It took two months, but the offensively-challenged Cleveland Indians have finally reversed the organization’s most confounding spring training decision. On Saturday, Indians officials recalled slugging first baseman Bobby Bradley from Triple-A Columbus to replace first baseman Jake Bauers, who was designated for assignment.
Bradley is the quintessential modern ballplayer. Lots of home runs and lots of strikeouts. He has won home run titles in four of his six years in the Indians’ minor league system, and when Indians first baseman Carlos Santana left as a free agent after last season, Bradley appeared to be the heir apparent.
Instead he became the Indians’ error apparent when club officials decided at the end of spring training to send Bradley to Columbus, for the start of his seventh minor league season, even though Bradley resoundingly out-played Bauers during spring training.
In spring training Bradley hit .303 with seven extra base hits, two home runs, 11 RBI and a .951 OPS.
Bauers hit .179, with more errors (3) than extra base hits.
Spring training stats can be fool’s gold. But in this case, with the 24-year-old Bradley with nothing left to prove or to be gained by spending a seventh year in the minors, and the Indians with a vacancy at first base, it seemed like a no-brainer Bradley would be the Indians’ guy.
Instead, they made the surprising decision to send Bradley back to Columbus - where in 2019 he hit 33 home runs - and award the first base job to Bauers.
Making the decision even more baffling was club officials’ explanation that it was based on the fact that Bauers was out of minor league options, and they didn’t want to risk losing him on waivers, in order to send him to Columbus.
“When a guy is out of options you need to take that under consideration as an organization,” said Indians Manager Terry Francona.
That seemed like curious reasoning given that during the 2020 season, when the Indians labored through one of the worst offensive years in club history, Bauers spent the entire season at the Indians’ alternate site, without getting a single major league at bat.
All of a sudden, at the end of spring training, they were afraid of losing him on waivers?
In his two months as the Indians’ first baseman, Bauers produced a slash line of .190/.277/.280. His -0.3 WAR was by far the worst of any Indians’ regular. Those numbers stood out even more given that first base is considered a run producing position, and the Indians could use some production. They have been no-hit twice this season and rank 14th in the American League in both hitting and on-base percentage.
Bradley was justifiably miffed by his demotion to Columbus to start the season.
“It was a difficult conversation with Bobby, for sure,” Francona said. “But organizationally everyone felt it was the right thing to do. When he first went back it was a struggle for him. We understand that. It was a bitter pill for him to swallow.”
In 109 plate appearances over 26 games at Columbus, Bradley hit .196, with a .266 on base percentage and .485 slugging percentage, with nine home runs and 19 RBI.
“It was tough,” Bradley said of the demotion. “Knowing I was in a good spot, and could help these guys win. When I went down, I had a lot of unlucky at bats, hitting balls right at people. But I still felt I was in a good spot.”
Bradley joined the Indians in Baltimore on Saturday. In his first at bat, a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth inning, he ripped a double to right field.
It was not Bradley’s major league debut. That came in 2019 when he played in 15 games with the Indians, hitting .178 with a home run, four RBI, and 20 strikeouts in 45 at bats.
Bradley now takes over at first base for the Indians, who will live with the strikeouts in order to cash in on the home runs.
“All the starry-eyed moments are gone,” Bradley said, referring to his major league debut two years ago. “Now I’m just one of the guys.”
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