This Cleveland Indians team is struggling. After an 18-8 April, they’ve played at a 34-40 clip. After Thursday’s Tigers loss to the Angels, the Indians are a game and a half out of first place in the AL Central. But help is on the way: the team acquired Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs on Thursday for a pair of non-prospect minor leaguers. Is Fukudome going to be enough to push the Indians ahead of the Tigers in the standings?
Fukudome is a solid offensive player. He’s not a superstar, but he’s solid, as the .772 career OPS in three and a half seasons tells you. He’s at .743 this year, showing a little less power than he has in previous seasons. He has great plate discipline, and walks a ton. His power is good for a center fielder, and around average for a center fielder. He’ll be playing right field until Shin Soo Choo comes off the DL, and then will shift to center. He’s going to be replacing Travis Buck, who was designated for assingment on Thursday, and Austin Kearns in right. Both have been awful this season.
The Indians have the definition of a patchwork outfield going right now. Starting center fielder Grady Sizemore has played in 62 games. Starting right fielder Choo has played in only 71. The only consistent outfielder for the team has been Michael Brantley, who’s played in 97 games with a .715 OPS. So yeah, Fukudome is an improvement over what the Indians have been trotting out for a majority of the season. We know what happens when Choo comes back. But what about when (or even if, at this rate) Sizemore comes back? He’ll undoubtedly take over in center. Do you push the young Brantley to the bench, or do you let the older, but better, Fukudome ride the pine?
It seems like a little bit of a panic move for Cleveland. Their outfield offense has been terrible this season. Sizemore was having a decent season with the bat (.770 OPS), but he’s a shadow of his former self, as his .237 batting average and .304 on base percentage are the lowest full season marks of his career. Then there’s Choo in right, whose season has been marred by ineffectiveness, a thumb injury, and a DUI arrest. Brantley hasn’t been great, but it’s his first full season in the bigs, and he’s holding his own. Would the Indians possibly consider benching one of their veterans if Fukudome comes to the team and energizes the offense to the point where the outfield is no longer a disgrace?
The team will be fine for now with Fukudome in right, and they’ll be fine with him in center once Choo comes back. But once Sizemore comes back at the end of August…there is going to be a logjam, and this trade could end up just being a bench move in the grand scheme of things. The Tigers are looking to solidify their starting pitching at the deadline, and if they’re able to do that, it could be curtains for the Tribe.
