2021 Indians Preview: Players have departed, payroll's been cut, but all hope isn't lost

A full, 162-game season played during the COVID-19 pandemic won't be the only thing different for the Indians this year. For the first time since manager Terry Francona took over in 2013, Cleveland's baseball club isn't considered a serious contender in the Central Division. Few expect the Indians to qualify for the postseason for the fifth time in six years. Not without superstar Francisco Lindor and 2019 All-Star Carlos Santana. Not with a suspect lineup that struggled to score runs last year, even with Lindor and Santana. Not with one of the youngest rosters in the American League. And not with the lowest payroll in baseball, less than $39.5 million. Nope. According to the experts, that's too much working against the Indians for them to compete with two-time defending division champion Minnesota and a rising Chicago team many are picking to unseat the Twins. "I'm always on social media. I'm always on Instagram and I see the comparison they're doing, like about the (projected) percentage of wins and stuff like that," designated hitter Franmil Reyes said. "It's not like I'm offended, but I know we can make a lot of noise. "I know my team and I know my teammates. I know we don't have Frankie anymore and we don't have Carlos, but we have a lot of good players. Watch out." Low projections and expectations aren't things the Indians are used to dealing with. So, not surprisingly, Reyes and his teammates are out to prove people wrong with an us-against-the-world mentality. That approach is just fine with Francona, who has never endured a losing season in Cleveland. "Anything we can use for motivation is OK in my opinion," Francona said of the national prognostications. "I think it's on us to use whatever we can as motivation — and if that's part of it, good. "What I care about is us winning games." Giving the Indians hope is a young and talented pitching staff that begins with the rotation. Shane Bieber, last year's Cy Young Award winner, is the headliner. No starter is older than 26, which should make for a bright future. "Looking at the rotation, specifically, we have a lot of guys from the 2015 and '16 drafts. That's a lot of young arms out there that have a diverse portfolio of talents," said the 25-year-old Bieber, who will be joined by right-handers Zach Plesac (26), Aaron Civale (25), Triston McKenzie (23) and Cal Quantrill (26) or left-hander Logan Allen (23). "A lot of guys can do a lot of different things. Whether it's an experienced staff or an inexperienced staff, I feel like we can still provide the same things for each other, and that's competitiveness, pulling all in the right direction and continuing to push each other and pull in the same direction." Providing backup for the rotation is a bullpen that is also young and also expected to be a strength for Cleveland, which will mix in veterans — Nick Wittgren, Bryan Shaw and Oliver Perez — for valuable experience. The Indians will bring the heat at the back end, with hard-throwing right-handers Emmanuel Clase — who reached 100 mph multiple times this spring after missing last season while serving a suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance — James Karinchak and Rule V acquisition Trevor Stephan. "Last year, I don't know where we ranked as far as velocity goes. I bet it was toward the bottom," Francona said. "I also thought that we had a pretty good bullpen. So ultimately what I care about is getting them out. But I admit it's kind of exciting when you see some of the arms." What could prevent the Indians from reaching their goals is an offense that sputtered last year, producing fewer runs (248) than hapless division rival Detroit (249). The Indians added veteran Eddie Rosario, who killed them at Progressive Field during his tenure with the Twins, but they're going to need consistent production from the majority of the lineup. A lot of offense went out the door with the departures of Lindor and Santana. Replacing Lindor will be difficult, if not impossible. When training camp opened, it looked as though Amed Rosario would get the first shot at shortstop, but Andres Gimenez, who had a solid rookie season last year, locked down the job with an impressive exhibition season. Rosario relocated to center field. "Part of the reason we felt comfortable enough to move Amed is because of what we see in Gimenez," Francona said of the two newcomers who were part of the package for Lindor in a trade with the Mets. "This kid has been a real bright spot for us." Still, he's no Lindor. Not even close at this point in his career. "Frankie is one of the top players in the game of baseball, and that's hard to replace," Francona said of the four-time All-Star. "Sometimes you don't just replace that with one bat, and we know that. And the next guy, whoever our shortstop is this year, he doesn't have to be Francisco Lindor. That's not fair." Providing reason for hope are a number of hitters with potential for production, including Jose Ramirez, who has finished among the top three in MVP voting three of the last four years. Reyes clouted a combined 37 home runs for the Indians and Padres in 2019, Eddie Rosario has shown consistent power throughout his career, Cesar Hernandez led the AL in doubles last year, Roberto Perez hit 24 homers two seasons ago and Josh Naylor was Cleveland's best hitter in the wild-card series against the Yankees. "(I'm) very confident," Bieber said. "We had a young team last year and we've got a young team again this year. We were kind of learning on the fly last year. I think that's the beauty of baseball, Major League Baseball specifically, turning over rosters year after year. "You gotta learn each other and learn on the fly. But I guess, if anything, it's fortunate we've got quite a bit longer season this year, a little bit more time to work towards our ultimate goal. It's been exciting to be here with the new group and I'm confident we'll be in the right spot going into the season." With plenty of motivation. "Our team is a little bit different, but that doesn't mean we're not going to compete," Roberto Perez said. "We're still going to count on our pitching staff. I know nobody's counting on us, but we've just got to go out there and perform and prove people wrong." Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on Twitter.