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Cleveland can't afford Lindor. . .

And this is a reason I prefer to go watch the Toledo Mudhens.

Jc
I expect Lindor to sign a deal worth quite a bit more than 8 years 200 million ... I’d expect it to be 10 years 350 million at least

Cleveland can't afford Lindor. . .

Based on the AAV it's not going to be that much more.

The Indians aren't paying Lindor because they don't want to, not because they can't.

Based on the AAV it's not going to be that much more.

The Indians aren't paying Lindor because they don't want to, not because they can't.

Their highest salary cap has been around $126 million, IIRC. They are currently under $100 million. A $40 million salary would be between 30% and 40% of our salary total.

Their highest salary cap has been around $126 million, IIRC. They are currently under $100 million. A $40 million salary would be between 30% and 40% of our salary total.

MLB just signed a new TV deal with FoxSports for their weekly game, the playoffs, and World Series. This deal is reported at about $525 million/year total, or about $17 million/team.

Based on the AAV it's not going to be that much more.

The Indians aren't paying Lindor because they don't want to, not because they can't.

And as Craig said, the Indians could absolutely do this if they wanted to. Paying Lindor $35 million a year doesn’t add $35 million to payroll; he’s making $17.5 million plus benefits already and the team’s estimated payroll is under $110 million. The old “but Dan, how can they afford the rest of the team if they’re paying Lindor?” argument doesn’t quite work here because by and large, the Indians aren’t paying the rest of the team anyway, even with Lindor making $17.5 million. Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber are gone. The outfield, putting up less than half the wins of the Twins outfield, only entered 2019 with a single player making over $600,000 (Leonys Martin).

Even leaving aside the argument that of course Cleveland can afford to sign Lindor because the owner of the club is a billionaire, there’s still the matter of Cleveland’s precedent for spending and the framework necessary to devote a significant amount of payroll to a single player. It’s certainly helpful to understand Cleveland’s revenues and profits. According to Forbes, every team receives about $90 million from MLB. Add in close to $50 million for their local television contract, and Cleveland covers last year’s payroll with $10 million to spare before they even sell a single ticket. In 2018, Forbes estimated a $16 million profit for Cleveland even after a $150 million payroll. After a lackluster offseason a winter ago, the team lost around 190,000 fans in attendance for 2019. While that probably cost the team around $10 million, the team dropped payroll by $20 million.

Cleveland has dropped another $25 million off the payroll this offseason, but even if they lose another 200,000 fans, they’ll still end up with an extra $15 million or so at the end of the season. In summary, with a $150 million payroll and around 1.9 million fans, the team earns profits of around $15 million. Cutting payroll by $50 million and losing 400,000 fans leads to an extra $25 million in profits. It’s easy to see why this might be appealing to ownership and how this is one of the bigger problems facing the sport at the moment.

There’s also the idea of a Francisco Lindor contract taking up too much payroll. We can throw different percentages around in terms of what might be too much, but keep in mind that payrolls tend to escalate over time. For argument’s sake, let’s say Lindor signed a 12-year, $375 million contract today that paid him $20 million this year, $25 million next year, and $33 million over the 10 years after that. Let’s also conservatively assume that Cleveland will be running a $130 million payroll in 2022 when the free agent years of Lindor begin. In 2022, Lindor’s contract will take up 25% of payroll, which is a large number. As payroll increases though, that percentage drops. In 2009 and 2019, Cleveland was in the low-20s in terms of payroll ranks, but payroll increased by 67% over that time. While we can’t assume the exact same growth, Lindor’s contract moves from 25% of the payroll to 20% at the midway point to 15% by the contract’s end.

Arguing that Cleveland isn’t as small of a market and revenue-driver as one might think, as well as pointing out the lack of evidence that handing a big contract to Lindor would cause irreparable harm, might not make for a slam dunk case for a massive contract extension. But it is important to properly frame the issue. Cleveland isn’t Tampa Bay. It’s not even Cincinnati or Kansas City. Their club’s decent television deal and middle-of-the-pack ticket prices coupled with slightly below-average attendance puts the club pretty close to the middle in terms of revenue and generally profitable with a payroll around $150 million. That they are cutting payroll and essentially losing attendance on purpose to drive more profits is worth mentioning in any conversation regarding Lindor’s contract status. It’s not about whether Cleveland can afford Lindor. Of course they can. It’s about whether a $350 million or more contract for Lindor fits into their traditional payroll framework taking into account future salary obligations. And the answer to that question is yes, Lindor absolutely fits.

Dave ; What is Francona's infatuation with Cimber ?

Oscar Mercado left today's game with a left wrist injury after making a diving catch. Early diagnosis is that it is sprained. Further evaluation tomorrow (MRI) - cross your fingers.

https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2020/03/...ist-injury.html

The Indians always downplay an injury.

Here's the video of the diving catch and injury. The Indians always downplay an injury.


Mercado will probably end up out longer than what they're letting on, unfortunately...

https://www.mlb.com/news/oscar-mercado-injury-exits-game

Poor attendance at tribe games the past 5 years. You complain about Dolan being cheap, I call you cheap.

You can bring drink boxes, peanuts, and sandwiches into the game. Look it up, highest attendance the last 5 years was #22 in MLB, after a World Series performance.

It’s never been expensive, you’re just making excuses.

From Mandy Bell on Twitter:

Oscar Mercado’s imaging and exam yesterday confirmed a mild sprain of his left wrist and he remains day-to-day.

https://twitter.com/MandyBell02/status/1236305362950578178