CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians are looking at infield options with a couple weeks remaining in spring training.

1. With second baseman Jason Kipnis (sore shoulder) expected to be out for the home opener, the Indians are thinking about putting Jose Ramirez at second base. Ramirez became the Tribe's regular third baseman in the middle of last season.

2. Ramirez is a natural second baseman. It's his best position, so there's no real adjustment for him. Ramirez remains extremely valuable, having played second, short, third and left field during his Tribe career.

3. So who plays third? If the Tribe wants to go strictly with defense, the answer is Gio Urshela. The 25-year-old is an excellent glove man. But he has to prove to the Tribe that he can hit. Urshela batted .274 (.674 OPS) with 8 HR and 57 RBI at Class AAA Columbus in 2016. He walked only 15 times in 490 plate appearances.

4. Urshela was with the Tribe for part of the 2015 season, batting .225 (.608 OPS) with 6 HR and 21 RBI in 81 games. Urshela is having a good spring, batting .400 (6-of-15) in Arizona.

5. The other third base candidate is Yandy Diaz. The Indians love his swing. I wrote about that last week. Diaz missed nearly two weeks of camp with a groin injury. He is 4-of-13 in spring games with two doubles. He has walked six times, showing his excellent eye at the plate. He is playing now.

6. Diaz is a career .307 hitter in the minors. He played mostly second base in Cuba. In the minors, he's played 252 games at third (40 errors), 52 games in the outfield. Defense is not his strength. But his bat is impressive.

7. If Kipnis will only be out a short time, the Tribe may leave Ramirez at third, playing veteran utility man Michael Martinez at second. But for the last few weeks of spring training, the plan (as of now) is to look at Diaz and Urshela at third base.

ABOUT AUSTIN JACKSON

The last few weeks of spring training are very important for Jackson. The 30-year-old outfielder is coming off significant knee surgery. That's why he ended up signing a minor-league deal with the Tribe.

Jackson was a good center fielder and solid hitter with Detroit from 2010-14, batting .277 (.755 OPS). He averaged 9 HR and 57 RBI for five seasons. Last season, he played only 54 games for the White Sox (.254, .661 OPS) before having knee surgery. He clearly had lost some speed in the outfield.

The Indians would like the right-handed batting Jackson to play well enough to platoon with lefty Tyler Naquin in center field. But Jackson has to show he's close to 100 percent healthy and can produce. He is 6-of-18 with three doubles, a homer and eight strikeouts this spring. He had two-hit games both Thursday and Friday.

A healthy Jackson can be a real boost to the Tribe.

ABOUT PITCHING DEPTH

"You're never comfortable with your (pitching) depth. The moment you say that, you'll look dumb."

Tribe manager Terry Francona said that a few days before Carlos Carrasco came down with an elbow problem. The Indians said Carrasco's injury isn't serious, but it goes back to Francona's point ... and the 2016 postseason. You never have enough pitching.

And just when you think you do ... you don't.

1. Carrasco has some type of elbow problem. The Indians don't think it's serious. We'll see. He is scheduled to pitch on March 24.

2. Cody Anderson had arm surgery last winter and his arm is bothering him again. Anderson had a 7-3 record and 3.05 ERA in 2015. He opened the 2016 season in the Tribe's rotation. He then struggled and the Tribe realized he was hurt.

3. While Anderson was not expected to open the season in the starting rotation, he was considered a "depth starter." He was someone the Tribe could possibly call upon to join the rotation because he'd had success (when healthy) at the big-league level. But now he's out, probably for quite a while.

4. The Indians went into the 2016 playoffs with Danny Salazar (elbow) and Carrasco (broken hand) out. In the second round against Toronto, Trevor Bauer injured the pinky finger on this right hand fixing his drone. Suddenly, the Indians were down to three starters.

5. Mike Clevinger had been moved to the bullpen at mid-season to help the team win the Central. His arm was not in shape to start in the playoffs, so he remained in relief.

6. Ryan Merritt started Game 5 in Toronto, when the Tribe clinched the American League pennant. In terms of the depth chart, he would have been probably the No. 9 starter at the end of 2016 spring training. Suddenly, he had to pitch the biggest game of the season.

7. That's why the Indians are working Clevinger as a starter. It's also possible Clevinger can open the season in the rotation at Class AAA Columbus -- unless he's needed to help the big-league team. Francona on Clevinger: "He had some hiccups last year, but there's a lot to like. He has life on his fastball. He has a good breaking ball and a changeup. He has good size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds)."

ABOUT THE TRIBE

1. The Indians continue to sell well on the ticket front. They are up to 1.2 million tickets sold. Season tickets are at 12,000 ... up 42 percent from last year.

2. Lots of other good news: group tickets are up 43 percent, suites are up 38 percent. So it's been encouraging so far. The Indians drew slightly fewer than 1.6 million fans last season, so the 1.2 million total is real progress.

3. Edwin Encarnacion is hitting .320 (8-of-25) in spring training. The Indians have been impressed with his short, powerful swing. Encarnacion turned down a chance to play for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic so he could stay with the Tribe. He wanted to get to know his new teammates and coaches.

4. Encarnacion is a so-so spring training hitter (.260 lifetime), so it's encouraging for the Tribe to see his swing looking good in March.

5. I was told that Shawn Armstrong and Carlos Frias are making a strong pitch for a a spot in the Tribe bullpen. I had written about Armstrong before. He struck out 72 in 49 Class AAA innings last season. He's impressive.

6. But who is Carlos Frias? The Indians picked him up from the Dodgers for what was termed "a small cash deal." The 27-year-old right-hander had a 6-6 record and 4.50 ERA in 33 games (15 starts) for the Dodgers. He had some injuries last season, pitched only one big-league game.

7. The Indians are intrigued by Frias, whose fastball is in the 92-95 mph range. Since he has been a starter, he also can pitch multiple innings. That also could make him valuable. Some relievers are one-inning specialists.

8. Eric Stamets won't be on the opening day roster, but the front office thinks the 25-year-old will eventually play in the majors. Stamets is a very good shortstop. His problem is hitting -- .253 (.660 OPS) career in the minors. He batted .237 (.684 OPS) between Class AA and AAA last year.

9. I wrote about Brad Zimmer last weekend, and he continues to hit. The outfielder is batting .372 (1.041 OPS) with 5 doubles, 2 HR and 11 RBI in 39 at-bats. Francona has been excited by Zimmer: "It's a little early to figure out what kind of player he'll become. Will he hit for power? For average? He can really run ... how will that show up? There is a lot to like."

10. Francona compared right-hander Nick Goody to Jeff Manship (now pitching in Korea). The Indians picked up the slider/sinker reliever from Yankees, where he had a career 2.19 ERA in the minors. He has allowed only one run in six spring innings.