A Look at the Indians 2015 Outfielders

There appears to be no shortage of available players who can potentially suit up to spend some time in the outfield for the Cleveland Indians in 2015. In fact, there looks to be a surplus, barring a trade at this point. But since we’re considering who is available now there might be a few guys who have trouble finding 400-plus plate appearances.

Most likely there will be some injuries or a player or two might not be ready after rehabbing to play in the outfield to start the season, so it’s possible everything could work itself and it’s probably better to have too many bodies than not enough. However, if everyone is healthy, Michael Brantley is a lock to start everyday in left field and Michael Bourn will start in center.

That leaves the position of right field to be contested and that’s where it might get a little tricky for manager Terry Francona to keep everybody happy. I have complete confidence that Francona is skilled enough to make sure that happens. It’s part of what has made him a successful manager with two World Series titles to his credit.

Brantley had an outstanding year in 2014 in what many consider was a breakout season that culminated with a third-place finish for American League Most Valuable Player.

His average, on-base and slugging slash line of 327/.387/.506 ranked among the best in baseball but some are doubtful that he will be able to duplicate those numbers in 2015. He also posted career best in home runs with 20, stolen bases with 23 and was only caught stealing one time. He had 7 wins above a replacement and won his first Silver Slugger award.

Brantley offers a rare mix of speed, batting average plus power that has begun to develop as he enters the prime of his career for his age 28 season. His arm in the outfield is also impressive as he finished with 12 assists (fourth in the AL) and that total could have been more if runners dared to run against him. He also can play a quality center field, if needed, and made 46 appearances at that position.

If Brantley comes close to what he showed in 2014, the Indians will continue to be in good shape in left field.

So far in his career with the Indians, Bourn hasn’t lived up to what was hoped when he signed a 4-year, $48 million contract prior to the 2013 season. Fans and the Indians management all wanted to see the blazing speed that allowed him to be one of the best base stealers in the National League and won him Gold Gloves in 2009 and 2010.

The problem during his tenure with the Indians, of course, has been injuries, which forced him to miss 32 games in 2013 and 56 games in 2014. Hamstring problems also limited his stolen base opportunities, although when his health returned toward the end of last season, Bourn at least started to show better speed running the bases and manning the outfield, despite the lack of stolen bases.

Heading into his age 32 season, it’s not likely that Bourn is suddenly going to be a top base-stealing threat again, but if he can increase his on-base percentage and score more runs than in 2013 and 2014, the Indians will be happy and the Tribe will win its share of games. In 2015, Bourn needs to improve on his OBP of .316 in 2013 and .314 from 2014. As the team’s leadoff man, it’s his job to get on base and to create run-scoring opportunities for the lineup behind him.

He’s never been a guy who hits for power or a high average, but it’s the speed element of his game that has made him a productive player in the Big Leagues.

Moss was the Indians major prize during the offseason as he was acquired from the Oakland A’s in exchange for infielder Joe Wendle. Personally, I couldn’t be more happy about the trade as the Indians dealt from an organizational position of strength to acquire a bat with the potential for a lot of power.

I use potential here, because Moss is rehabbing from off-season hip surgery from an injury he tried to play through in the second half of last season. It’s not a good sign when a ballplayer has hip problems because it’s this part of the body that allows many players to drive the ball deep.

Despite battling through pain, Moss was still able to hit 25 home runs and drive in 81 runs in 2014. He has hit 76 HRs in the past three season for an average of 25.3 per year. A concern though is his OBP dropped to .772 in 2014, down from .859 in 2013.

Moss can play right field and ideally that will be where he opens the season and plays the majority of his games, but he can also play left field, first base and be an occasional designated hitter. In 2014, he played 67 games at 1B, 56 in LF, 34 in RF and 12 as DH, so he provides diversity to give other guys a day off when needed.

If Moss, who enters his age 31 season can be fully healthy and continue with the power numbers he’s shown for the past three seasons then the Indians are going to have a nice middle of the order that will include Carlos Santana, Yan Gomes and hopefully a productive Jason Kipnis. It’s a gamble that the Indians couldn’t pass up when making the deal for Moss.

Swisher had a disastrous season in 2014 that ended early when he needed to have surgery on both knees and that doesn’t bode well for the future of a player entering his age 34 season.

After hitting just .208 last season with only 8 home runs and 42 RBI, Swisher needs to show that he can be a productive player once again. Even more troubling than his drop off in power and average was his .278 OBP that was far below his career .353 OBP.  Swisher usually strikes out less than once per game as he has K’d 1,319 in 1,415 career games, but in 2014, he struck out 111 times in 97 games.

For his career Swisher has averaged 27 HRs and 87 RBIs per 162 games, so that’s the kind of production that the Indians were hoping to get when he signed that 4-year, $56 million contract in 2013. In 2015, if Swisher could hit around .250 with 20 HRs and 75 RBIs and get his OBP back up to about .350 then that would be an accomplishment I would think would be acceptable at this point in his career.

Swisher is a switch hitter and energetic clubhouse guy who can play 1B, along with right field and DH, but with Santana and/or Moss to get the bulk of the time there in the infield, his position looks to be mostly a DH with a little bit of right field mixed in, potentially when the Tribe faces a lefty.

If healthy, Swisher is likely to play quite a bit in 2015 in large part because of his big contract, so if he can be an average player especially when batting right-handed, it will be quite an improvement over 2014.

Murphy enters his age 33 season in 2015 and he might be fighting to get significant playing time.

Another left-handed hitter and fielder who plays mostly right field, Murphy, at this point in his career, is a fourth or fifth outfielder for the Tribe. His $6 million contract will make it tough to trade him prior to the season unless the Indians are willing to unload him for virtually nothing or throw in some cash to sweeten a deal.

Murphy hit .262 last season with 8 HRs and 58 RBIs in 129 games that included 120 appearances in right field and two appearance in left field. He also made two appearances at DH, but Murphy isn’t the kind of hitter that a team wants to use much at that position. He’s not a terrible hitter, though, and came through with some quality hits that continued rallies in 2014, but he’s not the kind of guy who is going to get super hot and help carry at team.

In the outfield, Murphy is considered to be a poor fielder in right field, so that’s another reason why he might struggle to find 400 ABs in the 2015 season.

Raburn enters his age 34 season in 2015 and it could quite possibly be his last in the Big Leagues unless he has a productive season.

He is a right-handed hitter who in 2013 had a remarkable season as a platoon player when he hit 16 HRs in only 243 at-bats. Raburn also had an eye-popping .543 slugging percentage and an impressive .901 OPS that season and parlayed it into a 2-year, $4.85 million contract extension.

But alas, Raburn regressed severely in 2014 with a meager 4 HRs and 22 RBIs in 195 at-bats. His slugging percentage dipped to a low .297 and his OPS dropped to .547. His fielding also took a turn for the worse and included a throw from left field where he bounced the ball only a few feet – a play that was a microcosm of the team’s, and his own, overall poor defense.

It’s possible Raburn might not make the team coming out of Spring Training this season if the Indians are willing to absorb his contract and feel the 25-man roster spot could be better served by giving a younger player an opportunity.

Holt provided the Indians a spark during his brief time in the Big Leagues in 2014. He played in 36 games last year and offered the versatility to play all three outfield positions including 28 appearances in RF, nine appearances in CF and one appearance in LF.

He enters his age 26 season, so this will be an important Spring Training for Holt. If he can show enough promise it’s possible that he will make the 25-man roster, most likely at Raburn’s expense as both are right-handed hitters.

Holt displayed good range in the outfield and a decent arm and although his appearances were limited, he was probably the best defensive player to man right field at any point in the season.

He also offers some speed to the team that can be valuable in pinch-running situations as he stole 131 bases in five minor league seasons. Holt could be that ideal player on the bench that is needed to play any outfield position, pinch-hit against a lefty or come in to try to steal a base.

Walters has tremendous potential as a power hitter and has averages one home run per 13.5 at-bats during his brief Major League career that spans 70 games and 135 at-bats. The problem is that he is a feast or famine type hitter and strikes out about once every three times at the plate and doesn’t draw many walks or hit at a respectable average.

Walters enters his age 25 season in Cleveland after he was acquired from Washington in mid-season in 2014 for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Last season overall in 62 games and 127 at-bats, Walters hit 10 HRs with 17 RBIs and had a .205 batting average, .241 OBP and .441 slugging percentage. He hit 7 homers in 30 games and 88 at-bats with Cleveland and had a .170 batting average, .223 OBP and .432 slugging percentage.

There are other factors that help Walters’ cause to make the Indians 25-man roster including he’s a switch-hitter and has played left and right field along with second and third base and shortstop during his brief career.

Walters could offer value as a late inning pinch-hitter with the versatility to play several positions in the field. Unless he fine tunes his swing to cut down on the strikeouts and gets on base a little more, he’s not likely to see a great amount of playing time without a key injury.