The Indians’ return for Yan Gomes looks a lot like...uh Dave Parker Jersey , all the other outfielders"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections NewsAnalysis & EditorialsCleveland Indians prospects & minor leaguesGame RecapsTransactionsAnalysis & EditorialsDaniel Johnson seems familiarNew,102commentsThe Indians’ return for Yan Gomes looks a lot like...uh, all the other outfieldersByChris D. DaviesDec1, 2018, 12:00pm ESTShareTweetShareShareDaniel Johnson seems familiarScreenshot from MLB.comAt the risk of being the guy who retweets himself, earlier this offseason, recapping the seasons of Indians’ outfielders Melky Cabrera, Rajai Davis, and Brandon Guyer, I wrote:Since that time the Indians have, uh, somewhat adopted a new strategy. It’s not the one I advocated for (though they could still follow that path), but by subtracting Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer from the outfield and adding Jordan Luplow (for Erik Gonzalez) and now Daniel Johnson (for Yan Gomes) the team seems to be going for something. In particular, young players with decent defense and room for growth in their offense. I want to like these additions. There are things in Luplow’s profile to like, and Johnson ranks even higher on prospect lists and has similar tools that are more highly regarded.But I can’t shake the feeling the new strategy is the old one, just with younger players. The Tribe has Greg Allen, Luplow Josh Harrison Jersey , Leonys Martin, Oscar Mercado, Tyler Naquin, and Bradley Zimmer on the 40-man roster. Along with Johnson, this is a group of speedy guys with light or platoon-ready bats and defensive acumen. I like Merritt’s idea about the Indians prioritizing defense, but with Martin being the only one with a legit track record of success I can’t help but question the process, especially regarding the offense.Allen still has just 330 plate appearances, but his bat has not shown much sign of being even league average offensively (74 career wRC+). Mercado struggled so much in Columbus after being traded that he was not considered for a September call-up despite Cleveland having nothing to play for. Opposing pitchers figured out Naquin after his blistering start to his rookie campaign, limiting him to 31 and 72 wRC+ in 2017 and ‘18, respectively. Zimmer failed to get his swing-and-miss tendencies under control in his 446 MLB plate appearances, with a strikeout rate of 32.1% between two seasons. As for Luplow, FanGraphs says he could be “a poppy bench bat or platoon outfielder, but he’s more likely upper-level 40-man depth.” And after watching Johnson’s fall performance, Federal Ball wrote that Johnson “could wind up a tweener in the big leagues, lacking the glove for CF and the standout offensive tools for a prominent role on a corner.” Scouting is a fallible exercise, but these are not votes of confidence or even something resembling confidence.There is a lot of offseason left for the Tribe to continue to shape the outfield, but as of right now the team is not better than it was after the ALDS. None of the deals made this offseason Gregory Polanco Jersey , not least the Gomes trade, makes this a group that could push the Indians beyond the super teams of the American League. If Johnson truly is the centerpiece of the deal for Gomes, I need Blake to pass the Pepto. In 2018, by the grace of Michael Brantley, the Indians ranked 17th in fWAR and 21st in wRC+ among MLB outfields. With the current crop of outfielders to choose from, 2019 looks like it might be a second verse, same as the first, a whole lot younger and a whole lot worse. Texas left-hander Martin Perez won’t be on the mound to start any of the Rangers‘ three games this weekend against the Minnesota Twins.If fact, Perez is likely to have started his last game in a Rangers uniform after the team told him he will pitch out of the bullpen for the final month of the season and that it did not plan to pick up his option for 2019.The Twins will send left-hander Stephen Gonsalves (0-2, 11.37 ERA) to the mound for the series opener on Friday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers will counter with right-hander Drew Hutchinson (2-2, 6.52).Article continues below ...The Rangers were looking for an improved season from Perez after he finished strong in 2017, when he won a career-high 13 games. But he suffered a right elbow injury in an offseason accident at his ranch in Venezuela and was 2-3 with a 9.67 ERA in five starts in April.Perez was then placed on the disabled list with more problems in the right arm. Since being activated on July 14, he is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA in eight starts.The Rangers told Perez of their decision in a meeting after a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night, Texas’ fourth straight setback.“It surprised me,” Perez said. “I understand, you know Jung-ho Kang Jersey , the way I’ve been pitching. I can’t get mad. But 100 percent I wasn’t waiting for that. That surprised me.“Tough year for me — surgery, the ups and downs — and that’s when you need to have your mind strong and fight with the bad result that you have after the games and during the game. It’s just part of the game, man.”Minnesota heads to Texas after a 5-3 loss in Cleveland on Thursday afternoon, in the process dropping a three-game series to the Indians.The Twins have now lost three straight series and head to Texas a season-high-tying 14 games behind Cleveland in the American League Central standings.Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario left Thursday’s game in the fifth inning with a right quad strain he sustained while running to first base in the fourth.“We’ll probably find out tomorrow what we’re looking at,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “I would imagine he’s not going to play in Texas. He said it was on the last step.”The 26-year-old Rosario has been Minnesota’s best all-around player this year, hitting .292 with 22 homers, 31 doubles and 74 RBIs in 130 games.Rosario told MLB.com that he’d never experienced a similar injury.“I feel in pain,” Rosario said. “It just felt like I pulled my muscle. I was trying to play through it, but the pain is there.”Gonsalves is making his third career start and first against Texas. He suffered the loss in his last start on Aug. 25 at home against Oakland after allowing four runs, seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts in five innings.Gonsalves began the season in Double-A Chattanooga, where he went 3-0 in four starts with a 1.77 ERA. At Triple-A Rochester, was 9-3 with a 2.96 ERA with 55 walks and 95 strikeouts.Hutchison will make his fifth start for Texas. He is 1-1 with an 8.83 ERA in four starts and opponents are hitting .329 in that span. He is 2-0 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts against the Twins, but will be facing them for the first time since 2015.