NEOSI Indians Spring Training Roundup: March 12

GOODYEAR, Ariz.– The Indians took on the Texas Rangers today and came away with a 4-2 win.

Trevor Bauer got the win on the mound, striking out eight while giving up five hits and two runs in five innings of work. Offensively, Jose Ramirez recorded a two-RBI triple in the first inning that gave the Tribe an early lead that they never relinquished. Bradley Zimmer homered in the win as well.

Read a full recap from Paul Hoynes at cleveland.com.

**Also over at cleveland.com, take a look at your spring training stat leaders.

**Francisco Mejia was sent to Triple-A Columbus today as part of a series of roster moves, which I wrote about earlier today. While down in the minors, Mejia is likely going to get some work in the outfield, but according to Jordan Bastian that has nothing to do with his catching ability, and everything to do with the fact that he is an “advanced hitter.”

“We just kind of told him, ‘Look, we have Perez and Gomes. Do the math,'” Francona said. “And he’s such an advanced hitter that, if he’s able to play another position and then there’s an injury or something, he could find himself not only in the big leagues, but playing. And I think he understands. We went to pretty good lengths to try to make sure that he understands that this is not an indictment on his catching. He’s just such an advanced hitter. We want to take advantage of it.”

**Also from Bastian, check out Bauer talking about his new slider. Today’s start was the first time he’s thrown his full arsenal of pitches, and if you recall, the slider was something he retooled this offseason and talked about with reporters back in January before TribeFest.

** Francisco Lindor talked with MLB Network Radio about the mindset of the team considering they have fallen short the last two postseasons. Listen below.

After falling short in the playoffs the last two seasons, what is the mindset like for @Lindor12BC and the rest of the @Indians in Spring Training?

Lindor, with @Jim_Duquette and @Mike_Ferrin at #Indians Camp, on MLB Network Radio’s Tour of Spring Training: pic.twitter.com/XhZ1OmPsIU

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) March 12, 2018

**When it comes to what the Indians are doing, not many people probably ask themselves “how well are they sleeping?” Zack Meisel dives into this unconventional topic over at The Athletic. At the start of the month, the team scheduled meetings for each player with a sleep doctor as they try to gain even an incremental advantage.