How the Cleveland Indians Crowded Outfield is Playing Out Halfway Into Spring Training

The Cleveland Indians are officially at the halfway point of spring training, and there’s plenty of anticipation as to the team in terms of what it is going to look like come March 26 when they take the field for real.

There are a couple of positions for the team that remain up for grabs, but for the most part we know where players are going to line up against the Detroit Tigers in the opener.

One spot that remains a mystery is that of the outfield. It’s been a much debated position since the winter when it was obvious that there were players on the roster that had not locked down starting spots, but had the talent to go and make an impact on this roster.

About the only player on the roster that seems to have locked up a spot in the outfield is second-year player Oscar Mercado.

Last season Mercado gave an infusion of energy to the club’s roster, and did more then enough to earn a spot that should have him as the opening day starter.

The club does have to make decisions when it comes to the outfield with a number of players, including offseason trade pickup Delino DeShields, who came to the team from the Texas Rangers in the deal for starting pitcher Corey Kluber.

There is now 23 days till the Indians open their season, and the team still has to come up with decisions about the two corner outfield spots, as well as if the team may move Mercado to one of those spots to make room for DeShields.

Here today we take a look at a ‘progress report’ as to how the group of outfielders listed on the roster have done thus far this camp, and what could be next for this group as the opener continues to close in.

Framil Reyes – You couldn’t ask for a better start for Reyes, who has come out at the plate on fire, hitting .500 with three homers and seven runs batted in. Reyes is 8-for-16 thus far with seven extra base hits this camp.

He’ll be in the lineup opening day, the only decision will be if it will be as a corner outfielder or as a DH.

Delino DeShields – The new Indian who came from the Rangers is off to a good start since his arrival, hitting .333 with a run batted in, a couple of walks and a steal.

As stated above the team could shoe horn DeShields into the lineup and move Mercado to left field, a move that has already been toyed with this spring to get both players into the lineup.

The Indians have liked DeShields the last few years, and have wanted to get him with the team. Now they have him, it’ll be up to the organization how much he plays, but it appears he will play.

Oscar Mercado – Right now on the Indians official site Mercado is listed as a right fielder, but it’s hard to think that he’ll line up at just one spot in 2020. Mercado will have some pressure to duplicate how well he played in 2019, but so far he’s off to a solid start, and through six games is hitting .250.

As stated, he will play just about on a daily basis and is the first player on the roster in terms in the outfield to lock down a position.

Jake Bauers – It’s going to be a tough decision on what to do with Bauers, who has changed some things this offseason with his swing, and he looks more comfortable at the plate.

In six games, 18 plate appearances, he’s hitting .222 with one run batted in, no walk and four K’s. Bauers is anxious to show that 2019 was not who he is as a player, but the club can have him start the season in the minors if they so choose.

Bradley Zimmer – Zimmer is a big wild card with the 2020 Indians, and the club really wants to see their former top prospect get back to playing as well as he was before the shoulder injury that forced him to miss the entire 2019 campaign.

Zimmer took some time off at the start of the offseason to clear his head, and there’s been times he’s looked very good this spring training, and other times where he’s back to overswinging and missing badly.

He will be on the Major League roster at some point in 2020, but it won’t be at the start of the season.

Domingo Santana – The Tribe brought Santana in to hopefully add some right-handed pop to the lineup after hitting 21 homers a season ago for the Seattle Mariners.

It’s a low-risk, high reward for the Indians as they are not paying him much, and he looks currently like the perfect platoon player to come off the bench late in games as a pinch-hitter, and he’ll also play a few days a week in right field.

If he can hit .253 with 21 homers and 63 runs batted in, the Indians will gladly take it.

Jordan Luplow – It was feast or famine last season with Luplow depending on if he was at the plate against a lefty or righty.

Against a lefty Luplow hit 14 homers with an average of .320. When against righties, Luplow struggled with just one homer, and he hit just .216 in 54 games.

He might be the biggest wild card to the outfield, as if he can start to show he can hit against righties, he can force the team to put him in the outfield a few days a week.

Greg Allen – The Tribe outfielder had a rough 2019, following up a decent 2018 in which he hit .257 to hit just .229 a season ago.

In 89 games he only managed just eight steals, which is one thing can separate himself from the other outfielders if he can get on base.

Allen is at a critical point of his career as while he’s just 26 years old, the team needs to see him turn a corner and it’ll likely start in the minors.