For the Cleveland Indians, 2017 ended in heartbreak that leaves the franchise at a crossroads. The window for the Indians to finally end a now 70 year World Series drought is still open, but is slowly closing. With the emergence of the Minnesota Twins and their rumored aggressive position this offseason, the Indians can either continue to go for it or prepare for the future rebuilding effort. The Indians have numerous Free Agents hitting the market this offseason including main stays Carlos Santana and Bryan Shaw, not to mention key trade acquisition Jay Bruce. The Indians have numerous options they can go in order to continue to improve their team and continue their reign in the AL Central.
When it comes to the Indians, the big question continues to be the amount of money that is available with the Indians. From estimates of expiring contracts and other big contracts off the books, it’s fair to estimate that the Indians have around the range of $25-$30 million to spend this offseason (with minority investor and revenue from 2017, it could be higher). The Dolan's have shown with the recent winning, they are willing to spend a bit more if it meant improving the team. This would mean the Indians would have the money to at least be able to afford one of Jay Bruce and Carlos Santana and still be able to fill out the rest of the roster with supporting pieces.
As I do every year, I’m going to take off my writer cap and place myself in the shoes of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff and say what I would do if I were in their shoes. The Indians fell short in 2017 and look to return to the World Series in 2018, it’s time to look at my 2018 Offseason Plan.
Contract- 3 years, $54 million with a Mutual Option for a 4th year
Contract- 2 years, $8 million
Contract- 2 years, $12 million with a Team Option for a 3rd year
Contract- 1 year, $4 million
Contract- 3 years, $24 million
Trade Details- Indians trade 3B Yandy Diaz, SS Yu Chieng-Chang, OF Will Benson and SP Brady Aiken to Miami Marlins in exchange for OF Marcell Ozuna
A Hypothetical Scenario
Trade Details- Indians trade 2B Jason Kipnis and SP Shane Bieber to Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for 3B Josh Donaldson
Potential 2018 Indians Lineup
3B- Eduardo Nunez
SS- Francisco Lindor
RF- Marcell Ozuna
DH- Edwin Encarnacion
2B- Jose Ramirez
1B- Carlos Santana
LF- Michael Brantley
CF- Bradley Zimmer
C- Yan Gomes
That’s a lineup that’s even more balanced than what it was a year ago, and as long as things fall into place, this lineup could be good enough to truly challenge the defending World Champion Houston Astros. The Indians strength again would be in their pitching and with the moves made would fortify their bullpen and easily offset the loss of Bryan Shaw. The Indians head into 2018 with major competition and the path back to the World Series won’t be easy, but with these moves, the Indians might just stand a fighting chance to return back to the World Series and this time win it. Bottom line for the Indians is the window is still open, in order to reclaim the AL crown, they must be able to take some chances and do what is necessary to get back to where they want to be. This offseason offers what they need and the opportunities just might fall into place for them. It’s up to the Tribe to execute on them.
