Indians Set to Make an Offer to Millwood

Millwood wants at least a three-year deal. He made $7 million on his one-year deal this year and is looking for a raise. If the Indians sign him for $10 million per year, he would be their second $10 million-per-year player in history.

While I think Kevin Millwood was a ridiculous value this year at $7 million, I am not sure that I totally agree that he should be offered $10 million over three years. It seems pretty risky with a 30-year-old who has had arm problems in the past. At the same time, I would say that it is a better bet than the one the tribe made with Chuck Finley in the 2000 season. That was also a three-year deal, which paid him:

$7,911,948 in 2000
$9,666,667 in 2001
$7,911,948 in 2002

(Finley wasn't worth the big money he made)

Finley was 37 when he joined the Indians, and Millwood is only 30 right now, but it still scares me a little bit with a team that has just over $40 million in payroll, to spend $10 million on one player. If this is Dolan's idea of spending on a free agent, then I would like to take that money and push it toward an experienced position player who can smack some balls around the yard, preferably from the right side of the plate.

In other free agent news, the Tribe is expected to pick up the contract option for Ronnie Belliard for $4 million next season. That isn't a real big surprise considering how well he has played for the last two years in Cleveland. Bob Howry is a free agent after the world series along with Scott Elarton. I would like to see Howry come back, but not at a crazy price. If the Indians don't get something done with him quickly, I would expect him to get a pretty good bid on the open market and jump ship.

David Riske, Ben Broussard, and Coco Crisp will be eligible for arbitration. I would guess that Coco will get a multi-year deal similar to what Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner got at the beginning of this season. Coco has earned every bit of a long-term deal and I am hoping he is roaming the outfield for a long time at Jacob's Field.

I like Ben Broussard, but depending on what arbitration says, I think that we should just let him go, or trade him. He still has potential, but he doesn't give me that confident gut feeling that I want from a first baseman. As you look around the diamond with the Indians, first base is one place where they could stand for a major improvement and unfortunately with Broussard eligible for abritration, he might not have any time left to prove that he can be that player.

David Riske made just over $1.4 million this season and depending on what the arbitrator says, I can't expect the tribe to pay him much more. In the Cleveland.com article it was also suggested that Riske could be trade bait, but I am not sure what they would get for him of high value. It isn't like when the Indians traded Paul Shuey, but then again, Riske makes a lot less money than the $7 million or so that Shuey was making when he was traded.

This off-season is already starting to look interesting. I will be looking forward to seeing who becomes the coveted bat for the Indians lineup in 2006. As soon as I get some ideas of the available players, I will post my wants here.