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Oscar Mercado isn’t the only Cleveland Indian in need of being optioned

By Chad Porto

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 31: Oscar Mercado #35 of the Cleveland Indians is unable to field a two-run double off the center field wall by Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game at Target Field on July 31, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JULY 31: Oscar Mercado #35 of the Cleveland Indians is unable to field a two-run double off the center field wall by Eddie Rosario #20 of the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game at Target Field on July 31, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Indians optioned Oscar Mercado to Lake County but there are several others who should be joining the struggling outfielder.

The Cleveland Indians have optioned three players to Lake County since Friday in Mike Clevinger, Zach Plesac, and Oscar Mercado. Mercado, unlike the tumultuous twin pitchers, was sent down strictly due to his poor performance at the plate. There’s a problem here, however and that problem is that he’s not the only one who should be sent down. The team is riddled with poorly playing positional players as far as the eye can see.

Mercado was bad, but Jordan Luplow has just one hit in 26 at-bats. When Greg Allen was playing, he had a .111 on-base percentage. It’s a bad year to be a Santana because both Domingo and Carlos are hitting in the .170’s. Mercado isn’t the only player that deserves to be optioned down.

With Mercado gone, it looks like the Indians will finally give Delino DeShields more playing time. He’s certainly earned it with his limited opportunities. At press time, he has a .333 batting average and a .788 OPS. While him hitting .250 or .260 for the season is more likely than him being over .300, the sad truth is that’s still about 80-90 points more than most of the outfielders are hitting at the moment.

The Indians can’t just stop there, as players like Sany Leon and Beaut Taylor have absolutely failed to make any bit of an offensive impact. While it’s true that Roberto Perez is about to return from injury, the facts are he needs a legit backup. Chris Iannetta, the recently retired catcher, should be a name the Indians continue to blow up the number of. Iannetta would be, at least on paper, a better option than Leon and Taylor. Both men have three hits, combined, to their names heading into the Aug 18th Pirates series.

This is not a team that can continue to on as is, and hopefully the optioning of Mercado is a sign that the Indians are willing to give other guys a shot while going after affordable replacements.

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