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Rest assured, Cleveland Indians fans. You no longer need to worry about the team’s front office ignoring quality starting pitching by shying away from long contracts.
It was announced this morning the Tribe came to an agreement with 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. In a matter of days, the status of the contract negotiations went from “unlikely to occur before the start of the season” to “it’s all happening.” It appears Kluber has been extended for five years at $38.5 million, with two club options.
The Indians had made progress at the beginning of last season when it came to retaining their own, re-signing Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes. At the same time, team management had become notorious for being a little less committed to handing out long-term deals to starting pitchers. Cleveland already faced a little criticism for not re-signing Ubaldo Jimenez last offseason after his outstanding performance helped the team make the 2013 playoffs. On top of that, former ace Justin Masterson entered the 2014 season on the final year of his deal with no extension in sight. Once again, the front office was accused of being cheap, risking the chance of letting quality talent walk for the sake of saving money.
As we know, Tribe management was right in letting both of the aforementioned pitchers go. Masterson saw a massive regression in 2014 before being traded, as did Jimenez after signing a giant deal with the Baltimore Orioles. However, while it was great to see the team didn’t tie up a ton of salary in these two before they started struggling, some feared this may have led the front office to be apprehensive towards giving Kluber a raise despite his recent Cy Young.
Additionally, Kluber was in a bit of a different contract situation. The team still held the rights to the 29-year-old for a few more years, and he wasn’t eligible for arbitration just yet. Though it certainly wouldn’t have been the best PR move, the Indians could’ve easily avoided any sort of contract talks with Kluber, taking advantage of the fact he wasn’t going anywhere while still paying him way below what he’s worth.
Instead, Cleveland decided to reward the best pitcher in their rotation, a player who has only been getting better during his time with the team. Not only did the club make the right call in not low-balling Kluber, they also avoided what could’ve been quite a locker room distraction during a season of incredibly high team-wide expectations.
While Kluber made no public gripes about his low salary last season during his award-winning campaign, he may have had a little more trouble doing so this year. If he continued to perform at a high level while still seeing paychecks way below his true value, he’d have no trouble gaining sympathy from fans and teammates alike. With many expecting the Indians to contend in a highly competitive AL Central, clubhouse distractions are definitely something the team would want nothing to do with.
However, these concerns are now a thing of the past. Cleveland’s front office finally realized they needed to pony up for top-level starting pitching, and they did so at the perfect time with the perfect candidate. Now, Kluber can take the mound tomorrow in the team’s season opener against the Houston Astros knowing he doesn’t need to worry about his future.
The Indians needed to get this year started on the right foot. In re-signing Kluber, they found a way to do so before the season even began.
Casey Drottar is a Cleveland Beat Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter or “Like” him on Facebook
