LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Bryan Shaw, providing he passes his physical, has come to terms on a three-year deal with the Colorado Rockies.

Shaw spent the last five years in the Indians' bullpen where he made the most appearances of any pitcher in the big leagues.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post was first to report that Shaw was nearing a deal with the Rockies. The Rockies and Shaw's representative put the finishing touches on the deal Tuesday afternoon.

Shaw reportedly will make an estimated $27 million over the three-year deal, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

After the Indians were eliminated in the AL Division Series, manager Terry Francona said it would take "two relievers" to replace the durable Shaw. It was clear then that Shaw's performance had out-priced the Indians' ability to keep him.

In their exit meeting with Shaw, Tribe executives thanked him for his five years of heavy lifting and told him that they would not be able to bring him back based on the kind of offers he was going to receive on the open market.

The message turned into a reality on Tuesday night. It means the Indians have some work to do on the bullpen that finished with the top ERA in the AL last season.

Right now the bullpen includes closer Cody Allen, lefties Andrew Miller and Tyler Olson and right-handers Zach McAllister, Dan Otero, Nick Goody and Shawn Armstrong. Allen, Miller and McAllister will be free agents at the end of the 2018 season so the Indians better consider acquiring a reliever who is going to stick around for more than one season.

There is also a chance that the Indians could bring back free agent set-up man Joe Smith. The Indians acquired him at the July trade deadline from Toronto and he did a nice job down the stretch.

Another remedy would be to put one of the Tribe's starters such as Josh Tomlin or Mike Clevinger in the pen.

When Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, met with reporters on Monday, he was asked about the possibility of losing Shaw.

"Tito said it best when he said, 'when you lose a guy like Bryan, you almost need two guys to replace him,'" said Antonetti. "We do have some guys that did well in the bullpen last year that will have to absorb more meaningful innings. We'll continue to look for opportunities to add to that group if we can."

Antonetti, as for the possibility of watching Allen, Miller and McAllister vanish into free agency after the 2018 season, said, "I think it all depends on the guy, the fit and the value. ... We always try to take a multi-year approach to team building. So, if there are opportunities to impact not only our 2018 team but also beyond this, we're always open to doing that."

As for the present, Antonetti is happy to have Allen and Miller for one more year.

"I'd be losing a lot more sleep if we didn't have those two awesome relievers," he said. "We're not always going to be able to have guys that are under control for multiple years. At some point, guys are going to approach the end of their contracts."

There are a bunch of relievers still on the market. Here's some of them: Hector Rondon, Matt Albers, Tyler Clippard, Wade Davis, Greg Holland, Brian Duensing, Brandon Kintzler, Sergio Romo and Steve Cishek.

The Indians, said Antonetti, have lost fewer key players to free agency over the last several years than almost every team besides Houston. He said it has a lot to do their comprehensive approach to building the roster.

Shaw is a big loss. If the Indians lose Carlos Santana and Jay Bruce to free agency that will hurt as well. The potential loss of free agents Austin Jackson and Smith would not be as painful, but there would still be repercussions.

At least four teams were interested in Shaw. The Mets pushed hard for him, but didn't get it done. Shaw, who lives in Arizona, preferred to play for a team that trains in Arizona.

That helped the Rockies get the reliever they needed.