Cleveland Indians: A five point offseason checklist for the Tribe

With the Dodgers clinching the World Series crown, the Cleveland Indians can fully move into offseason-mode, beginning with this checklist.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to finally capture a World Series, meaning that the Cleveland Indians can officially begin the offseason. While the Dodgers, Rays and other teams continued through the playoffs, the Indians were evaluating how to go about the offseason. Now, they can finally put it into action.

We’ve done our fair share of talking about things the Indians should do. Whether it be burning questions, trades for players and prospects, free agents, it seems like we’ve already taken a guess at everything. But what if we were in charge, what if we were calling the shots, how would it look?

Every team goes into the offseason with a plan, an order of how to do things, and the Indians are no exception. While fans love to talk about what could be, the front office is trying to make things happen in reality.

For an offseason that has so many question marks about not only the coming 2021 season, but the future of the club as a whole, the Indians front office could have one of the more difficult next few months when it comes to offseasons around the league.

Whether it be picking up options, signing free agents or trading star players, it will be hard for this front office to check all the boxes that need to be checked by the time the 2021 season rolls around.

While it is their job to check all of them, checking off majority will suffice given the tall order that is coming with the offseason. The team is expected to remain competitive while simultaneously cutting payroll. On top of that, the team will have to make a decision on what to do with their best player while some of the key players at other positions might also be departing for various reasons.

So, when looking at the 2020-21 offseason for the Cleveland Indians, what should be on the checklist? How should they get everything done? Here’s the big hitters, the main points, that the front office will need to focus on over the next few months.