GLENDALE, Ariz. -- As if the amount of turnover the Indians experienced over the offseason wasn’t enough to throw on manager Terry Francona’s plate, the Tribe has had to work around a handful of injured players, including infielders Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis and now, possibly, Jose Ramirez.

Despite the hurdles, Francona has done his best to piece together a lineup that can best support the Indians' star-studded rotation. But as the season gets underway on Thursday in Minnesota, the Indians will be counting down the days until they're back at full strength.

What’s the goal?

No matter who is in the lineup, Cleveland’s goal has not changed: Win the World Series. Both Francona and Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, have said that the main focus throughout the season will be to once again win the American League Central.

What’s the plan?

Just as they did over the last few seasons, the Tribe will be relying heavily on their starting pitchers in order to be successful in 2019. Although the lineup may be missing some of its regulars, the rotation is one of the strongest in the game, with Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber. The more innings the team can get from those five before the ball is handed to Brad Hand in the ninth, the better. Lefty Oliver Perez and right-hander Adam Cimber will likely handle the setup duties, depending on who is batting.

The Indians were expected to depend on Lindor and Ramirez after losing a few key pieces of the lineup at the end of the 2018 season, but now they need others to step up. The team brought back Carlos Santana and acquired Jake Bauers from the Rays, and both could provide some power in the middle of the order. Roberto Perez will be called upon to replace Yan Gomes, and Leonys Martin will need to lead the young outfield crew, but the club believes that despite its unfortunate luck so far this spring, it’s still in a good position to find success again.

What could go wrong?

The biggest concern when a team has a handful of players who are dealing with injuries is setbacks. The No. 1 thing that could go wrong is if Lindor and Ramirez are out longer than expected or re-injure themselves when they return. The Tribe will have to balance keeping them out long enough to get healthy with getting them back in time to help the team score runs. Cleveland is also waiting on Bradley Zimmer (recovering from right shoulder surgery), Danny Salazar (right shoulder surgery) and Tyler Clippard (pectoral strain) to finish their rehab processes.

The Indians also have some inexperienced players on their roster. Bauers has played in 96 big league games, and only 20 of those were in the outfield. Eric Stamets, who will likely be the Opening Day shortstop, has yet to make his Major League debut. Max Moroff will mix in at short and second and has played in 84 big league games over the last three seasons, and Perez is stepping in as the everyday catcher for the first time in his career.

Who might surprise?

Although it’s less a surprise when many are expecting it to happen, Bieber could have a breakout season. After getting some experience under his belt in ’18 and working on his changeup all offseason, he could take an already strong rotation and make it dominant.

Assuming Hanley Ramirez makes the roster, he could easily surprise a lot of people. He’s still finding his swing and his timing after being out of the Majors since last May after being released by the Red Sox, but his bat may be extremely important as the team waits for all of its regulars to get healthy.

Greg Allen and Bauers will be two others to keep an eye on. Allen has had an impressive spring, and Bauers showed enough power potential with the Rays last season that he could become one of the big bats in the lineup this year.