The offseason just began, but there is some news regarding one of the Cleveland’s free agents. Michael Brantley is not expected to return to the Indians.
This news is hardly surprising. Michael Brantley will surely receive a lucrative offer from a team in free agency. Brantley will turn 32 early next season and made $12 million last year. This combined with Cleveland’s strategy regarding roster construction essentiality guarantees that Brantley will be in a new uniform next year.
In 10 years in Cleveland Brantley slashed .295/.351/.430 with an OPS of .781. Of his 1,195 career hits 248 were doubles, 19 were triples and 87 were home runs. The three-time All-Star outfielder drove in 528 runs and scored 543 times.
During the 2018 season Brantley was one of the Indians more reliable hitters. Brantley slashed .309/.364/.468 with an OPS of .832. Brantley hit 17 long balls, 36 doubles, drove in 76 runs and scored 89 times. Cleveland will certainly miss his bat in their lineup next season.
Cleveland will need an outfielder
The Indians currently have five outfielders signed to Major League contracts for next season. Tyler Naquin, Bradley Zimmer, Greg Allen, Leonys Martin and Oscar Mercado. Zimmer will miss the start of the year due to injury. Allen, Martin and Naquin are basically reserve level outfielders. They can provide some production when called into duty, but cannot be counted on for regular playing time.
Cleveland will need to acquire another outfielder. Whether that is via trade or through free agency remains to be seen. There are only a handful of outfielders available who may not command a large salary. Most notably Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Cameron Maybin. These are hardly the players who can make a longterm impact on the club as signing any of them is a most likely one-year deal.
Any time of longterm impact bat would have to be acquired through a trade. This would mean trading one or more of Corey Kluber, Edwin Encarnacion, Carlos Carrasco or Jason Kipnis. This appears to be the most likely route as it would take money off the books for the Indians. Shedding payroll while still being competitive is the ultimate goal of Cleveland and this would satisfy both requirements.
