GOODYEAR, ARIZ.: The Indians did it. They spent a truckload of money on a right-handed power hitter.
The two biggest complaints by a hungry fan base were satisfied in one, expensive swoop. For the first time in a long time, the Indians made one of the biggest splashes on the free-agent market. Now, it’ll go into action.
It elevated them from a talented club that finally broke through, to a World Series contender clearly intent on remaining at the top of the American League.
The Indians signed Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year, $60 million contract with a club option that could make it a four-year, $80 million deal. It was the largest free-agent contract ever handed out in franchise history, nabbing one of the top players available on the open market. That sentence normally is attached to teams from New York, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles. That deal, combined with Boone Logan’s contract ($6.5 million guaranteed with a $7 million club option for 2018) pushed the Indians’ payroll north of $120 million for the first time in franchise history.
Owner Paul Dolan put up the money, and the Indians’ front office, headed by president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, found the right opportunity to be aggressive. It started with the Andrew Miller trade at last year’s trade deadline — as well as the attempted Jonathan Lucroy trade, which he vetoed — and continued with this offseason. It’s a clear message that there’s a sense of urgency.
“It’s awesome. You can’t send a better message to a franchise,” closer Cody Allen said. “Their sole goal isn’t attendance, which is something that’s been talked about a lot here in Cleveland. It’s winning baseball games, winning championships. We want to give them one.”
The Indians scored the second-most runs in the American League in 2016 and can potentially add Encarnacion and Michael Brantley into the middle of the lineup.
“In reality, it’s almost like we signed two middle-of-the-order bats,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “No [other] team did that.”
But what does Encarnacion bring to the middle of the lineup? First, some muscle.
Since 2012, Encarnacion is second in baseball in both home runs (193) and RBI (550). His wRC+ of 146, in that time, ranks him seventh in the game, according to FanGraphs. He had a wRC+ of 134 in 2016, which would have been the best mark in the Indians’ lineup. He’s hit at least 34 home runs and had at least 98 RBI in each of the past five seasons, and has ranked no lower than 18th in wRC+ in any year since 2012.
He’s also one of the smarter hitters in baseball. How smart? This spring, he pulled Carlos Carrasco aside to let him know of some things he was doing as a pitcher, and to give him some pointers as a former foe.
“I talked to him and he knew what pitches I was going to throw,” Carrasco said. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game and he knows what he’s doing. He gave me some tips from when I pitched against him. He said, ‘I knew you were going to throw the slider.’ ”
The Indians had a dangerous lineup last year which returns Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez and company. Then there’s the expected return of Brantley. Then there’s Encarnacion, who has ranked among the more feared hitters in the game the past five seasons. He’s the type of slugger the Indians haven’t had in more than a decade. He’s also the type of middle-of-the-order slugger many fans have been clamoring for since around that time, before Jim Thome left for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Indians broke out of their financial comfort zone in a big way to deliver a difference-making bat. For many fans, Encarnacion’s introduction to Cleveland on April 11 at the home opener will be one much longer in the making than a couple of months.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ.