By: Jamie Renner

Well, nothing like getting swept by the Oakland Athletics. They were clearly the better team and none of our guys played well this entire series. To be frank I do not think, by any means, the Indians are going to make the playoffs. That ship sailed off into Lake Erie and capsized a long time ago. But there are still so many questions that need to be answered and I believe that the people deserve answers. Now, I consider myself very inquisitive, meaning I like to ask a lot of questions. I believe that there is no such thing as a dumb question and finding answers is what makes doing stuff like this fun. I blog because I have a purpose and a message to send to viewers that may need or want a better understanding of the situation at hand. So I came up with the idea of a mailbag series. I take the viewers/readers questions and give my insight into the situation in a blog format. So with that being said, let’s get right into this. 

Does Terry Francona return to the Indians in the 2022 season? 

- Yes, I think he is absolutely coming back to this organization and fulfilling his role as the active manager until his contract is up. He is only 62 years old and if all goes well with the surgeries, he should be fully ready and healthy by spring training. His nagging injury history should be completely cleared up by the time next season rolls around. If he does not return before the beginning of the season, I think Demarlo Hale will do a fine job until Terry is ready to get back into the swing of things. Terry loves Cleveland and knows how impactful he is to this team. With the new regime of talented players coming up into the system, there is nobody better in baseball to have as their manager than Tito. Sending prayers for a speedy recovery Tito! 

What does the starting rotation look like in 2022? 

- This is tricky due to the fact that we have so many minor league guys that are “breaking out” in their respective leagues. I really hope the hype surrounding the young guys equates to legitimate success in the big leagues. The Cleveland Indians are going to have one of the deepest rotations in all of baseball next year and that is not an exaggeration. We know for a fact that Shane Bieber, Cal Quantril, and Aaron Civale are going to be day one starters. But we also have to take into account pitchers like Konnor Pilkington, Peyton Battenfield, Cody Morris, Xavien Curry, Logan T. Allen, etc. All of these pitchers have developed into good players that will soon take over. If they do not get called up in 2022, then most likely 2023 for sure. 

- I did not mention anything about Zach Plesac, Triston Mckenzie, or Eli Morgan. I believe Zach Plesac is going to get traded this offseason due to his poor performances, mixed together with his shitty attitude and childish behavior. Triston needs more time to develop, while he has shown flashes that he can perform at a high level he simply needs more time. Eli Morgan is an interesting pitcher because his play style is just variant on the day. Eli has the ability to pitch, I just need to see more of it before permanently putting him into the starter category. I think what damaged Eli the most was his first wild start and since then he just has not been able to stabilize his confidence. 

What are your free agency expectations and realistic options the Indians could go after? 

- Free agency in Cleveland is going to go one of three ways. The organization either spends a bit of money bringing in talent, trading pieces for established talent in needed areas or they simply just continue to bring up the young guys and let kids play it out. Either decision, I would be content with. A lot of transactions will take place in the minor league system with many of the rule 5 eligible guys being traded. What exactly we receive in return is the unknown, fun part about the offseason. Personally, I would still continue to go after Ketel Marte, Brian Reynolds, etc just finding ways to acquire talent that is currently being wasted by other organizations. This free agency class is definitely a down year for available outfield talent. So if I had to pick a side, I would say expect a lot of trades rather than signings or call ups. Leaving all my faith in the hands of the front office that has yet to let me down. 

What is the middle infield situation and how can it be fixed? 

- The middle infield situation is one of the greatest problems to have. Our farm system has become so loaded and jam packed with talented young prospects that we need time to figure them all out. Guys need reps both at the plate and on the field in order to develop. Andres Gimenez, Bryan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Richard Palacios are all eventually going to need time to play and how we can start this process up sooner is by trading Amed Rosario and benching Ernie Clement. When spring training rolls around I expect every middle infielder to be fighting for their lives out there. 

If you want your question to be answered in the next mailbox series, feel free to message me on twitter @JamieRenner17