Outfield, bullpen lost key players
Five issues facing the Indians:
Finances:
The Indians have won three consecutive American League Central Division titles, but they’ve also stalled out in the divisional round of the postseason the last two seasons and appear light-years behind the AL’s top teams. This, along with budget constraints, puts Cleveland at a tough crossroads this offseason, causing team president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff to begin restructuring their roster in an effort to strike a difficult balance of getting younger, big-league-ready talent and shedding unnecessary contracts.
They also need to find a way to elongate their window of contention and not compromise a chance at the postseason. Four trades during a two-week span in early December unloaded catcher Yan Gomes, designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, right-hander Yandy Diaz and first baseman Yonder Alonso to clear up roughly $14 million on the 2019 payroll. The team has remained mostly silent on the free agent market.
Outfield:
An already weak position on offense was made weaker after free agent departures. Indians outfielders combined for a .724 OPS, which ranked 10th in the AL and 20th in baseball in 2018. The outfield got worse from there as Michael Brantley, a staple with the organization for the last 10 seasons, fled to the Astros, and Melky Cabrera (free agent), Lonnie Chisenhall (Pirates), Brandon Guyer (free agent) and Rajai Davis (Mets) are gone as well.
That leaves Leonys Martin, Greg Allen and Bradley Zimmer to make up left and center field and Tyler Naquin and Jordan Luplow to platoon in right field.
Bullpen:
The Indians’ relief corps was a major strength in the two seasons prior to 2018, and it nearly helped them win the World Series in 2016. But last year was a vastly different story, and a group that turned in the third-worst bullpen ERA in the AL seemingly got worse with the free agent losses of closer Cody Allen (Angels) and super reliever Andrew Miltwo
ler (Cardinals).
However, re-signing lefty Oliver Perez should help.
Kipnis:
become an specialist
The fan favorite has offensive liability the past seasons, with his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) dropping more than 100 points from 2016 to 2017 (.811 down to .705) and resting at .704 in 2018, which ranked him 104th among hitters with at least 500 plate appearances.
But the biggest issue is his $14.7 million salary, something that has both hurt the Indians’ financial situation and hindered the team from trading him. For both those reasons, Kipnis will likely find himself in the opening-day lineup, returning to second base after spending the final 17 games of the season — including three in the postseason — in the outfield.
Trading an ace:
Some of the loudest whistles from the hot stove this offseason came from the Indians’ camp when it was rumored that team officials were taking offers for Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer, two of the game’s best starting pitchers. Though that type of deal never came to fruition, the Indians might still be listening to offers during the season.
Both pitchers are on team-friendly deals. Bauer has two seasons of arbitration remaining and Kluber is signed at $13 million this year with team options for 2020 ($13.5M) and 2021 ($14M), according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.