Digging deep on Tribe’s non-tender candidates

CLEVELAND — The offseason is not only a time for clubs to search for external additions, but also to evaluate the escalating cost of the roster already in place. Right now, Cleveland’s front office is weighing how to approach its nine players who are eligible for arbitration this winter.

By 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday night, Major League teams must determine whether to tender contracts to any arbitration-eligible players. For the Indians, that list includes closer Cody Allen, starter Trevor Bauer, outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder Brandon Guyer, reliever Jeff Manship, reliever Zach McAllister, reliever Dan Otero, starter Danny Salazar and reliever Bryan Shaw. Some are no-brainers, while others require more thought. It is quite possible that Cleveland will tender contracts to each eligible player.

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If a player is non-tendered, he immediately becomes a free agent. If a contract is offered, the two sides will exchange proposed salary figures in January, with arbitration hearings scheduled for February if the parties are unable to agree on a deal. The sides can agree to a contract at any point leading up to a hearing.

Here is a breakdown of Cleveland’s arbitration situations, with the projected salaries based on research by MLBTradeRumors.com:

No-brainers Allen ($7.7MM projected salary) Salazar ($3.8MM) Bauer ($3.7MM) Guyer ($2MM) Otero ($1.2MM)

These five players look like shoo-ins to be tendered contracts. Allen, 28, had another outstanding season, posting a 2.51 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 32 saves in 68 innings. In the postseason, Allen allowed no runs over 13 2/3 innings and struck out batters at a rate of 15.8 per nine innings (a single-postseason record among relievers with at least nine innings of work). Allen and Andrew Miller give the Tribe one of the top back-end relief duos in baseball. Also in the bullpen, Otero emerged as an extremely valuable weapon last year. Manager Terry Francona called Otero his “wild card,” as the righty was used in a wide variety of situations. In 62 games, Otero …

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