Cleveland Indians: Takeaways from the latest batch of roster moves

The Cleveland Indians open the season next week and the Opening Day roster is beginning to come into focus after some recent roster moves.

The Cleveland Indians continue to get closer to having a finalized Opening Day roster. The health of both Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer is holding things up a bit, but moves are still being made.

Indians fans were presented with some interesting moves on Thursday.

Let’s break down some key takeaways.

The return of Rajai

It is interesting to see how Indians fans feel about Rajai Davis when scrolling through Twitter. Some, myself included, see it as a low-risk move that provides the team with depth while Brantley and Guyer get healthy.

Others are livid and want to see Greg Allen have that roster spot. I agree Allen has the talent to be on this team, but it doesn’t make sense to call him up, only to have him serve in a backup role. Leave that role to someone like Tyler Naquin, who doesn’t necessarily need more reps in Triple-A.

Fans must also remember that Opening Day rosters don’t usually mirror what a postseason roster will look like, so there is still plenty of time to make upgrades.

The utility infielder decision

The Indians were able to delay the inevitable of cutting either Erik Gonzalez or Giovanny Urshela after Urshela suffered an injury. Unfortunately for him, the team may opt to stick with Gonzalez if he plays well in April.

The competition between the two seemed to be a toss-up all spring, but this injury may be enough to end the discussion.

There is also one more decision I’d like to touch on.

Helping out a veteran player

The potential of Mike Napoli opening the season in Triple-A Columbus also has some fans expressing anger. What a fun bunch.

Jordan Bastian detailed the potential move in an article, which featured a quote from Napoli basically saying he doesn’t want to take a spot from a younger player. That happens to be the main beef fans have with him in Columbus.

Keeping the veteran in camp seems to have been the Indians essentially showcasing him for other teams, and it would be hard to imagine him getting significant playing time in Columbus if he ends up there. He wants to play on a big league team and may be better off training on his own and trying out for other teams.

Signing him was a nice gesture by the Indians, but stashing him in Columbus may not benefit either side.

Next: Indians History: Tragedy in Florida

The team is expected to make more decisions throughout the weekend, so stay tuned.