Cleveland Indians: Bradley Zimmer in danger of a demotion

Cleveland Indians rookie Bradley Zimmer has not recorded a single hit in August, and may be in danger of losing his starting job if this continues.

The Cleveland Indians are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, while the division lead is now up to six games. One can say things are going quite well.

Yet even with all the success and excitement, one player is in the midst of a horrible stretch.

Bradley Zimmer is hitless in August, currently sporting a mark of 0-32. His batting average has dropped from .284 to .246 in a month that has seen him strike out in 16 of his 32 at-bats.

This slump is frustrating, but players go through bad stretches all the time and things usually level out back to normal. So in a normal situation, this hitless start to the month wouldn’t be a reason to replace Zimmer in the lineup.

However, this team has a surplus of talent in the outfield, meaning a few more hitless games and Zimmer’s starting spot could be lost for the remainder of the season.

The thing keeping him in the lineup for now is the fact both Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley are hurt, but Chisenhall is expected to return sometime next week. And when he comes back he is going to be an everyday player as his bat is too great to keep out of the lineup.

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Jay Bruce isn’t heading to the bench, so that leaves one starting outfield spot open. Brandon Guyer will continue to come off the bench, leaving Zimmer, Austin Jackson and Abraham Almonte.

Jackson is currently slashing .323/.391/.516 and has hit a home run in each of his last two games, including a big three-run home run Tuesday night. Keeping him out of the lineup seems foolish considering his numbers compared to Zimmer’s.

Almonte is just 2-18 in the month of August, and he appears to be the one to ultimately be sent down to Columbus once Chisenhall returns.

Sending Zimmer down may not do much as he needs to figure things out at the MLB level, but just because he stays with the team doesn’t mean he will remain a starter.

We must also keep in mind that the rosters expand right around the time Chisenhall should be back, so anyone sent down won’t be gone long.

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Zimmer can change all this by piecing together a few nice games, or even by just picking up a single hit and getting his confidence back. We all know he has the physical talent to be successful, and right now he just needs to get back there mentally.