Cleveland Indians smart not to sign Jose Bautista

By this time next month, the Cleveland Indians will have had their pitchers and catchers report and will be just two days away from their first full squad workout of the 2017 spring training. As Jason Lukehart mentioned on the LGT podcast last night, baseball feels closer than it has in a while. Unfortunately, for today, there is hardly anything new to report on for the Cleveland Indians. There are pieces of news here and there regarding other players and teams, but it’s fairly quiet for Cleveland at the moment.

Indians news

Cleveland Indians: Indians Smart Not to Overpay for Jose Bautista | Wahoo’s on First

Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Toronto Blue Jays are closing in on a deal with Jose Bautista worth between $35-$40 million dollars. While there were whispers of Cleveland speaking with Bautista about the 2017 season, not signing him is the smart move in terms of payroll.

Around the League

• It looks like veteran umpire Jim Joyce is retiring following the 2016 season.
• The...sigh...reigning World Series Champion Chicago Cubs visited the White House yesterday to visit President Obama. They presented the lifelong White Sox fan a couple of custom Cubs jerseys, a piece of the scoreboard, and the “W” flag signed by the team.
• The Kansas City Royals and Danny Duffy have agreed to a five-year, $65 million dollar contract that will see the LHP stay in KC through 2021.
• In case you weren’t sure, David Ortiz is for sure retiring.
• Despite everyone leaving San Diego, it looks like Wil Myers will sign a six-year, $83 million dollar extension with the Padres.
• And finally, another day, another BBWAA member’s Hall of Fame ballot getting torn to shreds on the internet. Today’s featured voter is ESPN’s Pedro Gomez: