Avoiding Salary Arbitration and Signing Long-Term Contracts: Providing Security for Players and Low-Income Teams: the Cleveland Dilemma
The Cleveland Indians have a problem on their hands.
There is a reality that the Cleveland Indians have been careful to sidestep for two decades: that drafting and developing high-level talent comes with an inevitable price tag that comes up years before club officials utter the words “free agency.” That unfortunate realism is Arbitration. And while the Indians have successfully avoided going to hearings since that fateful day in 1991, which former GM John Hart still refers to as “a blood-bath on both sides” (as referenced in an interview with the Plaindealer), this process is as inevitable and utterly ridiculous as Alice tripping and falling headfirst down that psychotic rabbit hole and meeting a rather gregarious talking cat.
To be clear, salary arbitration is the process that Major League Baseball players go through after he exhausts his major league contract for the first time and has fewer than 6 years of service time. The process is fairly straightforward: both a player’s agent and a team representative develop separate one-year contract proposals and present them to an arbitrator. That impartial party then weighs a multitude of information (presented in person by each party), including the player’s past performance in relation to other players at the same position and time in the big leagues before deciding which proposal should be accepted. Either way the player remains on the team.
Make no mistake, this is an adversarial process where the agent is looking to oversell his client and get the most money for him and the player in question, while the team looks to undersell and devalue its player, often seeking financial flexibility (this is particularly true in Cleveland’s case).
The way around salary arbitration traditionally has been for teams to sign their young “core” players to long-term, often team-friendly, contracts that buy out the player’s arbitration years and often at least one year of free agency. This ensures that low-income teams can continue to field a team they recruited and trained while the players are essentially reaching the peak of their careers. Consider this a return investment if you will. Then, almost tragically, these players leave for bigger markets. This was the case for Albert Belle, Bartolo Colon, Kenny Lofton, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, and Jim Thome; the list goes on but it is exhausting and somewhat depressing. And while this arrangement clearly benefits the MLB organizations involved, young players receive considerable security, both financially and emotionally. Their teams want them and are willing to gamble on their health and performance. Former GMs John Hart and Mark Shapiro understood this and the city of Cleveland was rewarded with a championship-caliber team from 1994-2002.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, new Tribe GM Chris Antonetti seems confused. There are ZERO players on the Tribe’s 25-man roster signed beyond 2012. Seven players entered this off season slated to go to arbitration; six settled on one-year deals. This is an uncomfortable situation, I imagine not only for the players but for the fan base.
I honestly do not know what Antonetti is doing. While being somewhat noncommittal to relievers makes sense considering that their performance often waxes and wanes with little predictability, acting in a nonresponsive fashion toward its position players is foolhardy. If the goal was to stockpile potential funds to go after an Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, that time has passed. The free agent market looks to be thin next year too. So it is remains a mystery why the Tribe brass steps away from Asdrubal Cabrera when he professes a desire for a long term deal (Currently he is seeking $5.2 mil.). Now granted, his power numbers last season might have been an aberration (or not) but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a clubhouse leader who never stops hustling. Cabrera is essentially a healthy version of what Cleveland hoped Grady Sizemore could be.
So, here is what the plan should look like: Sign Cabrera, Santana, and try hard to sign Choo (although Scott Boras likely will make that a nightmare). I would also suggest showing a greater commitment to Justin Masterson and Chris Perez.
I know that it might seem I am railing on Antonetti. I understand that agents are the actual problem; for them everything is about money, not loyalty. Baseball is a business of numbers and dollars. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. This is the hard, disheartening reality that casts a horrid shadow on the sport.
Please realize I have no illusions about the Indians and their payroll. Notice that I have not blamed the Dolans, as they have invested a great deal of money in player development and in the draft process. Clearly, like most low-income teams, the Indians survive by doing exactly what the Dolans have shown a commitment to undertaking.
That said, Cleveland needs bold, yet sensible leadership. Show loyalty to players, inspire them to great achievements, and finally bring a championship to the city of Cleveland.
