Indians: 3 reasons why you shouldn’t give up on the 2021 Tribe
By Chad Porto
The Indians have had a rough go of it but don’t give up on them now.
The Indians are not a team so easily written off. They have been able to do amazing things during the Terry Francona-Era, and if you think being just one game over .500 is a sign that things are bad, hold your horses.
The Tribe is anything but. In fact, the Tribe is in a good position with July in the full thing. They are quite capable of not just mounting a comeback to get into the AL Central race but winning it all. A bold claim, admittedly, but not one without merit.
What makes this team someone you shouldn’t count out in the long run? Well, let’s hit those three reasons.
Returning talent
The Indians are waiting on the returns of Jordan Luplow, Aaron Civale, Shane Beiber, and Eddie Rosario still from the injured list this year. They also just got back Franmil Reyes, Roberto Perez, and Zach Plesac. To just assume this is a “bad team” would be a dishonest evaluation of what’s going on.
The Tribe has never dealt with this many significant injuries before during Terry Francona’s tenure, and that’s mostly due to the injured major leaguers and the Triple-A talent that just arent’ quite ready yet.
With the acquisition of Wilson Ramos and Brad Peacock, the Tribe is in a unique situation to better themselves without giving anything up in return. Both men are expected to contribute in a major way with the Major League club, and if they can swing a trade for another outfielder (like the aforementioned Pirates trade idea we pitched), then this season is far from lost.