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Cody Allen

MLBTR Poll: The State Of The Indians Bullpen

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Cody Allen will be closing games for the Los Angeles Angels next season, but the long-time fixture of the Cleveland bullpen may still add some value to the Indians’ 2019 bullpen: as a scout. It was Allen who first brought Jon Edwards to the attention of the Cleveland front office after working out at the same facility as the right-hander, per the Athletic’s Zack Meisel. Edwards, 30, made 9 appearances for the Indians last season after making his way back to the game, missing all of 2017 and almost leaving baseball altogether. Now Edwards is one of the arms that manager Tito Francona will turn to as the Indians’ bullpen tries to make up for the loss of both Allen and Andrew Miller in free agency.

The glass half-full approach might look at the 2.9 WAR totaled by the Indians bullpen in 2018 and say there’s not all that much room to make up. Still, the bullpen unit earned 6.9 WAR in 2017 after fueling the Indians’ World Series run in 2016, and they’ve helped spark an evolution of the bullpen league-wide. It’s an uncertain unit this time around, with Edwards, Adam Cimber, Nick Goody, Dan Otero, Neil Ramirez and Tyler Olson the most established arms set to pitch in front of closer Brad Hand. Former starters Danny Salazar and Cody Anderson may get the Collin McHugh treatment if they can get healthy this season and contribute as McHugh did for the Astros last year. Salazar is a particularly interesting wrinkle as his career 10.51 K/9 could move even higher in shorter stints out of the pen. He was a top-3 pitcher in their rotation before getting injured. Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber may have usurped his spot in the rotation, but Salazar has the opportunity to be an impact arm where Cleveland needs the help most. 

Newly-acquired youngsters Jefry Rodriguez and Chih-Wei Hu have added to the organization’s overall depth, and they’ll compete with veteran castoffs like James Hoyt, Justin Grimm, and A.J. Cole to claim the open spots in Cleveland’s pen. It’s a long season, and just as often as a veteran bullpener falls apart, a new stud develops out of nowhere. There’s a case to be made that the Indians collection of arms is more than enough to put together a dominant bullpen, it’s just unclear which 7-10 names are most likely to be a part of it. The Indians may feel that the risk of paying significant money to tired, veteran arms isn’t any more risky than relying on a large group of high-end hopefuls to develop confidence and dependability in the nine months from when pitchers and catchers report in February to the playoffs in October. There’s high-end potential in the names above, and they have another reason to be optimistic as well: top prospect Triston McKenzie has risen steadily through the system, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the 21-year-old could be ready for an Adam Wainwright/David Price style call up if he continues to succeed in Triple A. 

Francona may cull together a functional group from the arms already in-house, but no matter how you slice it, it’s a far cry from the back-end dependability the AL Central champs have leaned on throughout this current run atop the division. There are other issues at hand for the Indians as well, who are facing a significant amount of roster churn. There’s a leadership void to fill around Francisco Lindor, and it’s unclear at this time who will step up, per Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. Lindor certainly has the talent to be “the guy” in the clubhouse, but it’s tough for the best on-field producer to also shoulder the load of managing the clubhouse as a lone sheriff. Allen has been a big-time leader in the bullpen, and Rajai Davis a vocal veteran leader who will no longer be with the club as well. They may have more of a fight on their hands for the AL Central crown too, as the Twins added a ton of right-handed power as they look to rebound, and the White Sox rebuild is nearing a crescendo.

Even if they capture their fourth straight division title, the Indians will have a tough time surviving the playoff gauntlet in a top-heavy American League if they don’t get some reliability and shutdown firepower from their bullpen. The Yankees have not been shy about investing heavily in their bullpen for a couple of seasons, and the rest of the league is starting to follow suit, but as of right now, the Indians, as well as some other contenders like the Red Sox and Cubs, are holding steady with the arms they’ve got in-house. In the past it’s been unwise to invest in the bullpen, an area of notoriously fickle year-to-year performance, but the tide has turned and the Indians run the risk of seeming painfully out-of-step. The rotation remains stacked, but given that it only took one year, $8.5MM for LA to lock down Allen, it’s fair to wonder if the Indians are playing a little too fast and loose with their bullpen.

How do you feel about the current state of the Indians pen? (Link for app users).

Pitching Market Rumors: Giants, Gray, Rangers, Allen, Scrabble

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The pitching market continues to proceed at a steady but unhurried pace, with today’s reunion between the Giants and Derek Holland marking the latest signing of note. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to cover the news from the team’s perspective. While the organization has undergone front office changes since Holland wrapped up a solid performance on a one-year deal in 2018, new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi still made the call to bring back the southpaw. That was due in no small part to the club’s positive experience with him last year, both on and off the field. Zaidi emphasized that the team still wants to find more rotation depth this winter, though it’s far from clear that any further MLB signings will be pursued. It certainly seems possible that the club will add plausible rotation pieces via trade or on minor-league deals.

Here’s the latest on the pitching market:

  • Talks surrounding Sonny Gray have “ramped up” since Yankees’ lefty CC Sabathia was cleared to resume baseball activities last week, Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets. The Yankees are discussing Gray with six teams, including the Reds, per Heyman, though previous reports had indicated that Cincinnati’s interest had cooled off since adding Alex Wood and Tanner Roark. Gray agreed to a $7.5MM salary over the weekend, falling shy of MLBTR’s $9.1MM projection and perhaps making him a bit more appealing to clubs who’ve already added a fair bit of payroll this offseason.
  • The Rangers are maintaining interest in adding some free-agent arms to their bullpen and have been in recent contact with the representatives for right-handers Adam Ottavino and Cody Allen, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). However, the likelier route is that the Rangers will add multiple lower-cost relievers rather than one higher-end piece. Rosenthal adds Adam Warren to the list of potential Texas targets and notes that the Rangers are also still looking to add an infielder. Meanwhile, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the Twins still have interest in Allen. Minnesota was connected to Allen earlier this winter and has since signed Blake Parker, though they’re still in the market for additional relief help. Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey knows Allen quite well from his days in the Indians’ front office.
  • Free-agent lefty Marc Rzepczynski is hosting a showcase for big league teams tomorrow, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. The 33-year-old southpaw struggled tremendously in 2018 both at the Majors and in Triple-A, and he’ll look to audition for clubs on what figures to be a minor league deal with a chance to reestablish himself as a credible option. “Scrabble” has worked as a lefty specialist for the bulk of his career, as he hasn’t topped 50 innings since 2011 despite averaging 64 MLB appearances per season from 2012-17. In his career, he’s held lefties to an awful .225/.296/.305 batting line through 857 plate appearances.

Market Notes: Dozier, Allen, Yanks, Tulo, Mets

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Free-agent second baseman Brian Dozier’s market is “starting to heat up,” Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. On the heels of an uncharacteristically pedestrian campaign divided between the Twins and Dodgers, the 31-year-old Dozier has drawn reported interest from just two teams – the Nationals and Brewers – this offseason. But Dozier’s no doubt one of the most accomplished veterans remaining in free agency, and he’s not far removed from posting excellent production on a regular basis. From 2013-17, Dozier averaged 4.3 fWAR, 29 home runs and 16 stolen bases per season.

  • As with Dozier, free-agent reliever Cody Allen has encountered more interest of late, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. Reported interest in Allen has been scarce since he, like Dozier, put up surprisingly underwhelming numbers in 2018. Now 30, Allen was consistently one of the majors’ most reliable closers and bullpen workhorses from 2013-17, over which he converted 120 of 135 save chances and registered a 2.59 ERA with 11.93 K/9 and 3.26 BB/9 across 344 2/3 innings. Had that version of Allen stuck around in ’18, he’d have been in contention for one of the majors’ richest contracts among this winter’s crop of free-agent relievers. Instead, Allen pitched to a 4.70 ERA with 10.75 BB/9 and 4.43 BB/9, though he did make good on 27 of 32 save chances and tally another 67 frames.
  • During the Yankees’ courtship of Troy Tulowitzki, the two sides never discussed a utility role for the longtime shortstop, according to Andy Martino of SNY. Rather, short was the only position on the table for the 34-year-old Tulowitzki, whom the Yankees officially signed Friday. Barring a change from the Yankees (who are pursuing free-agent shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado), Tulo will fill in for injured shortstop Didi Gregorius at the outset of next season. It’ll be interesting to see how the Yankees’ infield will align if they sign Machado, then. He could go back to third, the position he has handled with brilliance for most of his career, but it’s unclear how that would affect 2018 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar.
  • After acquiring center fielder Keon Broxton from the Brewers on Saturday, the Mets “aren’t so sure” they’ll pick up another major league outfielder this offseason, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. The club could still scoop up a free-agent outfielder(s) on a minor league deal – as it did Saturday with Rymer Liriano, who followed Rajai Davis and Gregor Blanco in that regard – but it doesn’t seem as if New York is in play anymore for a high-profile addition in the grass. The Mets have frequented rumors for free-agent center fielder A.J. Pollock as much as any other team, though it’s questionable whether there’s room for him on the roster. Along with Broxton and Juan Lagares in center, the team has everyday outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto in the corners, not to mention the rehabbing Yoenis Cespedes.

FA/Trade Rumors: Kinsler, Jays, Yanks, Indians, Miller, Allen, Miley

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The Tigers, Brewers, Athletics and Nationals are among the teams interested in free-agent second baseman Ian Kinsler, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The Brewers have met with Kinsler at the Winter Meetings, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Detroit’s inclusion on the list is particularly interesting in light of the fact that Kinsler thrived there from 2014-17, before the team traded him to the Angels last offseason. The 36-year-old ended up dividing the season between Anaheim and Boston, where he combined to hit a less-than-stellar .240/.301/.380 (87 wRC+) in 534 plate appearances. But to Kinsler’s credit, he swatted 14 home runs, stole 16 bases and, for the 12th consecutive season, posted at least 2.0 fWAR (2.3).

More chatter from around the game…

  • Blue Jays right-handers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have been mentioned in trade rumors this offseason, though teams are finding it especially difficult to pry them loose. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, interested clubs have found the Jays’ asking price for both pitchers to be “uncomfortably high.” Because Stroman and Sanchez each have two years of control left, Nicholson-Smith suggests the Jays are holding out for a return similar to the one the Mariners received from the Yankees for James Paxton. That doesn’t seem realistic on Toronto’s part, however, as both Stroman and Sanchez struggled through injury-limited seasons in 2018.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman met with free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino’s representative Tuesday, though no real offers have been exchanged to this point, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.  Ottavino, 33, remains near the top of the Yankees’ free-agent wish list, Sherman notes. With free agents Zach Britton and David Robertson possibly on their way out of the Bronx, Ottavino – a New York City native – is a logical target for the club.
  • There’s “no chance” free-agent reliever Andrew Miller will re-sign with the Indians, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes. On the other hand, there’s still a possibility of fellow FA reliever Cody Allen returning to Cleveland, according to Hoynes, though he adds that it would be surprising. Although both Miller and Allen fell off in 2018, it still appears the two highly accomplished late-game arms will rake in sizable paydays on the open market.
  • Free-agent lefty Wade Miley’s camp is “confident” he’ll reel in a multiyear contract, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. The 32-year-old Miley’s clearly in far better position than he was last offseason, when he had to settle for a minor league deal with Milwaukee. Miley went on to hold his own over 80 2/3 innings with the Brew Crew, pitching to a 2.57 ERA/3.59 FIP with a 52.8 percent groundball rate. At the same time, though, he recorded unappealing strikeout and walk numbers (5.58 K/9, 3.01 BB/9) and benefited from an ultra-low, likely unsustainable home run-to-fly ball rate of 5.2 percent.

Central Notes: Reds, Twins, Tribe, Cubs

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The latest from the majors’ Central divisions…

  • Reds president Dick Williams acknowledged on Tuesday that his team has had trade talks with the Dodgers, though he added that no deal is close, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com tweets. “We’ve had conversations with the Dodgers and there have been a variety of permutations,” Williams said. “I’m not going to get into what we’ve talked about.” Reds right-hander Homer Bailey and Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig have reportedly been among the names bandied about in those discussions.
  • The Twins have interest in free-agent pitchers Yusei Kikuchi, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. They’re unlikely to “make a serious bid” for Kikuchi, though, Neal writes. As for the two relievers, the Twins are more interested in Allen than Miller, whose injury issues have led to some concern from Minnesota, per Neal. Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey was in the Indians’ front office in 2016 when Allen and Miller formed one of the most dominant late-game tandems in baseball. Now, both Allen and Miller are coming off underwhelming seasons in Cleveland.
  • More from Neal, who reports that Twins slugger Miguel Sano has switched representation to Cobb Eddy Sports Group just in time for his first trip through arbitration. The 25-year-old third baseman is set to go through the process at an inopportune time, having turned in a stunningly poor 2018 performance after earning an All-Star nod the previous season.
  • Indians president Chris Antonetti told longtime second baseman Jason Kipnis after the season that he’s likely to be an outfielder in 2019, Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com tweets. Kipnis, 31, totaled 173 innings in the outfield from 2017-18, during which his offensive numbers dropped to career-worst levels. Thanks to Kipnis’ decline at the plate, not to mention the guaranteed $17MM left on his contract, he has come up in trade rumors this offseason. Regardless of whether Kipnis goes, it seems the Indians are poised to enter 2019 with superstar Jose Ramirez at second base and Yandy Diaz at third.
  • Cubs manager Joe Maddon doesn’t have a contract beyond next season, but he told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and other reporters on Tuesday that his uncertain future doesn’t faze him. “I’ve been there before. It’s all good. I am not offended. I get it. I’m excited,” said Maddon, who may lose his right-hand man, bench coach Brandon Hyde, to the Orioles. Either way, the soon-to-be 65-year-old Maddon will try to help the Cubs to a fifth straight playoff berth next season.

Indians Will Not Issue Any Qualifying Offers

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12:37pm: MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Cleveland won’t issue any qualifying offers. That means Brantley, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen will all reach free agency without the burden of draft compensation attached to them. The latter two were never really viewed as candidates for a QO, though each will be among the most intriguing relievers available this winter — even on the heels of a down season.

12:05pm: The Indians aren’t expected to issue a $17.9MM qualifying offer to left fielder Michael Brantley prior to this afternoon’s deadline, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.

Brantley, 31, was a borderline case for a QO and may have received one were he on a team without such tight payroll constraints. The three-time All-Star bounced back from shoulder and ankle injuries in 2018 to post an excellent .309/.364/.468 batting line with 17 homers and a dozen steals in 631 plate appearances, marking his healthiest season since the 2014 campaign. He was amog the toughest players in the league to strike out, as he went down on strikes in just 9.5 percent of his plate appearances this past season.

Brantley’s ability with the bat has never been in question, but his durability has become a concern in recent seasons. “Dr. Smooth” averaged 148 games and 623 PAs per season from 2012-15 but suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery late in that 2015 campaign. He was limited to 11 games as a result the following season and was held to 91 games in 2017, due largely to a series of ankle issues.

Nonetheless, Brantley is a career .295/.351/.430 hitter and a .311/.371/.475 hitter dating back to a 2014 breakout that saw him finish third in American League MVP voting. The Indians, though, already project to carry what would be a club-record $145MM payroll for the 2019 season (including arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players) and likely didn’t feel comfortable risking nearly $18MM more on a player with Brantley’s injury history accepting that sizable one-year offer. Had he accepted, Brantley would’ve been ineligible to be traded without his consent until June 15 of next year.

The decision means that, barring a last-minute change of heart, Cleveland could lose Brantley to free agency without any form of draft-pick compensation. That’s not an ideal scenario for the Indians, though it’s a trickle-down effect of the recent success they’ve had atop the AL Central, as the franchise-record payroll is largely the product of investing heavily in Edwin Encarnacion and ponying up on contract extensions to retain aces Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco.

AL Notes: Rays, Miller, Allen, Orioles

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The Rays’ reputation for creative thinking is somewhat making the team a victim of its own success in 2018, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The Rays have already lost two members of their coaching staff to managerial jobs (Charlie Montoyo with the Blue Jays and Rocco Baldelli with the Twins), while senior VP Chaim Bloom was a finalist for the Mets’ GM job and has been mentioned as a possible candidate to run the Giants’ baseball operations department.  For now, Tampa has two coaching vacancies to fill, though the responsibilities of Baldelli’s old infield coordinator role could be altered, as that job was specifically tailored for Baldelli’s skillset.  Topkin wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one new coach from outside the organization hired, though the Rays do have a long track record of promoting from within the organization.

Some more from around the American League….

  • Neither Andrew Miller or Cody Allen had a season to remember in 2018, though could those disappointing years actually make it more likely that one of the two relievers returns to the Indians bullpen in 2019?  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explores the possibility as part of a reader mailbag, with the caveat that “this is a buyer beware situation even on a one-year deal.”  Miller was hampered by multiple injuries en route to a 4.24 ERA over 34 innings for the Tribe last season, while Allen simply lacked consistency, posting a career-high 4.70 ERA over 67 frames.  The prevailing wisdom had been that Cleveland wouldn’t be able to afford to re-sign either pitcher in free agency, though if either Miller or Allen was willing to take a one-year pillow contract (with an eye towards pitching better and then looking for a multi-year contract in the 2019-20 offseason), it’s possible the Tribe could be open to that type of short-term expenditure.  The price tag will be an issue, of course, as Cleveland already has over $135MM in projected payroll for next season and still must address other needs this winter.
  • The Orioles are parting ways with several members of the organization, as The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com were among those to report the changes.  Triple-A manager Ron Johnson, director of Dominican baseball operations Nelson Norman, East Coast scouting supervisor Kirk Fredriksson, special assistant Matt Haas, and area scout Dana Duquette didn’t have their contracts renewed for 2019.  Senior advisor Joe McIlvaine and special assignment scout Wayne Britton also won’t be returning next season, Kubatko reports.
  • In another piece from Kubatko, he speculates that left-hander Sean Gilmartin and outfielder John Andreoli could be candidates to be outrighted as the Orioles clear roster space in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  (Kubatko already reported that Jace Peterson has been told by the team that he’ll be placed on outright waivers.)  Gilmartin posted a 3.00 ERA over 27 relief innings for Baltimore after signing a minor league deal last summer, and Kubatko speculates that the O’s could try re-signing Gilmartin after the Rule 5 Draft since the southpaw has potential as a multi-inning reliever.  The 28-year-old Andreoli made his Major League debut last season, posting a .546 OPS over 67 PA with the Mariners and Orioles.

Quick Hits: Allen, Holliday, Cease

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Last night, Indians reliever Cody Allen’s year-long struggles continued as he blew a save against the cellar-dwelling Royals. Allen’s latest collapse on the mound, during which he gave up back-to-back homers to a pair of rookies, prompted Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer to address whether or not the newly-acquired Brad Hand ought to be given the full-time closer job. While Hoynes does more spitballing than actual answering of the question, he does quote manager Terry Francona at one point, who says that “I’ll sit down and talk to him again because we need him. We can’t run from Cody. We need him really bad to win. So we’ll visit a little bit.” From my perspective, Allen may not only be pitching himself out of his “closer” job, but also out of a potential qualifying offer at season’s end, which he seemed a near lock to warrant at the outset of the 2018 season. That’d be bad news for a small-market Cleveland ballclub that would surely like to be rewarded for his departure with a compensatory draft pick.

A couple of items from elsewhere around the league…

  • 38-year-old Matt Holliday’s return to the Rockies became official last night, as he played left field against the Padres last night. After lingering on the free agent market all last winter in hopes of securing a major-league contract, Holliday recently joined the Rockies on a minor league pact and demolished Triple-A pitching en route to a call-up to help the MLB club, as Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post details in his latest piece. “I’m here to help the team in any way possible,” Holliday said of his return to the majors. “I’m just here to be part of the team and do everything I can to impact the team, as best I can.” The seven-time All-Star feels as though he’s in excellent shape, in part thanks to his tune-up in the minors. For his part, manager Bud Black is happy to have both Holliday’s playing ability and leadership in the fold as the team pushes for a playoff berth.
  • The White Sox have opted to shut down one of their top pitching prospects for the season, James Fegan of The Athletic reports via Twitter.  However, the decision isn’t related to any sort of injury. Rather, Dylan Cease has simply reached an innings threshold that the organization doesn’t wish to push him past. The 22-year-old right-hander has tossed 124 innings combined between Chicago’s High-A and Double-A affiliates, which exceeds his career high workload by about 30. Cease hasn’t faced much resistance in his ascension, posting a 1.72 ERA with Double-A Birmingham this season while racking up a whopping 78 strikeouts in just 52 1/3 innings pitched.

Quick Hits: Altherr, Schoop, Santana, Allen, Miller

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The Phillies announced that outfielder Aaron Altherr and righty Mark Leiter Jr. have been optioned to Triple-A, with corresponding roster moves coming tomorrow.  It was just a season ago that Altherr looked like a breakout member of the Phils’ outfield picture, as he hit .272/.340/.516 with 19 homers over 412 plate appearances, though he has been unable to come anywhere close to that production in 2018.  Altherr has been a sub-replacement level (-0.7 fWAR) player through 248 PA this season, hitting just .171/.290/.305 and subsequently losing regular playing time.  He’ll look to get back on track in the minors, while his absence could put Philadelphia in the mix for a backup outfielder in its trade discussions.

Here’s more from around baseball as we’re just over a week away from the trade deadline…

  • Jonathan Schoop’s time with the Orioles may be coming to an end, if recent trade rumors are any indication.  The second baseman tells The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (subscription required) that he hopes he can remain in Baltimore to become a building block for the O’s as they go through a rebuild.  That said, the team also didn’t engage in any extension talks with Schoop last winter in the wake of his strong 2017 season.  That move may have been prescient on the Orioles’ part, as Schoop suffered through a nightmarish first three months that saw him miss time with an oblique injury and post just a .587 OPS over 266 PA.  Though he has hit better in July, the Orioles would still be selling low on Schoop, so they could retain him for the rest of the season to see if he can rebuild any value in the second half.  Schoop has one remaining year of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency after the 2019 campaign.
  • Ervin Santana will make his season debut on Wednesday when he takes the hill for a start in Toronto, Twins skipper Paul Molitor told reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger).  Santana underwent surgery on the middle finger of his throwing hand back in early February, a procedure that was thought to require only a 10-to-12 week rehab stint.  Unfortunately for the right-hander, he battled continued soreness in his finger as well as a rather troubling velocity drop during his recovery process, and is only now ready to return to action.  Due to that extended absence, Bollinger writes that Santana’s $14MM club option for 2019 is ” not expected to be picked up” by the Twins, though I’d suspect that the team would at least consider retaining the veteran if he shows any of his old form over the final two-plus months of the season.  Santana did post excellent numbers in 2016-17, delivering a 3.32 ERA, 2.77 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 63 starts and 392 2/3 IP for Minnesota.
  • The Indians’ acquisitions of Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres in this week’s blockbuster trade likely means that the Tribe will let Cody Allen and Andrew Miller leave after the season, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines.  Hand is signed to a reasonable contract through at least the 2020 season while Cimber is controlled through 2023, making them better value over Allen and Miller, considering what the two veteran relievers are likely to ask for in free agency this winter.  Cleveland has stretched its payroll beyond its usual mid-market comfort zone in an attempt to win a World Series, and it always seemed unlikely that the Indians would continue to heavily invest in the bullpen by re-signing Miller and/or Allen when lower-cost options could be found elsewhere.

Indians, Cody Allen Avoid Arbitration

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The Indians have avoided arbitration with closer Cody Allen by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $10.575MM, as Tom Withers of the Associated Press was first to report (via Twitter). Allen, a client of Meister Sports Management, had a projected arbitration salary of $10.8MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Allen, 29, will take home a raise of more than $3MM over last season’s $7.35MM salary. The raise was well-deserved, as Allen turned in his fifth consecutive season with a sub-3.00 ERA out of the Cleveland bullpen. Since taking over as Cleveland’s closer in 2014, Allen has pitched to an outstanding 2.62 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a total of 120 saves. Allen has averaged better than 70 appearances per season and 53 games finished per year in that time, and he’s been even better in the postseason, where he owns a minuscule 0.47 ERA with a ridiculous 33-to-8 K/BB ratio in 19 1/3 innings.

This past season, Allen worked to a 2.94 ERA and averaged 12.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 with a 33.5 percent grounder rate and a fastball that averaged 94.3 mph. This will be his final trip through the arbitration process, as Allen is poised to hit the open market for the first time following the 2018 season, adding to an impressive overall crop of free agents. He’ll join Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Kelvin Herrera on what should be a strong market for top-end relievers.

With Allen’s case now resolved, the Indians have four remaining cases, as can be seen in MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker. Trevor Bauer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Danny Salazar and Zach McAllister are the Indians’ remaining arb-eligibles that have yet to agree to terms on a contract for the upcoming season.

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