NEOSI Indians Spring Training Roundup: Feb. 24

GOODYEAR, Ariz.– The Indians notched their first spring training win on Saturday, topping the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-2.

Tyler Naquin’s two-run homer was the star of the show, and the Indians also got RBIs from Giovanny Urshela, Eric Haase and Greg Allen. Shawn Morimondo started on the mound for Cleveland with Nick Goody and Tyler Olson also getting reps.

In the outing, Olson gave up his first earned run since being called up last year.

Read Paul Hoynes’ recap of the game over at cleveland.com.

To recap…

+ @TyNaquin 2R HR
+ @Urshela10 RBI 2B
+ Haase RBI 2B
+ Allen RBI 1B
+ Rodriguez solo HR
+ Shaffer 2R HR
+ Haase solo HR
+ Barnes sac fly
+ Refsnyder RBI 1B (to cap a 6R 9th)
+ @Its_all_Goody41 IP, 2 Ks
+ 1st win of #TribeSpring pic.twitter.com/ApkVg2Cp6H

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) February 24, 2018

Speaking of the pitching staff, Jordan Bastian wrote about Ryan Merritt trying to crack the rotation. In case you didn’t know, Merritt is out of minor league options, meaning the Indians can’t send him to Triple-A Columbus without first exposing him to waivers. As Bastian writes, there is another option for Merritt: The bullpen.

“Cleveland will keep stretching Merritt out as a starter so he can keep his next-man-up status in the event of any rotation setbacks. Already, Salazar is playing catch-up due to a right shoulder issue. At the end of camp, if the Tribe’s rotation is healthy and intact, the Indians could consider stashing Merritt in their bullpen. As it stands, there is currently one vacancy in the relief corps.”

Check out his full story at mlb.com.

Also from Bastian, news on Yandy Diaz, who is going to concentrate on playing third base exclusively. Here’s what Francona had to say about Diaz’s situation:

“When the guy shows the ability with the bat that he did,” Francona said, “he was kind of the obvious candidate to kind of move around a little bit, because we thought he could help us. I do think it was hard on his development. He was trying to master one position, let alone two or three. So, I do think it’ll help.”

Be sure to read the full story for more, and also see what the team is thinking as far as Naquin’s position in the outfield.

Finally, Zack Meisel tackled some offseason changes that Mike Clevinger made over at The Athletic. According to Meisel, Clevinger “worked with a trainer over the winter who opened his eyes to his body’s mannerisms.”

The Indians are back in action tomorrow against the Cincinnati Reds at 3:05 EST.