The Cleveland Indians recently declined a $9 million option for outfielder Grady Sizemore, making him a free agent. It appears, however, that Sizemore may not be going anywhere.
Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthalis reporting that Sizemore is close to signing a one-year deal with the Indians. Rosenthal cited two sources, one that said a deal was "70-30," and another who said that a deal was "very likely."
It's unknown at this point how much the deal would be worth, but it's safe to assume it will be worth less than the $9 million that Sizemore would have earned had his option been picked up. Rosenthal speculates that the deal will be incentive-laden and could potentially be worth as much as the option year would have been.
Sizemore has the talent and potential to be one of the game's best outfielders when he's healthy, but he's only averaged 70 games per season in the last three seasons thanks to injury problems. He played in just 71 games last year after a 33-game 2010 campaign.
As of Monday, the Red Sox were one of many teams said to have at least some interest in the veteran outfielder.
