Cleveland Indians: Five positives Indians fans should focus on for 2021

Positive #3: Roster Continuity

While all the talk has been about where Lindor will land before the 2021 season, it has been shadowed that the Indians themselves won’t be losing much in other areas of their roster. Lindor could be a big blow, but for the most part the band is getting back together next year.

The Indians are set to lose up to six players in free agency, depending on how they handle club options. But of those that are expected to depart, there’s really only three that could have an impact, and even then there are players that can step up.

Carlos Santana will most likely be declined his club option of $17.5 million, but might give the Indians a hometown discount. He’s talked about how he enjoyed coming back to Cleveland and found out that the grass isn’t always greener when he went to Philadelphia for a season. However, even if he does leave, there are plenty of prospects that could step into his role at first.

The Indians could also chose to decline Brad Hand‘s $10 million option, leaving the team in search for a new closer. Like Santana, this is another area that the Indians have an in-house fix for should Hand sign somewhere else.

The difficult player to replace would be Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez is set to become a free agent after using his one-year deal with the Tribe to perfection. The Indians have a ton of middle infielders in the minors though, so one should be able to step up.

Beyond those, the rest of the roster is set to return in 2021, which should help the Indians not miss a beat next year.