Goodbye Dr. Smooth

hello all and Happy New Year's Eve. as we're about to close the book on 2018, the time has come for me to finally say my goodbye to Michael Brantley. i don't want to, but i have to. i've written several goodbye blogs to former Cleveland Indians players in the past after they were traded or signed with another team as free agents, yet none were ever as hard for me to compose as this one. i'm still trying to accept the reality of how different everything's going to be next year and i'm simply not okay with it.😭

if you don't already know, Michael officially signed a two-year, $32 million deal with the Houston Astros on December 19. he parted ways with the Indians following a 10-year tenure because they weren't in a position to retain him. that was made clear five days after the World Series ended, on November 2, when they didn't even extend a one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer to Michael, so he entered into free agency for the first time in his career. and it led him to the 'Stros.

Brantley Does Not Receive One-Year, $17.9 Million Qualifying Offer from Indians

hi, Brantley and Indians fans. sorry, but i'm about to ruin your weekend. i regret to inform you that this afternoon, on November 2, the Cleveland Indians announced they decided not to extend a one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer to Michael Brantley for 2019. to say i'm stunned is putting it mildly. none of the Tribe's free agents received a QO, but the news on Brant, one of the most likely candidates for the one-year offer, is particularly unsettling.😟

photo taken from mlb.com/indians article

according to Jordan Bastian's article on mlb.com/indians, Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti explained in a conference call, "ultimately,

Goodbye Slamtana

after losing Bryan Shaw earlier this week to the Colorado Rockies, the Indians have now also lost their biggest free agent on the market. that's right, this afternoon, on December 15, Carlos Santana agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, per Jon Heyman. it comes with a fourth year, $17.5 million option as well, according to Jesse Sanchez. and so it's time for me to write another goodbye blog.😢

let's go back to the beginning. on July 26, 2008, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Santana (and Jon Meloan) to Cleveland for Casey Blake and cash. once in our system, he played strictly behind the plate for the Single A Kinston Indians, Double A Akron (then) Aeros, and Triple A Columbus Clippers. as he was coming up, it was assumed that prospect Santana would be the Tribe's future every day catcher. not only that, but the switch-hitter was pegged to be this big power bat, which the Indians desperately needed.

when the phenom made his Major League debut on June 11, 2010, fans were so excited. he was immediately thrust into the 3rd spot in the batting order, but later turned into the cleanup hitter. unfortunately, Santana suffered a huge blow on August 2 when he blocked the plate in the game against the Boston Red Sox and collided with a baserunner. the terrifying event resulted in a high grade strain of his LCL, hyperextension of his left knee, and season-ending

Goodbye Bryan "Geek" Shaw

Indians fans knew this was coming eventually and now, on December 12, the details have emerged. almost five years to the day after he was traded to Cleveland from the Arizona Diamondbacks, free agent Bryan Shaw has agreed to a three-year deal with the Colorado Rockies, pending a physical. according to Buster Olney, Shaw is expected to earn around $9 million annually. congrats.💰

whenever a player who's been on the team for a long period of time is traded or becomes a free agent and then signs elsewhere, i typically write a goodbye blog containing a few kind words and maybe a nice memory or two. i haven't done one of these in a while, but Shaw's departure is certainly worthy of a formal farewell.

Shaw has been a vital member of the Tribe's bullpen since 2013. in each of his five seasons with us, he made at least 70 regular season appearances and pitched no less than 64.0 innings. in the last four years, he appeared in at least 74 games. the right-hander set a single-season franchise record in 2014 by pitching in an MLB-best 80 games. he was also tied for the most appearances in baseball this past season with 79. basically, all the guy does is pitch.

more importantly, he never gets hurt. you would think that all these outings in consecutive years would catch up with him sometime, but Shaw never

Goodbye Goon Squad (and a few others)

the non-roster invites and new player signings seem to be done, and almost everyone who's supposed to be in Goodyear with the Cleveland Indians has reported to Arizona for spring training. sadly though, unlike in years past, there are a few faces missing. normally, i write goodbye blogs for players who've been with the team for a significant amount of time and then are traded. in this case, we lost some Indians to free agency this offseason and i would like to say some formal goodbyes to them.

Tribe flashback: remember the Goon Squad? yeah, that's officially defunct now because they've all moved on/moved up. ain't nobody left. Jason Giambi ended his 2-year tour with the Tribe after 2014 (however, he will make a brief appearance in camp this week as a guest instructor); Yan Gomes got promoted from a bench guy to a starter in 2014; and Mike Aviles and Ryan Raburn were not re-signed after 2015. so the Goonies are over. c'est la vie.

okay Mike Aviles, i'm starting with you. let me get this outta the way, how could you sign with the enemy? our division rivals, the Detroit Tigers? seriously? ugh. Aviles first came to the Indians in November 2012 (with fellow Goon Squader Gomes) from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Esmil Rogers. "Handsome Mike" was