Cleveland Indians: Offseason Additions Helps But Health Is Key To A Repeat

The Cleveland Indians’ offseason improvements should help them get back to the World Series and possibly win it all in 2017. However, they must also be healthy too!

After playing 2015 and coming up short to even win the American League Central division, the Cleveland Indians came through with a stellar performance last season.

They really lucked out on the injury department, although losing outfielder Michael Brantley was a huge setback. However, what a find in bringing in first baseman/designated hitter Mike Napoli. It wasn’t long before the saying “Party at Napoli’s” began.

Napoli gave Cleveland another veteran presence both on and off the field, as well as in the clubhouse. As a result, he was someone younger players on the roster could go to with questions and troubles that they may be facing.

Fast forward a year and Napoli is gone. He is now playing for the Texas Rangers and his presence will be greatly missed.

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Despite all of the injuries they endured last year, the Indians were still very lucky to have had the season they are looking to build off of. If you recall, the injuries were not too bad until later on in 2016 when the pitching staff really took a hit!

The Tribe lost starting pitchers Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco. Consequently, their injuries more than likely cost the Indians a World Series championship.

With that in mind, give credit to manager Terry Francona and his coaches as they pieced together a great run and were within a couple of hits and an out or two away from winning it all.

Now in 2017, Cleveland brought back their core and they also added reliever Boone Logan and first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion this past offseason. Signing EE instantly adds more power to the lineup. If his career continues to stay on track, Cleveland’s home runs and RBI totals will increase significantly.

According to baseball-reference.com, last year alone Encarnacion accumulated 158 hits, 42 home runs, and 127 runs batted in. In addition, for his career, EE has racked up 1,439 hits, 310 homers, and 942 RBI.

As we look towards the regular season, the biggest question is the health of the pitching staff. Will ace Corey Kluber be as good as he was last year? Can Carrasco and Salazar come all the way back and show the promising futures the franchise and fans hope to see?

Speaking of comebacks, can Brantley recover from his old ways? On paper, the Indians seem to be better than last year thanks to their offseason additions. After all, another lefty in Logan will help the miraculous Andrew Miller in the bullpen.

Next: 5 Keys To A Successful 2017

We’ll find out starting later this week. Good luck Tribe. Hopefully more respect towards them is shown as World Series favorites as the season continues.

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