Despite being an eligible free agent by the end of the month, teams interested in possibly trading for Mike Aviles can just forget about it.
Apparently, the Cleveland Indians have no intention of dealing the 34-year-old infielder despite receiving various pitches from other clubs, according to Bleacher Report. Aviles is eligible to become a free agent by the end of the season but as it stands, all that will have to wait as he attends to his ailing four-year-old daughter, Adriana, who is battling leukemia.
As the Aviles family go through these trying times, the entire Cleveland Indians shaved their heads to show their all out support, including team owner Paul Dolan.
Adriana was diagnosed with leukemia last May and staying in Cleveland will make it easier for her dad Mike to look over her since the Cleveland Clinic is nearby.
"We're trying to be pretty respectful to Mike and his family stuff," the team's manager, Terry Francona, said, as quoted by Cleveland.com. "We haven't spoken too much about it other than just to kind of maybe explain why he hasn't been here and stuff like that... I don't think because of the situation Mike's in because of his family situation that [general manager Chris Antonetti] would ever do that."
Aviles would have been a perfect fit for other teams but as it stands, all that takes a backseat for now. And thankfully, the Indians have Mike Aviles back, something that the infielder is certainly appreciative of.
The move should be something to marvel at - a rarity that even the Cleveland folks and probably the league would respect as the Indians' decision to place more importance on life than the team’s success has been put to light.
Aviles is expected to continue to be in and out of the active list. Ever since it was found that his daughter was dealing with a life-threatening illness, Aviles has been placed twice on the medical emergency list and once on the restricted list in support for the infielder as he tends to the needs of his daughter, reported Yahoo.