New Players, New Rules - MLB and the Indians to Have a Different Look for Shortened 60-Game Season

When the Cleveland Indians reported to Goodyear, Arizona in February, there was plenty of excitement around the team despite two offseasons that were mostly defined by change and a decreased payroll.

While the Dolan’s as well as the front office has taken a lot of slack for what has happened in the last two offsesaons, the club still had what would have to be considered to be a very good 2019, winning 93 games, but missing the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

Now it sounds like after about four months of waiting we are going to have a 2020 shortened baseball season, and it’s a chance again for the Indians to make their mark in the American League and the AL Central.

Sure people have followed and know all about the drama between the team and Francisco Lindor, but there are plenty more layers about this team as they try to reach their ultimate goal of a World Series title.

Let’s take some time today to give you some reminders about the story lines surrounding the team, as well as talk about some of the players that joined the club that look to make an impact in 2020.

**Fresh Faces**

Whenever opening day does take place for the Tribe in 2020, there will be some new players on the roster that fans have either not seen before, or players that are still fairly young and new to the fan base.

Here’s a couple new players to keep your eye on as the season closes in.

** Domingo Santana – The free agent outfielder inked a one-year deal with the Tribe over the winter, hopefully adding some pop to the outfield playing likely in right field. He’s a six-year vet who has played with the Astros, Brewers, and last season with Seattle.

In 121 games last season with the Mariners he hit .253 with 21 homers and 69 runs batted in. His best season came in 2017 with the Brewers, hitting .278 with 30 homers and 85 RBI playing in 151 games.

** Cesar Hernandez – For the first time in a long time the Indians will enter a season with a new starter at second base, as Cesar Hernandez will take over second for long time Indian Jason Kipnis whose club option was not picked up.

Hernandez is a very durable player who has played 161 games in each of the last two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Last year at the plate he hit .279 with 14 homers and 71 runs batted in.

** Delino DeShields – Acquired from the Texas Rangers in the deal that sent Corey Kluber to Texas, DeShields is a player that the Indians have had their eyes on for the last few seasons, and were finally able to acquire him for the two-time Cy Young award winner.

Many look at DeShields numbers and don’t think he will hit enough, as last season he hit just .249 with four homers and 32 RBI. He’s got some speed, and the hope is with a change of scenery he will have more success in Cleveland.

**Christian Arroyo – The 25-year-old last season played in just 16 games due to injury with the Rays, but the Indians are hopeful that he can be a solid utility player for the club along with veteran Mike Freeman.

Injuries have been the storyline of the career for Arroyo in the three seasons he’s been in the game, and like with DeShields the Indians are hoping that a fresh start will mean success for the young infielder.

**Sandy Leon – Leon will be the backup to regular starting catcher Roberto Perez, a position that belonged to Kevin Plawecki in 2019. Leon at 31 has never been much of a hitter, and last season with the Red Sox he hit just .192 with five homers and 19 RBI.

He played in 65 games for the Red Sox, but with a schedule that will be just 60 games, it would not be a stretch to think Leon might only start about 7-12 games behind the plate to give Perez a break.

**What About the Fans?**

One of the big questions that came out of Monday night from Indians and baseball fans is if they are going to be allowed Progressive Field to watch their Tribe in 2020?

The covid-19 pandemic seems to have halted all large gatherings, and that likely will include fans being in Progressive Field.

It seems more possible that if things get back to normal there’s a chance that fans might be allowed in the park if the Tribe makes the postseason, but for the 30 home games of the regular season it’s probably going to be players playing in an empty park.

**New Rules on the Field**

With the season being only 60 games, there will be a couple of rule changes put in place that could make the game more interesting.

The first of which is the new ‘universal DH’ rule meaning that when the Indians head to National League parks to play the Dodgers and Padres, they ad the National League teams will have use of the DH.

Another new rule will be on the mound, as there’s a new three-batter minimum rule that will require pitchers to face at least three hitters or pitch to the end of a half-inning before a pitching change can be made. This is being done to hopefully decrease the average time per game. There will be new strategy as to how managers manage the game with that rule.

Another new rule will have to do with extra innings, with the hope of not having long 14-17 inning games.

The rule will start right away in the 10 inning as teams will have a base runner on second base to start the inning. Of course it’s like that for both sides, so you could get a lot of runs on each side as the extra innings move on.

**Roster Sizes**

26-man rosters -- Teams' active rosters are being increased from 25 to 26 players for the 60-game season, as well as during the postseason. Teams are limited to carrying a maximum of 13 pitchers.

Smaller rosters in September -- MLB is adjusting the size of September rosters to 28 players, including a max of 14 pitchers. It use to be you could have huge rosters in September as teams would call up minor league players and games could take an extended amount of time. Now that hopefully won’t happen.

Two-way player designation -- A "two-way player," a player who can hit and pitches , is being implemented as an official designation. Doing that will let them stay on the roster as a position player and pitch in games without counting toward their team's 13-pitcher pitcher limit. If you designate someone a two-way player, they will stay that way through the end of the year.