Cleveland Indians Roundtable: Remaining moves to make

Our Cleveland Indians Roundtable series continues with this week’s topic set on remaining moves the Tribe could or should make this offseason. Last week’s edition covered our bold predictions for the season.

Brandon Kring

The Cleveland Indians have been relatively quiet in the offseason but with the slow-moving market they can without a doubt still make some moves. They did well to avoid arbitration with everyone eligible except for Trevor Bauer.

They made their big “splash” signing when they signed Yonder Alonso to replace the loss of Carlos Santana. Many expect that to be the final move of any substantial relevance. However, the team could benefit from the slow market this offseason.

The Indians reportedly have talked to the Orioles about acquiring Manny Machado. This would send shock waves through the majors as Machado is in the final year of his contract but could still cost the Tribe a pretty penny.

The move could cost the Indians one or both of their top two prospects. This would all but drain the farm of its last remaining pieces of what was once a loaded minor league system.

A less groundbreaking move could be to sign Austin Jackson back on a team friendly deal. Jackson battled some injuries but provided a spark when in the lineup. He also still has good defensive ability, and showed that by giving fans a great play in Boston last year.

The Indians could look to add some outfield depth with Michael Brantley expected to not be quite ready for Opening Day. The possibility of Jason Kipnis playing left field while Brantley rehabs is also strong.

The Tribe is definitely in position to succeed again in 2018 in the weak AL Central. Adding depth or another big signing taking advantage of the slow-moving winter market could put them right back in the World Series favorites conversation.

Carson Ferrell

The Indians no longer distinctly have the best rotation in the AL. The Astros can now contend for that title against the Tribe. That said, the Cleveland Indians still have time to further improve their rotation.

Chris Archer has been mentioned in trade rumors and is a potential candidate to return to the team that drafted him. That would likely require the Indians to give away Danny Salazar along with a top prospect in a system that is depleting quickly.

Another thing to consider is the possibility of a Jason Kipnis trade. It’s starting to look like any remaining moves will be made right before or during Spring Training. Kip seems like he has a safe spot on the roster at this point. But this may be another period where his future is uncertain.

This could be considered as more of a bold prediction than anything else but the way this offseason has gone, anything is bold. That being said, don’t expect anything to surpass the Yonder Alonso signing. The next biggest move will likely be putting that sweet picture of Frankie Lindor on RBI Baseball 18 on your shelf.

Matt Bretz

The Cleveland Indians didn’t appear to have the financial resources to make any more big moves this winter, what with payroll already higher than where it started in 2017. However, with the market as slow as it has been, perhaps prices will drop in the next few weeks to the point where they could snag someone.

The big move I would both like to see and think is in the realm of possibilities is signing free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain.

Cain won’t command the huge deal that J.D. Martinez will, but he won’t come for free either. It’s anyone’s guess just how low he’ll sign for after it looked like he could fetch $80 million or more when the offseason began. Could he drop below $50 million similar to Michael Bourn a few years ago? Maybe not a four-year deal but perhaps three years, $48 million?

I actually outlined on Twitter what such a deal could look like for the Indians and Cain. It’d have to be grossly back-loaded but the Indians did that with Bourn so it’s not totally crazy.

Adding Cain would give the Tribe a staple in center field and allow Zimmer to either play a corner outfield spot or begin the year in Triple-A. The Indians have plenty of outfield bodies but none are sure things with Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer battling injuries and Lonnie Chisenhall never having a full season of success.

Cain can hit fifth or sixth and provide a nice right-handed bat to complement the addition of Yonder Alonso.

David Gasper

There are so many moves still to be made in this slow offseason. As for what the Tribe can do, it’s important to try to find any holes remaining on the roster. There could be another outfield depth addition like Brandon suggested and Austin Jackson makes sense. But with the free agent losses of Boone Logan, Joe Smith, and Bryan Shaw, the Cleveland Indians need to add to their bullpen.

Most of the free agent relief market has been picked over, but there are still some good players available. One of them that could become a good setup man along with Andrew Miller is Matt Albers.

Albers pitched with the Washington Nationals last year and posted a 1.62 ERA in 63 games. That sounds like someone the Tribe should want in the back-end of their bullpen.

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To be fair, Albers is 35 years old and doesn’t exactly have a track record of that kind of success. The year before, in 2016, he pitched to a 6.31 ERA in a similar amount of appearances.

But in 2015, he posted a 1.21 ERA. So in two of the last three years, Albers has posted a sub-2.00 ERA.

Albers may be seeking a two-year deal like most every other reliever on the market this winter, but given the circumstances, he may be forced to accept a one-year deal with a club option.

The Tribe did a similar thing last year with Boone Logan, and although that didn’t achieve the desired results, it provides a minimal risk.

If Albers can repeat his success one more time, it will be well worth it for whatever team signs him. The Cleveland Indians should try to bring in Albers. His price may have fallen far enough for the Tribe to be interested.

The MLB offseason in an interesting time of year because things can go from silent to hectic in a matter of moments.

There are plenty of unsigned players out there who are above-average players, but I don’t see the Indians doing anything major.

The only realistic move I see the Indians making this offseason is to re-sign Austin Jackson. Some fans see the spring invite handed out to Melvin Upton Jr. as a similar deal to what Jackson signed a year ago, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a replacement.

The Indians have some great depth in the outfield, but Jackson also serves as a veteran leader. Not to mention he slashed .318/.387/.482 in 85 games last year. He likely wants more than the $1.5 million he received in 2017, but this slow offseason may be pointing to a more team-friendly deal for Jackson.

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As for a bold prediction of a move yet to be made, I wouldn’t be shocked if Jason Kipnis was traded before March. It would be surprising, but the rumors surrounding Kipnis the past few months point to the possibility of the front office potentially wanting to dump his contract.