The Cleveland Baseball Club has optioned Jake Bauers, James Hoyt, and Jefry Rodriguez to their alternative training site.
After the Cleveland Baseball Club set their rotation Tuesday it was only a matter of time before the rest of the roster would take shape. The club has made three roster moves before the Opening Day roster deadline.
Jake Bauers, James Hoyt, and Jefry Rodriguez will all head to the alternative training site. The moves with Hoyt and Rodriguez are hardly surprising considering the rotation being set and the bullpen is what it is right now.
Jake Bauers’ future with the team is questionable right now. The reemergence of Bradley Zimmer takes an outfield and left-handed bat spot out of the mix for Bauers. Tyler Naquin is also another player who takes playing time away from Bauers and seems to regained a prominent role. The rest of the outfield are right-handed hitters and that does not really impact Bauers all that much.
The key for Cleveland’s outfield is health. While it is encouraging to see the likes of Bradley Zimmer and Tyler Naquin playing well in Summer Camp, they do have a lengthy injury history. If either player were to go down with an injury it would provide Jake Bauers an opportunity to redeem himself. Until then all he can do is keep working and improve his game. Bauers is still young enough that he can be an impactful player somewhere down the line, he just might have to wait a little bit longer for an everyday chance.
