By Jordan Bastian

Justin Masterson left Cleveland’s complex on Tuesday morning hoping to settle his contract situation before boarding a flight to Florida. The Indians sinkerballer got his wish.

The Indians and Masterson have reached a deal on a one-year contract worth $9,762,500, avoiding arbitration. Te big right-hander will be able to skip the four-hour flight to St. Petersburg, where he was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing on Thursday.

“I’m here for this season, man,” Masterson said before leaving the clubhouse.

During Tuesday’s morning workout, Masterson threw off a mound in a bullpen session with general manager Chris Antonetti looking on. Assistant general manager Mike Chernoff, who had been slated to fly to Florida to help argue the Tribe’s case, was also on hand at the facility. Antonetti has maintained all along that the Indians hoped to avoid a hearing.

Through the arbitration process, Masterson is seeking $11.8 million, while the Indians had countered with $8.05 million. The agreed upon contract falls just short of the midpoint, which was $9.925 million.

Over the winter, and again in the past few days, Masterson’s camp also tossed out ideas for a long-term extension. Right now, though, the two sides are concentrating on a one-year pact to avoid arbitration with the plan of potentially rekindling long-term talks later this spring or this season.

Masterson is eligible for free agency next offseason.

“We’ve got plenty of time to work on anything like that,” Masterson said. “It’s just working through it, what the value is, what’s reasonable pay, how things work. It’s a different system, especially when you’ve got to be really smart about how you move your money around and you want to make sure you’re making a good investment.

“You’ve got to truly believe in the guy. Not that they don’t truly believe in me, but it’s what you’re working through in that process. It’s easy for us when it’s not our money to throw it around and say, ‘Just do this.’ When it’s your own money, you say, ‘ I think we’re going to think about this a little bit more.’ It doesn’t bother me.”

Masterson, who will turn 29 years old in March, went 14–10 with a 3.45 ERA in 193 innings for the Indians last season. The sinkerballer made his first American League All-Star team and ended the season with a team-high 195 strikeouts. He has gone 44–55 with a 4.08 ERA in parts of five seasons with Cleveland.

— JB