The Cleveland Indians front office spent most of their time and resources this offseason adding depth to the young and talented roster. Within a week of spring training that was put to the test when newly acquired Felix Pie and Grady Sizemore both went down with injuries.
Now, the Tribe is back where it started: having a two-to-three year window to compete for a championship and a hole in the outfield caused by injury—mostly what Tribe fans are used to with Grady Sizemore.
The options on the bench to fill Sizemore’s role are Shelley Duncan, Felix Pie (injured), Aaron Cunningham and Ezequiel Carrera. These players are nice as replacements in late innings, or for giving a starter a day or two off, but not to start opening day for a team trying to beat the Detroit Tigers.
This leads to another spring training hoping to find a player to fill the void of Sizemore, who may or may not be playing at all this season. His prognosis is only a month or two, but with Sizemore, it usually is more than what is seen on the outside.
Although teams are sorting out their roster as we speak, trades are still possible. With Michael Brantley able to fulfill the center field or left field duties, Cleveland can look to add either position in a trade. Here are some options the Tribe should explore.