The Cleveland Indians and shortstop Francisco Lindor avoided arbitration with a $10.55 million deal this afternoon, but failed to reach an agreement for the second straight season with Trevor Bauer.
Lindor’s one-year deal comes close to the record for a first-year arbitration-eligible player set by Kris Bryant and the Cubs for $10.85 million last season. The deal means that the team and player won’t need to submit separate numbers to the league. The Indians typically avoid arbitration with all of their players; since 1991 the only players to go to arbitration without an extension were Josh Tomlin and Vinnie Pestano in 2014, and Bauer last season.