The Indians on Friday announced that they have declined the 2021 club options for first baseman Carlos Santana, closer Brad Hand and outfielder Domingo Santana. The lone 2021 option that was exercised belonged to catcher Roberto Perez.
Carlos Santana ($17.5 million club option, $500,000 buyout), Hand ($10 million option, $1 million buyout) and Domingo Santana ($5 million club option, $250,000 buyout) were all more-than-likely candidates to have their options declined considering the expected response from many teams, including the Indians, to the economic fallout of the shortened, fanless 2020 season.
The Indians will still owe those three players a combined $1.75 million in buyout money, but shedding their deals from the payroll will help to alleviate some of the financial pressure outlined earlier this month by president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti.
Perez will make $5.5 million in 2021. He also has a $7 million club option ($450,000 buyout) for the 2022 season. Perez and Austin Hedges, who is eligible for arbitration, are in line to handle the catching duties in 2021.
The two Santanas and Hand join second baseman Carlos Hernandez, reliever Oliver Perez and catcher Sandy Leon, who had their deals expire with the conclusion of the World Series, as Indians on the open market. The market for free agents could move much slower than normal depending on how owners across the league respond to the 2020 economic situation.
Earlier in October, Antonetti said it could take "years" for the team to recover from the economic stress the 2020 season put on the franchise. For roughly the past two years, the Indians have already been cutting payroll, trimming tens of millions compared to where the final payrolls stood in 2017 and 2018.
Antonetti's words only made it clearer that trend would in all likelihood be continuing heading into 2021, even as the Indians hope to contend for the next several seasons thanks to a number of trades that have brought in younger, more controllable players. In the past year, the Indians have traded pitchers Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger in that effort.
The Indians weren't alone in declining most or all of their club options, with a few noteworthy moves being made around the league on Friday.
The Rangers declined the 2021 club option on Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award Winner, making him a free agent. Kluber, traded for reliever Emmanuel Clase — who now could have an even larger role for the Indians in 2021 — and outfielder Delino DeShields, pitched one inning for the Rangers in 2020 before going down with a shoulder injury that ended his season. The Rays, meanwhile, declined club options on pitcher Charlie Morton and catcher Mike Zunino.
