The Cleveland Indians were dealt some tough luck over the weekend when rising star Josh Naylor suffered a gruesome ankle injury after colliding with a teammate.
The ankle is broken and will require surgery.
It goes without saying that the Indians will unfortunately be without the 24-year-old for the foreseeable future.
Although Naylor’s overall numbers won’t blow you away (he was batting .253 with a .700 OPS prior to the injury), he had been a spark plug and a clutch hitter.
Where can the team look to replace his lost production?
These two players need to step up.
2. Harold Ramirez
Harold Ramirez has already played a big role this season, but he is going to have an opportunity to pick up some big-time slack as it pertains to Cleveland’s outfield production in Naylor’s absence.
Ramirez, who is just 26, is in his third MLB season and his first with the Indians.
He has been an outstanding addition.
Francona highly complimentary of Harold Ramirez: "He's been a blessing for us."#Indians
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) June 29, 2021
Ramirez is batting .280 with an .806 OPS this year.
He has been even better lately, batting .323 with a .902 OPS since May 31.
Perhaps the most important part of Ramirez’s ability to fill Naylor’s shoes is the clutch-hitting aspect.
As mentioned, Naylor has come up huge in some clutch spots this season, but so has Ramirez.
In high-leverage situations, Ramirez has a slash line of .333/.368/.472.
Those are some outstanding numbers.
The moment never seems to get too big for the youngster.
1. Eddie Rosario
This one has less to do with the filling of a positional void and more to do with the overall production that can be re-created.
Eddie Rosario has displayed his ability to produce at a great clip in recent years, but he hasn’t been able to replicate the success this season.
From 2017 to 2020, he finished with an OPS of .800 or better in three of four seasons.
He slashed .281/.317/.493 and averaged 34 home runs per 162 games as well as being a solid 2.8 WAR per 162 games over the four-year span.
This season has been a struggle, though.
He is batting just .255 with a .677 OPS and a low 0.3 WAR.
He has homered just six times in 72 games.
Perhaps the transition with his new team has been a turbulent one—he spent the first six years of his career with the Minnesota Twins before coming over to Cleveland for the 2021 campaign.
Eventually, Rosario is bound to regress to his career mean, and his career mean is very solid.
If and when he gets there, the Indians will get a huge boost.
It seems like that boost could be coming sooner than later, too, as Rosario is currently enjoying a 14-game hitting streak.
Eddie Rosario's RBI double gives him a 14-game hitting streak. It also gives the Indians a season-high 12 runs.
— Joe Noga (@JoeNogaCLE) June 29, 2021
The slow start may be quickly coming to an end.
Over the streak, Rosario is batting .321 with an OPS of .854.
That’s the player the Indians are going to need from here on out.
Wrap-Up
Players like Naylor don’t grow on trees, but Cleveland can try to recreate him in the aggregate while he’s out.
The club could also explore options in its farm system or through the trade market to fill the void.
No matter what, we know the Indians are going to be busy at the deadline, as they have several rotation holes to fill.
Perhaps an outfielder could come over along with a starting pitcher in a package deal.
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