6 Tasks the Indians Should Accomplish This Offseason

1 of 8

Sep 1, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Cleveland Indians watch the game in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

WRITER’S NOTE: I have not given up on the 2014 season. The Indians are still in the thick of the playoff race. This article is merely based on excitement looking ahead towards the future, not pessimism of the present.

More from Cleveland Guardians News

The Cleveland Indians are in a new era of contention. There’s no doubt about it; the amount of young talent on this team is formidable to division rivals and enviable by all of baseball. The emergence, resurgence and renaissance of key players this season has given the Tribe something they haven’t had since the late 90s: A team with enough talent to perennially compete for a spot in the playoffs. The oft-mocked farm system seems to have finally come through, producing new major-league quality players like Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall, Cody Allen, Kyle Crockett, Danny Salazar and TJ House (Shortstop prodigy Francisco Lindor will be up next year as well). Many players acquired in trades over the years have seemed to put it together in 2014, including Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Carlos Carrasco, Michael Brantley, Bryan Shaw, Nick Hagadone and Yan Gomes. The farm system is stacked with top-tier talent such as Clint Frazier, Tyler Naquin, Joe Wendle, Bradley Zimmer, Francisco Mejia and James Ramsey, ready to come up within a couple of years or be used as trade bait in a win-now type move. The team is in really, really good shape, and to top it off, every one of the aforementioned players is cost-controlled at a very reasonable salary for the next couple of seasons.

So how do you turn a stacked young roster with spectacular talent and serviceable depth into a World Series Champion? That’s the question the front office is no-doubt asking themselves right now. First, you take a good hard look at which assets you have under control, and how long you have them. Another way to phrase this would be evaluating your team’s window of contention.

Indians Impact Players Under Team Control Through 2017

Position Players: Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Michael Bourn, Lonnie Chisenhall, Zach Walters, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Yan Gomes
Starting Pitchers: Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, TJ House, Zach McAllister
Relief Pitchers: Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Nick Hagadone, Kyle Crockett, C.C. Lee, Marc Rzepczynski

Indians Impact Players Under Team Control Through 2018

All of the above except Carlos Santana, Carlos Carrasco, Lonnie Chisenhall, Michael Bourn and Marc Rzepczynski

Next, you take a look at the immediate turnover of your roster.

2015 Impending Free Agents

Mike Aviles ($3.5 Million Club Option)

After that, you decide what your roster’s biggest weaknesses are and find a way to fill the holes through offseason trades or free agent signings.

Roster Weaknesses

-Starting rotation lacks major-league quality depth
-Infield defense is poor
-Offensive production from DH spot has been below league average through 2014

Finally, you must observe how you might be able to bolster or expand your window of contention through contract extensions of existing players.

Number High Upside Players Who Are Not Yet Arbitration-Eligible

At least eight

After the evaluation and analysis part is over, the execution can begin. The following is a list of six tasks I believe the Cleveland Indians should work to accomplish throughout the offseason. I firmly believe that all of these moves are realistic and have the potential to maximize the Tribe’s ability to contend for the next several years.

[continued on next page]

Home/Cleveland Guardians News

Six Tasks The Indians Should Accomplish This Offseason

By Kyle Downing | Sep 5, 2014