Shapiro not sweating outfield concerns

By JOSH WEIR

The Tribe GM is comfortable that farm-system depth and the organization’s ability to adjust will negate deficiencies.

CLEVELAND — Shin-Soo Choo and Ben Francisco, the men likely to stand to the right and left of Grady Sizemore in the Indians outfield this season, each have exactly 509 major league at-bats under their belts.

Not exactly extensive bodies of work.

But Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro doesn’t seem to be sweating his potential starting corner outfielders.

“In light of the depth in our farm system and our ability to adjust, I’m very comfortable,” he said.

Everybody likes options. And Shapiro likes that behind Choo and Francisco is his Triple-A outfield of Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley and Trevor Crowe. You know, just in case.

Choo was a big reason the Indians rebounded to score the most runs in the majors during the second half of last season. The South Korean batted .343 with 11 home runs, 20 doubles and 48 RBIs after the All-Star Game. Among players with at least 225 at-bats, Choo’s 1.038 second-half OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) was fourth in all of baseball, behind only guys named Ramirez, Pujols and Teixeira.

Choo, 26, who the Indians acquired from Seattle in 2006, earned American League Player of the Month after batting .400 in September. He finished the year with a .309 batting average, 14 home runs, 28 doubles and 66 RBIs.

“He’s a guy who runs well, plays the outfield well, has a good arm and is going to be a productive hitter. That guy helps us win in a lot of ways.”

Francisco started fast last year after being called up for good from Triple A on May 6. As the season progressed, the 27-year-old California native regressed some. His overall numbers (.266 batting average, 15 home runs, 54 RBIs, 32 doubles in 447 at-bats) still spoke well for him.

“Benny had a solid first [full] year in the big leagues,” Shapiro said. “He showed some power and athleticism. He needs to continue to make some adjustments. He certainly has the upside to be a solid, every-day corner outfielder.”

The Indians clearly like that Choo and Francisco are complete players and showed themselves competent at the big-league level last season.

But if something happens ...

“Then we have three guys at Triple A that we feel strongly about,” Shapiro said. “So if someone does get hurt, if someone does not perform, we certainly have the ability to adjust with a young player who can contribute.”

Fans would love to see LaPorta — the centerpiece of the CC Sabathia trade — in Progressive Field sooner than later.

But the power-hitting 24-year old has never played above Double A. Same for the 21-year-old Brantley, the player to be named later in the Sabathia trade. Crowe, 25, the 14th overall pick of the 2005 draft, played 35 games in Buffalo last year.

If any of the three got the opportunity to be on the Tribe’s Opening Day roster, it likely would be in a starting role. It doesn’t make much sense for any of them to ride the pines in Cleveland when they could be developing in the minors. Keep in mind that Mark DeRosa also can play the outfield.