Cleveland Indians Avoid Arbitration with Cody Allen, Josh Tomlin, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jeff Manship

Cody Allen and three others agreed to terms with the Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians finished their arbitration deals yesterday, as they inked the final four players to one-year deals. Of those signed, closer Cody Allen commanded the most salary with a grand prize of $4.15 million. Allen, 27, pitched one of the best seasons for a reliever in 2015. According to FanGraphs, his 2.6 wins above replacement and 1.82 fielding independent pitching, FIP, sat atop the leaderboards for all qualified relievers. In his first time through arbitration, the elite closer commanded a substantial sum of $4.15 million.

Another Indians reliever, Jeff Manship, signed with the team as well. Last season saw him return from obscurity, and he took the league by storm. Armed with a rejuvenated arsenal, he posted a 0.92 earned run average across nearly 40 innings of work. In addition, he posted a spectacular FIP- of 65. While this performance set high expectations for next year, his lack of a solid track record means that he remained cheap, and he agreed to a contract worth $765,000.

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Josh Tomlin, the final pitcher to sign with the Cleveland Indians yesterday, took home a one-year, $2.25 million deal. Tomlin had spent several years struggling in the major leagues before finally settling in last year. Across just 10 starts, he logged a 3.02 ERA that his xFIP, which adjusts FIP for park effects, more or less supported. Steamer projected him to regress a bit next year, but the algorithm still thought that he could be an average pitcher.

Finally, the Cleveland Indians and Lonnie Chisenhall agreed to a $2.725 million contract for next season. Chisenhall seemingly found a new position last year when he transitioned to right field. During 354 innings in right field, advanced metrics rated him as between nine and 11 runs better than average, which is mightily impressive given his lack of experience in the outfield. Of course, one must remember that this comes in a small sample size, and the chance of him regressing towards league-average remains highly likely.

Next: Shaw signs one-year deal, Atchison returns

With the team’s arbitration duties in the rearview mirror, the front office can turn its attention to finalizing the roster and building a champion.