Cleveland Indians: 3 players to extend before it’s too late

1. Mike Clevinger

Mike Clevinger, 29, recently got a raise agreeing to a $4.1 million contract for 2020, avoiding arbitration in the process.

It’s been reported the Tribe would love to sign the right-hander, and negotiated with him last spring, and the pressure is starting to mount on the organization to get a deal done, considering Clevinger can be a free agent after the 2022 season.

The two sides talked about an extension last spring, but those negotiations didn’t bare any fruit.

Perhaps Clevinger’s camp will have a different mindset following the pitchers recent knee injury. He injured his knee and the setback required surgery. He’ll likely start the season on the Injured List.

If Clevinger is looking for some financial security, it might behoove him to take a multi-year extension because for the second straight season, he’ll have missed significant time. In 2019, he missed a good chunk of the early season with a back injury, and now, the aforementioned knee injury.

There’s a reason you can never have enough pitching: Pitchers get hurt, especially hard throwers such as Clevinger.

When healthy, Clevinger is fun to watch and projects to be an ace. Locking him up and buying out his first year or two or free agency would solidify the pitching staff though 2023 or 2024.