Cleveland Indians: Will Michael Brantley start at first base in 2018?

With the Cleveland Indians exercising Michael Brantley’s club option, the team may look to find a new role for the outfielder.

Friday was a busy day for the Cleveland Indians. The team picked up the club options of both Josh Tomlin and Michael Brantley.

The news about Brantley seemed to shock a lot of fans. With his injury history and with Carlos Santana hitting free agency, people seemed to think Brantley’s time in Cleveland was over.

Team president Chris Antonetti then made a comment about Brantley’s play at first base in the minors.

Those comments sparked a few theories about how Brantley will be used in 2018.

It isn’t the first time Antonetti has made a comment about an outfielder’s position history in the minors; and after seeing Jason Kipnis in center field based on his prior experience at said position, a move for Brantley wouldn’t be a major shock.

With Kipnis and Brantley moving back to the infield it would, however, create a new look for this defense. The Indians would have two Gold Glove finalists on the left half of the infield. The other half only will have played 180 combined games in 2017.

This is not to say it wouldn’t work, but the infield lineup would spark a lot of questions. Could Kipnis return to 2016 form? But more importantly, could Brantley hold down his new position.

His defensive play has never been in question. He was four runs above average in defensive runs saved in 2017 while only playing half the season.

When Brantley is healthy his bat is as valuable as anyone’s in the lineup. But health has not been his strong suit recently. And if the Indians are to decide on Brantley at first base, they lose critical outfield depth. This is a serious issue if they are unable to re-sign Jay Bruce and Austin Jackson.

Next: Indians have easy QO decisions ahead

This is all speculation of course. The Indians are also capable of luring in a free agent first baseman this offseason. But the point is the Indians are now stuck with Brantley in 2018. They need to find a way to fully utilize him to make this move worth the potential risk of losing Santana and Bruce.