With the baseball trading deadline coming up at the end of this month, there is tons of speculation as to whether or not the Cleveland Indians will make a move.
Many of those thoughts center around the team being able to take on additional payroll.
This is understandable since it seems the front office has put out an internal memo instructing all personnel to mention the team will lose money this season in all contacts with the media.
However, what if the problem was not the ownership? What if it was the judgment of Indians’ president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti not to give certain players more money?
The reason for this idea is the cause celebre which Josh Willingham has become.
Almost everyone agrees Willingham fit want the Indians needed in the off-season perfectly.
He’s a left fielder and a right-handed bat, and one that hits for power no less. He’s on pace for 30 HR and 100 RBIs for the Minnesota Twins, showing he did not have to go a big market team.
He’s not making a ton of money either, a reported $7 million per year.
The stumbling block was that the slugger wanted a three year contract, which is one more than Cleveland was willing to commit to.
Did the no third year edict come down from the ownership or did it come from the baseball operations people?
As much as people criticize the Dolans, and we are no exception here, the money involved per year doesn’t seem unreasonable, and at the time, the Tribe didn’t have anyone signed for the 2014 season, so the ownership couldn’t have been concerned about overextending themselves for that year.
So, it is a plausible argument that the kibosh on the deal came from Antonetti, thinking perhaps Willingham couldn’t maintain that type of production for three seasons.
Time will tell whether or not the Indians’ general manager is correct, but even if he doesn’t, it is still worth the gamble for a team that expected it could make the post-season in 2012.
And it certainly wasn’t any more of a risk than giving $5 million in 2012 to a player that hasn’t had a completely healthy season since 2008, and hasn’t played in one game this season.
At the very least, and we mean very least, Willingham in 2014 could be what Sizemore is right now, a waste of cash.
If the Dolans didn’t squelch the deal, it really has to put doubt in fans that Antonetti is a GM to be trusted to make the moves necessary for the Indians to contend.
Yes, he took an enormous risk last season trading for Ubaldo Jimenez, and Jimenez has certainly contributed more this season than the two highly regarded pitching prospects he was dealt for.
However, since the Tribe made that deal, doesn’t it make going for it in ’12 completely necessary? And if that’s the case, don’t they have to go for Willingham, third year and all?
That’s why fans have to wonder who failed to pull the trigger on getting a right-handed slugging leftfielder who could have been signed at a reasonable contract?
It simply made too much good sense to get him, and think of what a tremendous impact he could have made for the Tribe.
Not to make sport of the Indians’ marketing slogan, but the entire non-move makes you think “What if?” on several fronts.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 