CLEVELAND -- Baseball became secondary when it came to Leonys Martin's situation with the Indians in the second half last season. For both Martin and the team, there is a sense of relief that all parties can now focus on the field when looking ahead to next year.
On Wednesday, the Indians reached an agreement on a one-year, $3 million contract with Martin, avoiding arbitration with the center fielder. That signing this early in Cleveland's offseason was a positive sign that Martin is continuing to make progress in his recovery from a life-threatening bacterial infection that prematurely ended his season in August.
"We have to deal with a lot in the course of our jobs," Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, said at the end of the season. "Nothing immediately comes to mind that was more difficult for us to work through. That was someone's life at stake, and he was really close to not being here anymore. It quickly puts into perspective a lot of the other things you try to navigate day to day.
"Not that those things aren't important, but when you have a situation like that develop, it hits you really hard. We're so thankful -- we said multiple times -- for the incredible care that he got from everyone at the Cleveland Clinic and everyone in the organization, to put him in a better spot. Thankfully, he should be fine moving forward."
As things currently stand, the 30-year-old Martin projects to be an option for the Indians in center field, especially against right-handed pitching. That was the idea when Cleveland acquired him via trade from the Tigers on July 31, along with Minor League pitcher Kyle Dowdy, in exchange for shortstop prospect Willi Castro. That plan changed when Martin's illness limited him to six games with the Tribe.
Martin was admitted to Cleveland Clinic on Aug. 9 after becoming violently ill. It was then determined that he was dealing with a blood infection that produced toxins, which began to negatively impact the functioning of Martin's internal organs. Over the next few days, his condition improved, leading to his release from the hospital on Aug. 19. Martin was deemed done for the season on Aug. 22 because he needed multiple months to heal.
Martin remained away from the team for the remainder of the season, but Antonetti said after the postseason that the outfielder was recovering well.
"We expect him to be back at full health next year," Antonetti said.
Martin represented one of eight arbitration cases this offseason, along with Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, Neil Ramirez, Nicholas Goody, Cody Anderson and Brandon Barnes. Teams must tender contracts to any arbitration-eligible players by Nov. 30. Sides must then exchange proposed salary figures by Jan. 11 in preparation for a potential hearing to settle any remaining cases.
Overall last season, Martin hit .255 with 11 home runs, 15 doubles, 33 RBIs and a .747 OPS in 84 games between tours with the Tigers and Tribe, while earning $1.75 million. He posted a .279/.348/.451 slash line against right-handed pitching and turned in three Defensive Runs Saved with a 15.3 Ultimate Zone Rating/150 in 678 1/3 innings in center field on the season.
One of the reasons the Indians acquired Martin was the extra year of control, given that center fielder Bradley Zimmer could miss the first half in 2019 while rehabbing from right shoulder surgery. Greg Allen, Jason Kipnis and Tyler Naquin are other outfield options for the Indians, who will be exploring both the free-agent and trade markets for outfield help this offseason.
Outfielders Michael Brantley, Melky Cabrera, Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis and Brandon Guyer are among the Indians' free agents this winter.
"The outfield will be an area that we will continue to work through," Antonetti said. "It's probably the area on our team with the least certainty. Exactly what that composition of players will look like, we have a few months to figure out."