Cleveland Indians: All the free agents are officially gone

The Cleveland Indians didn’t have much luck when it came to retaining their own free agents this past offseason. Maybe that was never part of the plan.

The offseason officially comes to an end tomorrow and Cleveland Indians fans should be happy. The return of baseball is always the best thing ever, but it also means we can stop talking about that boring, and sometimes frustrating, offseason.

The Indians entered with seven free agents. Carlos Santana and Jay Bruce were the big names, while Bryan Shaw and Austin Jackson were players some fans thought the team should potentially go after as well.

That didn’t exactly happen.

It has been a weird few months as it looks like Santana is being overpaid and Bruce got signed on a much smaller deal than what he wanted, leaving some fans unsure of what to think. Did the Indians make respectable offers for these players? Or were they never part of the future plans at all?

The depth in the organization surely played a role in letting these seven players walk. The rising payroll due to more service time and contract options didn’t help the cause either.

But as we have been saying for months, the core of this team is still in place. And that core is arguably one of the best in all of baseball, and potentially in franchise history.

ICYMI

Ryan Hanigan adds valuable catching depth

Greg Holland a good fit for the right price

What the Darvish signing means for the Tribe

It’s almost here

Simple games of catch in Arizona have the power to re-energize fans. What a great game.

A must see

This is genuinely hilarious and I’m so glad it happened.

Next: If Indians players were in the Olympics

One final day

Today is the last day of the offseason, and it is also Fat Tuesday. So let the party start early as we prepare for another season of Indians baseball.