Cleveland Indians: Bryan Shaw leaves to join the Colorado Rockies

The Cleveland Indians will be without Bryan Shaw in 2018 as he has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Colorado Rockies.

Bryan Shaw was a polarizing figure during his time with the Cleveland Indians, but those who hated him the past five years may be missing him in 2018.

Shaw, who made at least 70 appearances in each of his five seasons with the Indians, is leaving Cleveland after getting himself a great deal elsewhere.

Elsewhere being Colorado.

That deal is not too crazy for a reliever of Shaw’s caliber, as it matches Andrew Miller‘s salary in 2018. But Miller is set to hit the market after the 2018 season and should bring home a nice deal, hopefully after the Indians win the World Series.

The fact Shaw appeared in nearly every other game shows the void left now that he is gone. Joe Smith also remains a free agent so the front office will have to get to work on finding a player or two to step in and eat up the innings Shaw logged last season.

Players like Tyler Olson, Nick Goody and Zach McAllister should see increased roles in 2018, while someone like Shawn Armstrong may be given the opportunity to prove himself more during the season.

Reaction to Shaw leaving was mixed among Indians fans, but I still don’t understand all the hate toward him. He was one of the most reliable pieces of the bullpen during his time here. Relievers are going to give up runs, and Shaw just seemed to give up so many due to a few collapses each season, and the fact he pitched so often.

His 3.52 ERA in 2017 isn’t amazing for a reliever, but having that mark in 76.2 innings as a reliever remains impressive.

Shaw now joins a Rockies team looking to compete for another playoff berth after falling short in the Wild Card Game this past season.

The reliever leaving sets up fans to solely focus on Carlos Santana, who has been attached to several teams thus far. Things happen quickly at the Winter Meetings, but hopefully no team offers Santana a giant deal that the Indians simply cannot match.

Next: Players who could make the 2018 All-Star team

What are your thoughts on Shaw leaving? Are you happy to see him go, or do you believe he was a major key to the bullpen’s success during the past few seasons?