Cleveland Indians: Breaking down all the recent roster moves

With just 10 days to Opening Day, the Cleveland Indians have cut their roster down to 39  players, with some well-known names heading to the minors or free agency.

Spring training is starting to draw to an end meaning more tough decisions have to be made by the Cleveland Indians.

Those decisions included cutting Melvin Upton Jr. and Ryan Hanigan from the team. The Tribe also optioned Yandy Diaz, Eric Haase and Eric Stamets to Triple-A.

Brandon Barnes, Preston Claiborne, Stephen Fife, Cam Hill, Neil Ramirez, Richie Shaffer were all re-assigned to minor league camp.

What these moves mean

These moves aren’t a drastic surprise by any means. Fans expected that Yandy Diaz would start the season at Triple-A, with the Indians infield being fully healthy. Other options are simply the result of spring moving along, and with the Indians plethora of talent, many young players like Stamets and Fife won’t see big league action just yet.

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An interesting tidbit from all the moves is Eric Haase starting the season in Triple-A. Haase is the Indians number 20 prospect according to the MLB Pipeline top 30 prospect list. He had 10 RBIs with three homers, including a grand slam to cap his spring off against the hated Chicago Cubs.

His performance along with that of Francisco Mejia is likely the reason Ryan Hanigan was cut.

As for Upton Jr., he was signed to compete for a spot on the bench with Michael Brantley‘s health being uncertain. Upton being cut could mean that Brantley is progressing fairly well. He was also simply outplayed by his competition in Rajai Davis.

Davis’ future with the team is still uncertain; however, he still has a shot to prove his worth in this last week of spring.

Among the names sent to minors, Richie Shaffer and Brandon Barnes shined this spring. Barnes led all Tribe outfielders in RBIs with eight, while Shaffer was tied for third among infielders with nine. Both of the two will likely see Triple A-action. That’s nice to see for Barnes as he was a non-roster invitee who has earned a home this season.

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Opening Day is coming soon meaning the roster moves aren’t done yet. Players like Greg Allen, Giovanny Urshela and Erik Gonzalez will still compete for spots while Mike Napoli will have to keep playing and see what the future holds.