Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Indians expect to be one of the best teams in baseball this season, despite moving on from valuable veterans and shedding nearly $22 million in salary.
“It’s our responsibility as an organization to make sure that we remain a contending team, which we feel like we did this offseason, but also think about the financial and talent-base health of the organization for the sustainable future,” Indians General Manager Mike Chernoff said today on Bull and Fox.
“We can’t just keep adding and adding and adding way beyond our resources. We felt that was our responsibility and look, you have to cut payroll to do that at times, especially when its’ spiked up as much as it has the past two years, but we still feel like we were able to sustain a really talented team that we think can contend on the field this year.”
Edwin Encarnacion, Andrew Miller, Yan Gomes and Cody Allen are just a few of the veterans that were traded away or left in free agency this offseason.
The Indians’ lineup isn’t as talented as it was last season, but they young players like Jake Bauers emerge.
“He’s a really promising young prospect, 23-years-old, with a sweet swing from the left side of the plate,” Chernoff said. “He’s played both first base and the outfield. He’s really a natural first baseman, but Tampa had shifted him to part time duty in both places, not uncommon for a young player.”
Bauers showed flashes last season with the Rays, posting a .239/.350/.477 slash line with 9 home runs in his first 234 plate appearances. Then, he hit a slump in August and didn’t recover. Bauers finished the 2018 season with a .210 average, 11 home runs and 48 RBI.
“He came up and was great at the start and then struggled,” Chernoff said. “That is typical for a young player. There are very few players who don’t deal with some sort of struggle when they come up. It’s about how they respond to that adversity and how they come back from it. His mindset has been tremendous in camp, he just wants to contribute, he’s willing to do anything and he’s looked really good so far.”
The Indians expect to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. They’re taking their time with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco because they know how important those players are to their success.
Banking on a Familiar Face – The Indians are going to need Bauers to play well, but they’re also hoping veteran Carlos Santana can help fill the void Encarnacion left behind. The 32-year-old posted a .229 average with 24 home runs and 86 RBI last season. The Indians need him to add power to the heart of their lineup. Santana is in line to play first base and be a designated hitter.
“It was really tough for us in 2018 not being able to bring him back when he signed that big free agent deal,” Chernoff said. “As hard as it is to lose Edwin (Encarnacion) and the presence he has here, at least we could fill that back in with Carlos and actually have an addition year of control of his contract for next year as well.”
Santana is under contract through the 2020 season with a club option in 2021. The Indians need him to be productive this year if they’re going to win a fourth-straight division title.
It’s hard to imagine the Indians pulling off any blockbuster moves between now and the start of the season, but Chernoff says the front office and ownership is always open to listening to potential deals.
For more on the Indians, listen to the entire interview with Chernoff below:
