Indians Reveal 60-Man Player Pool for Camp and Include Some Wiggle Room
By Joe Birdsall
The Cleveland Indians confirmed their 40-man roster for the shortened 2020 MLB season via Twitter on Sunday along with their alternate roster which will train in Lake County. The minor league roster contains just fifteen players, giving the team flexibility to add five more players.
The move is likely to help Cleveland become a major player in the post-freeze free agent market, with the Indians likely having an opportunity to sign more free agents than most other teams.
Cleveland's current working roster contains 55 players.
— Tribeinsider (@tribeinsider) June 28, 2020
+40 players will train at Progressive Field
+15 players will train at the alternate site (Lake County)
+club has the ability to add up to five additional players at any time pic.twitter.com/jCl0Be79a9
While the 40-man MLB roster is already full, Cleveland will have its choice of the top prospects remaining on the free agent market. As some, including Cleveland sports reporter Joe Noga, pointed out on Twitter, the Lake County training roster already appears to have a surplus of talent.
Cleveland Indians’ 60-man player pool, includes top prospects Nolan Jones, Tyler Freeman and George Valera https://t.co/DybG9epTMF pic.twitter.com/zwh2dpvjWI
— Joe Noga (@JoeNogaCLE) June 28, 2020
With trade rumors around star shortstop Francisco Lindor still circulating, it is possible that Cleveland could save these roster spots for prospects received in a possible move. Such a move doesn't appear imminent, however.
Regardless, Cleveland should enter 2020 with plenty of opportunity to add to an already talented group of prospects. Coming off of a 93-win 2019 season, the team will likely contend for a playoff spot again in 2020.