Your 2018 Cleveland Indians

[bigfoot5415]

We've all known the guy is gone since like, his second season. Enjoy him while he's here.

1000%

And this is why I can never fully invest in baseball.

 

[Derek]

I'm sure this has already been asked in this section and I apologize in advance, but what exactly is Lindor's contract status? How much longer is he under the Indians' control?

Buster Olney wrote a piece today about this year's slow FA market and a potential work stoppage scaring some younger players into locking in long term money (the very top players like Harper and Lindor being the exception).

Link - http://insider.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post/_/id/18312/olney-why-some-young-players-may-increasingly-jump-at-long-term-offers

I'm still willing to hold out some hope for keeping Lindor, especially if the moneyball trend continues. Anyone else?

He still has 3 years of arbitration left after this season. So, the earliest he could play elsewhere barring a trade would be 2022.

 

[Derek]

1000%

And this is why I can never fully invest in baseball.

baseball is the only sport worth getting invested in

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

Yeah nothing beats the sport without a salary cap where a handful of teams are at such a severe advantage simply due to having wealthier owners that can afford them mistake after mistake that smaller market teams simply can’t afford to make

Also the sport where for some unknown reason balls and strikes are still being called by an umpire even though there is absolutely nothing subjective about what is a ball and what is a strike and we have the technology to both speed up the game and make it less biased

Nothing could possibly compare

 

[sportscoach]

Yeah nothing beats the sport without a salary cap where a handful of teams are at such a severe advantage simply due to having wealthier owners that can afford them mistake after mistake that smaller market teams simply can’t afford to make

Also the sport where for some unknown reason balls and strikes are still being called by an umpire even though there is absolutely nothing subjective about what is a ball and what is a strike and we have the technology to both speed up the game and make it less biased

Nothing could possibly compare

Honestly the human element should never be taken out of the game at the end of the day. Now the salary cap needs to be done/figured out. I feel we need a hard cap top and a minimum cap as well to help players still get there money and whatnot. Though because of this offseason, you may see the players try to get a new bargaining agreement since a ton of players people really weren't signing.

 

[Urban]

Payroll ranks among playoff teams over the past 5 years

29 of the 50 teams have been above the league average payroll
6 of the 10 teams to make the World Series have been above the league average payroll
3 of the 5 teams to win the World Series have been above the league average payroll

The Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are the only teams who can afford to throw money at literally all their problems. Maybe add the Giants, Cubs, and Angels. And a lot of those teams have had terrible/disappointing seasons & rebuilds despite ultra high payrolls

 

[Urban]

Don't have a rebuttal to literal facts so just hit a blind disagree

 

[BMAN]

Nothing like the NBA where a couple teams make the finals every year because they happen to have the best super team. NBA has become unwatchable and NFL is being run by a bunch of dudes past their primes. That salary cap sure helps the Browns out.

 

[Urban]

Cautiously optimistic for Roberto Perez's bat this year. He slashed .242 / .314 / .516 with 7 HRs from August to the end of season and was one of the few bats to do anything in the ALDS. Has done well at the plate in Spring Training as well, if I'm looking further into small sample sizes.

 

[Huber.]

Lets have this discussion again when the Indians are rebuilding.

 

[Derek]

Lets have this discussion again when the Indians are rebuilding.

Still better than the other professional sports

 

[Huber.]

Still better than the other professional sports

In your opinion. It's all subjective. Now, lets talk about which bear is best.

 

[Steve_424]

Cleveland has offered more years and less Avg Value than the Altuve deal and were immediately turned down.

In a way I'd rather them offer Lindor less years and higher AV. While it'd be nice to pencil him in for more years, there's a huge risk for teams like Cleveland to give out super long contracts. I don't see him falling off a cliff skills-wise, but you never know how significant injuries can impact a player.

 

[Derek]

In your opinion. It's all subjective. Now, lets talk about which bear is best.

False, black bear.

 

[Derek]

Looking at recent arbitration numbers for superstar players, I feel like 5 years $100 million would get Lindor to sign on the dotted line. Buy out his 3 arbitration years with $50 million, and then give him $50 million over the two year extension.

He still enters FA at age 29, and I don't believe he'd lose out on any earnings.

Bryce Harper will have made $40 million over his final 3 years of arbitration.