Fansided

3 impactful players Cleveland Indians will lose in free agency

By Steven Kubitza

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians forces out Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Progressive Field on September 10, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Royals defeated the Indians 11-1. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians forces out Whit Merrifield #15 of the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Progressive Field on September 10, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Royals defeated the Indians 11-1. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /
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Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
CLEVELAND, OH – AUGUST 25: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians hits an RBI single against starting pitcher Rich Hill of the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Progressive Field on August 25, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Twins 4-2. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

1. Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana already left the Indians once back in the 2017 offseason. He got the Philadelphia Phillies to hand him a three-year deal and he played it out as a member of the Indians after returning via trade for the 2019 season.

Now Santana has a hefty $17.5 million club option on the table. It would be a shock if the Indians committed that much money to the 34-year-old given the expected spending cut this offseason.

The veteran is extremely valuable to the organization and while he only ever made one All-Star Game, he did post a 29.5 WAR in 10 total seasons with with team.

The Indians had a clear championship window from 2016 up until the 2020 season. Cutting Hand and likely trading Lindor shows the team is committed to getting younger and building it back up. $17.5 million for one more year of Santana after he batted .199 in 2020 would be a shock.

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Players like Bobby Bradley, Jake Bauers, or even Franmil Reyes could be groomed to take over at first for Santana. Unfortunately, none of those three are near Santana’s talent level. But that is the price to pay when slashing spending and the Indians will have to suffer the consequences if Santana is indeed let go for the second time.

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