Cleveland Indians, ranked 10th in runs scored, in need of lineup shuffle

The Cleveland Indians rank 10th in the American League in runs scored. Tribe bats were supposed to be more prolific. Once healthy, it’s time for a lineup shuffle that should look like this.

Despite a road-trip high seven runs in the series finale against Toronto and six runs in the lone win in the same series, the Tribe offense has not exactly been firing on all cylinders lately.

Injuries certainly play a role in the struggles, with multiple starters missing time and creating a disjointed group at the plate. With most of the roster ready to return to full health, a shake up of the batting order might not be the worst idea.

When healthy, there are a few different options the Terry Francona could look at going forward:

8- Yan Gomes

This assumes a few things. First, that the players above have all returned to health, especially Brantley and Jackson. Right now, Austin Jackson is the only real center fielder on the roster and can help the team avoid ever having to see Michael Martinez out there. It also assumes the Abe Almonte injury limits him to a bench role, if not a stint on the 10 day DL.

This group also leaves Roberto Perez, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Guyer, and Martinez on the bench in reserve roles. All four are better served that way, especially Guyer (.189 BA) and Diaz (.203), that latter of which has not had a great start to his second stint with the big league club. He also may be a casualty of a roster shuffle when Jackson returns, making it a moot point.

What this lineup accomplishes is that it puts the best contact and on-base hitter at the top of the order. Ramirez has cooled a bit since his torrid start, but remains one of the best hitters on the team. Putting him in a position to ignite the offense can only help. flipping Brantley and Lindor is a matter of breaking up the switch hitters and to provide Lindor even more opportunities to drive in runs.

Santana at the 5 hole is almost like a “leadoff” for the second half of the order, providing some power behind Encarnacion. Dropping Kipnis out of the top third of the lineup is painful, but he has struggled mightily and has looked overpowered by fastballs at times at the plate. It will take time for him to iron it out after not getting many at bats in the spring, so adding some potential at the bottom of the order never hurts.

1- Austin Jackson

2- Francisco Lindor

3- Jose Ramirez

4- Edwin Encarnacion

5- Michael Brantley

6- Carlos Santana

7- Lonnie Chisenhall

8- Yan Gomes

9- Jason Kipnis

Don’t scream when you see Brantley at 5 and Jackson leading off. Jackson has a .273 / .368 / .485 slash line with a .853 OPS. Why not put him up there in place of Santana, who has had his share of struggles in the spot and could probably provide a spark down the lineup. Brantley at 5 between Encarnacion and Santana still gives him an opportunity to drive in runs, lengthen the lineup, and protect the hitter in front of him. Again, Ramirez has been nearly as good as Lindor at the plate, so it shouldn’t worry anyone that a move to the 3 hole could be a success.

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Other items to note could be a shake up of the bench overall. Brandon Guyer has been abysmal at the plate. We all love his ability to get hit by pitches, but he has been ineffective most of the season, despite his three run double on Wednesday. He has more strikeouts (14) than hits (10).

If there is concern about Austin Jackson as an every day center fielder, why not get Tyler Naquin back up here? He’s hitting .396 in Columbus. And before you say Bradley Zimmer, the Indians won’t start his clock yet, especially with his strikeout rate where it is. It’s not quite time to fire all of the corner outfielders.

Don’t also rule out a trade. The combo of Abe Almonte and Brandon Guyer has been disappointing and Lonnie Chisenhall is miscast as a center fielder. The Indians could bargain hunt for someone like Leonys Martin, who Seattle designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple A. There’s Keven Kiermeir, a great defensive player in center who seems to just be having a bad start to the season in Tampa. The club could also go big for a guy like Kevin Pillar, who is having a great year at the plate, can bat lead off, and do crazy stuff like this:

.@KPILLAR4 specializes in the ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/6wanInxev8
— MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2017

At the end of the day, no one needs to hit the panic button on the Tribe offense. The pitching, well, maybe.

Next: Clippers notebook: Starting pitching problematic early on

But it’s OK to think about how a little shake up could provide a jolt to an Indians offense looking for some consistency as of late and to push some struggling bats past their respective issues.

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