There was a lot of talk about a potential multi-year deal on the table from the Cleveland Indians for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, and some even thought said deal might get done. Recently though, it's been looking more and more like the Indians might be going to arbitration, with some reporting that it was expected at this point. Which, naturally, means the Tribe signed Cabrera to a one-year deal and avoided arbitration for the 21st year in a row, according to the Indians official Twitter account.
It's likely that this one-year deal was something that the two sides have been considering on the side for some time while they try and negotiate a long-term deal. Instead of something long term, it's clear that the Indians were adamant that arbitration is something they want to continue to avoid.
Avoiding arbitration has been their thing since 1991, when left-hander Greg Swindell won and earned a salary of $2.025 million that year. Arbitration can often be a nasty experience where a rift is created between player and team. With the potential to still get a multi-year deal done for Cabrera, avoiding arbitration, which was set to begin early next week, became key.
Cabrera was reportedly seeking $5.2 million in 2012, while the Indians had offered $3.75 million, and Jordan Bastian is reporting that it's worth $4.55 million, so it's a bit above the middle point.
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