Cleveland’s Amed Rosario had Big Shoes to Fill, and He’s Just Getting Started
By: Natalie Turk
This offseason the Indians acquired Amed Rosario in part of the Francisco Lindor blockbuster
trade. Rosario shared time with Andres Gimenez, at shortstop, for the first month and a half of
the season. Rosario also spent time playing in the outfield.
On May 18, Gimenez was optioned to Triple-A and Rosario became the everyday shortstop. I
feel he’s settled in after getting the nod at short. His offensive and defensive play have
improved and, in my opinion, he’s showing more confidence.
After almost a week of being the starter Rosario came close to hitting for the cycle. He was a
home run short of the cycle as he had a four-hit game against the Twins.
Rosario also has speed. He’s stolen five bases this season and impressively scored from first in 10.1
seconds on a double from Jose Ramirez. To me this is imperative to his success. Once he gets on
base, he’s a serious threat to the opposing team.
He had his first walk-off plate appearance with the Indians against the Cubs on May 12. Rosario
singled into right field in the 10th inning to deliver the win for the Tribe. He had this to say after
being doused with water by his teammates at the home plate celebration:
“It feels really, really good not only for me, but also for the team because we won. That’s what
matters.”
I think the 25-year-old is showing that he fits perfectly in Cleveland. Rosario has had to battle to
remain in the lineup and that’s the heart of Cleveland, grit, and ability to battle. Despite going
back and forth between outfield and shortstop Rosario remained steady. When the calendar
changed to May he turned up the heat.
Rosario is batting .253 with three homeruns and 14 RBIs over the season. If he continues to
produce at the pace he did during May I believe we will see even more during the remainder of
the season.