MLB Hot Stove: Probable Contenders with Roster Holes Heading Into the 2019 Season
By Josh Ejnes
Cleveland Indians
In 2018 the Indians won the AL Central for the third season in a row but were bounced in the ALDS by the powerhouse Houston Astros. Since then they’ve undergone a lot of change.
The main area where the Indians have seen a lot of movement is in the outfield. Michael Brantley is now an Astro, Rajai Davis is with the Mets, and Melky Cabrera is still testing the waters of free agency. Out of these three Brantley is the only major loss, but there’s still a lot to worry about with the current make up of the team’s outfield, which was already it’s weak spot last year.
Right now the Indians depth chart lists Jordan Luplow starting in left, Tyler Naquin starting in right and Leonys Martin starting in center. None of the three played in more than 100 games last year, and only Martin had an OPS over .700. To be fair Naquin and Martin both have relatively small sample sizes from their time in the league; they’re both pretty young and likely have room to grow.
Still, this doesn’t sound like the outfield of a championship team. For the last three years the Indians have had the luxury of playing in a pretty weak division, and the line up as it stands now is likely good enough to win it again, but if they want to go further and end the team’s 70 year World Series drought they’ll need to add some outfield firepower. A Kluber trade could open up enough cap space where the team could realistically pursue two outfielders, and A.J. Pollock, Nick Markakis, and Marwin Gonzales are all still on the board.