The Indians have turned down club options for first baseman Carlos Santana, outfielder/designated hitter Domingo Santana and left-handed reliever Brad Hand, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. They have, however, picked up catcher Roberto Perez’s $5.5MM option.
Carlos Santana will get a $500K buyout instead of the $17.5MM salary he could have made. Domingo Santana will earn $250K in lieu of a $5MM salary. Meanwhile, the Indians will pay Hand $1MM over the $10MM figure he was due on his option.
It’s not a surprise the small-budget Indians are moving on from the Santanas, at least at those prices. Carlos Santana has spent all but one season of his career in Cleveland since it began in 2010 and has performed quite well, but he’s now coming off a disappointing year. Santana’s keen eye at the plate did lead to more walks (47) than strikeouts (43), but his average and power declined significantly en route to a .199/.349/.350 line with eight home runs in 255 PA. Even with another effective season, it would have been difficult to imagine the Indians keeping the 34-year-old for such a lofty fee.
The Indians took a chance last free agency on Domingo Santana, who once looked like a breakout hitter with the Brewers. Santana struggled late in 2019 with the Mariners, though, and that carried into this year. He gave the Indians a horrid .157/.298/.286 line with a paltry two HRs in 84 PA.
It’s not at all eyebrow-raising that the Indians are moving on from Hand, as they placed him on outright waivers Thursday. The move came as a shock at the time, though Hand nonetheless cleared waivers instead of saving the Indians from a buyout. He’ll head to free agency as a 30-year-old with an outstanding track record, including three All-Star appearances. Hand’s now fresh off a season in which he led baseball in saves (16, with no blown chances), put up a magnificent 2.05 ERA/1.37 FIP and posted 11.86 K/9 against 1.64 BB/9 in 22 innings.
Perez was one of the game’s top all-around catchers as recently as 2019, but a right shoulder injury limited his appearances and his effectiveness this year. However, despite slashing a woeful .165/.264/.216 with one HR over 110 PA, the Indians are keeping him in the fold. As things stand, they have two light-hitting, defensively gifted backstops in Perez and Austin Hedges, who could combine to make in the $8.5MM neighborhood in 2021.
The fact nobody claimed Hand at what would normally be considered a very reasonable one year salary doesn’t bode well for free agency.
We are looking at one incredibly slow off season as owners have no idea what to budget for 2021.
Yeah that’s extremely scary… one of the best relievers in baseball… yikes
He wouldn’t go thru waivers. However, it is going to be a glut of mid tier guys for sure.
Agreed. No way he’s on waivers in a normal year. He’s traded.
Tons of rotation and bullpen arms available this year. Pretty deep class even without all of the options being declined.
I don’t think it’s just the salary that scared teams. For the second year he struggled to produce ground balls. He also struggled to leave runners stranded and saw his velocity drop.
He was still good, but he may not be projecting as well as we might assume. Someone will certainly bite as a free agent, and maybe he could still get to 10 million with incentives, but I’m not ready to use this as an example of what’s ahead… yet.
So I guess all 30 teams are cheap, not just the Indians. The reality is that covid-19 has played havoc with all 30 teams. I think that most fans will be very disappointed with their team’s offseason.
only one team has gotten rid of a no-brainer option pickup, and that’s the Indians.
And the 29 other teams could have paid that no brainer price and no one did. Not even the big money teams. This offseason will be like no other one in my lifetime. I think that very few fans will be happy with their team’s offseason.
Hand almost seemed like a guaranteed claim. But you said it best. This off season will be like one a lot of us have never seen. Sure the Indians weren’t willing to pay what seemed like a no brainer decision, but neither did 29 other guys.
@hockeyjohn, I disagree with that. These players will sign with someone because a smaller check is better than none at all. I think we’ll see a record number of one-year deals or deals with opt outs after the first year. But whoever picks up Hand, Springer, Bauer, Stroman, Hendriks, or one of a few other guys should have very little reason to complain.
It’s not them being cheap, they just figure, might as well wait. Can still trade for him from whomever picks them up, but in a better leverage situation.
i dont see how it will be slow. any of the surprise non-tenders are going to be signed by someone.
Players and agents alike are going to have to realize that big money multi-year deals are not forthcoming for the vast majority of players. Those who want to play next season are going to be doing so on very team friendly terms or they are going to be in for a very long winter
Given the Phillies 2020 bullpen numbers, claiming Hand at $10 million should have been a no-brainer. They could have let Hector Neris ($7 million option) walk. The $3 million difference would have been well worth it given hand’s superior track record.
That must mean Hand cleared waivers??
If so, that’s a HUGE indication as to this free agent season…
@Hubcap – I think everyone might just have to wait until the 5 days after the World Series are up and then he is a free agent. One would think one of the teams like NYY, Dodgers , Chicago would be interested in Hand for anything around 10 mil or less per year going forward as he is still an exceptional reliever. WOW
How much more can NY put into that BP? They already owe 35m+ next season to 3 relievers in Chapman, Ottavino and Britton.
i mean as good as Hand is its very possible the teams were just hoping he cleared to sign him later.
Also the drop in velocity might have been a concern and watching every Indians game for the last few years, Hand was not right after that injury where they rested him. His numbers were good but something was off. His curve was good with break but fastball not the same up in zone. Hard to see cause I loved watching Yates and him in SD.
He did clear waivers, so the Indians are on the hook for the $1M and any team can sign him once free agency opens. I had a feeling that he would clear waivers. It was funny to read posts yesterday and earlier today about teams like the Dodgers working out a deal with the Rangers for the Rangers to claim him and trade him to LA. This Covid revenue loss is the real deal and both players and agents have to be scared to death after seeing a plus pitcher like Brad Hand go unclaimed for a once reasonable sum of $10M and no loss of assets or draft picks required to claim him. This is going to be one of the most controversial free agency periods of all time. It wouldn’t surprise me if the MLBPA claims collusion by the owners to reset the market this year. We haven’t even reached free agency yet and it’s already ugly. It’s going to get much worse from here. Players could even threaten to strike this year, vs. waiting for the CBA to expire after next season. Get your popcorn ready…
Hand > Boston
Is Massachusetts > Hand?
Hand > Pinky finger
Pinky finger > beer mug full of cockroaches…. I’m not that good at this game
Okay… how poor are these teams? Hand should’ve been picked from the waiver wire reallll quick. I’m scared.
Why are you scared? Are you hitting free agency also?
Maybe he is Trevor Bauer’s agent in disguise?
1. I’m a guy, and Trevor’s agents name is Rachael. So no.
2. It would take a few more years, but in the future I could be a free agent lol. Hopefully I don’t get injured.
The Rangers should give Hand a Job
Ditching the Santanas. A smooth move…
Just like the ocean under the moon.
the step in my groove.
The Yankees are just going to be a title next year. They’ll be the only team spending any money.
*Buy a title.
Except they are on record saying they are going to duck the CBT. So they can’t spend much. They just committed $14MM to Britton.
That $14M was for 2022 and will not affect their CBT salary totals for the upcoming season. He was already on the books in 2021 for $13M, but if the Yankees didn’t pick up the 2022 option prior to free agency, Britton had the right to opt out of his $13M deal for 2021 and become a free agent. While Britton is a beast, the Yankees probably should not have picked it up and see if he dared to test this market. There’s no way any other team was going to sign Britton to a multi-year deal for an AAV of $13M+ this offseason. While it was admirable of the Yankees to do so and reward Britton, it was not a smart business decision.
Hard to argue with that, @mantooth.
I know that you’re using hindsight, but I think it’s understandable in this case.
I guess just the way the Indians acted in regards to Hand should have been a real indicator of what that particular market was going to look like.
So yeah.
Yanks probably overpaid on this one.
I think Britton may have been leading the league with 8 saves when Chapman came back. They’re kinda paying him closer $ and, frankly, he’s kinda worth those $ if keeps pitching the way he has been for them. I don’t mind having closers in the 8th AND 9th. :)
I guess we will find out what it ultimately means but I would have though many, many teams would have claimed Hand. Some even if to plan to trade him for prospects, some because they needed a closer, some because typically, they can afford the luxury of that extra elite arm. Whether or not this is an ominous sign we shall see, but for today, it does not look good for free agents expecting a big payday!
Hello Cleveland rebuild….
I will agree with you once they trade Jose and Carlos. We all know Lindor is gone. If they trade all three their highest paid player will be Perez and 5.5 million. Wow.
I was actually joking… kind of.
I think they’re more likely to start 2021 with Lindor and entertain moving him at the deadline if they’re unlikely to contend. Maybe at that point they really consider a rebuild.
They never rebuild. They just keep doing things the same way year after year, while staying competitive.
They weren’t exactly competitive 2008-2012, the duration of a traditional rebuild. But yeah, they have done things differently than most teams.
It will be fun to see how they address their outfield and the right side of their infield. Easy to see Jones ending up at 1B, but they have some work to do.
The Indians are not trading Ramirez or Carrasco.
Carlos’ option was declined so he’s a free agent now (if you meant Santana and not Carrasco)
I’m absolutely floored that Hand made it all the way through waivers. That’s frankly a bit scary. This offseason is gonna be cutthroat.
Man, me too.
Would have loved to see the Yanks snag him. Hand and a second tier reliever would have solved the Yankees middle relief issues.
Can’t believe teams like Philly, Chicago, Detroit (for different reasons)…man…I could go on and on, didn’t snap this guy up.
The Angels reach the post season this year if they have Hand. In a normal year, he’d have been a trade chip.
I hate to pull rank on you guys, but nobody gets to be as shocked about this than Phillies fans with 70MM coming off the books and the worst bullpen the sport has seen in quite some time.
It’s going to be an agonizingly slow offseason, but these guys are going to have to sign deals at some point, and there will be plenty to pick from for all of our teams at least I guess.
D’accord, @herecomethe,etc
I specifically mentioned the Phillies.
Absolutely true … I was wondering how in the 2 election the Angels or Astros passed this opportunity up …. But I concede totally … Why would the Phillies not take a $10 mil one year shot unless the money really is going to be tight this winter
29 other teams screwed up. Hand should have been claimed by someone. If your a contender thats a top tier relief pitcher. If your rebuilding thats a trade chip when someone comes to their senses next summer.
Clearly, this means they believe he will sign for less than 9M
So long as he does… it was a great business move. He’s a free agent now, not dead
The Mendoza Triplets – All three position players in this article batted under .200 – how the hell did Cleveland win as many games as they did with those anchors?
Starting pitching.
Damn, I’m shocked that a team like the Angels didn’t claim Hand.
What happened to Red Rooster?
Wow Hand wasn’t claimed? Good for him since he can pick his next team, but not sure how much he will make…
Could have let Perez go and sign Jeff Mathis for 700k. Same production.
not defensively. Not even close
It’s actually pretty close. Perez has the edge because of the amount of games he plays/season compared to Mathis.
He was the top defensive catcher two years in a row. First time done since Buster Posey. Mathis never played over 94 games and just never hit and he is not on the same level defensively and not even talking about managing a staff. Perez was actually okay year before. not great batting average but hit 24 homers and was decent. Last, but not least, how does Perez handle a staff? He is trusted to handle one of best staffs in baseball. Mathis would not be given that opportunity. He is just not that type of guy…backup at best on a good day. 5.5mil is a little more than I would pay him but in these days of catchers, he is worth is by pure defensive value.
(insert face palm emoji)
Should have just let him go and see what Hedges can do. Hedges didn’t play much at all for them last year but he’s supposedly a great defender.
He’s a Top 2 or 3 defensive catcher playing today… the trouble is the stick. Not sure he’ll ever hit his weight…
Exciting time for Indians. A new start. Still got a very good rotation and Hankins is not far off. Division is better but we still got the best rotation and our bullpen was better than expected and Clase wasn’t even on the roster. I’m excited about the future. All that is left to do is trade Frankie and get rid of that issue and change the team name. Retooling, not rebuild. Also, next year we can get back to a real World Series winner, not some shortened season winner. Glad for some normalcy next year.
If they change the name, I hope it’s not Spiders. I have arachnophobia.
People are talking about the Angels claiming Hand??? You need a GM first!
i dont see why fans are so concerned. if everyone moves on from the same ammount of guys its just going to be musical players. is this an indication of cheapness? maybe, but I guarantee you Hand is going somewhere as are most of these surprise free agents.
Yeah, I’d hate to be a FA with an expensive mortgage.
The part of this start to the hot stove season that has to be deeply concerning for CLE is that it’s clear that most teams are slashing payroll and tossing talented players overboard in some cases to do so. They may not only get a significantly light return for Lindor, but finding any taker for his $20+M 2021 arb salary may be a struggle. Nobody wants to even imagine this, but CLE could actually find itself in a position where Lindor is non-tendered.
I really can’t picture that happening.
But.
Would have given solid odds that Hand wouldn’t’ve made it *all the way through* waivers yesterday.
So.
What I’d normally write off as a ludicrous HOTTAKE!, seems…well, at the very least possible.
I guess this explains why Cleveland didn’t pick up the option and trade him.
Bonkers.
yeah, even CLE isnt that cheap. owners may be pinching pennies now but i guarantee Lindor would still get paid if he were a FA now (especially being a year younger then he will be this time next year)
The FO has already said they’d have no problem letting Lindor play out his contract. If they can’t trade him this off-season, I’m sure they’ll find takers at the trade deadline.
Well I guess we can’t blame Cleveland for not trading him, turns out no one in either league wanted one of the best relievers in baseball for a completely fair, (if undermarket) salary. If I were Liam Hendricks I’d be asking for an extra finger of scotch (or whatever they drink in Australia) tonight.
This offseason is going to be strange to say the least, and the next CBA negotiations are going to be an absolute bloodbath.
Wow really surprising and possibly bad foreshadowing for free-agents that Brad Hand cleared waivers. You would’ve thought teams would jump at the chance to add such a valuable closer/reliever on a 1-year/$10M deal — but all 29 teams passed. Really rather surprising and I guess means the market, at least for relievers, is going to be really low this year. Because in any normal off-season a relief pitcher with a sub 2.00 ERA and better than 9 K/9 would be signed by any team for 1/$10M… Will be interesting to see what he winds up signing for — because if it hadn’t been for the waivers thing and he’d just been let go as a FA my initial thoughts would’ve been an AAV of $10M or higher — but obviously teams weren’t willing to go there so now it’ll be fascinating to see how cheap he really winds up being. Or if teams are going to be kicking themselves for not claiming him if he winds up signing for more than $10M in a bidding war or something.
Hand did fall off a little bit towards the end of the season and his velocity was down so I wonder if teams are concerned about a potential arm injury there? $10M is a lot to risk if you are not 100% sure about health. With free agency, deals are contingent upon passing a medical evaluation so perhaps teams are waiting for that opportunity. If he proves to be healthy, Hand should have no problem pulling down $7M-$8M+ per year in free agency even in this market. I’m guessing that is what happened here.
Hadn’t thought about that.
I guess that’s certainly possible. It would certainly be some type of explanation.
In a sense, 7-8 mil would have been what the Yanks paid for a Kahnle upgrade (estimated 2.6 arb). Cut ties with the Tightly Panted one, bring Hand aboard.
Chapman closes. Two different kind of lefties to set up/slide around to put out fires along with Green. Use Ottavino like Atlanta used O’Day (protect him from lefties), hope one of Cessa or Holder can take another small step in their development. Go bonkers, & grab another inexpensive middle reliever. Bullpen would have gone from unreliable to a colossal strength.
Alas…
@Ducky – Do you think NY is going to try to dip below the $210M threshold this year or do you think they throw caution to the wind and sign as many good players as they can to compete with LA? So long as they stay under the max tax threshold (I think it’s $260M), the only penalties they incur are extra cash payments, which the Yankees can certainly afford even though they would be sizable (75%-100% tax I believe) as 3 time offenders. If they cross that final $260M threshold, they move down 10 spots in the draft and lose international free agency dollars to spend as well. I’d say they will definitely stay below the max threshold but I’m not certain if they are serious about fully resetting or not. They could be banking on the CBT rules changing as part of the next CBA and spend like drunken sailors this offseason.
I would be shocked if teams are expected to put claims on players+ Contracts without seeing Medicals
They only have 24 hours to put a claim in so they can’t get the player looked in by a doctor in that timeframe. I’m sure they can look at historical medical records but they don’t have time for a physical, MRIs, etc.
Well even with our extremely limited resources we still have a nice group of arms on the staff,but does anyone have any idea what to do with that abysmal outfield. What an assembly of never beens or ever will be’s. I’ve been following the Indians for 60 years and never recall such futility.
I am not saying the current OF situation is good but 2002 might have been worse. I believe my brothers went to a game that year featuring an OF of Bruce Aven, Chris Magruder, and Jolbert Cabrera.. haha
I think this happening so early in the offseason also played a role. But, I agree it does not bode well for free agents – especially relievers, who may have seen their heyday for a while when teams were handing out 3 year 27 million deals like candy.
It is also clear the that the days of overpaying for “closers” is over for a while.
I think the teams that will have a HUGE advantage in free agency are the teams that can structure contracts in a way that will give players security over maximized dollars in the form of signing bonuses. I am thinking of Ross Stripling, who last year signed for slightly under his arbitration projection of 2.3 million at 2.1 million BUT with a 1.5 million singing bonus. As a result, because of covid, he made 1.629 million last year or 850,000 MORE than if he won arbitration at this 2.3 million projection. Looks hell of smart in retrospect – albeit he could not have known about covid.
That could also be why Mookie got a 65 million singing bonus – to protect against another shortened season next year.
Don’t really care about Hand, something wasn’t right with him and he cost the Indians more than he gave. When we needed him most he couldn’t close out a 1 run game he had to have at least 3 to be good. The one I’m concerned about is Carlos Santana, he helps that infield so much but his bat has always been inconsistent, I really don’t want to see him go. But you have Naylor and Bauers in waiting.
What was the headline in the Cleveland papers? “Cleveland Didn’t Like Hand Job!”
Phillies should have leapt at this opportunity. to immediately improve MLB’s worst bullpen.
Revenues down,future uncertain,owners will use every opportunity to weaken the union. The rich will get richer and the players will absorb the majority of the loss. More teams will tank and the game will suffer. Get used to it.
I envision many of these free agent players will be signing one year deals similar to what Gregorios did last season with the Phillies or Grandal and Moustakas did in 2019 with the Brewers so they can get a second crack at free agency when the market hopefully has rebounded.
This is smart in theory… But 2022 with the potential strike looming isn’t the time you want to be looking for a new contract
This doesn’t bode well for the FA market. QO’s are due out tomorrow. It’s hard to see anyone other pitcher than Bauer getting a QO.
Phillies could use a Hand in their bullpen. Two of Colome, Greene, Yates, Trienen & Hendricks should be on their wish list as well. They might as well double down and go all-in for 2021, especially if Realmuto signs elsewhere. They could also target Robbie Ray as multi-inning or high leverage reliever, or to fill the Arrieta vacancy. They should consider a defense-first SS like Iglesias or Simmonds to help out the pitching staff, should Didi walk. Maybe bring in a guy like Joc Pederson to replace Jay Bruce and provide insurance to Cutch & Harp. Springer would be nice, but they absolutely need to spend what money they have on pitching. Segura can move back to SS worse case scenario, and Knapp showed he can handle at least a 50/50 share of reps behind the dish. Spencer Howard is a lock for a rotation spot, as is Bohm for a corner infield position. But nothing, and I mean nothing, will fix that bullpen other than piles and piles of cash.
I’m still mad that we gave up Santana in that trade for that bum Casey Blake. We could have had Sabathia as well!
Roberto Perez is just Russell Martin incognito.