Let's talk about this roster and how we got to where we are today. Overall, the roster contains 25 of 26 players that I would have expected/liked at the beginning of spring training. That's right. If you look at this roster it is not much different than I would have liked or expected to see. Here's my thoughts:
Starting pitching: These are the 5 guys I wanted. I like Quantrill in the bullpen. I like Mckenzie as the #5, keeping him out of harm's way as much as possible. Allen coming on strong this spring is a good sign that he has turned the corner in his development and is going to be a positive force in the #4 spot or the #3 spot if Civale falters.
Bullpen: Again, looking at the guys we had in spring training, this was the best possible outcome. Stephan earning a spot is a real plus long-term. If he sticks and continues to progress he will be an inexpensive option for years to come, much like Maton has become (we hope). And it looks like Gose is staying with the organization. The only real loss was Plutko and if that is the extent of the major leaguers we lose then I guess I can live with that, although it would have been nice to get something for him or package him in a deal with Ahmed Rosario (more on this later).
Catcher: I love Roberto Perez. I hate Austin Hedges. Today Hedges dropped a ball on an attempted steal and let a ball get by him that he didn't drop to smother. He finally picked up a curveball off a bounce but it was like an ole' play. He went 0-2 and struck out, again. How he is still on this club I don't know. If we could dump him now and only owe him 45 days salary that would be great. So, I would rather have another backup catcher but, again, minor point if Hedges hardly ever plays.
Infield: This is almost what I would have liked, going into spring training. I love Gimenez. Ramirez and Hendandez look good. Then we come to first base. In a normal year, surrounded by 8 good hitters, I could see give Bauers the first shot at 1B. But this team needs hitting and he doesn't provide any. And his defense is not THAT much better than Bradley's. It was Bobby Bradley time and it will hurt the team to have Bauers on it compared to having Bradley on it so I don't like this. I love Yu Chang as the backup. He needs to play in the majors and Mike Freeman (who was just sent to the Reds minor league camp) was just the grizzled veteran. I always like a guy like Chang who has decent upside on the team instead of the grizzled veteran. Plus he will likely add more offense than Freeman. It may take time but Chang is a good choice.
DH - Very happy with Reyes. I would like to see more rapid improvement but his floor is good enough to me even if he only flashes his ceiling once in a while. If he approaches more consistency towards the top of his ceiling, this will make the Trevor Bauer trade look better. Chang or Ahmed Rosario look good here as backup DHs, too.
Outfield - Eddie Rosario in left is solid. If they use Naylor/Luplow in RF and Luplow shakes the rust off I think everyone will be surprised at how good our RF looks against league average. Centerfield if the whole. Gamel will cost us games both offensively and on defense in CF. Ahmed Rosario, if was just passable in CF, would be a much better choice. But he isn't. I don't know that Zimmer would have been better offensively than Gamel but, honestly, I feel that, offensively and defensively, Zimmer was the better choice.
Biggest off=season roster screwup: Not trading Ahmed Rosario before ST started. One last point: When the Indians traded Lindor and Carrasco they should have gotten more. But they didn't. Looking at our roster we should have gambled on Gimenez at SS with Chang or a minor league signing as the backup plan. We should have traded Rosario to get a CFer. I obviously wanted Nick Senzel from the Reds. The Reds will go with a rookie at 2B in Jonathon India and a below average fielder in Eugenio Suarez and push Moustakas to 3B. A trade between the Reds and Indians sending Senzel to the Indians and Rosario, Zimmer, Plutko and one our lower level SS prospects like Angel Martinez would have given us a CFer. We should have gambled because now Rosario, in the OF and the IF, is just a 5th wheel. He is not needed and is a pretty expensive utility guy and we are not maximizing his value to this club. That value is as a trade chip. Big mistake by the Indians and it will hurt our offense, defense and, likely, locker room chemistry this year as Rosario can't be happy with his butt on the bench. We need to fix this now before it gets to be a problem.
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