Other than hitting .200 in Columbus last year? Stamets has done nothing to deserve being on an MLB roster.
Well sure, the season is a hell of a lot shorter than baseball. Each game means a lot more in football, it's much more difficult to hold down the fort without a HoF QB and remain in the playoff picture.
Lindor is not a HoF QB, and there's no reason to dump a MLB player, making no money, behind him for nothing.
This team should not be fucked if Lindor is out for a month or so. But...we'll see what happens.
Stamets actually reminds me of John McDonald. Honestly on paper those two are almost exactly the same other than Stamets has a bit more power. Stamets was also hurt most of the season last year, in 17 at AAA, he hit .251/.324/.455 with being a plus defender at 2B, SS and 3rd. He will never be an everyday MLB player, but is a great bench player since he can field extremely well. Thats what got him on a 40 man roster, his fielding ability and the fact he can hit 10-15 HRs.
Actually Luplow was a position of need for the Indians since he is under team control and well liked by a fair amount of scouts. So why not trade from a strength (utility INF) for a position of weakness RH hitting OF (who is a plus defender rating in LF), while still replacing Gonzo in the deal.
Cleveland made the right move at the end of the day for Luplow and Moroff. Gonzo is a better player than Moroff or Stamets, but we needed a RH bat, who could platoon with Zimmer/Naquin etc, and is a strong fielder.
Also take note, Berrios is going into his age 25 season, he has had two full season with under 4 ERA and under 4 FIP, and last season had over 200 SOs. He is a very good pitcher, and potentially one of the best pitchers in baseball. Around age 25 usually shows what a player will be in his career, and barring injuries he honestly should be one of the best in the bigs at his job.
I personally don't like how many unknowns we went into this season with myself, but we are a small market team and no matter what, we end up having gamble years with unknowns having to take the reigns of this organization. I mean when we signed Jose and Lindor, no one ever expected either of them to be the players they are. You have to give guys chances and hope it works.