The Indians informed the man of the first base Jake Bauers, left-handed Oliver Perezinfielder Yu Chang and outfielder Ben Gamel that were on the Opening Day list, the club announced to reporters (Twitter links via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). First base prospect Bobby Bradleyoutfielder Bradley Zimmerstraight veteran Blake Parker and young southpaw Kyle Nelson everyone has been informed that they will not go north with the club.
The decision list means that Bauers, who is out of the options of the second division, will have one more opportunity to defend against Bradley. Bauers did not do particularly well this spring, cutting only .200 / .429 / .280 in 35 trips to the plate. Bradley’s .303 / .314 / .636 exit defeated that, but we are looking at small data samples and it is common at this time of year that clubs are averse to losing players without options for resignation.
Bauers is still only 25 years old and is also a former high-profile player, although he did not play in the major leagues last year and has a marginal cut of 0.214 / 0.314 / 0.377 in 811 career appearances. Bradley, 24, had a chance in the big leagues last season, but stumbled over a .178 / .245 / .356 line in 49 trips to the plate.
With the Indians opting for Zimmer and Oscar Mercado for Triple-A this week, it looks like Gamel, who was at the camp as an unscheduled guest, will be one of his main options at the central camp. He could share the time with Amed Rosario there, although Cleveland’s experiences with him outside the field so far in spring training have been somewhat daring. Gamel has more experience there and seems likely to see plenty of opportunities, despite a warm .212 / .316 / .364 shown in 38 spring plate appearances.
Chang’s case for a squad spot improved early in the camp, when the veteran Mike Freeman it was traded to the Reds. Chang, 25, did not hit much in parts of two seasons with the Indians in 2019-20, but also received only 97 appearances in dishes at the Majors. Perez, meanwhile, has spent the past three seasons in the Cleveland bullpen and played very well, so it’s no surprise that they’ll bring him back for a fourth year. Parker came to camp with a decent chance of getting a spot, but was defeated by a dozen runs in 6 1/3 innings. His track record in the big leagues is obviously a little better than that disastrous performance, but it’s not hard to see why Cleveland went in the other direction after that audition.
Although the team announced their decisions, the moves themselves are still not formal. Perez and Gamel were camped in off-the-list businesses, as well as the right veteran Bryan Shaw, who made the club earlier in the week. All three will need to be added to the 40-man list between now and Opening Day, so that the Indians clearly have some list adjustments on the horizon.