Important dates during the Cleveland Indians 2016 offseason

Without a game dictating we stare at baseball every night, it can be a bit surprising when an offseason event is happening. When does free agency start? When do the winter meetings start? When can we start watching Hall of Fame voters pretend that being first ballot or not actually matters? Well, here are your answers.

November 2015

• Five days after World Series (November 9 at the latest): Free agency begins
  This is the date that the Cleveland Indians can officially make their claim on literally anyone to make us forget about Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher. 
  
  
• November 9: General Manager Meetings begin (Boca Raton, FL)
  
  
• November 10: Gold Glove Award winners announced
  No nominees from the Indians. Francisco Lindor misses out on a nomination because he does not fulfill the play time requirements for an infielder ("at least 55% of his team's games by his team's 128th game")
  
  
• November 11: Defensive Player of the Year Award winners announced
  
  
• November 12: Silver Slugger Award winners announced
  As of this writing, nominees have not yet been announced. Potential Indians candidates could include Jason Kipnis (5th in wRC+ among AL 2B) and Michael Brantley (8th in wRC+ among AL LF). 
  
  
• November 12: General Manager meetings end
  
  
• November 16: Rookie of the Year Award winners announced
  Francisco Lindor needs to decide which tie he will wear when he accepts his award. 
  
  
• November 17: Manager of the Year Award winners announced
  The Indians did not make the playoffs--and generally underperformed--so do not expect Terry Francona to get a nod unless "number of popsicles consumed in one sitting" becomes a qualification. 
  
  
• November 18: Cy Young Award winners announced
  Corey Kluber's slow start to 2015 will probably prevent him from being a repeat Cy Young winner, despite being 4th in fWAR among AL starting pitchers. 
  
  
• November 19: MVP Award winners announced
  Probably no one on the Indians will be the MVP. Jason Kipnis has the most outside of outside shots, but that is about it.

December 2015

• December 7: Winter meetings begin (Nashville, TN)
  Hopefully, first-year Indians general manager Mike Chernoff is not too nervous at his first Winter Meetings. Best of luck finding your locker and making friends at the lunch table. 
  (Update: 10/29) The MLB Rule 5 draft takes place during the winter meetings.
  
  
• December 10: Winter meetings end
  The 'hot stove' begins to cool a bit.

January 2016

• January 7: Hall of Fame 2016 Class announced
  No Indians nominees this year, but my favorite non-Indians player growing up (heck, probably my favorite player period), Ken Griffey Jr. is on the ballot for the first time. 
  
  
• January 12: Salary Arbitration filing begins
  Check out the full rundown if you want to know what the Indians projected salaries are going to be. 
  
  
• Late January: Tribe Fest
  No date has been announced for 2016's Tribe Fest, but it usually comes in late January. This is also when the promotional schedule will be released for the 2016 games.

February 2016

• February 1 – February 21: Salary Arbitration hearings

March 2016

• March 1: Mandatory reporting date
  We're almost there!

April 2016

• April 3: Opening night!
  We're there!