Cleveland Indians Sign Josh Tomlin To Contract Extension

Cleveland Indians and Right-Handed Pitcher Josh Tomlin Agree to Contract Extension

The Cleveland Indians have signed starting pitcher Josh Tomlin to a two-year extension that includes a club option for a third year.  The deal breaks down as follows:

The 2016 salary is identical to what the Cleveland Indians and Josh Tomlin had already agreed upon as part of his final year of being arbitration eligible, so in a way this is really just a one-year extension with a very team-friendly option. One stipulation of Tomlin’s original 2016 deal that raised some eyebrows was that the $2.25 million was fully guaranteed. Typically with arbitration, only a portion is guaranteed and teams can cut a player before the season begins, saving money. It would appear that the Indians and Tomlin have had an extension on their minds for at least a few weeks now (if not all offseason).

Is Tomlin Guaranteed a Rotation Spot? Not So Fast.

On the surface this would seem to indicate that Josh Tomlin is now guaranteed a spot in the Tribe’s 2016 rotation; however, that may not be the case. While the Cleveland Indians have guaranteed Tomlin money in 2017, a year in which he was scheduled to be a free agent for the first time, Tomlin does actually have two minor league options remaining. The Cleveland Indians could decide that the team is better off with say, Cody Anderson as the fifth starter, and option Tomlin to Triple-A Columbus. Tomlin, who has 5.033 years of service time, would have to agree to this as a veteran with more than five years of service, but given that the Tribe has guaranteed his salary for 2017, I would assume he’d be more open to the move than before.

One interesting bit with this extension: had Tomlin not signed the extension and still been sent to Triple-A, there was a chance he would not have qualified for free agency for 2017 and instead been arbitration eligible once again. If he would spend about 45 days in the minors in 2017, he won’t have the necessary six years of service time to qualify for free agency and thus would have gone to arbitration in 2017.

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Which then brings us back to the extension and how good a deal is really could be for the Indians. Had Tomlin gone to arbitration a fourth time in 2017, he’d almost certainly have gotten more than $2.5 million. Heck, he probably gets at least the $3.25M he’s been guaranteed after 2016 (including the 2018 buyout). It’s a nice deal for Tomlin, too, as it guarantees money to a guy that’s seen the disabled list quite a bit the last few years. There’s no guarantee that his arm holds up over a whole year, and he’s not getting any younger. However, despite the health risks, this still appears to be a solid move for the Indians. As the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching…

So what do you think: is this a good deal for the Indians or should they have let Tomlin possibly walk at the end of 2016?