GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Just over a week ago, Carlos Santana was the front-runner to be the Indians' designated hitter, which meant Jake Bauers would get the majority of the playing time at first base. But the addition of Hanley Ramirez could change everything.

Ramirez has much to prove in the next few weeks in Spring Training, but if he has a decent-enough spring to slide in as the DH, Santana will likely get the start at first. That leaves on big question: What will happen to Bauers?

Bauers made his first start in the outfield Friday night against the Dodgers. When Indians manager Terry Francona was asked if this could become a more regular occurrence, he gave that impression.

”I talked to him the other day about it and just kind of laid it out there kind of realistically,” Francona said. “If Hanley’s on our team, somebody’s got to play left field. And I asked him, ‘Help me do this the best with you.’ And he goes, ‘Just tell me the night before.’ So, he’s been taking balls out in the outfield.”

There’s no secret that the Indians want and need Ramirez to be successful to break camp with the Tribe. If he’s healthy and productive at the plate, the lineup gets a little bit deeper by adding him in the middle and shifting Bauers to left. Although his preferred position is first base, Bauers has said many times that he’s willing to play any position to keep his bat in the lineup. That versatility is something Francona has always valued in his players.

“Well, we may not have been able to consider [adding Ramirez] if we couldn’t move somebody,” Francona said. “That’s just being realistic. Past that, when you get into the season, things always happen and having a guy that can move can save you making a roster move. … Having some versatility is really important. You look around the league and maybe 10 years ago being a utility player, people kind of frowned on it. Now, I mean guys like Ben Zobrist, [Josh] Harrison, they’re good players. And most good teams have one of those guys and it kind of saves you.”

Bauers played in 20 games in the outfield in his rookie season with the Rays last year, 16 of which were in left and four in right. After he displayed some power in 2018, hitting 11 home runs and knocking in 48 RBIs in 96 games, that bat is not one the Indians want to lose.

”He’ll probably do a lot of both,” Francona said of Bauers playing left field and first base. “He’s 23 years old. He’s young. Again, I’m not trying to trick him. I’ll talk to him. I told him to communicate back with me, but I think he thinks he’s going to handle [playing left field] just fine. If he can, it makes us a better team.”

Bauers' move to left will make it more challenging for players like Greg Allen, Jordan Luplow, Matt Joyce or Brandon Barnes to win the job. But, all these potential decisions will revolve around how Ramirez looks this spring.

”Like we told Hanley, our goal is to see the best of him,” Francona said. “That’s what we’d really like to do. If that happens, this is a guy that kind of is a middle-of-the-order-type bat. It’s a different situation [than what it was in Boston]. Getting let go by the Red Sox, [that was] a contractual thing. We don’t have that here. Now, it’s going to go on performance. And we have a need and we hope he can fill it. That’s the idea.”