The Indians announced that they have officially signed shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a two-year extension for 2013-14. The deal is worth $16.5MM and will delay Cabrera's free agency by one year.
Cabrera, who is represented by Octagon, avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4.55MM this offseason. This new contract buys out his final year of arbitration eligibility as well as one free agent season. He'll earn $6.5MM in 2013 and $10MM in 2014, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in 2011, batting .273/.332/.460 with a career-high 25 home runs and 17 stolen bases. Cabrera has made several notable highlight defensive plays over the past few seasons, but Ultimate Zone Rating hasn't been a fan of his defense at shortstop, pegging him at -12.6 runs below average per 150 games in 2011.
When examining Cabrera's extension candidacy this offseason (prior to his arbitration settlement), MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested a four-year, $27MM would make sense for both sides. If the extension goes through at $16.5MM, Tim's $6.75MM average annual value would be close, though for one fewer year; the Indians would control Cabrera for three years at $21.05MM — slightly more than $7MM per season.
Steve Adams and Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the agreement and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link) reported the deal's value and that the sides were nearing an agreement.
