The Cleveland Indians have picked up utility man Mike Aviles' $3.5 million team option. Aviles played in 113 games this pass season hitting .247 with 5 homers also tying his career high in stolen bases with 14. The 33 year old has a lifetime .299 OBP and has yet to play over 136 games in a single seasn. This move seems as a no brainer for the Indians as if the option was not picked up Cleveland wouldve had to pay a 250K buyout.
For just being used as a utility man the past few years Aviles career offensive WAR which determines the players pure offensives contributions to the team is just under 8 while his overall career WAR is 8.7. However if you want to go deeper into the sabermetric look on how Aviles Cleveland career has been so far his RAR which is runs above replacement levels which basically compares him to all the other replacement players in the league; its just at 3 runs while 2 years ago before he came to Cleveland was 25. There has been a dropoff over the last few seasons, however Mike is a veteran and he belongs to a club who is just one year removed from the playoffs.
The average baseball fan isnt going to get to excited about the Indians picking up his option and for good reason, there hasnt been anything specatular. However there is something to be said about having a veteran in your clubhouse mentoring and looking over the young guys for a team that is looking to make their way back into the postseason this year.