On Wednesday, April 4, the Cleveland Indians officially announced a two-year contract extension worth $16.5 million with All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. The new contract secures Cabrera's spot with the Tribe through 2014.
Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera back in 2005 as a minor leaguer. He certainly has lived up to his potential and then some.
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Previously, the All-Star shortstop would've been eligible for arbitration following the 2012 season and free agency after 2013.
Personally, I like the contract extension. Two years seems like a safe number to go with given the risk longer-term deals carry. For us Cleveland Indians fans all, we need to do is look at the often injured center fielder Grady Sizemore and designated hitter Travis Hafner to understand the downside to extensive multi-year agreements.
As The Ultimate Baseball Resource notes, the Tribe signed Grady Sizemore to a revolutionary six-year deal in 2006. At the time the agreement created a tremendous buzz, considering Sizemore's amazing talents. All proved well until injuries started bothering the center fielder in 2009. Since then the Indians continuously encounter difficulty with just getting Sizemore out onto the field.
Travis Hafner, on the other hand, inked a four-year plus 2013 club option, $57.5 million deal in July of 2007, according to Roto World Fantasy Sports. Hafner served as a menacing force in 2007, batting .266 with 24 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 102 walks over 152 games. Move forward to 2008 and health woes began hampering the designated hitter. Since this time, Hafner's best production came from last season when he hit .280 with 13 home runs, 57 RBIs, and drew 36 walks in 94 games.
By only extending Asdrubal Cabrera's contract to two years, the Tribe minimize the injury downside associated with multi-year agreements. Instead, the biggest risk with the Cabrera deal comes in the form of whether the shortstop can repeat his All-Star 2011 campaign, a career year. Cabrera enjoyed significant increases in his home runs and RBI numbers, blasting 25 balls beyond the outfield fences and driving in 92 runs. Previous power number highs for the shortstop include six home runs (2008, 2009) and 68 RBIs (2009).
Overall, I see no reason why Asdrubal Cabrera wouldn't put up offensive statistics similar to 2011 in 2012 and the years to come. The Cleveland press well-documented Cabrera's career year stemmed from advice veteran second baseman Orlando Cabrera (no familial relation to Asdrubal) gave the shortstop. The Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes reported this advice to be "swing for the fence" every once in a while. If Cabrera doesn't forget this, I'm sure we Clevelanders won't be forgetting the shortstop anytime soon.
Zachary Fenell fell in love with the Cleveland Indians during the 1995 season when the Tribe powered their way to the organization's first World Series appearance since 1954. While the Indians lost some allure since the 1990s you will still find Zachary watching the games on TV, listening to them on the radio, or best yet taking in a game from the stands at Progressive Field.
More from This Contributor:
Fan's Take: How Significant is Travis Hafner to 2012 Cleveland Indians?
Cleveland Indians Give Injury Update on Grady Sizemore: A Fan's Reaction
Cleveland Indians Avoid Arbitration with Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera: A Fan's Reaction
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