Cleveland Indians Rumors: J.D. Martinez a fit in Cleveland

As the offseason begins the wrap up, one of the biggest names on the market is still looking for a home. Could that home be with the Cleveland Indians?

Last week the Boston Red Sox offer to Outfielder J.D. Martinez was announced around five years for $125 million. That is substantially less than his starting asking price of $200 million as mentioned by our David Gasper.

Today on the MLB Network show MLB Now; Mike Petriello said that the Indians should offer Martinez five years at $150 million.

Talk about breaking the bank. At $30 Million a year, Martinez would by far become the highest paid player on the team and in franchise history. Edwin Encarnacion currently holds that title for the Tribe and while Martinez arguably had a much better 2017 than Edwin, that price is absurd.

The Indians spending habits show that they would not be the team to make that offer. If they did it would send fans into a frenzy. It would likely also signal the team actually trading away someone like Jason Kipnis. That remaining $28 Million would clear up space to pay Martinez that amount.

A deal with Martinez could be worked with Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley possibly leaving after this year. The Cleveland Indians only long-term option in the outfield is Bradley Zimmer. But the Indians also have to focus on extending Francisco Lindor. At 24 years old Lindor is a much more important investment than 30 year old JD Martinez.

All of this is just speculation, but it is interesting to see the Indians becoming linked to these big names more often. Especially after the Tribe’s interest in Manny Machado was announced last week.

Next: Austin Jackson next player to leave town

With the team losing a few big bats this offseason, adding Martinez isn’t a crazy idea. But the lineup is still good enough to take the team all the way. Good enough that the Dolans don’t have to fork out $150 million for five years.