Cleveland Indians Prospect Yandy Diaz Makes Opening Day Roster
The Cleveland Indians made the decision to start the season with top infield prospect Yandy Diaz on the roster.
With two key injuries to Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, the Cleveland Indians' plans to start the season have been quite different than anticipated. The team will start the season with top infield prospect Yandy Diaz on the roster, despite the expectation that he would open the season in the minors, according to an AP report.
The 25-year-old is expected to see time at third base, and he could ultimately become the team's everyday third baseman for some time with Jose Ramirez filling in at second for Kipnis.
Last season, Diaz was among the top hitters in Triple-A as he slashed .325/.399/.461 with a 11.3 percent walk rate and a 16.8 percent strikeout rate. Diaz carried his success from last season into spring training, where he's 20-for-45 with eight runs scored.
Diaz doesn't possess much power or speed on the base paths, but his ability to hit for contact and limit strikeouts could lead to an extended look in the majors.
The team also decided to start the season with infielder Michael Martinez on the roster, who appeared in 95 games with the team last year. With Diaz and Martinez making the major league roster, infielders Giovanny Urshela and Erik Gonzalez were optioned to Triple-A Columbus. Per the AP report:
"We spent a lot of time talking through this decision over the course of the last few days and met again this morning," general manager Chris Antonetti said Thursday. "It was a difficult decision. We felt we had a lot of good alternatives and choices we could have chosen. It's a reflection of how Gio and Erik did as well in addition of how Yandy and Michael played. This puts us in a strong position to start the season."
Diaz is an outfielder by trade, but is expected to handle the transition to third base without much interruption. Indians manager Terry Francona said the team has been looking forward to adding Diaz to the lineup since last season:
"Yandy's spring training was terrific. I think we all agree. If you look at Yandy's last year, we were trying to figure out a place for his bat," Francona said. "That's why he was going to the outfield. It's not a kid who got 45 at-bats and never hit. He has been a good hitter and he's becoming a better hitter."
It's worth wondering whether or not the team will test Diaz in the outfield at some point if star left fielder Michael Brantley isn't ready to return from shoulder surgery yet.
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Despite the Indians' injuries, the team looks to have plenty of depth to keep themselves afloat while their stars recover.
