Cleveland Indians: New MLB plan would cut Lindor’s salary by 80 percent
The Cleveland Indians highest paid players, such as Francisco Lindor, would take an 80 percent pay cut under the new MLB proposal.
MLB owners proposed a plan on how to pay its players, and if accepted, both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Santana would take a pay cut of about 80 percent.
Both Lindor and Santana were due to make $17.5 million, but would make $3.58 million under the new plan.
MLB would move forward with an 82-game season beginning sometime in early July and the games would take place without any fans. The plan dings the players making the most, while players making less taking a smaller cut.
As you’d expect, the players hate this plan, with Brewers’ pitcher Brett Anderson tweeting the proposal makes the players making the most, aka, the superstars of the game, look like the bad guys.
Other notable Tribe players, such as Carlos Carrasco would see his salary fall from $10.25 to $2.44 million. Brad Hand will drop from $7 million to $1.84 million.
It’s hard for many Americans to get worked up about millionaires taking a pay cut that still pays them millions, as many struggle as a result of the economy crashing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this initial proposal shows how far away there is from being baseball in 2020. Perhaps the owners are going low to begin negotiations.
As for the Indians, it will be worth watching to see if baseball’s finances impact what Lindor does long term. Lindor is set to hit the free-agent market after the 2021 campaign, but what if there are no fans in 2021? Those $300 million contracts that have been passed out lately might not be as easy to find.
This probably doesn’t bode well for the Indians, who reportedly offered Lindor a $100 million extension after the 2016 World Series. While the Yankees may not be shelling out $300 million contracts, the Indians probably won’t be in a hurry to give away nine-figure sums if ownership can’t generate any revenue.
As the players formulate their proposal, keep in mind that some version of Spring Training was suppose to commence in June. It’s also worthy to note that in the original agreement between the players and owners, the players took the deal, which stated they would not play if there wasn’t a season in exchange for service time.
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Something to think about as the two sides seem miles apart.