The Cleveland Indians enter play Friday with a winning record.
That is good news no matter the time of year.
Specifically, the team is 23-18 with a weekend series against the last-place Minnesota Twins.
The terrible Minnesota pitching should mean the Indians offense can coast to some easy victories.
However, anyone watching the team this season knows the offense can go cold at any moment.
Being no-hit twice before June proves that point loud and clear.
MLB.com beat reporters got together and came up with top questions for each American League Central team.
The one for the Indians had to do with how the organization can improve the offense.
That is a million-dollar question right there.
The Patient Option
The first, and easiest option, is just to be patient.
Players like Cesar Hernandez, Eddie Rosario, Jake Bauers, and Amed Rosario got off to slow starts and should slowly start approaching their normal career averages.
That is especially true for Eddie Rosario, as his .580 OPS remains one of the biggest shocks of the year so far.
But baseball fans know averages usually level out throughout a 162-game season.
Josh Naylor has started to improve as of late to join Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes as a top producer in a lineup.
I'm still in awe of the potential of the #Indians Clevinger trade return with the Padres.
Josh Naylor
Cal Quantrill
Austin Hedges
Owen Miller
Gabriel Arias
Joey Cantillo— Indians Prospective (@indiansPro) May 21, 2021
If the team was impatient early in the year, he never would have had the time to make his turnaround.
Now comes waiting for others to join him.
The Prospect Option
Another obvious move is to make some call-ups.
Owen Miller would top that list as the Columbus slugger is batting .455 this season.
It’s Owen Miller’s world, we’re just living in it. pic.twitter.com/xJ3fdbSgST
— Columbus Clippers (@CLBClippers) May 20, 2021
His promotion could come at any moment and seems more inevitable than anything else at this point.
Bobby Bradley could even get a promotion as well, but that would mean the team moves on from Bauers once and for all.
The front office may not want to do that just yet.
Andres Gimenez being sent to the minors was an initial step toward getting better talent in the lineup on an everyday basis.
And if Amed Rosario can’t do well at the shortstop spot in the lineup, the Indians have plenty of top prospect talent at the position.
The Outside Option
The Indians could always try to swing a trade before the deadline for literally any player with a positive WAR value on offense.
This may end up being the most unlikely option given the way the team is navigating the salary table.
Wins are coming with the current young, cheap core in town and ownership may prefer that stay the case.
If the Indians make a trade, it will be for a player still under team control.
And such a move would require something in return.
Players like Miller and Bradley coming up represent more likely options.
Staying patient could also end up being the best strategy given we are still so early in the 2021 season.
Leave a Reply