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The Cleveland Indians have done it. They went from the team that had no shot at doing anything interesting this offseason to the team that acquired the biggest bat of them all.
In signing Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $65 million deal, the Indians have given us something else very special this offseason: something to talk about. Namely the timeless act of rosterbating, or endlessly putting together lineups to fill time until baseball starts again.
As great as Edwin will be at first base, he still does not fix the absolute atrocity that is the Indians outfield. His bat may just be good enough to cover it up, though. If we want to go with a lineup similar to last season’s, essentially just shoehorning Encarnacion into the same group of hitters that won the American League Pennant a year ago.
- DH: Carlos Santana
- SS: Francisco Lindor
- 2B: Jason Kipnis
- 1B: Edwin Encarnacion
- LF: Michael Brantley
- 3B: Jose Ramirez
- RF: Lonnie Chisenhall/Brandon Guyer
- CF: Abraham Almonte/Tyler Naquin
- C: Yan Gomes
There’s a key difference here that does not even include Encarnacion: Michael Brantley. Where the heck do you end up putting him? At first maybe he drops in the lineup simply so he can get back into the swing of everyday playing time, but what if he starts hitting like he did in 2015? And if he does, is a shakeup of the top five or six batters required?
For one, I’m not so sure Santana stays as the leadoff hitter. He was there only in a platoon role with Rajai Davis and he slashes a much more pedestrian .233/.357/.446 against lefties in his career. Maybe, with Brantley back and looking like a No. 3 hitter, we see a more traditional-looking lineup such as...
- SS: Francisco Lindor
- 2B: Jason Kipnis
- LF: Michael Brantley
- 1B: Edwin Encarnacion
- DH: Carlos Santana
- 3B: Jose Ramirez
- RF: Lonnie Chisenhall/Brandon Guyer
- CF: Abraham Almonte/Tyler Naquin
- C: Yan Gomes
The only problem with this lineup is having Carlos Santana not getting on base ahead of Edwin feels like such a waste. So maybe those two switch? It sure is fun having too many options to play with.