there are two top prospects in Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias each waiting for a chance.
Moving Rosario to the outfield seems to point toward the team giving Gimenez the job right away.
Rosario could always serve as the reserve infielder if the outfield work doesn’t go well.
The possibility of a trade also remains if the outfield experiment is a failure.
Having so much depth at shortstop means the Indians don’t have to hold onto their least favorite option.
What this means for the entire outfield group remains to be seen.
Trades and releases could be coming as the competitions continue to carry on and the top talent rises to the top.
All fans can do now is wait and see how it plays out before April 1.
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