The price tag for pitching is a premium that used to result in sudden jolts of sticker shock. Baseball is now in an economical era of crazy amounts of money being given to even just serviceable players these days, so it should come as no surprise that pitching, the game’s most precious commodity, get’s the lion’s share of it all. The nine-figure contracts, once so infrequent and reserved for the true behemoths of the sport, are now being given out with such reckless regularity now that they barely register a shrug of acknowledgement. Now that baseball has crossed the $200 million barrier more than just a few times, it’s probably a good idea to capitalize on a quality bargain when you can.

According to Paul Hoynes, Justin Masterson is asking for up to $60 million over four years. Yeah, that’s a lot of money to us nobodies, but it’s barely a middling income for a player of his stature these days. The Indians still have their reputation of being penny-pinchers, but this is Masterson already pinching the pennies for them. If the parties involved don’t close this deal, a deal in which Masterson is truly being a team player by essentially freeing up some money to allow for a potential Jason Kipnis extension, then it’ll be a massive disappointment and a 180 degree turn in the goodwill that the fanbase was slowly beginning to recreate with the Dolans. That building of faith is now stronger than it’s ever been at any time since they’ve taken over. There’s finally a clear expectation to compete for an extended period of time. Remember, they ultimately finished just one game behind the Tigers for the division. Letting both Masterson and Kipnis eventually walk would be another public relations disaster that not even Terry Francona would fix. And if that happens, would he even stay? The odds would certainly be diminished, regardless of how much he clearly loves the organization.

In some ways, you can call Justin Masterson the most polite diabolical genius alive. He has the Indians right where they want them, because it would be borderline ridiculous for the brass to not pay a discount where Justin has basically agreed without coercion to undercut his own personal value to stay. It’s one thing to take a hometown discount; it’s another to see a player basically play himself into the ownership’s hands, and to do it willingly. If the price of success demands that a team usually has to pay top dollar, then I’m not sure what you’d call this. But it’s one of the most truest team-first sacrifices I’ve ever seen.

Just a few days ago, I said that I didn’t think the Indians would be able to re-sign Masterson (or Kipnis, for that matter). While I’m not sure it will happen before the team kicks off the season, I’m starting to feel much more confident that a deal will be reached sooner rather than later, and it’s more of a definite probability rather than a flat never. (Which, would’ve been never if it were still Acta’s rudderless ship, no matter how uncommonly nice the guy is. FRANCONA EFFECT!)

And if the Indians still aren’t convinced, I hope they remembered the terms that Ubaldo Jimenez started out with, and how he was looking for one of those nine-figure deals before the market laughed at him all the way down to basically half of what he was seeking. Jimenez was banking on a rusting Cy Young award in his closet and a last-ditch rush to a major payday in which he finally resembled the kind of guy we were hoping to see all along.

That, apparently, isn’t Masterson’s style. He knows that this team has the potential to be something special in a winnable division. And unlike so many of his baseball peers, he has embraced the concept of less is more to see it come to fruition.

 

 

23 Comments

  • Ross says:

    Very very well said, Chris. If the Tribe doesn’t get this done, we will run the Dolans out of town.

    • Jeff D says:

      Someone should have ran the Dolans out of town a long time ago. Once a miser always a miser. Of course it would help a lot if fans actually started filling the seats!

  • mondo dentro says:

    On this site I complained about Ubaldo and the lack of loyalty in our current age in which nothing matters but the bottom line. It’s clear that Masterson is not that kind of guy, and my respect for him, which was already high, has gone through the roof. He thinks about his entire life, and all of his relationships when making these decisions, not just the dollar signs. And, besides, he’s still going to be a rich man at the end of it all.

    The Tribe had damn well better work out a deal with this guy. It’s not only because he’s a “nice guy”, either: it will send a message that this team is not going to be a flash in the pan, and help them attract other quality players in the future.

  • SeattleStu says:

    Colon, Sabathia, Lee, Westbrook, Jiminez….thanks for the years you did give us Justin…

    • Sean Porter says:

      Colon netted the Indians Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee.

      Sabathia and Lee left as free agents and signed astronomical free agent contracts.

      Westbrook DID sign an extension and then missed most of it injured.

      Jiminez was awful for 75% of the time he was in an Indians jersey.

  • Steve T. says:

    If you don’t do this one, what deal would ever be good enough? I’ve never been a Dolan hater and have felt that a lot of the criticism they have taken was for “not” getting locked into what would have been insane deals for a team of our market size to make. If they blow this one, though…

    Well, here’s hoping they don’t.

    • Sean Porter says:

      It would be incredibly difficult to defend Dolan after this… It’s publicly-known that Masterson has offered to take roughly half of what Homer Bailey just signed for – with the even smaller-market Reds.

      The Indians would face a horrible PR hit with this.

  • SeattleStu says:

    doesnt matter what we got / who worked out…point is we arent paying up for top pitching….say goodbye to masterson, mr. porter.

    • Sean Porter says:

      We’ll see, you might be 100% correct, but if you’re not, I’m sure you’ll come back on here to eat your crow, Mr. SeattleStu! ;o)

  • medfest says:

    Just because he’s the considered the “Ace” of the Indians staff doesn’t mean Masterson actually is one.
    Look up the numbers and then tell me he’s worth 15 million a year,
    Factor in his inconsistency from year to year and try to posit he’s an Ace.
    Then add in the huge platoon differential he has,lefties have a career tOPS of 123 against him,sure he’s dominant against righties,but this is a weakness most big league teams can exploit.This will most likely get worse as he ages.

    Why do you think he’s willing to talk extension?Because the recent Free Agent travails of slightly above average pitchers in the new market the CBA has created.That’s what he’s been up til now, a slightly above average starting pitcher(his ERA+ is 100! so I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here)

    Because the Reds signed Bailey to an insane contract,is not a reason to sign Masterson to a slightly less insane one.

    Hey,it’s not my money(well some of it is since I pay for season tickets) so I’m all in favor of keeping the big fella,
    but the Indians have limited funds to spend and they need to spend them wisely.
    Locking up Kipnis will cost money as well.

    I think Masterson at 15 million for 4 years is not the value that many of you do and I question it from the baseball side more then the financial one.

  • Kahanca says:

    Blah blah blah medfest. Masterson is a young ballplayer entering his prime years. Not to mention he finally has a consistent/competent coaching staff since arriving in Cleveland. He needs to add another solid pitch to his arsenal before ever becoming a true ace. Yet, there’s no denying he has the potential to be an anchor for years to come and Callaway/Francona will only help his maturation progress even quicker.

    • medfest says:

      You would lock up a 29 year old pitcher for 4 years and big money based on potential and developing another pitch?

      • Sean Porter says:

        What was Masterson’s stat line vs. lefties last year medfest?

        • medfest says:

          .248/.340/.357 slash line in 2013

          .283/.361/.418 lifetime

          baseball-reference.com

          • Kahanca says:

            That’s what we call growth from a coming of age pitcher medfest. Not to mention those lifetime stats you were talking about, come with some inflated numbers. Meaning, Masterson has pitched for a sub-.500 team that has lost 366 games over his four prior years with the Tribe. Not to put all the blame else where, but his supporting cast was awful defensivly during those Dark Ages and like previously stated this lead to inflated stats across the entire pitching staff.

  • Kahanca says:

    By the by if you read the article the proposal is “believed to be in the $40 to $60 million range,” over 3 to 4 years. Which I wouldn’t be surprised to see them ink him to a 4 year, $50-55 deal. So is he worth a possible $12.5 to $13.75 million a year, no brainer (I’d still take $15 tho).

  • D.P. Roberts says:

    The only actual numbers floating around are 3-4 years, $40-$60 million. Sure, a 3-4 year deal sounds good… but the specific numbers matter. 4 years at $40 million would be only $10 million a year, and a fabulous deal. 3 years at $60 million would be $20 million a year. Not so good there. Everyone is assuming that the actual number is somewhere in the middle of that, but we have no idea what it is yet. Let’s not applaud Masterson for offering a “hometown discount” until we hear what the actual numbers are.

    • Sean Porter says:

      Not knowing exactly what Masterson is looking for (seems 3 or 4 years at around $15 mill a season sounds about right), I still thought the Indians would jump all over that and hammer out something relatively quickly.

      Then again, the season is still almost two weeks away, and perhaps the silence on this from all involved means they are busy getting something done. Or not, and Masterson goes into his walk season and busts out a Cliff Lee 2008 season, pricing him waaaaaaaay beyond the Indians budget.

      Its frustrating. The Indians are in my opinion the best-run pro team in town (and it could be argued that its not even close), yet there are times where I feel they are the farthest away from winning a title, because MLB has no salary cap, and the Dolans are the Dolans and attendance is sparse.

      • Swift says:

        “The Indians are in my opinion the best-run pro team in town (and it could be argued that its not even close)”

        I think you are correct about both, but I also think it is a pretty low bar to reach 😉

  • Chris Burnham says:

    Talks have ceased with no deal. Sigh…

    • Sean Porter says:

      I defended the Dolans when they traded away Sabathia and Lee, because I knew that their astronomical contracts were unreasonable for a small-market team, but if its true that Masterson would have taken something along the lines of 3yrs/$45 mill or 4yrs/$60mill and the Indians decided to lowball him, then I’m flabbergasted.

      The Dolans need to sell this team.