Cleveland Indians players absent from highest-paid list

A FanSided article went through the highest-paid players in MLB history and Cleveland Indians players were absent from the list.

The Cleveland Indians shocked fans this offseason by going big and signing Edwin Encarnacion to a team-record deal.

The $60 million for Encarnacion was a big deal for the Indians, but it an average contract for big names on teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The ability of the Indians to build through the farm system and get top talent at a cheap rate was reflected in a recent FanSided post detailing the top-earning MLB players of all time.

The only former Indian on the list was Manny Ramirez, but he made his big money after he left Cleveland.

That is a common theme as the Indians have traded or just not re-signed top talent in favor of saving money and building through the organization. It was sometimes a choice, but the market in Cleveland also didn’t allow for major spending.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Signing Encarnacion may signal a change in the team’s attitude, and that may have to continue for the Indians to remain a contender.

Francisco Lindor is the current face of the franchise and is going to warrant a major contract if he is to remain in Cleveland for the next decade.

It will take another team-record deal to even compete to keep him here, if it is indeed true he turned down a $100 million deal this offseason.

That decision may not need to be made until this offseason or the next, but the Indians have to offer Lindor fair market value and keep him here if the team is serious about remaining a contender and not going the way of the Kansas City Royals and bottoming out after two successful seasons.

A big deal for Lindor means the Indians will not be able to keep the entire core of the team in place, but that is why the continual focus on the farm system is so important. Lindor can still get a fair salary and younger talent can come up to take the spots of those let go due to rising costs.

Next: Indians finishing April at top of the Central

It is not something fans have to worry about in 2017, but a player like Lindor is going to find his way onto the highest-paid list. It is just a matter of whether he does so as a member of the Indians or has to go elsewhere to get paid.