Notes: Gose on taxi squad; Bauers at ease

Indians reliever Anthony Gose has impressed everyone who has watched him in his transition from being a Major League outfielder to trying to become a Major League pitcher. And now, he may be one step closer to reaching the big league stage.

Gose stayed in camp until the final days before the team departed Arizona. The lefty started to turn heads in 2020, when he showed improved command with his heater. Now that the progress is continuing to trend upward, the idea of him becoming a Major League pitcher is far from improbable. And the Tribe has already informed the 30-year-old that he will be joining the team on the road in Detroit as part of the taxi squad.

Just like in 2020, each team will be required to carry a taxi squad on each road series to have extra players available — should they be needed — due to COVID-19 protocols. This year, clubs are required to bring five players, including at least one catcher. The Indians will be bringing Gose, reliever Kyle Nelson, infielder Ernie Clement, outfielder Harold Ramirez and backstop Ryan Lavarnway for the three-game season-opening series against the Tigers that starts Thursday.

Including Gose on the taxi squad at least shows how highly the Indians thought of his performance this spring. The left-hander obviously didn’t make the Opening Day roster, but the decision to have him travel with the rest of the club could indicate that he’s on the cusp of being ready for his call-up. And because he used all of his Minor League options as an outfielder, the team has to be strategic about adding him to the 26-man roster.

“We’re extremely excited about what he is going to do,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We know at some point we’re going to have to make that call, but we wanted to try to give ourselves the best chance to keep him. Because with a guy like that, it’s probably not fair to think there’s not going to be a hiccup or two. But we didn’t want to get in a position where something happened the first week or 10 days of the season and we didn’t have any flexibility, and we had to let somebody go that we desperately don’t want to. We see Anthony really helping us.”

Gose gave up six runs in six frames this spring (9.00 ERA) with four walks and seven strikeouts. But he held opponents to a .217 average, demonstrated improvement with his arsenal and showcased his upper-90s velocity.

“We’re seeing progress in all areas,” Francona said. “Even though we want him to work on his strike percentage, and we told him that, he followed the glove much better this spring than he did before. … He looks more like a pitcher. Bringing the slider into his arsenal, it’s given him a pitch he can throw for a strike, but maybe also put a hitter away with. I think that gives him some comfort, too.”

Bauers looking more relaxedAs soon as Jake Bauers learned he was going to be the Indians’ Opening Day first baseman, Francona said he noticed that the 25-year-old started to look a little more comfortable. In the Indians’ 3-2 loss to the D-backs on Tuesday afternoon at Chase Field, Bauers launched his first homer of the spring and flashed some leather on defense, making an over-the-shoulder sliding catch in foul territory.

“He swung the bat good [on Monday], and he had another really good swing [on Tuesday],” Francona said. “The thing we’ve talked about with Jake is when things don’t go the way they’re supposed to, and we know that will happen at some point, just stay the course. Stay with your program, stay with your routine and believe in what you do. Because he’s got the ability on both sides of the ball — defensively and offensively — to be a really good player.”

Alternate site rosters to be finalizedThe Indians have until Wednesday afternoon to finalize which players will be working out at the alternate training site in Columbus, Ohio, for the first month of the season. Clubs can carry up to 28 players, and the Tribe is expecting most of the Triple-A staff, including manager Andy Tracy, to lead that camp.