The 2018 Cleveland Indians should once again be one of the best teams in the American League, and the roster is mostly set in stone with just a few more spots to fill before opening day.
When you have a team as great as the 2018 Cleveland Indians figure to be, there are few major roster decisions to be made before opening day. The Indians’ rotation is set with Corey Kluber and company. The majority of the bullpen is locked down with guys like Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Even the position players are pretty much decided across the diamond.
Only a few spots remain up for grabs for the opening day roster. On Thursday, I reviewed how the remaining bullpen spots could shake out here. The last few spots on the position player side have even more moving parts as the health of Michael Brantley, and Brandon Guyer will play considerable roles in who makes the club and who doesn’t.
Erik Gonzalez
26-year-old Erik Gonzalez is one of the options to begin the season on the Indians bench. Gonzalez is the prototypical utility infielder. Most of his playing time has come at short, but he is a versatile defender. Gonzalez has played all over the dirt, and he even has some experience in the grass. Not only can Gonzalez play multiple positions but he’s quite good at them as well. He is stretched a little thin at shortstop but is an above average fielder at second and third base.
Gonzalez isn’t much of a hitter, but he doesn’t really have to be. What Gonzalez provides is defensive flexibility and insurance at pretty much every position on the diamond. Gonzalez is still relatively young and has had only limited exposure to big league pitching thus far. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could develop into a league average hitter as he matures.
Gonzalez will likely never be asked to start anywhere for extended stretches of time unless there is an injury. However, he should be able to hang on the Indians roster as a nice back up off the bench.
CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 11: Giovanny Urshela /
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.
GOODYEAR, AZ – FEBRUARY 21: Melvin Upton Jr. of the Cleveland Indians poses for a portrait at the Cleveland Indians Player Development Complex on February 21, 2018 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images) /
Melvin Upton Jr.
Melvin Upton Jr. ought to be in line for some starting playing time early in the season while Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer are on the shelf. Upton provides a much-needed right-handed bat to this lefty-heavy Indians lineup. He could also provide a little bit of speed to the bottom of the lineup.
At this stage in his career, Upton is a below average hitter that strikes out too much, but he still walks and has some power. Upton’s carrying tools at this point is his plus speed and above average defense in left field. Perhaps most importantly, Upton has had great success against left-handers for much of his career.
He has a career 109 wRC+ against southpaws and has been even better against them the past couple of years. As long as Upton provides some speed, defense and offense against left-handers he should prove to be a valuable commodity for the Indians at least until Guyer and Brantley are healthy.
Rajai Davis
Rajai Davis looks to be in line for the fourth outfielder role to begin the season. At this point in his career the Tribe won’t be looking for many contributions from Davis’ bat. However, they will be looking for his speed and defense to play in a bench role. Davis is still one of the fastest players in the game and continues to be a stolen base threat every time he reaches base. Still a quality defender, Davis will be able to step in at any of the three outfield positions if needed.
Also, as an above average career hitter against lefthanders, he could give Bradley Zimmer or Lonnie Chisenhall a break against some tough lefties if needed. Davis isn’t going to be a world beater at this point in his career, but he can still provide solid depth in the outfield to begin the season.
The Decision
While there is a chance that either or both of Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer are ready to go by opening day — let’s assume that neither will be available. That leaves two outfield spots and one utility infielder. Assuming that these spots go to guys who are out of options the utility infielder role should come down to either Gonzalez or Urshela.
This position battle is probably one of the closest on the entire roster and could go either way. Gonzalez’s defensive versatility should give him the slight edge to make the opening day roster. Upton and Davis should be able to handle the last two outfield spots to start the season.
All of these positions and roles will be juggled as other players come back into the fold, but this should be how the players line up to start the season.
