Ubaldo Jimenez Voids Option
The Indians exercised their $8MM club option on right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, but as expected, he has voided the option and become a free agent, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Because Jimenez voided the option, the Indians will not have to pay the $1MM buyout. 
Jimenez, who turns 30 in January, pitched to a 3.30 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in 182 2/3 innings this season. Those numbers don't tell the whole story of how dominant Jimenez was for most of the season; 28 percent of the earned runs allowed by Jimenez occured in his first four starts. From April 29 through season's end, Jimenez pitched to a 2.61 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.
As I noted in my free agent profile for Jimenez, he will be one of the most desirable free agent pitchers on the market due to his relative youth, dominant finish and previous success with the Rockies in 2009-10. At the time, I projected a three-year, $39MM contract for Jimenez, but if I could take that prediction back, I'd probably increase it in the wake of Tim Lincecum's two-year, $35MM contract with the Giants. Jimenez and his agents at SFX seem unlikely to settle for a one-year, $4MM increase over Lincecum, who was himself an NL West ace at the same time as Jimenez before enduring a similar decline to the one Jimenez experienced from 2011-12. A three-year deal with a higher average annual value or even a four-year deal in the range of Edwin Jackson's $52MM contract with the Cubs definitely seems possible for Jimenez at this point.
Jimenez was originally acquired by the Indians in a July 2011 blockbuster that sent former first-round picks Drew Pomeranz and Alex White to Colorado along with right-hander Joe Gardner and first baseman Matt McBride. The wheels immediately came off for Jimenez in Cleveland, though Colorado didn't fare much better. White and Pomeranz, the two centerpieces, both flopped with the Rockies. White was sent to Houston in an offseason trade that netted setup man Wilton Lopez (White required Tommy John this season), and Pomeranz has yet to establish himself.
I noted in Spring Training that barring a turnaround for Pomeranz or Jimenez, the trade looked like a lose-lose deal. Jimenez has clearly swung the deal in the favor of the Indians, as he helped propel them to an improbable playoff berth this season, and Cleveland now stands to gain a compensatory draft pick once Jimenez inevitably turns down a $14.1MM qualifying offer (the deadline for an offer is Monday).
In addition to Jimenez, Cleveland is also set to lose lefty Scott Kazmir to free agency. If the Indians are unable to retain either free agent, it would make sense to see GM Chris Antonetti pursue a veteran starting pitcher on the free agent market to supplement their current rotation of Justin Masterson, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber and Zach McAllister.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Indians Decline Jason Kubel’s Option
The Indians have declined their $7.5MM club option on Jason Kubel, the team announced via press release. Kubel will receive a $1MM buyout, which the Diamondbacks are on the hook for following the Aug. 30 trade that sent him from Arizona to Cleveland.
Kubel was acquired for a PTBNL (later revealed to be Matt Langwell) and received only 23 plate appearances for the Tribe down the stretch. He collected just three hits in 18 official at-bats, though he walked five times, so he did manage to get on base at a .348 clip in his brief time with Cleveland.
Kubel belted a career-high 30 home runs in his first season with the DIamondbacks in 2012, but he slumped terribly and battled a quadriceps issue in 2013. Kubel spent two weeks on the DL with the issue and wound up slashing a paltry .216/.293/.317 between the D-Backs and Indians. Because he grades out as one of the worst defensive outfielders in the league, both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference agreed that he played at a sub-replacement level in 2013.
This year marked the first time since 2006 that Kubel failed to produce an OPS+ of at least 105, so he's a decent candidate to rebound with the bat. His career-high in homers came in 2012, as I mentioned before, but his best overall season at the plate came in 2009 when he slashed .300/.369/.539 with 28 homers for the Twins.