Cleveland Sports Forum

Anyone that has played baseball, at any level, knows how much confidence has to do with hitting. If there are holes in your swing or pitches that fool you, you have work those faults out at lower levels, because Major League pitching will eat you alive.

Lindor will be ready when he's ready.

e.g. Lindor yesterday had two hits, and struck out 3 times, and was caught stealing for the 7th time. Does he have to be a finished product on offense before they bring him up?

Depends.

I can name you a long list of shortstops who had good big league careers as great fielders and mediocre offense.

A certain Omar Vizquel totally sucked on offense AND at the big league level no less.

Until he didn't!!

Jeff Passan @JeffPassan:
Indians have optioned Jose Ramirez to Columbus. Unclear what the corresponding move is, but Francisco Lindor makes an awful lot of sense.

Jeff Passan is a baseball writer for Yahoo Sports, for those that may not know. He's speculating on Lindor but the Ramirez demotion is fact.

Only other move that makes sense is bring up Walters, but Lindor is hitting better than him in AAA. And defensively he's far better.

... or leave Aviles at SS and bring Walters up to replace him as utility guy.

or leave Aviles at SS and bring Walters up to replace him as utility guy.

Maybe a stopgap measure 'til the bell tolls for Lindor?

Well, it's a start...

Andre Knott @DreKnott:
Tribe calls up Zach Walters/Giovanny Urshela send Jose Ramirez/Lonnie Chisenhall to AAA. Go Cavs

They can't do much worse that the 2 they sent down.

well Walters is a lousy defender and strikes out most of the time but sometimes he hits homers. I expect Ramirez will prepare for the super-utility role in Columbus

I think Aviles will be playing more with Walters taking over his utility role.

I suspect so. Aviles will now be the everyday SS. Walters gives us an additional RH bat who can play all over the place. I would expect Ramirez to replace Walters in that role when Jose gets his offense back together and adequate playing time again at 2nd, 3rd and the OF.

Good article on this issue:

What the Cleveland Indians' roster moves mean for Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall and Francisco Lindor: Zack Meisel's musings


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It took until the top of the ninth inning on Sunday for a fan to start a "Let's go Cavs" chant at Progressive Field.

On Tuesday, right next door to the Cavs' venue, an Indians infield prospect might make his major league debut. That's Giovanny Urshela, not Francisco Lindor.

Here are five thoughts on the Tribe's flurry of roster activity.

1. First things first: Jose Ramirez's demotion to Triple-A was long overdue, but possibly delayed because of the lack of ideal alternatives at shortstop. Mike Aviles was away from the team for nearly two weeks in May after his 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Since he returned, he has started 14 of the Tribe's 20 games.

Zach Walters has bounced all around the field at Triple-A. He will join the Indians along with Giovanny Urshela in time for Tuesday's series opener against Seattle. He figures to fill Aviles' role as a utility player.

The club has insisted that top prospect Francisco Lindor is not ready for a promotion. Manager Terry Francona said as much in Kansas City last week. Whether Lindor's arbitration clock has anything to do with the decision is anyone's guess. General manager Chris Antonetti has denied that notion, but would he admit to it, anyway?

2. Tick, tock: Lindor is rated the No. 3 prospect in baseball by MLB.com. Slotted one spot ahead of him is Astros phenom Carlos Correa, a 20-year-old shortstop who will join the big league club Monday in Chicago.

Every player progresses at a different pace. Clearly, though, Houston is looking to the former No. 1 overall draft choice to provide a spark. The Astros sit atop the American League West with a 34-24 mark.

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters that the club is hoping Correa adds "something that's been missing. We have to try and do everything we can to maintain our division lead and get this team to the postseason."

That's refreshing candor from a front-office executive. Luhnow proceeded to identify Correa as one of the organization's 25 best players.

"We should have the 25 best players on the major league roster," he said.

Maybe the Indians truly don't feel as though Lindor is one of the 25 best in their system at this point. Was Ramirez, over the last two months?

3. Health concerns: Lindor did, in fact, miss a handful of games last month because of minor, nagging injuries. Then again, Urshela opened the season on the shelf with a back injury. The same malady kept him out of action for two weeks in May.

Lindor has swung a better bat in recent weeks. Over the last month, he is batting .295 with a .363 on-base percentage and .446 slugging percentage.

Correa was tearing the cover off of the ball at Double-A Corpus Christi at the start of the year. He posted an eye-popping .385/.459/.726 slash line in 29 games before compiling a .266/.336/.447 slash line in 23 games at Triple-A Fresno.

4. Motives: With the pair of roster moves, the Indians finally addressed two positions that have plagued the offense for two months. Neither Ramirez nor Chisenhall ever got on track. Ramirez batted .175 with a .221 on-base percentage in April and .198 with a .283 on-base percentage in May. Chisenhall batted .221 with a .260 on-base percentage in April and .209 with a .242 on-base percentage in May.

Did each player deserve two full months to find their way, in a season in which the Indians intend to contend? Given Chisenhall's propensity to fluctuate between both ends of the hitting spectrum, perhaps he merited a longer leash than Ramirez did. Perhaps Urshela's injury and Aviles' absence granted the two more rope.

Few thought the Astros would vie for the AL West crown this season, following 416 losses over the previous four seasons. Maybe they are making a mistake by promoting their top prospect so swiftly. Maybe patience is the prudent path for a low-payroll team that hopes to contend. Maybe not.

5. Now what? Aviles figures to earn the bulk of the playing time at shortstop. One would think that Walters and Urshela would share time at third. Ramirez has spent the majority of his minor league innings at second base. He'll likely return to that spot with Lindor still in the mix at Triple-A.

A trip down I-71 is nothing new for Chisenhall. He made his major league debut in 2011, but he spent time at Columbus each year from 2011-13. In a 27-game stint at Triple-A in 2013, he batted .390 with a 1.132 OPS. So, he might not have trouble proving he can mash against the premier minor league hurlers. But maybe the time in the state capital will provide him with a mental breather. Or, maybe he has burned through his last chance. Urshela might have the opportunity to settle that.

This whole thing is what it is. Clearly the clock has something to do with Lindor's situation.

For the Houston guy to say "we should have the best 25 guys on the team" is silly. How about a week ago if someone had asked him?

Also, Houston has NO alternative at SS. Aviles is a much better option than they have. I do have faith Aviles can put his bat on the ball in situations where he needs to.

That said, I am not defending. I totally agree that I would like to see Lindor...now! But again, it is what it is.

At 3B, at least Urshela can field. Chiz could do neither. The guy is likely a bust, move on. If he tears it up at AAA, fine.

We will have a more balanced lineup now too, as Urshela bats righty and Walters is a switch hitter. Both with pop.