The Cleveland Indians have made a few trades, but their offseason activity has been rather slow, at times bordering on non-existent.
No, the Cleveland Indians are not contenders for the top free agents available this offseason. This was never going to be the case. Manny Machado is reportedly going to the highest bidder and there are mixed opinions on the landing spot of Bryce Harper. Cleveland was never in the mix for either player.
It can be frustrating to watch teams express interest in big name free agents. It is even more frustrating to watch teams sign players that play positions that Cleveland needs help at. The New York Yankees cornered the relief pitching market. Signing Adam Ottavino and Zach Britton this offseason. These signings help solidify what most consider to be the best bullpen in baseball. In theory Cleveland could have signed a few of these players, but that is not the case.
What needs to be considered is that both Ottavino and Britton are 33 and 31 respectively and will make a combined $66 million over the lifetime of the deals. After witnessing the disaster that was the Colorado Rockies employing a similar strategy last season with relief pitching, it is hard to blame the Indians for attempting to sign either player. Does the Cleveland bullpen need help? Absolutely. Although throwing money around in attempt to make a quick fix is not the answer. When a relief pitcher begins to decline, the decline comes hard and fast. Being a small market team Cleveland cannot afford to make an expensive mistake. The impact of a potential mistake could set the franchise into a tailspin for a lengthy period of time.
Acquiring players via trade appears to be the Indians preferred method
While free agency has been quiet, the trade market has been quite active for Cleveland. A handful of trades has seen the departure of Edwin Encarnacion, Yandy Diaz, Yonder Alonso and Erik Gonzalez. These players brought Cleveland Carlos Santana, Jake Bauers, Kevin Plawecki and Jordan Luplow among others. There is also the inescapable rumor of a trade of Corey Kluber. A trade of Kluber would provide another decrease in salary commitments and an influx of young controllable talent. Circling back to the fact they are a small market team, this is a must. Especially if and when the team can sign Francisco Lindor to a new contract.
If the team does end up trading Kluber, it would also free up more funds to make some free agent signings. Nothing crazy, but some solid signings who could contribute for a year or two.
Cleveland typically signs players later in the offseason
In case most people forgot, the Cleveland Indians usually wait to sign free agent players during the offseason. This practice is not exclusive to Cleveland, but has been the trend for quite some time. Waiting until later to sign players to shorter deals with not a lot of money attached to them.
Rajai Davis’ second stint in Cleveland came on a contract signed in mid-February. Austin Jackson signed in late January. Melky Cabrera did not sign until April. All of these deals were inexpensive and for only one year. Expect the Indians to continue this method and make signings late in the offseason and possibly into the season. There comes a certain point late in the offseason that a player ends up taking a one-year deal to just get some exposure during Spring Training. Even if they do not make the team they initially sign with, it is better than sitting at home without other teams being able to see what, if anything they are still capable of.
The theme to all of this is patience. The Cleveland Indians are not necessarily getting the scraps of what is left, they just have to be smart with how they decide to spend their money. Finally the team has their core players already on the roster. The front office is only looking for ways to find productive role players who are inexpensive who can close the gap between their stars and the rest of the roster. Having multiple stars on a roster is important, but having a good supporting cast is just as important. By waiting Cleveland is evaluating the best way to effectively spend their money to put together a good supporting cast to hopefully make a return to the World Series in 2019.
