The greatest honor that any MLB player can be given is having their name inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yet, that task is much easier said than done.

On Monday, MLB released the 2026 MLB Hall of Fame ballot, and it includes a few former members of the Cleveland organization. 

The Newcomers: Shin-Soo Choo and Edwin Encarnacion

Shin-Soo Choo spent seven years in Cleveland from 2006 to 2012. During that time, he was one of the most feared hitters in the lineup and one of the more underrated hitters around baseball. 

When Choo was wearing a then-Indians jersey, he had a slash line of .292/.383/.469 with an OPS of .853. He also hit a total of 83 home runs and finished 14th in American League MVP voting in 2010.

Overall, Choo had incredible career numbers, totaling 218 home runs and a .842 OPS. Are these stats Hall of Fame-worthy? That’s up to the voters to decide.

Edwin Encarnacion played in Major League Baseball for 16 years, two of which were in Cleveland from 2017 to 2018.

The slugger signed with the Indians heading into the 2017 season and had to qualify for the team before being traded ahead of the 2019 campaign. In Encarnacion’s pair of seasons in Cleveland, he combined to hit 70 home runs and record an .848 OPS.  

If Edwin does get voted into the Hall of Fame, he’ll likely be wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap for the eight-star season he spent north of the border.

The Returning Names: Omar Vizquel and Manny Ramirez

There are also a few former Cleveland players who are returning to the ballot. These include Omar Vizquel and Manny Ramirez. 

This year’s vote will be a critical one for Ramirez, considering it’s his last year of eligibility. A player needs to get at least 75% of the votes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and Ramirez has only reached 34.4% during his stint on the ballot.

Vizquel has two more years of eligibility on the ballot, including 2026, but it is also a way of securing his spot on Cooperstown. The legendary Cleveland shortstop has only reached 17.8 percent of the needed votes. 

It’ll be interesting to see if either Ramirez or Vizquel gets voted in, or how close they come. 

Results will be announced on Tuesday, January 26, 2026.