Indians: 3 Tribe players who have turned their seasons around

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 15: Amed Rosario #1 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates after scoring on a double by Eddie Rosario #9 against the Baltimore Orioles during the fourth inning at Progressive Field on June 15, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

Amed Rosario

On May 8th, Amed Rosario was hitting just .189 with just seven RBI’s. Since then he’s smacked another 14 RBI’s in, and raised his batting average to .282 currently. His .282 average is also 12 points higher than his career average of .270. To say Rosario is having a quietly good year would be accurate.

Coming over in the Francisco Lindor trade, many didn’t expect Rosario to be a better offensive player than Lindor, yet through June 17 of the 2021 season, that’s been the case. Rosario is hitting better than Lindor and getting on base better than Lindor. Not to mention a higher OPS as well.

The most damning stat for Lindor is how Rosario is hitting better than the “star” shortstop with runners in scoring position. Rosario was hitting .413 with RISP on June 16, at 8:00 PM ET. Lindor, at the same time, was hitting just .167.

Lindor is making $22 million in 2021 and is going to make $34 million over the next decade. Rosario is making just $2.4 million in 2021 and is controllable until 2024. While Lindor has more hardware than Rosario, Rosario is the better player today. We’re not even talking dollar-for-dollar value. We’re talking bottom of the 9th, you have to choose, are you going with the guy who didn’t take the World Series serious enough (by his own accord) in Lindor, or Rosario, a player who’s been stepping up when the team has needed him the most?

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