Cleveland Indians: Hot stove season is upon us

With the World Series coming to an end, we’ve arrived at hot stove season. We’re here to get you primed for a huge offseason for the Cleveland Indians.

The 2018 MLB season has come to an end, and the Boston Red Sox are World Series champions. The Cleveland Indians are one of the two teams who had a winning record against the Red Sox, no big deal. But now the offseason has officially arrived, and with it comes hot stove season.

Free agency has officially opened up, and a lot of players from Cleveland are a part of this class. We’ve talked to no end about the names hitting free agency from the Indians. Highlighting those names are Michael Brantley, Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, and Lonnie Chisenhall.

The 10 total free agents coming from Cleveland are the most of any team in baseball. That’s never a spot that you want to be in, but it means the Indians can’t sit idly by this offseason. There are a lot of moves the Indians front office can make. They can decide to play with house money and fill their roster through a somewhat depleted farm system. They can make a push to add some free agents (although it may require an increased budget from CEO Paul Dolan.

The other option is to try to retain the pending free agents. The cheaper options may be resigned immediately or not even considered, but you have to imagine the bigger names will at least test the waters. This is obviously a period that will show how the Indians feel about their current team and their World Series window. If they don’t make any moves, they’re counting on their farm system and the mid-season trade deadline to carry them.

I don’t see other American League Central teams making big signings. The White Sox and Twins feel like the only teams close to competing. But other teams like the Astros and Yankees might make some big signings to stay atop of the American League.

The litmus test that is the hot stove will give us an idea of how the Indians will look next year. So buckle in. This winter could be filled with tears and cheers. If you watch the Cleveland Indians during the season, you should already be used to that roller coaster of emotions.