Cleveland Indians: 5 realistic free agents worth targeting for 2020

Five realistic free agents the Cleveland Indians could consider targeting as the cost-conscious Tribe marches into the 2020 offseason.

Free agency and the Cleveland Indians go together like a 7-year-old trying to buy a Nintendo Switch. They really want the product, but just don’t have the cash.

That’s basically the story of the Tribe in free agency, The Tribe will never be in position to sign a premier free agent and are often relegated to buying lottery tickets, guys who used to be All-Stars but have seen their star fade for whatever reason.

The Indians enter free agency following a nightmarish 2018 season in which the payroll was slashed by 10 percent.

The Indians highest paid players include Corey Kluber ($17 million) and Carlos Santana. His salary is listed as $20 million, but Seattle’s paying a healthy portion, meaning Cleveland’s paying him around $16 million per season.

As of today, the Indians payroll is around $68 million. If the Tribe signs all of its nine arbitration eligible players, that figure gets bumped to $95 million. Francisco Lindor is poised to get a big rase, from around $10 million to $16 million.

After you factor in salaries for players not eligible for arbitration (Shane Bieber, Franmil Reyes, Adam Pluto, Zach Plesac, etc,), the Indians payroll should be around $100 million, well below the $119 million it was to start the season, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Does that mean there’s room to buy a new a player? As an Indians fans, we know better than to get our hopes up. That said, you know the Tribe is always looking for bargains and these players might be five realistic options.