CLEVELAND -- The Indians’ decision to trade second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the White Sox at the Deadline was not a sign that the team was waving the white flag on the 2021 season. It definitely means that the roster will be getting even younger and more inexperienced, but it was a choice that was necessary, and Saturday’s roster moves demonstrate why.

If Cleveland was more in the thick of the division or the American League Wild Card races, it would make sense to hang on to a player with a little more experience, even if the club had no intentions of holding on to him beyond this season. But the reality is, the Indians fell in the AL Central standings to a point that it’s highly questionable if they could attempt to make a run. So, as the organization always does, it chose to focus on the present and the future simultaneously.

With Hernandez at second base, the team had no way of getting solid looks at the plethora of young middle infielders in its Minor League system. With Hernandez on the roster, the club had glimpses of Owen Miller, Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez, but none were enough to learn what their futures looked like with the soon-to-be Guardians. And when it was already likely Hernandez’s option wouldn’t be picked up for 2022, it was time to start clearing the way for others to earn their places.

“I think we've been pretty open with the fact that we're looking for a couple of things this year,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said after the Hernandez trade was made. “We knew we were going to have a young roster, but our belief and hope was that those young players could continue to develop and compete at the Major League level at the same time. We're hopeful that can continue in the second half.”

Without Hernandez being traded, the club couldn’t boast a roster with Miller, Clement and Giménez, who was called up from Triple-A Columbus prior to Saturday’s middle game against the Tigers. That trio joins Amed Rosario, Yu Chang and Gabriel Arias as middle infielders on the Indians' 40-man roster. Right-hander J.C. Mejía was sent to Columbus to clear space on the 26-man roster.

And for a Cleveland club that has extreme depth up the middle and will need to protect middle infielders Brayan Rocchio and Richie Palacios by adding them to the 40-man this offseason if it doesn’t want a chance of losing the two in the Rule 5 Draft, the team has to start thinking about who deserves those 40 coveted spots.

The only way to learn is to see players first hand, and that’s what the Indians are able to do with Giménez, Clement, Rosario and Miller all on the active roster. Clement demonstrated why it’s important to have some time to settle in at the big league level to prove your worth in Friday’s 6-1 victory with a 3-for-4 night and a highlight-reel-worthy play at third.

Now, Cleveland has that opportunity with Giménez, who was acquired in the Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco trade with the Mets in January. Giménez had a red-hot Spring Training that earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster. But those numbers didn’t quite translate to the regular season, as he hit .179 with a .534 OPS in 29 games. He earned the starting shortstop job, causing Rosario to spend the majority of his playing time in center field.

But now, Rosario has become the everyday shortstop and the Indians need answers to questions about the middle infield duo moving forward. Will Giménez move to second base? Will Rosario move to second base? Can they both stay on the roster moving forward or will Miller or, eventually, Arias force the team to go another direction?

The plan for now is to put Giménez at second base with the intention of moving him to shortstop every so often to give Rosario a day off. But now is the time to learn who the frontrunner will be to man those key positions in the future, which couldn’t have happened as easily if Hernandez was still in Cleveland.

“His first trip up here, there was a little struggle,” Indians acting manager DeMarlo Hale said about Giménez. “But to his credit, he went down there and kept a great frame of mind and a positive attitude, and that’s part of development. … This level is hard, but I think he’s handled it very well and went down there, did some things, and now he’s back up. I expect him to have better production this time around. That usually is the case.”