The Cleveland Indians entered spring training looking to test two outside-the-box theories.The first Franmil Reyes could be the power bat their outfield badly needed.Surprisingly, despite initially unfavorable odds, this experiment may end up working in Clevelands favor. Offseason weight lo s has helped increase Reyes agility, while hes currently boasting an OPS of 1.663 out in Arizona.The other theory was Robert Covington Jersey that Jordan Luplow could become more than a just a platoon outfielder. After watching him mash lefty pitching in 2019, the Indians were eager to get him more opportunities against right-handers with the hope his splits would eventually become much le s bipolar.So far, the results arent there.Obviously, its still early. However, there havent been many indications that Luplow is ready to start facing more righties this season and become an everyday outfielder.This isnt a detrimental situation for the Indians. If anything, Luplows initial struggles are likely being viewed as a positive from the Tribes fringe outfielders. After all, if hes unable to evolve his role beyond southpaw specialist, a platoon situation in left field is still very much in play.Theres just one small problem Luplow is creating an opportunity nobody seems too eager to take Sergio Rodriguez Jersey . Of the three outfielders he could conceivably platoon with in left Jake Bauers, Bradley Zimmer, Greg Allen each has gotten their respective spring off to an uninspiring start.Its a situation Cleveland definitely needs to sort out over the coming weeks.To backtrack a bit, lets look at how Luplow has fared so far against righties in Arizona.Admittedly, his spring is off to a rocky start in general. Luplow is currently slashing .111/.111/.222, with just one hit and three Ks. That his lone hit a double came against a righty is a little encouraging. Outside of this, though, theres not much to write home about.Scroll to ContinueOverall, all but three of Luplows nine plate appearances have occurred against right-handed pitching. Beyond his double, he has a ground out, a fly out, a line out and two strikeouts which each occurred on just three pitches. Said Ks represent the only plate appearances facing righties which involved more than one pitch.Again, its early, and this by Julius Erving Jersey no means indicates Luplow will forever be unable to succeed against big-league right-handers. For now, though, platoon duty seems to be the most likely role for him when the regular season kicks off.Who he ends up sharing left field with is anyones gue s right now. Bauers, Zimmer and Allen are all vying for the chance to take the open spot, but none of them are doing so very convincingly.Of the three, Bauers is having the best spring so far. Sure, viewing his .222/.222/.278 slash line as the standout requires a very liberal use of the word best. However, despite his troubling lack of patience at the plate, hes still performing better than Zimmer and Allen.The former opened his spring with a double and a no-doubt-about-it home run, which initially di sipated some concerns about his decision to pa s on winter ball this offseason. Unfortunately, Zimmer only has one hit since, and is currently boasting a strikeout rate of 33.3%.As for Allen, whos already on shaky ground thanks to Clevelands offseason acquisition of utility outfielder Delino DeShields Jr., itd be tough Charles Barkley Jersey to imagine a rougher start for his spring. He has just one hit in 14 plate appearances, boasting a .077/.143/.077 slash line which hardly does him any favors.All in all, despite having a handful of options for Luplows platoon partner, its tough to believe the Indians are currently feeling too confident in any of them.If forced to make my bet, Id say Bauers is still the favorite to land the role. Yes, his numbers badly need to improve, but there are caveats hanging Nik Stauskas Jersey over the other two outfielders which help his cause.Barring unforeseen circumstances, Cleveland will likely prefer Zimmer getting everyday at-bats in Columbus to start the year. Hes only logged 14 big-league plate appearances since 2018, so theres still a lot of rust in need of chipping.Meanwhile, Allens role with the Indians in general may have already been eliminated thanks to the arrival of DeShields.This result seeing Bauers as the le ser of three evils likely wouldnt be what the Indians were hoping for heading into spring training. A desired outcome wouldve been Luplow proving he can handle righties, or one of the other outfielders being so productive itd be impo sible to deny them a platoon role.Instead, the Indians are currently spending spring seeking any comfort they can find when it comes to their left field situation.