The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Free agency awaits several Indians players
Jeff Schudel looks at the winter ahead for the Indians, including free agents Carlos Santana, Jay Bruce, Austin Jackson, Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith, right. Plus, they have an option on Michael Brantley.
Mid-October means the clock is ticking for Indians President Chris Antonetti to decide what to do regarding potential free agents on the Tribe roster.
First baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana, right fielder Jay Bruce and outfielder Austin Jackson, plus relievers Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith, can file for free agency at 9 a.m. the day after the World Series ends.
The Indians hold a club option on left fielder Michael Brantley. Whether to exercise it is a difficult decision because of Brantley’s injury history; he missed all but 11 games in 2016 with a shoulder injury and was a non-factor in 2017 after spraining his right ankle on Aug. 8.
“It’s a significant decision for us, but as we told Michael, we’ve always envisioned him being part of the organization, not only for 2018, but beyond,” Antonetti said on Oct. 13. “That’s been our mindset from the beginning.
“There’s a process that we need to work through with making those decisions. At the same time, Michael needs to go through the process of just getting healthy and figuring out what his plan needs to be. The teammate that he is, how hard he’s worked and prepared — he sets that standard for our guys. We have a profound appreciation for what he’s done and how he does it.”
The Indians would like to re-sign everybody. Realistically, that won’t happen.
“First and foremost we have an appreciation for what all those guys have done over the course of their careers with us,” Antonetti said. “They’ve all been huge contributors to our success over the last few seasons. We’ve got a great deal of appreciation for that.
“In a couple of those cases, we’ve have decisions to make about options that we’ll have to make in the next couple of weeks. In Carlos’ case, he’s obviously a free agent. He’s a guy we’d like to have back. We’ll see if there’s a way where we can make that happen.”
The Indians also have club options for 2018 on pitchers Josh Tomlin and Boone Logan.
Bruce was acquired in a trade with the Mets on Aug. 9, a day after Brantley was injured. He played in 43 games with the Tribe, batting .248 with seven home runs and 26 RBI.
Teams have until the fifth day after the World Series to tender one-year offers to free agents. The offer is set at $17.4 million for one year.
Let’s use Santana as an example for how the tender works in baseball. The Indians would owe him $17.4 million in 2018 if he signs the tender and does not sign with another team. He would be a free agent in 2019. If Santana gets a qualifying offer and signs a contract worth more than $50 million (again, assuming he signed the tender), the Indians would get a draft pick at the end of the first round as compensation. If the contract is for less than $50 million, they would get a compensatory pick after the second round.
Free agents can begin signing with any team on the sixth day after the World Series. Free agents have until the 12th day after the World Series to accept qualifying offers from their former team.
The chances of Santana re-signing with the Indians seem better than Bruce getting a new deal. Not to say manager Terry Francona wouldn’t like Bruce back, but he is very fond of Santana.
“(Santana’s defense) was one of the bright spots and we had a lot of bright spots this year,” Francona said. “Not just his defense, but his advancement, being a teammate, just his attitude. He was fun to be around. I think he’s expressed to me so many times how he wants to stay here and I know these things (don’t always) work out, but he was a joy to be around this year.”
Santana hit .259 with 23 home runs and 79 RBI in 2017.
• The Indians have to decide what to do with Jason Kipnis. He can play second base or center field, but Bradley Zimmer would be the every-day center fielder and, depending on what Francona decides to do at third, Jose Ramirez would be the regular second baseman.
“I don’t think we need to make that decision today,” Antonetti said. “I think Kip deserves a lot of credit for working really hard and going out there and becoming an option as an outfielder. He put in a lot of work to make that happen. To have a guy that now has the versatility — we talk about it all the time as we build rosters — having guys that have versatility to play multiple positions is an asset for us.”
Kipnis is could be used as trade bait. He is signed through 2019 with a club option in 2020.
Trubisky booster
One of Mitchell Trubisky’s biggest supporters spends most of his time these days at 76 Lou Groza Boulevard.
Jonathan “Bug” Howard, a wide receiver on the Browns practice squad, was a favorite target for Trubisky last fall at North Carolina. When Trubisky made his first NFL start on Oct. 9 during a “Monday Night Football” game against the Vikings, Howard was perched in front of his television, cheering on the Mentor High graduate.
Some players cornered by a reporter would much rather talk about themselves than someone else — especially a practice squad player who can bolster his own career with any shred of publicity. Howard, though, was happy to talk about Trubisky.
“That’s my brother, so I’ll talk about him all day,” Howard said after practice on Oct. 12. “I watched every snap. I thought he did a tremendous job coming out and starting the way he did. He would have been 9-for-9 if not for a few drops here and there and a few penalties.
“He did what he was supposed to do. He didn’t try to do too much. He and his receivers had great timing with each other. He made a mistake throwing that interception late, but veterans have done that. To do what he did against that defense says something special about him. He’s only going to get better. He only had one week with the first team before that game.”
In the 20-17 loss to the Vikings, Trubisky completed 12 of 25 passes for 128 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. He also scored on a two-point conversion.
Howard played four seasons at North Carolina. His best season was 2016 — the only year Trubisky was a fulltime starter. Howard caught 53 passes for 827 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior. He helped Trubisky shine and indirectly helped persuade the Bears to trade up from third to second so they could be guaranteed of being able to draft Trubisky after the Browns took defensive end Myles Garrett with the first pick.
“We had great chemistry at North Carolina,” Howard said. “I know what he’s like in the huddle. I think Chicago definitely has something special.
“I was with Mitch since my freshman season coming in. I had some pretty good quarterbacks going back to high school, but Mitch is really special. To see what he did Monday night — it’s all turning over for him.”
Howard has ideal size at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, but according to pre-draft scouting reports, he lacks the speed to latch onto an NFL roster. He might get his chance with the Browns before this season ends.
By the way, Howard said he got the nickname “Bug” from his grandmother.
“I come from a very small town,” he said. “My grandmother gave it to me when I was small. She said I used to bug her a lot. It went from ‘bugger’ to ‘bug’ in a short time.”
Howard is from Rochelle, Ga. He became so universally known as Bug instead of Jonathan that officials at Wilcox County High School were confounded when North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora tried to visit him on a recruiting mission.
“Coach Fedora came in and asked, ‘Can I talk to Jonathan Howard?’” Howard said school officials told him. “They said, ‘Jonathan Howard? Jonathan Howard? You talkin’ about Bug?’ Coach Fedora thought that was funny so he always called me Bug.”
Howard signed with the Colts as an undrafted rookie on May 3. He was waived Sept. 2. The Browns signed him to their practice squad on Sept. 26.
I didn’t know that
…until I read my Snapple bottle cap
A flea can jump 30,000 times without stopping. … There is a volcano on Mars the size of Arizona. … Before 1859, baseball umpires sat behind home plate in rocking chairs. … Aegilops is the longest word in the English language with letters in alphabetical order. Aegilops is a plant in the grass family. … Harry S. Truman’s middle name was S. … A snail can grow a new eye if it loses one.