Among Cleveland Indians fans, the worst kept secret in the organization very well may be top prospect Francisco Lindor anxiously awaiting the go ahead to make the two and a half hour drive from Huntington Park in Columbus to Progressive Field in Cleveland.
While the wait for Lindor has been growing more and more painful as time has gone on, mainly due to the fact that stop gap shortstop Jose Ramirez has played extremely poorly thus far this season.
Well, the time has finally come where Jose Ramirez has been sent down to AAA Columbus, where he will be given a chance to regain form.
The only problem with this transaction is that the replacement for Jose Ramirez is not Francisco Lindor.
Zach Walters has been placed on the active roster as the replacement for Ramirez at SS.
The other scenario in which Tribe fans were hoping to see Lindor was a demotion to Lonnie Chisenhall, moving Mike Aviles to third, and placing Ramirez as the utility man in Cleveland.
Well, the Chisenhall demotion to AAA Columbus did in-fact happen, but again, Lindor was not the chosen one.
Giovanny Urshela was called up as Chisenhall’s replacement, which came as a surprise to many.
Many have the opinion that Jose Ramirez could be the next Mike Aviles, sporting the ability to play multiple positions a few times a week. I can definitely see that potential in Ramirez as he has been able to play shortstop, second base, and third base, but I do not see the potential for him to be an everyday shortstop at the Major League level.
Honestly, I’m not sure the Indians see that potential either.
What everyone else around the organization, and MLB do see is the potential for Francisco Lindor do be that everyday shortstop at the MLB level, and be pretty damn good at it as well.
While it may not be Lindor’s time at the moment, Zach Walters will hopefully provide a much needed spark at the shortstop position and possibly be a better stop-gap until Lindor’s arrival.
At this point, the majority of people are well aware that the main reason Francisco Lindor has not been freed from the depths of AAA Columbus is so he will not fall under the Super 2 distinction.
While that would be fine for the Indians to do in many situations, this is not the right one.
After an extremely slow start, the Indians are finally playing solid baseball and on the fringe of being competitive for a playoff spot (yes, I am well aware it is only June). So this has led me to be curious as to why one of the most important positions on the diamond is being taken up by a struggling rookie and a utility player when the long term solution is readily available.
Of course, this discussion would not be necessary if the play of Jose Ramirez had been anywhere near average, but it has been far from that. While Ramirez has been terrible with the bat, his glove has not been much better, and that is saying something.
In 46 games this season Ramirez is hitting a pitiful .180, reaching base at a .247 clip, and only slugging .240. If those numbers alone did not warrant a trip down I-71 back to Columbus, I’m not sure what would have. I’m only curious as to why it took so long.
Ramirez has shown the ability to hit before, however he is struggling mightily this season, and a trip to the minors might do him very well.
Defensively, the shortstop position has been an unpleasant sight to see in Cleveland.
While Ramirez’ 8 errors in 153 chances might not be the worst numbers anyone has ever seen, they are not numbers that an alleged contending team can afford to have up the middle. A fielding percentage below .950 is downright inexcusable.
The play has been so poor from Ramirez we have seen more and more of Mike Aviles at the shortstop position lately. While that is not the worst thing in the world, it does hinder the Indians’ flexibility that manager Tito Francona loves to have off of his bench. Calling up Zach Walters for the time being does help to restore that flexibility, and brining Urshela along with him helps as well.
While looking at Francisco Lindor’s numbers at AAA they are not exactly mind-blowing, but the #4 ranked prospect in baseball is more than ready for the show.
Through 51 games at the shortstop position, Lindor has a fielding percentage of .962. While that does not exactly scream hall of fame, it is considerably better than that Jose Ramirez has turned in.
While we have already seen a little bit of Zach Walters at the MLB level this year, and it has not been pretty, it was in a very small sample size (1-17 at the plate).
One can only hope that Walters will be able to perform better in his second big-league stint of the year.
While now may not be the time, the time is soon coming where the Indians finally call up top prospect Francisco Lindor, but for now, Zach Walters and Giovanny Urshela will have to do.
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