Inbox: Where do Bradley, Bauers stand at 1B?

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians are just days away from reaching the halfway point of Spring Training, and there are still plenty of questions left to answer. Let’s try to see if we can figure out some answers (or best guesses):

To this point, how is the first-base battle going? Seems Bradley has stood out. What’s being said about Bauers’ performance?
-- @SethGoTribe

Bobby Bradley is off to a decent start this spring, hitting .200 with a 1.000 OPS, including two homers, in four games. Jake Bauers has started camp 0-for-7 in four games with four walks.

Bradley caught a lot of attention from the coaching staff for dropping 35 pounds over the winter, while finding ways to maintain his power. However, Bauers is probably still the better defensive option at first. It’s going to come down to whether Bauers can prove his bat can resemble the way it was in his rookie year in 2018 with the Rays.

At this point, this appears to be the closest position battle the Indians will have to work through this spring. If Bauers still had a Minor League option remaining, it’d be easier to say that Bradley will be given the first shot at proving what he can do at the big league level. But if the Tribe does go with Bradley, it would have to make some tough decisions about what that means for Bauers. Because of that, Bauers still probably has the edge in the race, but if Bradley’s bat gets more consistent as camp continues, he’ll be tough to ignore.

Does Chang or Giménez have a chance to start at shortstop over Amed Rosario?
-- @donttradejram

Andrés Giménez has a better chance than Yu Chang at starting at shortstop over Amed Rosario. While Chang has had a great showing thus far, he’s more in contention for the utility role. The battle will come down to Rosario and Giménez.

Rosario has more Major League experience, and he has given the Indians every reason to award him the Opening Day job so far this spring. However, Giménez is off to a tremendous start, and it’s clear that the Tribe thinks his ceiling is sky-high. The only thing left to determine is whether the club would start him in the Minors when the Triple-A season has already been delayed by a month. That could encourage the Indians to pencil Giménez on the Opening Day roster.

Do you think there is a trade before Opening Day?
-- @thuggyruggy

Rosario is someone who could be a perfect trade candidate simply because the Indians have a handful of quality middle infielders to choose from. Rosario could move into the outfield mix if Giménez earns the job at shortstop, or he could be on the move. But the best guess at this point would be no more trades before April 1.

When will Daniel Johnson get his shot at extensive playing time? He’s 25. At the very least, let him platoon against RHPs.
-- @RyanRufe

If the Indians didn’t acquire Josh Naylor at last year’s Trade Deadline, then it absolutely would be time for Daniel Johnson to get his shot at being a starter for the Tribe. However, Naylor is the leading candidate to be the the club’s Opening Day right fielder. At this point, it doesn’t seem like the team would opt to platoon Naylor, but even it did, that would favor Jordan Luplow instead of Johnson since Johnson is also a left-handed bat. Naylor will likely get the first shot at being the everyday guy. If he struggles for an extended period of time, the next choice will probably be Johnson.

Where is Jordan Luplow? I haven’t seen him in a game yet.
-- @danny_madden

Luplow sprained his ankle while hitting during live batting practice before Cactus League games started. He received an injection in his ankle last week and is still waiting to be cleared to get into game action.

Will both Shaw and Pérez earn a spot in the bullpen? Or just one or the other?
-- @Tribetime5

The Indians always seem to break camp with at least one non-roster invitee. In this case, both Bryan Shaw and Oliver Pérez have a very good chance of filling that role. Both hurlers entered camp as veterans on Minor League deals and both have quite the history with Cleveland. Because the club knows what each of them bring to the table and how they could bring a veteran presence to an extremely young roster, it wouldn’t be surprising if both were on the Opening Day roster.