With Michael Brantley opening the season on the DL, Tyler Naquin has made the Indians’ Opening Day roster. The former first round pick finished third in Rookie of the Year voting two years ago, but has experienced a dramatic decline since then. He only played in 19 games for the Indians all of last season, and was on the DL dealing with back injuries when he wasn’t playing for Triple-A Columbus.
Naquin, 26, has two options left, and is likely headed back to Columbus once Brantley is activated. But what if he doesn’t? There’s hope that he can stick around, as slim as it may be.