Indians President Chris Antonetti: "We Feel We’re in a Better Position Today Then at the Start of the Offseason"

If you ask most Indians fans, they will tell you that in their opinion the team has not progressed thus far this offseason, and have taken a step the other way with spring training less than 60 days away.

One who doesn't share that feeling is Indians President Chris Antonetti, who on Wednesday spoke to Fox Sports Indians field reporter Andre Knott and company on News Radio WTAM 1100.

Antonetti, who always is looking on the bright side, says that the team has already met some goals, and likes what they have done in terms of moving forward and adding some players for 2019.

"What we are trying to do heading into the off-season is two things - and that is first and foremost feel like we have a team that is capable of wining the AL Central for a 4th year in a row in 2019 and advancing beyond that, but also we’re trying to position our organization for sustained success beyond that," Antonetti said.

"Those are really to our primary goals and we feel like the moves that we’ve made to this date have actually advanced us and both of those efforts."

The biggest move by the team was to bring back first basemen/DH Carlos Santana, in the process losing the power in the lineup of Edwin Encarnacion.

Antonetti thinks that adding both CSan and Tampa Bay Rays prospect Jake Bauers will make the Indians a better team in 2019.

"We feel in getting back Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers specifically and the trade addition of Jordan Luplow in the outfield will very much impact our Major League team, fit very well with the balance of our roster," Antonetti told WTAM 1100.

"We’ve done that while also bringing In some young talent into the organization, so we feel like we’re in a better position today then we were at the start of the offseason."

Fans will point to the extreme number of players that have left the team via free agency or trade this offseason so far and argue that the team can't possibly be in a better spot than when they left the field in game three of the ALDS loss to the Houston Astros.

While that may be true as it stands on December 20th, Antonetti says that this team is not done with adding and making moves to make sure they have a roster ready to go and compete come the end of the March when the season starts.

"I think where we are there’s going to be some turnover on our roster, that’s just the realities and the way baseball works," Antonetti said.

"We have a lot of very good players, and as those guys continue to mature, they get more expensive, and the realities of our market is that we will have to make some difficult choices."

Gone from the Indians include Michael Brantley, Lonnie Chisenhall, Josh Donaldson, Yonder Alonso, Edwin Encarnacion, and shortly relief pitchers Cody Allen and Andrew Miller.

It's business and part of the game, and as Antonetti says, it's a difficult part of being in the front office of a franchise the size the market of Cleveland.

"It’s one of the more difficult parts of our job, players are people that have families that we’ve built relationships with," Antonetti said.

"I’ve come to grow very close with a lot of the players were on our roster, and you get to know their families, their wife’s and their kids.

"Those are really difficult decisions, but it’s part of the job it’s part of the responsibility and sometimes we have to make some of those tough decisions."

So just how will this team add pieces and parts to get better for 2019? That's a great question with an answer that remains to be seen for the Tribe and Antonetti.

He's of the opinion that the fact that the Indians are involved in so many discussions with teams about star players on the roster (Corey Kluber?), it means that the team and front office have been doing something right the past few seasons.

"We are in a really fortunate position in the organization because we have a lot of good players that are of interest to other teams," Antonetti said.

"This is a time of year where teams engage with other teams about players and explore potential fits, and I would much rather have my phone be busy this time of the year for teams that have the interest in acquiring our guys, than the opposite of us having a very quiet offseason."

The offseason has been anything but quiet, and it's hard to believe this team is going to get to Goodyear, AZ for spring training without making even more noise.

Antonetti says that despite where the team stands fiscally, and however the roster looks come March, the club will compete and again continue to push towards bringing a title to Indians fans.

"I think what we tried to show no matter what our payroll is, no matter what the configuration of the roster is, our goal is to try to be a contending team capable of winning the World Series," Antonetti said.

"We just have to do that a little bit differently, and I think over tune last six years we’ve done that, we’ve have the most wins in the American League, despite not having the highest payroll."

Being creative continues to be one of the Indians front offices greatest strengths.

It will be interesting to see what's next the team can pull off to fill the gaps in both the outfield and bullpen to put the fans minds at ease for the start of 2019.