Indians non-tender reliever Manship

CLEVELAND — The bullpen was a strength for the Indians down the stretch last season and a force throughout the postseason. With most of the group returning, that aspect of Cleveland’s roster should be formidable once again next year, but the cost of the club’s relief corps is rising.

That combination of depth and price led to Friday’s decision not to tender a contract to reliever Jeff Manship, who now joins this offseason’s free-agent pool. The Indians did offer one-year pacts to their other arbitration-eligible relievers: closer Cody Allen, setup man Bryan Shaw, and right-handers Dan Otero and Zach McAllister.

• Hot Stove Tracker

Cleveland also tendered contracts to starters Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar, as well as outfielders Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer. Unless a deal takes place, the two sides will exchange proposed salary figures in January, and arbitration hearings, if necessary, will be held in February. Teams can avoid arbitration with a contract at any point leading up to a player’s scheduled hearing.

According to projections by MLBTradeRumors.com, the Tribe’s eight arbitration-eligible combined could earn an estimated $28.7 million for 2017. The bulk of that money will flow to Cleveland’s relievers. Allen projects to earn over $7 million, Shaw could net more than $4 million, while McAllister and Otero each project to earn north of $1 million for next season.

When taking into account that relief ace Andrew Miller is scheduled to earn $9 million next year (and again in 2018), Cleveland’s bullpen could be under contract for more than $25 million in ’17. That projection …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com