Cleveland Indians: Coco Crisp and the Makeshift Outfield

The Cleveland Indians have featured many outfielders throughout the 2016 season, but seem to have found a solid group as September baseball begins.

The Cleveland Indians have been juggling the three outfield spots all season, yet it has not affected the team’s performance on the field. In fact, the many options available to manager Terry Francona has enhanced the team as a whole.

Michael Brantley was expected to be a key piece in this group, but he should have never been allowed to play in 2016. He clearly needed more rehab and was rushed back in an attempt to solidify his position in the outfield as a constant on the roster. It is the fault of everyone involved, but hindsight does nothing to fix the problem.

With Brantley out for the season after only appearing in 11 games, the Indians had to get creative with the outfield.

The latest move was to acquire former Indian, Coco Crisp in a trade with the Oakland A’s. He becomes the sixth outfield on the roster as the team tries to win the AL Central for the first time since 2007.

He is the latest addition to a group that has been juggled all season, as both Francona and the front office have been seeking the best combinations for each game.

The opening day group of Marlon Byrd, Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis, Collin Cowgill and Jose Ramirez has evolved, with only Naquin and Davis still playing in the outfield, joined by Brandon Guyer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Abraham Almonte and now Crisp.

Crisp and Guyer, both acquired in trades, are not players who are going to be the ultimate difference in a game, or even ones who will play every day. Guyer usually only appears against left-handed pitching, while Crisp can serve as a pinch-hitter late in games from either side of the plate.

The only two who appear almost regularly are Davis and Almonte, but Almonte’s playoff ineligibility due to his PED suspension means his consistent presence will fade away if the Indians indeed make the postseason.

His absence makes the Crisp acquisition that much more important, as the veteran is an everyday player capable of settling into the role of backup, or late-game specialist. He can also be relied upon as a starter if anyone were to miss time due to an injury or a major slump at the plate.

Brantley’s absence put a great deal of attention on the Indians’ outfield in the first half of the season, but it is an afterthought now as the team prepares for the playoffs. The focus has shifted to the play of the starting rotation, a testament to the consistency of all the players who have stood in the outfield grass for the Indians in 2016.

When a player started to struggle, or got suspended for the entire season as Byrd did, someone was there to step up. Whether it was the rookie, Naquin, or a player reinventing himself, Chisenhall, the Indians have found talent to fill the roles, as all great teams do.

Next: Indians Needed Sweep of Twins

Let’s just hope the great play continues this month, because if it doesn’t, the narrative surrounding this team will take a turn for the worse.