Should the Cleveland Indians Exercise Ryan Raburn’s 2016 Option?
By Matt Bretz
Could Tribe fans see this platoon in RF in 2016? Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
So Will the Indians Exercise Raburn’s Option?
Back in July I would have said there was very little chance of Raburn being on the 2016 Cleveland Indians roster. Then the team dealt away David Murphy and Brandon Moss who both had 2016 team control via a team option and through arbitration, respectively. It seemed the Indians were moving on from guys they deemed not in their 2016 plans and Raburn was not among those dealt. There was still a chance in August though as we saw Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher moved, yet still Raburn remained with the Cleveland Indians.
Perhaps the illness Raburn endured in July/early August is why the Tribe never moved him. Or maybe they felt they still had a chance in 2015 and wanted Raburn’s bat on the bench for a postseason run. But in my opinion, they kept him knowing that he’s a bat that could help the club in 2016. $3M is really not a lot, especially when you consider how much money the team is saving in 2016 thanks to the Bourn-Swisher trade. They can work out the roster and bench issues but a Lonnie Chisenhall-Ryan Raburn platoon in right-field actually doesn’t sound too unappealing to me, and it’s one I think we very likely could see in 2016.
So what do you think? Should the Cleveland Indians exercise Ryan Raburn’s 2016 option or should they decline it and move on? Let us know and be sure to check back for more Indians news and analysis.
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