Cleveland Indians: Tough decisions to make in outfield still on hold

The Cleveland Indians will have to make a decision regarding the outfielders on the roster once everyone is healthy, which has yet to happen this season.

At some point this season the front office is going to be forced to make a tough decision regarding the outfield. That is, if the injuries stop piling up.

The Indians have used a rotation of outfielders this season due to several injuries, but there are still six players vying for five available spots. The six are Michael Brantley, Bradley Zimmer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Abraham Almonte, Brandon Guyer and Austin Jackson.

As of today, both Almonte and Jackson are not on the active roster because of injuries, but Almonte has been playing in Columbus which means he may be heading back to Cleveland soon.

His return should have led to the front office having to make a decision of which five outfielders to go with, but Jackson’s recent injury that will keep him out up to a month delayed that decision once again.

At the outset of the season, Zimmer was not among these five, but he has earned a full-time spot on this roster. Sending him down now would likely derail what has the chance to be a special season from the rookie.

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The same goes for Jackson, who was emerging as one of the more reliable hitters on the team before suffering his injury. He was batting .345 in the month of June with a .446 on-base percentage, proving he too deserves to remain on this team as the season progresses.

The odd man out once everyone is healthy may end up being Almonte, who hurt his chances of being an Indians mainstay a season ago when he missed the first 80 games of the season because of a PED suspension, which also made him ineligible for the postseason.

Add in his injuries this season and the Indians may decide to stick with those players who have been playing well this season and who have been reliable in the past. This is not to say Almonte deserves to be punished further for his suspension, but it does look like he is sixth on the five-man outfielder depth chart.

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But with the way injuries have been piling up all season, the front office may not have to make any decisions on the outfield before the rosters expand in September.