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Indians likely to decline Grady Sizemore's option | indians.com: News
The Indians haven't made anything official, but the consensus is that they will decline Grady Sizemore's $9M 2012 Option. In Tony Lada's Sentinel story, he also reports that the Indians would like to keep Sizemore, but on a one year incentive-heavy contract. That's understandable, but now unless Sizemore really wants to stay with the Indians, he'll probably get a better deal somewhere else. Sure, he isn't getting $9M guaranteed by anyone else, but someone else with a lower risk tolerance will offer a multi-year deal.
The Indians have until three days after the World Series to make a decision on both Sizemore's and Carmona's option, so that would mean that Monday will be the deadline.
In related news:
Terry Pluto begins his piece with a thought experiment: would the Indians spend $9M on Sizemore if he was a free agent and had played his entire major-league career with the Indians. I think the answer is no, and so does Pluto. The real question all along has been whether Sizemore would be willing to renogotiate his contract, but with the deadline approaching, that possibility seems to be going away. The Indians will have an exclusive window in which to negotiate with Sizemore, but usually once a player gets to this point, he's going to go out on the open market.
Fausto Carmona, in contrast, has been almost a completely different player. He's largely remained healthy, but he's been ineffective for long stretches, including much of last season. Still, the Indians are going to need innings, and Carmona's $7M option isn't a huge overpay for a starting pitcher. The other major factor is that Carmona does not have enough service time to file for free agency, plus his contract is structured so that the Indians could keep him through 2014 if he turns things around. With Sizemore, 2012 would be it.
Cleveland Indians sign catcher Luke Carlin to minor league deal | cleveland.com
Carlin played some with the Indians in 2010, and has had success at the plate from time to time in the minors.