Cleveland Indians: Plenty of impending free agents this offseason

The 2019 Cleveland Indians could feature many new faces as there are several notable players heading to free agency this offseason.

The 2018 Cleveland Indians began the postseason knowing that it could be the final time a majority of that group shared a locker room.

That makes the early exit that much more painful.

MLB.com ran a piece going over the key impending free agents for every MLB team. Indians fans know that the likes of Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Michael Brantley are in need of new deals, but the list goes on from there.

Lonnie Chisenhall, Oliver Perez, Rajai Davis and Josh Tomlin are notable names who may not be back next year. Carlos Carrasco has a club option, which would be a shock if not picked up, while Brandon Guyer also has a club option. That one may be more tricky when it comes to deciding what costs to cut.

This time of year is always when fans try to look outside the organization and project who the team can sign. But at this point, that is hard to do considering the Indians’ financial situation.

There are raises via regular contracts and arbitration, and that is before trying to re-sign any of the impending free agents. If the Indians pay all the raises and commit a decent sum to even one player out of Miller, Allen or Brantley, that may take up much of the financial flexibility.

Factor in the need to offer Lindor a major extension in the next few years and the ability to spend wildly may be out of the question.

The talent in the farm system may begin to show itself in the coming years, but this team is still a contender so the front office can find a happy medium.

Who is one player you think the Indians need to keep next year?