Cleveland Indians: Four burning questions heading into the offseason

With the season over for the Cleveland Indians, these are four questions that will need to be addressed this offseason for the organization.

The season for the Cleveland Indians came to a close on Wednesday night, falling to the New York Yankees and shifting the attention around the organization to what could be one of the most anticipated offseason periods for the club in recent memory.

The Indians are reaching a crossroads. The clock is ticking on their window for opportunity with star Francisco Lindor, which could cause a chain reaction of moves that could happen at any point once the World Series concludes.

While Lindor will be the focal point of the Cleveland organization for the next few months, there are a handful of other decisions that will need to be made before the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season.

The Tribe have had high expectations since the arrival of Terry Francona, but with so many potential changes coming to the organization in the coming months, that could one of the many things changing.

The Indians have made the playoffs four of the last five years, including one World Series appearance and three division titles. Since Francona came to Cleveland in 2013, the team has never finished below third and has made the playoffs on five occasions.

However, that could very soon change. The Indians will have to make a decision on Lindor while also having players like Brad Hand, Cesar Hernandez and Carlos Santana all becoming free agents, unless they decide to resign. Having all had an influence on the team this past season, a departure by any of those three could form a much different roster in 2021 for the Cleveland Indians.

While the Tribe have become a team that has cycled prospects through the organization, the pieces that could be departing will be much more difficult to replace than in the past. The goal will remain the same, but the group trying to achieve could look a lot different.