Cleveland Indians: Two tough decisions to make in free agency

The Cleveland Indians have decisions to make on several players this offseason, but two players stand out above the rest.

Yesterday we looked at the impending free agents for the Cleveland Indians this offseason.

Names like Lonnie Chisenhall, Josh Tomlin, Oliver Perez and others will come up in front office meetings, but those are not the main players in focus.

The three most notable free agents, aside from Josh Donaldson, are Michael Brantley, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller.

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com wrote an article today that went through some of the most difficult qualifying offer decisions MLB teams have to make this offseason. The Indians had two players show up in Brantley and Miller.

These are both tricky cases for the Indians. With Miller, it depends how other teams outside of Cleveland value him. If he is getting paid for his 2016-2017 performances, he will be out of the team’s budget. That is why the additions of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber look even better right about now.

Factor in the homegrown talent in Cody Allen and the team may just decide to part ways with Miller. Spotrac has Miller’s market value at nearly $18 million per year. If that is the case, the team won’t even think twice before wishing him well in his new home.

To make fans get even more of a headache, Spotrac has Brantley’s market value up over $19 million annually. The Indians had him cheap for some of his best years, and some fans were even worried about the $12 million he made in 2018. His performance will only raise his value and he is another case of just being out of the price range with all the raises to be paid this year.

And as I have mentioned before, there is the looming extension for Francisco Lindor that must be addressed or saved for soon.

That situation could make or break the Indians depending how the front office handles it.