Juan Gonzalez wins starting right fielder job
Not surpisingly, Juan Gonzalez was named the starter in right field and Grady Sizemore has been sent back to AAA. With Gonzalez slotted to bat fifth, and Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez set to bat third and fourth, respectively, the Tribe has three RBI machines in the middle of the lineup. Also, with their 1-9 approach to building a strong lineup full of tough outs, the Tribe can compete with the most expensive lineups in the majors in scoring runs.
This might be the year that Shapiro cements his reputation as one of the best GMs in baseball. It should be fun.
There are some people unhappy about the Tribe keeping Gonzo over Sizemore, but Grady’s time will come. He’s a future superstar who should still find himself back in Cleveland at some point this year, but this is a chance Shapiro and the Tribe had to take. Even if they get 100 games out of Gonzalez, that should translate into 20-plus homers and a bunch of RBI.
But worst-case scenario, Juan Gone sits out most of the year (again) with an injury, the Indians end up paying him $600,000 and then call Sizemore back up. Either way, the risk here is very minimal but the reward could potentially be significant.
He’s already on the DL!! Good thing we have depth.
Geez, that didn’t take long.