We might be in the middle of the World Series (or a postponed Game 6), but teams around the MLB are hard at work deciding how to improve their teams, so they can be playing at this time next year. The Cleveland Indians are no exception, and a couple of big decisions will need to be made very soon on two of their more revered players, Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona.
Both players have club options for the 2012 season and a verdict has to be reached by three days after the final game of the World Series [via Cleveland Plain Dealer]:
Sizemore is the more pressing of the two decisions. Not only in terms of the size of the $9 million option, but because he'll be eligible for free agency if the option isn't picked up.
Carmona's option is worth $7 million. If the Indians don't exercise it, he's still under their control because he has only five full seasons in the big leagues. A player needs six years to be eligible for free agency.
The Plain Dealer link has a breakdown of reasons why the Indians should and should not keep the two. For Sizemore, the five surgeries in three years is the most concerning factor. Carmona may be had through arbitration for cheaper, but either way, the Indians maintain control of the one-time 19-game winner.
Obviously, we'll know soon what the Indians decide.