Before we get to the Indians, I have to mention the tremendous outpouring of fan support that has been given to Jimmy since his epic call of Sunday's Nick Chubb touchdown run in Baltimore was shown on video by the Browns on social media.
The tweets that have come in have really touched 'The Voice of the Browns,' and at some point, I'll get him to do a tweet-chat with all of you after one of our shows. I've read as many of your kind notes as I can to Jimmy. However, I think this one might have meant the most to him:
To the Tribe...
Here's what we know after hearing from team president Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona on Wednesday: The Indians didn't hesitate to pick up the $17.5 million option for the 2020 season for two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.
They also didn't hesitate to decline the options for second baseman Jason Kipnis and reliever Dan Otero, meaning both can become free agents.
It's clear that going forward, the Indians still have some holes to fill. Yes, they won 93 games. Yes, they still have a strong starting pitching rotation. Yes, they still have a nice core of young players under team control for the next couple of seasons with some potential reinforcements waiting in the minor leagues.
But they also have a bullpen that was leaky at times during the season. They also are lacking outfielders to play alongside Oscar Mercado. Jose Ramirez essentially told the club that he can play second base or third base, but would rather not go back and forth. So the Tribe will need to get an infielder that can hold down a position until highly touted prospect Nolan Jones is ready to come to the big leagues, something that could happen towards the end of next season.
So here's what we don't know: How are the Indians going to fill these holes?
Sure there are prospects like Jones that at some point will be ready. But the Tribe is still in a win-now mode. Although they've trimmed a little bit of money from the payroll by declining Kipnis' option, don't look for them to spend mega bucks in free agency. There's also the uncertainty of how the team's finances will be affected with minority owner John Sherman set to buy the Kansas City Royals.
All this means that the Indians will likely have to do some wheeling and dealing via trade if they're going to address their needs.
The position of strength on the Indians is, of course, starting pitching. Imagine a potential rotation of Kluber, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, and Aaron Civale. If Carrasco isn't ready to start, Zach Plesac or Adam Plutko are waiting in the wings. I wonder if the Tribe might try to deal Civale, Plesac, or Plutko to try to pry a young position player or reliever away from a team.
And then, there's Francisco Lindor.
The cornerstone of the Tribe's roster still has two years before he becomes a free agent. Before the year even started, there was doom and gloom about the shortstop's future with the Indians thanks to a quote from owner Paul Dolan to The Athletic's Zack Meisel. “Enjoy him,” Dolan said in the spring. “We control him for three more years. Enjoy him, and then, we’ll see what happens.”
RELATED: Fans concerned by Paul Dolan saying ‘enjoy him’ in reference to Indians SS Francisco Lindor
Fast forwarding to the present, per Meisel, here's what Antonetti said about Lindor's future with the Indians on Wednesday:
I can't help but think about a conversation Bud Shaw and I had with former MLB slugger, now television analyst Cliff Floyd, during the All-Star festivities in July. When we asked about Lindor's future, Floyd said ominously, "If you can't pay the man, he has to go. But you have to make sure you're in position to get the maximum out of him and not have your backs against the wall and have to give him away."
Lindor's value will never be higher than it is right now. And let's be real: The Indians are not going to spend $30-plus million a year on Frankie, or anyone for that matter.
However, if you trade the face of the franchise, you risk alienating your fan base. You also risk damaging your hopes to get back to the postseason in 2020. It's a tricky proposition.
Jimmy suggested that two teams to watch this winter are the Yankees and Red Sox. (Shocker, I know.) New York's current shortstop Didi Gregorius is eligible for free agency after the Yankees finish the postseason. As far as Boston is concerned, Lindor absolutely loves their skipper Alex Cora.
We'll see what happens over the next five months or so. It should be very, very interesting!
Watch Wednesday's edition of Donovan & Dino, presented by Master Pizza, in the player below:
