Cleveland Indians: How a potential Bryan Shaw departure shakes up the ‘pen

The Cleveland Indians have a possible shake-up looming in their bullpen because of free agency. With Bryan Shaw on the open market, there is potential for the club’s relief pitching to take a major hit.

The Cleveland Indians pitching staff has been its major strength for the last few seasons. Both starters and relievers have done a great job keeping the Tribe in baseball games.

The bullpen could take a large hit in the offseason, however. Bryan Shaw‘s impending departure has the potential to send a ripple in the bullpen flow.

The thought is that Cleveland will not be able to afford to keep the workhorse in free agency. The cost for Shaw is hovering around an estimated $8 million per year according to this cleveland.com article.

Shaw has been a workhorse for the Indians in recent years. He has appeared in at least 70 games each of his five years in a Tribe uniform, including his team-record 80 games in 2014.

Many fans love to direct their anger at Bryan Shaw for whatever reason but they are blind to the fact of how valuable he is. They will soon realize what the Indians are missing should Shaw test the market and leave Cleveland.

The Indians still have a formidable bullpen with or without Shaw They do have high-end relievers Cody Allen and Andrew Miller after all.

Terry Francona will have his options in 2018 should he be without the services of Shaw. Nick Goody appeared in 56 games for the Tribe in 2017 posting a 2.80 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.

Zach McAllister and Dan Otero also had solid years in 2017 for the Tribe. The bullpen will still be a big asset but they will need another guy to step up and help fill the role.

Tyler Olson is the immediate thought to help fill the void. The standout youngster had a very good 2017 season posting a 0.00 ERA in 20.0 innings in 30 appearances.

The fact Olson did not allow a run is very impressive. Although his innings were low, his ability to post such good numbers is very encouraging.

The Indians could also turn to attempting to keep Joe Smith for the 2018 campaign. Smith was the Bryan Shaw of his earlier stint with Cleveland.

Shaw just took over the record in holds for a reliever shortly before the team acquired Smith from Toronto. Smith has had a very productive career in the majors and could slot in to Shaw’s place.

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The Cleveland Indians want to keep Shaw and Shaw wants to be back. The fans need to brace for the opposite as the money may not be there if the team can keep Carlos Santana.