Last week, the Cleveland Indians lost Franmil Reyes to an internal oblique strain.
He was placed on the 10-day injured list, but his absence will be much longer.
Initial estimates have him missing between five to seven weeks, so Cleveland is losing one of its most dangerous hitters for a significant amount of time.
Here are three Indians batters who need to step up in his absence.
3. Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez is the obvious choice if we are looking for players who need to step up during Reyes’ absence, given that he is the best offensive weapon on Cleveland’s roster.
Ramirez has been performing at an MVP-level for a few seasons now, and he is once again the Indians’ leader in Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, with 1.7.
While his batting average may not be too high, his overall slash line of .255/.344/.547 is excellent.
You know, bro!
It's a two-run home run pitch by José Ramírez to get the @Indians on the board! 🐐#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/kzg2ReJAfO
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) May 19, 2021
He has been providing his usual power numbers (12 home runs) and his batted ball luck (.228 BABIP) hasn’t been there, which leads us to believe that once his fortune starts returning, he could have even better numbers.
Already tasked with the huge responsibility of being the Indians’ top offensive contributor after the Francisco Lindor trade, fans will now ask even more from Ramirez.
It’s clear that he has what it takes to contribute great things to an offense, but he will need some help from his teammates if the Indians are going somewhere without their top slugger.
2. Josh Naylor
Josh Naylor came to the Indians in the Mike Clevinger trade, and was viewed as a piece with considerable offensive potential.
He showed some of that potential in last year’s playoff series against the New York Yankees.
However, he hasn’t been able to produce much this season with Cleveland.
As of Tuesday morning, Naylor is hitting .250/.293/.392 with four home runs and a stolen base.
Naylor is not a particularly talented defensive player, but has some untapped potential as a hitter.
He needs to improve his plate discipline in order to take the next step, as he has a 4.4 walk rate and a 22.2 strikeout rate.
The Indians should stay patient with Naylor because his minor league numbers suggest that his walk rate should go up, his strikeout rate should decrease, and his batting average should also increase.
He has never had prodigious in-game power, but his raw power suggests that if he makes some mechanical changes, he could hit 20-25 homers annually.
Cleveland needs to see some progress by Naylor if they are going to overcome the loss of Reyes.
1. Eddie Rosario
The former Minnesota Twins outfielder came to Cleveland with one task: help make up for the losses of offensive stalwarts Lindor and Carlos Santana.
Eddie Rosario came with a track record of offensive excellence.
He hit 83 home runs from 2017 to 2019, and had 13 in the shortened 2020 campaign, with slugging percentages usually around or above .500.
That kind of production hasn’t been present in 2021, as he has a .219/.267/.325 line with only three home runs so far.
Cleveland badly needs Rosario to pick things up at the plate, since he is one of the few true home run threats on the roster.
• Eddie Rosario is on a 4-game hitting streak (6/17) but is batting .219 over 160 AB with 3 HR & 5 SB
His sprint speed (27.3 ft/s) is up from his past couple seasons, so he could challenge 10 SB
His Z-Swing% has been down since 2020, meaning he’s been less aggressive recently
— Fantasy Central (@FantasyCentral1) May 25, 2021
Teams shouldn’t expect much from him in the OBP and defense departments, but they do need his power.
Rosario has to take some of the burden left by Reyes’ temporary absence.
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