Cleveland Indians need new ownership immediately

What was expected to be a league wide financial problem may simply be a matter of the Cleveland Indians needing new ownership.

When the Cleveland Indians decided to let Brad Hand walk away instead of picking up his $10 million option for the 2021 season, that was considered to be the opening salvo of what would be a long offseason. Hand had been one of the top relievers in the game, his salary entirely reasonable. However, no other team had wanted to take that contract on via waivers, leaving the Indians to release him into free agency.

And then the offseason started in earnest. With that, there have been moves made that belied the expected free agency crawl. The Blue Jays handed Robbie Ray a one year contract worth $8 million. Not to be outdone, the Braves then signed the equally mercurial Drew Smyly to a one year deal worth $11 million.

The Indians? All they have done is state that Francisco Lindor is on the trade block. They expect to move him this offseason, although they are waiting for the Mets front office situation to sort itself out before they truly begin to listen to offers.

And this could all be explained if the finances throughout the game were really a concern. However, given the surprising contracts handed out thus far, that is not the case. Instead, it is an ownership issue, showing exactly how badly the Dolan Family has run the franchise.

It is not as though the Dolans have been loved prior to this offseason. Even when the Indians find success, it seems to be more due to the ability of the front office than due to any commitment from ownership. Given their impressive assembly line of pitching, Indians fans have to wonder what could have been had ownership been willing to truly invest in the franchise.

That is the biggest problem facing the Indians. They have plenty of talent. They have players that want to remain with the franchise. The front office is excellent, and there is a Hall of Fame manager in the dugout. All that is missing is an owner that is willing to invest in the team.

The Cleveland Indians deserve better than what they have for ownership. For the sake of the Indians, and Major League Baseball as a whole, the Dolan Family needs to sell the franchise.