3 offseason moves the Indians must make after early playoff exit
3. A complete overhaul of the outfield
The Indians had plenty of outfielders to choose from in 2020. Yet none stood out as legitimate contributors to build around unless you count Franmil Reyes when he plays left field.
One potential valuable addition is Josh Naylor. He had a great two games against the Yankees, but has still never played a full MLB season.
Center field is a particular area of focus. Delino DeShields blowing a routine play in Game 2 was enough for Indians fans to write him off. He got the start over Oscar Mercado, who struggled enough to be sent off the active roster late in the season.
Bradley Zimmer doesn’t appear to be a huge part of the future plans and guys like Jordan Luplow and Tyler Naquin still haven’t proven to be worthy of getting everyday action. The same goes for Jake Bauers.
A young player like Daniel Johnson has the ability to earn significant time in 2021. However, it would be nice to see the Indians bring in at least one new player. Center field has been a mess since Grady Sizemore’s prime and there is no excuse for putting DeShields out there in key moments.
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This problem is not new and the Indians having Jason Kipnis and Santana play the outfield during the 2016 World Series is a clear example of why the Indians have to stop messing around and actually commit to putting proven talent in those three spots.