I remember watching the Cleveland Indians during a record-breaking 22-game win streak, taking not only the MLB, but the sports universe by storm. The city of Cleveland was rocking and excited to see this ball club compete in the postseason. Entering October, the expectation for this 102-win team wasn’t just to compete in the playoffs, but to annihilate the competition and bring home a World Series title for the first time since 1948. As you might know, the Indians didn’t live up to their lofty expectations, shocking the world again in a 3-2 series loss against the Wild Card-winning New York Yankees.
I’ll be honest, I was upset. How could one of baseball’s best teams break down so quickly? To many, the disappointing American League Division Series outcome erased the win streak, the 102-win record and all the memories from the magical season.
The question that many Cleveland fans, including me, are thinking about is, “What do the Indians do next?” It took me a good amount of time to process, but I believe the best mode of action is to utilize their deep farm system to fill some of the holes in their lineup.
For the past four seasons, I have spent time working at the Akron RubberDucks, the Class AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. I have had the time to work with players like Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez as they made their way up to “The Show.” The scary thing I have seen over the years is that Lindor and Ramirez aren’t the only solid players in the system. The Indians’ system includes a plethora of hard hitting outfielders (Greg Allen and Tyler Naquin), savvy infielders (Yu Chang, Erik Gonzalez and Eric Stamets) and players who have the potential to be clutch (Bobby Bradley, Yandy Diaz and Francisco Mejia). Looking at the amount of solid prospects, it makes sense to develop these players and focus on constructing the 2018 team around them. Even if these prospects don’t fit into the design of the team, they can be utilized in various trades that can help acquire talent moving forward.
Now this brings up some tough questions concerning the team’s current free agents, including fan-favorite players like Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana. Brantley has been a perennial All-Star for the Tribe, but his career has been plagued with injuries as of late. I am a huge fan of Brantley’s heart and character, but I am not the most comfortable with giving him a huge deal to stay with the team. The same applies for Kipnis, as he has been a leader in the clubhouse and an anchor in the rotation. Although I love Kip’s game, his injuries and questionable ability to play well on the big stage make me somewhat hesitant about re-signing him. Lastly, Santana’s development has been a treat to watch over the past few seasons. He was a total “team guy” and understood his role on the team perfectly. He’s going to command big money in free agency, so it will be interesting to see if the team can re-sign him.
Overall, I do believe this team has an exciting core on which they can focus. They are young, athletic and hungry for the spotlight. Although the current Tribe team has a track record of winning, it’s time to change the structure and prime the young talent available. It would be great to resign some of the veterans, but there is always the risk of cluttering up the payroll with players with not much left in the tank. In the end, there is great potential to build something even better than last year. Buckle up Cleveland, it’s going to be a crazy couple of months and baseball can’t come soon enough.