One move each MLB Team should make this offseason
By Brad Rowland
Cincinnati Reds – Move on from Jay Bruce
Jay Bruce has been better in 2015 than he was in 2014, but that isn’t a tough bar to clear. The 28-year-old outfielder slashed just .217/.281/.373 with 18 home runs during the 2014 season, and while those numbers have seen an uptick (an OPS over .700!) in 2015, Bruce is a contract that the Reds can probably get rid of if they desire.
To be fair, the Reds don’t have an internal option that is guaranteed to be better than Bruce, but youngster Adam Duvall (30 minor league home runs in 2015) profiles as a potential starter as a corner outfielder. More than anything, Cincinnati needs the roster flexibility, and Bruce is looking more and more like a player who does not fit in the team’s long-term plans. Cut the cord now and save $24.5 million over the next two seasons.
Cleveland Indians – Grab another outfielder to pair with Ryan Raburn
Ryan Raburn is a very nice platoon bat but, well, he’s never going to hit right-handed pitching. The Indians enter the offseason with a nice lineup on paper, including Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor up the middle with Michael Brantley in left field. However, there are some holes and perhaps the greatest of those comes in right field, where Raburn and Lonnie Chisenhall have been deployed in recent days.
Count me as a skeptic of Chisenhall as a long-term option in the outfield, and only a cheap, $3 million option on Raburn keeps him in the fold for me. Cleveland could go big with a name like Alex Rios, but given that the team was burned by Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher (now in Atlanta) not too long ago, the Indians may be safe and go with a stop-gap, platoon-based option. Regardless, they need another outfield bat.
Next: Rockies and Tigers