Leo: Arbitration Migration

The Indians tendered contracts to all the unsigned members of the 40-man roster before the deadline on Monday, meaning that none of the players became free agents. There are seven players that are arbitration eligible, which is unfamiliar territory for the Tribe. Cleveland has often locked up young players to multi-year deals before they reach arbitration eligibility.

A player is eligible after three years of major league service time or is a “Super Two” (two years of service, in the top 17% of total playing time among peers).

The Indians that are arbitration eligible (2011 salary):

Shin-Soo Choo ($4 million)
Chris Perez ($2.3 million)
Asdrubal Cabrera ($2 million)
Rafael Perez ($1.3 million)
Joe Smith ($850, 000)
Jack Hannahan ($500,000)
Justin Masterson ($470, 000)

It’s very likely that the Indians will come to terms on contracts with each of these players before arbitration hearings begin in February. The clubs and agents must exchange figures on January 18. Cleveland has not gone to arbitration since 1991.

Every other player on the 40-man roster is in a slotted, non-arbitration, contract with the exception of Fausto Carmona (signed for ’12, club options for ’13 and ’14), Ubaldo Jimenez (signed for ’12, club option for ’13), Derek Lowe (signed for ’12), Travis Hafner (signed for ’12, club option for ’13), and Grady Sizemore (signed for ’12).

Clippings…

* Among those players that were not tendered contracts on Monday, former Clippers/Indians left-hander Aaron Laffey was pushed into free agency by the Kansas City Royals.

* Krash and Lou Seal are under contract for next season and they’re celebrating the holidays with Clippers gifts!

* My favorite quote of the week was this one from relief pitcher Craig Breslow after he was dealt from Oakland to Arizona. ” I can no longer denounce the relevance of Twitter. It broke the story of my trade…to me.”

This teaches us that if you’re not on Twitter, the world is passing you by. Follow me on Twitter (@Scott_Leo) and make sure you haven’t been traded!

Ring Your Bell!