Cleveland Indians non-tender Jeff Manship, offer contracts to eight others

Jeff Manship was inexplicably incredible in 2015. However, a small sample size and a lengthy history of not being capable of holding an 0.92 ERA over a long stretch of games meant that his production probably would not stick around long. And it didn't. And now, after two years of service in the Imperial Indians Navy of the Greater Cleveland Area, the SS Manship has sailed for open waters.

The Cleveland Indians offered arbitration to eight players earlier today: Cody Allen, Trevor Bauer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Brandon Guyer, Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, Danny Salazar, and Bryan Shaw. With Michael Martinez's recent release and re-signing (making him no longer eligible for arbitration), Manship was the only fringe tender candidate, unless you are one of the many Facebook commenters who hate Bryan Shaw with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. For everyone else, though, it made sense to bring back a third of the team that was one inning away from winning a World Series.

All eight arb-eligible players now have until mid-January to either come to an agreement with the Indians or head to salary arbitration court, where a third-party arbitration panel will decide how much the player is owed next season based on the offers presented from both sides. It's an ugly thing that most teams hope to avoid.

MLB Trade Rumors estimated that Manship would have been owed $1.2 million through salary arbitration, but the Indians could likely get him back on a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.