I'm posing this question in review of a number of Jay's posts regarding Brandon Phillips and looking for a comparison to Andy Marte.

The question is this: to what extent can the Indians afford to have an under performing, or less than adequate position player, stay on the ML roster, and for how long ?  

That is to say, Jay has been contending that Marte has not received a legitimate long term shot at playing in the ML.  He has to this point received limited opportunities, according to Jay.

How long does the FO allow the "under performer" to stay on the squad ?

Currently, we've got Trot Nixon who has been performing less than what was probably expected - but with a post season birth potentially in the offing - is he more valuable on the roster due to his experiences in this format (maybe he can offer some advice to the youngsters) ?