Cleveland Indians: The most interesting non-roster invitees

As the Cleveland Indians start spring training games this weekend, there are a few non-roster invitees that you should keep your eyes on.

As spring training begins for the Cleveland Indians, there are many different goals that they will be looking to accomplish before opening day. The team will look to get the starters healthy and ready to go for the long season ahead. They will be looking at many prospects and young players in the organization to monitor the progress of their development.

Some of these players will be trying to grab the last few spots on the opening day roster. Whether prospects or major league veterans, it’s a valuable time for these players. Returning most of the key contributors from a 102 win season, the Indians don’t have many available roster spots.

However, there are a few areas where depth will be critical throughout the season. The majority of the roster will be filled out with players already on the 40-man roster, but there are some positions that could be had by some non-roster invitees to spring camp. Here are some of the most interesting candidates to crack the Cleveland Indians roster in 2018.

Neil Ramirez

Neil Ramirez is an interesting reliever that has struggled lately, but has had success in the past. Ramirez was actually a well-regarded starting pitching prospect coming up through the Rangers system. So much so that he was part of the package that went to the Cubs in 2013 for Matt Garza.

In 2014, Ramirez became one of the Cubs’ best relief pitchers on the heels of a solid fastball/breaking ball combo. He had strong 2014 and 2015 seasons were relying heavily on a 94-95 mph fastball with above average spin. Ramirez threw his fastball 72% of the time in 2014 when he was at his best. Since then he has changed his usage to more of a 50-50 mix between his fastball and breaking balls without much success. Ramirez has dealt with injuries the past several years which have surely contributed to his usage and command issues.

Ramirez was able to throw 31 and a third innings last season at the major league level, and while the results weren’t fantastic, they were a step in the right direction. He had an unruly 7.18 ERA, but reliever ERA is a silly statistic. His underlying numbers tell more of the true story. He had a 4.94 FIP, a 4.24 XRA (a stat based off of Statcast’s xwOBA), and a 4.37 DRA.

All of these numbers show that he was a league average pitcher in 2017. At just 28, Ramirez still has a sharp fastball with an above average spin rate and a swing and miss slider. If Ramirez can prove he is healthy and more of the pitcher from 2014, the Cleveland Indians could have a sneaky good reliever on their hands.

Melvin Upton Jr.

Melvin Upton Jr. will be a player to watch this spring as he could factor into the outfield rotation for the Cleveland Indians this season particularly early in the year. With Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer possibly starting the season on the DL, Upton could get a great deal of playing time in the first month of the season should he perform decently this spring.

At 33, Upton will never be the player that he once was with the Rays, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful player for the Tribe. Between 2015 and 2016 with the Padres, Upton was an above average hitter, outfielder, and baserunner which made him worth about three wins during that span of nearly a full season’s worth of playing time. Upton was then traded to the Blue Jays and really struggled for them. Last season, Upton was plagued by injuries and never played a game in the majors.

As of 2016, Upton’s Statcast numbers were promising as well. Upton has been able to maintain his plus speed into his early 30s. This coupled with his superb instincts on the bases have kept him a good base-runner and base-stealer as he swiped 27 bags in 2016. Upton is also an excellent defensive outfielder that can play either left or center, though he is more valuable in left field at this point in his career.

Perhaps most importantly for the Cleveland Indians is that Upton has had great success against left-handers for much of his career. He has a career 109 wRC+ against southpaws and was even better against them during his strong 2015-2016 run. If Upton can replicate this production, it will help the team ease Brandon Guyer back from his wrist injury. The Indians will be hoping to see glimpses of the 2015-2016 Upton in camp this year to bring him north with the team to begin the season.

Rajai Davis

Everyone remembers game 7 of the 2016 World Series when the Cleveland Indians were down 6 to 4 in the bottom of the 8th inning. Rajai Davis was batting against the flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman, and Davis hit one of the most memorable home runs in Indians franchise history to tie the game.

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Unfortunately for the Tribe, it just wasn’t meant to be that year, but now Rajai is back and looking to be a part of another deep postseason run. Davis has never been much of a hitter in his big-league career, but at 37 years young he still has the wheels and defensive prowess to be a valuable part of championship caliber team.

Last season, Davis was still one of the fastest players in all of baseball according to Statcast’s sprint speed statistic ranking just a tick behind teammate Bradley Zimmer. While he was slightly below average regarding Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating last season for his play in the outfield, Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric for outfield defense still saw Davis as an average fielder.

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Davis also still has a knack for stealing bases as he swiped 29 bags last season while seeing his playing time reduced. Rajai Davis isn’t likely going to be a game changer for the Indians in 2018, but he could provide valuable depth and good speed that should make him a useful player this seaso