Cleveland Indians: Who’s on Their Way Out?

Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Raburn’s 2016 Option

Ryan Raburn isn’t technically a free agent as the Cleveland Indians hold a $3M team option on him for 2016. Should they decline it they’d have to pay him $100K and he would then in fact be a free agent. Heading into the 2015 season, this course of action seemed like a certainty; however, Raburn really bounced back after a dreadful 2014 and now, I believe his option will actually be picked up.  Amazingly enough, Raburn actually put up some better offensive numbers in 2015 than he did in his monster 2013 season.

Not only were his numbers great overall, but he destroyed left-handed pitching yet again this year batting .325/.415/.589 against them this year. That’s a 1.004 OPS! For a team that tends to be more left-handed heavy with the lineup, having a big right-handed bat like Raburn’s on the bench is something they can’t just throw away. Not to mention that $3M is hardly a lot of money, even to the Indians.  The Indians have about a month to make up their minds on this option, but I’d be pretty surprised if it were declined.

Moore and Martinez Likely Short-Term Adds

The pair of Adam Moore and Michael Martinez were added to the Tribe’s 40-man roster in September to provide more depth down the stretch. Neither player is eligible for free agency as neither even has three years of big leaguer service time; however, neither is likely to be on the roster for very much longer. Both were brought on as minor league free agents this past winter and both figure to be designated for assignment (released) in short order. Both could be brought back and on minor league deals but neither figures into the Tribe’s long-term plans and no sense in either taking up a 40-man roster spot all winter. 

Next: Non-Tender Candidates