At first look, the multiyear contract the Indians presented to Fausto Carmona on Thursday appeared to be bad for the prospect of re-signing ace C.C. Sabathia.
But thanks to the creative deal Cleveland’s front office orchestrated with its No. 2 starter — a four-year guaranteed contract with options for three more seasons — that shouldn’t be the case.
Through the first four years, Carmona will hardly break the bank, earning just $15 million and only $3.25 million from 2008-09. Those figures, as Indians general manager Mark Shapiro put it during the news conference announcing the contract, “have no significance on negotiations moving forward.”
Where Carmona’s deal gets spendy is over the three option years, when he can make as much as $28 million with a potential $5 million in bonuses. But even then, the Indians aren’t on the hook for any of that should they choose to let him go at the end of his guaranteed tenure.
In essence, the club now has the ability to lock up an emerging star in Carmona,  pay him little over the early portions of his contract and free up money to help re-sign Sabathia. It was a brilliant maneuver by Shapiro and Co., if the Tribe’s top brass doesn’t mind me saying so.
Of course, all the slick business moves in the world won’t guarantee that the Indians will re-up with Sabathia — the way he’s pitching, maybe they won’t want to after all.
Money, as often it is with a superstar in a Cleveland baseball uniform, will be an issue. Sabathia is expected to command a hefty multiyear salary should he hit the open market, and the Indians have notoriously not dealt well in that arena.
The team will undoubtedly offer Sabathia a competitive contract, such as the five-year, $90 million offer he turned down this winter. It’s likely someone else will entice him with more.
It’s going to come down to whether Sabathia will take less to stay in Cleveland, the place he’s spent his entire
seven-plus-year career. And that doesn’t happen often. Just ask Jim Thome.
If Sabathia does skate, Shapiro and the rest of the Indians contract officials can pat themselves on the back for providing a safety net in Carmona, while still giving them a chance in the race to re-sign their ace.

A revealing Robbie

Former Indians second baseman Robbie Alomar (1999-2001) was recently inducted into the Toronto Blue Jays version of a hall of fame (Level of Excellence).
He had kind words for the Indians and  former double-play partner Omar Vizquel, whom he was rumored to have a strained relationship with during his days in Cleveland.
“Being with him was the best feeling I ever had playing,” Alomar said. “Omar Vizquel was the kind of guy who brought joy to the game. We both had fun doing it. We were not trying to show up anybody. We were having fun. To me, he was the greatest shortstop I’ve ever played with.”
Alomar, who played in Cleveland with his brother Sandy (1990-2000), now a catching instructor with the Mets, has kept tabs on his former team.
“It’s good to see the Indians doing a great job,” he said. “Mark Shapiro has done a great job with that organization. They’re going to be a tough, tough team to beat.”
Along with his brother, Robbie is a member of the “100 Greatest Indians Roster,” and wasn’t the only former Cleveland player inducted into Toronto’s LOE. He joined Joe Carter (1984-89), also a member of the “100 Greatest Indians Roster,” and Tony Fernandez (1997).
Robbie, a near lock for Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame, spent five seasons in Toronto and said he’d enter the Hall as a Blue Jay.

Missed opportunity

It’s nice to see that the Indians have taken advantage of the slow start by the Tigers, viewed by most as their chief competition in the Central Division.
Detroit gets picked by many to win the World Series, gets off to an 0-7 start and the Indians pull into Saturday with just two games between them and the Tigers.
Detroit’s revamped offense has struggled mightily out of the gate. But what do you want to bet the Tigers will start finding their stride right around Wednesday when they make their first trip to Cleveland for a two-game series?
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136
or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. 

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