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January 16, 2015Earlier on Friday, the Cleveland Indians reached agreements with their three final arbitration-eligible players. Everyone on the roster was now signed for the 2015 season. It seemed the team would be mostly done with any other acquisitions besides the usual spring training invites.
But alas, Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi reported on Friday afternoon that the Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers are all in the market for an upgrade at closer. At first, the rumor is a shocking surprise for Indians fans.
Cody Allen, who turned 26 in November, had a tremendous season in 2014. The club had signed veteran mustache afficionado John Axford, but he lost the closer job quickly and later was designed for assignment in mid-August. Allen claimed the closer’s job quickly and finished with a 2.07 ERA and 24 saves. He struck out 91 batters in 69.2 innings pitched.
The Indians, like any team, could always use some more relievers. They were notorious for over-working their best guys last year as Bryan Shaw (80 relief appearances), Allen (76), Marc Rzepczynski (73) and Scott Atchison (70) were all near the league lead in games played. Kyle Crockett and C.C. Lee had nice finishes to the season. Cleveland picked up Anthony Swarzak, the long-time Twins pitcher, earlier this week. They also added former Angels/White Sox/Royals lefty Scott Downs earlier in the offseason. But more and more depth could never hurt.
It’s just surprising to see the team in the market for another closer. One line of thinking could be the Indians attempting to limit Cody Allen’s arbitration cost next season. Both Allen and Corey Kluber are up for an increase in salary for the first time in 2016. A two-year closer and a Cy Young winner could turn out to be very expensive quickly.
With today’s signings, the Indians are now at an approximate $78.9 million for 17 guaranteed salaries. That would place them at just about $83 million with eight final minimum-salary players. There might be a tiny ounce of wiggle room within the team’s usual spending limits for a final legitimate reliever, but it’s still a surprise to see this rumor.
UPDATE: Just to clarify from Morosi’s initial tweet, it appears he’s now saying the Indians are simply looking for another “late-inning reliever.” Much more logical, but still a bit of a surprise considering the bullpen’s success last season and the budget situation.
9 Comments
I would love to see the tribe go after Kimbrel. He’s got a reasonable salary, he’s under control for years and the Braves are probably looking to move him. Our bullpen would be on par with the royals if not better and we could save some money on Allen’s arbitration. The price would be high, but it could really be the impact move we’ve been waiting for.
Besides, Adams, Price and Lee haven’t inspired much confidence in the Majors and Armstrong is probably our only relief “prospect”.
His salary is far from reasonable. it’s huge for a reliever. He is making $9million this year, but he has another 3 years and nearly $40million owed to him after this season. That’s a big contract for Cleveland.
Only Papelbon has more money coming to him as a closer.
(but i am not saying they SHOULDN’T try to deal for him. But we all know they won’t.)
I miss Axford on Indians twitter 🙁
It’s a lot for a closer for sure, but based on his production, it is very reasonable IMO. He averages over 3 WAR per year, so $12 million per year is a bargain compared to the free agent market. His stats are sick. I would say he’s Rivera-like, but in all honesty, Rivera never had a stretch as dominant as Kimbrel’s 5 year career.
$9 million isn’t an unreasonable boost in payroll and I’m sure we could save half of that if we dump Murphy. The Bourn signing was inconceivable at the time, so I wouldn’t rule it out. (That said, the tribe hasn’t signed a pitcher to more than a 1 year deal since Westbrook, so it seems like they’re philosophically opposed to long contracts for pitchers)
“One line of thinking could be the Indians attempting to limit Cody Allen’s arbitration cost next season.”
More like you can never have enough quality arms in the bullpen.
I like Allen as closer
It’s not just that $46M. It’s that $46M plus a lot in prospects. I’d guess Atlanta asks for nothing less than Ramirez and one of our top OF prospects. Great player, and I do want to see this team make a solid upgrade in the pen, but I think you can get 80% of the results for 20% of that price.
Simmons is signed thru 2020 so they’re good at short. I’d say maybe Frazier and a low level starter (Brown, Lugo) would get it done. Since he’s owed $46 million, I don’t think his price tag would be too high.
My main rationale is that we can add a super elite player, making our bullpen the best in baseball for a long time, at an affordable price. We have a 3-4 year window to really compete for a championship. Then, Santana, Carrasco, Chisenhall, Shaw, Brantley, Kluber, and Allen become FA’s. The 4 year control over Kimbrel would fit perfectly in that window, without breaking the bank or the farm.
Frazier or whoever we trade is nice, but we have some outfield depth we can part with. I’d still be happy with a farm system outfield of Naquin, Ramsey, Holt, Walters, Moncrief, Gallas, Myles, and Zimmer.
Another thing to consider is that a playoff run next year should definitely improve attendance, allowing more money for arbitration eligible players and raises. GO FOR IT!
The Braves just signed Alberto Callaspo coming off a 67 OPS+ to play 2B. They will most certainly want Ramirez.
I would like to see them add a piece, get some bullpen help, and use that OF depth in trades too. But still, that’s a lot for a very unreliable position. There’s no guarantee that the Indians’ pen would be the best in baseball. And there definitely is nothing that makes me believe that attendance can so easily be improved.