CLEVELAND: Indians rookie outfielder Tyler Naquin has had to survive at the major league level this season — in more ways than one.
Aside from adjusting to major league pitching, he’s also had to deal with the realities of the Indians organizing their active 25-man roster and the restrictions that at times come with it. Naquin earned a spot on the Opening Day roster and was then demoted twice as the Indians balanced needs with his own performance, which had mostly come with positive reviews.
In his third stint, which began June 1, Naquin has been on a tear, perhaps enough to begin to put his name into the discussion for American League Rookie of the Year. Since that date, he’s hitting .330 with eight home runs, 16 extra-base hits and 18 RBI and was named the AL Rookie of the Month in June.
“I think he’s more confident. I think he should be more confident,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “I think he has some survival instincts. What I mean by that, sometimes when you’re young trying to survive, he’ll take a couple swings where you’re like, ‘Uh oh.’ And then he’ll shoot one out of the ballpark.”
Because of the construction of the Indians’ roster, Naquin has had to fight his way into the lineup on a regular basis. So far, he’s done it.
“For a kid that didn’t play right away, [against] the lefties at the beginning of the season, got sent down, he has been unbelievably productive,” Francona said. “It kind of gets exciting because we knew he was learning on the run, and you never quite know what a young player is going to be. We still don’t know what [he’ll become]. But it’s kind of been fun to watch.”
Martinez dealt
The Indians are still dealing with the ramifications of their 19-inning game with Toronto last week. Now, it’s cost them their utility man off the bench, a useful piece in Francona’s game-to-game management.
Utility man Michael Martinez was recently designated for assignment when the Indians needed to call up pitcher Shawn Morimando as the bullpen ran thin. On Friday, he was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations.
Martinez was able to play nearly every position on the field and had enough speed to act as a pinch runner. It afforded Francona a wide range of options in the later innings of games. Jose Ramirez is a similar player but with him in the starting lineup every day, the Indians don’t have that kind of a tool coming off the bench.
“We got put in a bind,” Francona said. “He’s a really good guy to have around. He actually was doing pretty well numbers-wise, but he’s better than his numbers — his ability to move around the diamond and pinch run and play defense and be a really good teammate. I don’t think anybody was happy about [losing him].”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ