Cleveland Indians: Filling out the 2018 Opening Day Roster

Giovanny Urshela

Giovanny Urshela has been in the Indians system for nearly a decade and has always been an exciting prospect. With good defense and projection in the bat, the team hoped that he would develop into an everyday third baseman. That hope appears to be in the rearview mirror at this point though as he hasn’t hit well in the majors or minors the past few seasons.

Urshela came into camp this year battling for the last spot on the bench and had performed well. So far he is tearing the cover off the ball hitting .486/.500/.838 this spring in 38 plate appearances good for a 1.338 OPS. This is a tiny sample size, but in a race as close as the one for the last bench spot, a good spring performance certainly won’t hurt.

The most prominent thing working against Urshela this spring is his lack of defensive versatility. That last bench spot is going to have to go to a guy that can play all over the infield and can handle shortstop. While Indians manager, Terry Francona, has said that he believes Urshela could handle the position, the uncertainty might be enough to keep him off the roster.