Carrasco allows first runs of spring in loss

Tyler Naquin, who has hit well all spring, will break camp with the big league club.

(Chuck Crow/PD)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Tyler Naquin first played baseball in a church pasture. He guesses he was 3 or 4 years old.

Some of the fathers who belonged to the church organized a T-ball league. Naquin's team was the Awesome Ducks. But when Naquin first played little league, he was on the Cleveland Indians.

Now, years later, he is again on the Cleveland Indians.

Naquin has turned heads all spring. On Friday morning, he received the news he has been dreaming about hearing since the Indians selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft.

Indians manager Terry Francona informed Naquin that he has earned a spot on the Indians' Opening Day roster.

"That was one of the more touching ones for us," Francona told reporters. "We've seen this kid come from, two years ago in our one-on-one meetings, he wouldn't even look at us, to growing into a man and accepting the challenge this spring. We've all seen what he's done with it. To be able to tell him and to see his reaction, it was hard not to be emotional. The last thing I want to do is start crying at 9:30 a.m. It was hard not to. It was a really good feeling."

The center fielder owns a .447 average and 1.342 OPS this spring, with eight extra-base hits in 38 at-bats. He belted a pair of home runs on a windy afternoon at Goodyear Ballpark on Wednesday.

Upon learning the news, Naquin called his parents and his brother.

"I couldn't be more blessed," he told reporters. ... "It hasn't hit me yet."

Naquin figures to join Rajai Davis and Lonnie Chisenhall in the Indians' outfield. The rest of the unit is undetermined at this point, with Michael Brantley's status up in the air and a small army of veteran outfielders still competing for a spot. Joey Butler, Collin Cowgill, Marlon Byrd, Shane Robinson and Robbie Grossman are all still in camp.

Naquin hit .300 with an .828 OPS last year between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus, though injuries limited him to 84 games.

"While we all recognize that he'll be nervous and have some anxiety, he certainly won't be scared and we like that about him," Francona said.

The Indians' roster will shrink significantly over the next few days as the club narrows the field to the 25 players who will man the dugout at Progressive Field on April 4.

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Many non-roster invitees have opt-out clauses in their minor league contracts that they can exercise this weekend or early next week if they are not granted a spot on the big league roster. In addition, players destined for the minors will lose out on at-bats in big league spring training games as the Tribe's regulars work their way toward playing full games and playing several days in a row.

On Friday, the Indians optioned first baseman Jesus Aguilar to Triple-A Columbus. Aguilar was a long shot to make the major league roster anyway, with Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana ahead of him on the depth chart.

The team also informed veteran reliever Joe Thatcher that he would not make the season-opening roster. Thatcher has posted a 1.35 ERA in 6 2/3 innings this spring, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He can receive a $100,000 bonus if he reports to Triple-A.

"He did exactly what he was supposed to do," Francona said. "We're probably going to have a seven-man bullpen, and having a situational lefty, even if we broke [camp] with him, it wouldn't last very long."

Thatcher was among the cast of candidates vying for a big league role as a left-hander out of the bullpen. Tom Gorzelanny, Kyle Crockett and Ross Detwiler are still in the running.