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

Indians Exercise Brantley's $12 Million Option for 2018!

hello, Brantley fans! it is a good day! why? because today, on November 3, the Cleveland Indians announced that they have exercised Michael Brantley's $12 million club option for 2018!😂😌👏🙌 Josh Tomlin's $3 million club option was picked up as well. the deadline for the decision(s) was tomorrow at midnight. congratulations on continuing to be two of the longest tenured players in the organization!

photo courtesy of @SportsTimeOhio on twitter

"Josh and Michael have been integral parts of our team for the last number of years," President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said via

Brantley News from October 2017

hey, Brantley fans! the uncertainty surrounding Michael's future with the Tribe should be settled by the weekend, if not sooner, depending on when the World Series ends and whether or not the Indians wait the allotted three days after its conclusion to publicize their decision. (if the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in Game 6 and become World Champions, the Indians have until Friday, November 3 to make/announce their decision. however, if the Dodgers win and the Series goes to a Game 7, then the "deadline" is Saturday, November 4.)

normally, i would prefer to accumulate more news before posting a blog such as this, but because we're about to find out the status of Michael's contract, i thought i would give y'all what i have as of right now real quick. so here is everything i've heard about Michael--with a focus on his $12 million club option for 2018--since the Indians were eliminated by the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Division Series on October 11. 


October 13: Indians manager Terry Francona, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti, and General Manager Mike Chernoff got together for an hour long sit-down to answer questions about the 2017 season, the playoffs, and the offseason.