The Cleveland Indians Need to Create Opportunities for Bobby Bradley This Year

The Indians have one of the top power hitting players in the minors in Bobby Bradley. Last season he had a cup of coffee at the Major League level with mixed results, but in 2020 when the season finally gets going, the Tribe should do whatever they can to give him an extended look at the Major League level.

Details of what a 2020 baseball season will look like remain mostly unknown. That said, roster expansion appears to be a sure thing in the year ahead. Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, MLB is still discussing the idea of each team having as many as 50 players available to use.

When projecting who would make the Cleveland Indians’ 50-man roster, Bobby Bradley feels like a safe bet. The team’s popular prospect was due to start 2020 in the minors, but this expansion should open the door for him to spend summer with Cleveland.

Obviously, not everyone who makes the final cut is guaranteed playing time. Most of these extra players would serve as nothing more than injury replacements.

With Bradley, Cleveland should consider a bigger role than that. Not only would it ensure he can further his development, it might also help the Indians address some significant financial hurdles on the horizon.

By now, most Tribe fans know the drill with Bradley. He boasts phenomenal power, but couples it with a lot of whiffs.

The player MLB Pipeline ranks as Cleveland’s No. 12 prospect led the International League with 33 home runs in 2019. He also struck out in 33.8% of his plate appearances. On top of this, Bradley struggled when called up by the Indians last year, going just 8-for-45 at the plate with one home run and 20 strikeouts.

Yet, Bradley was still able to make some positive strides for Cleveland this past spring. He arrived at camp in great shape and trimmed down his strikeout rate (21.4%), all while flexing his trademark power.

Bobby.#TribeSpring pic.twitter.com/QLU09xvwLh

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) February 27, 2020

Sure, there’s the obvious “it’s just spring training” caveat. It’s also worth noting Bradley displayed this progress against pitching Baseball Reference graded as Double-A quality.

Still, it was encouraging to see positive strides after what had to be a humbling big league debut for Bradley.

Unfortunately, with the fate of MiLB still in jeopardy, how he goes about continuing this progress is a bit of a mystery. Bradley has one significant issue he needs to improve, but without the everyday playing time he’d get in the minors, much-needed at-bats may be few and far between in 2020.

This is something the Indians could -- and arguably should -- resolve by ensuring he receives playing time this summer.

Of all the prospects Cleveland could include on its 50-man roster, none boast the raw power Bradley brings to the plate. Should he learn to consistently harness this in the majors, he could become a big offensive boost for the Tribe. One of the best ways Cleveland could continue his development is getting him into the lineup a few games a week.

Luckily, creating a place for Bradley isn’t too complicated.

Cleveland can easily alternate the designated hitter role between Bradley and Domingo Santana, with Franmil Reyes occasionally stepping in when he’s not playing right field. Though acquiring Santana was one of the few moves the Indians made this winter, said move was only a $1.25 million flyer. Rotating him with Bradley wouldn’t be seen as robbing at-bats from a key piece to the team’s future.

Bradley can also play first base any time Carlos Santana needs a day off. This was intentionally flagged, as it brings us to one of the more significant reasons why Cleveland should provide playing time for its hard-hitting prospect this summer.

Plenty has been written about the financial losses MLB teams are set to deal with in 2020. The league’s best-case scenario continues to be the season taking place without fans, and therefore without ticket revenue.

While it’s impossible to know how this will impact the Indians’ offseason decision-making, one would assume they’ll discuss what to do about Santana’s 2021 option. Should they pick it up, they’ll owe him $17.5 million as he heads into his age-35 season.

It’s a decision which would’ve been difficult under normal circumstances. Enduring an entire year without ticket sales only complicates it further.

That said, difficult decisions like this are made a little easier if the team knows it has a replacement option on hand.

To be clear, this isn’t an attempt to claim shifting from Santana to Bradley is a one-for-one swap, or even that the latter’s presence makes the former expendable. Still, one of these two players will be far less expensive than the other in 2021.

After a year like this, that’s unfortunately going to be a very significant factor in offseason salary decisions.

Which is why the Indians would be smart to make Bradley more than just an injury replacement this summer. They need to know if he can consistently provide the power he’s displayed in the minors on a big league stage. They need to know how much progress he can make resolving his strikeout woes.

Simply put, they need to know if they have an MLB-ready first baseman waiting in the wings.

No matter what happens this year, determining what to do with Santana next offseason will be no easy call for Cleveland. He’s spent the majority of his career here, and it's been a productive one at that.

Still, Santana turns 35 next season, and will be due an eight figure salary. It’s a tough pill to swallow after a summer with no ticket revenue.

Knowing Bradley is ready for the bigs -- or close enough to it -- would certainly make a call like that a little easier.

This summer, there will only be one way to find that out.