The Cleveland Baseball Club reportedly offered the shortstop $200 million prior to the trade with the New York Mets.
According to Jon Heyman, the Cleveland Baseball Club offered over $200 million before trading him to the New York Mets.
As Dennis Manoloff points out it is important to take this with a massive grain of salt. Teams have done this before when a player lands elsewhere. A recent example is what the Nationals did prior to Bryce Harper signing with the Phillies.
This definitely appears to be a case of playing to the fans with an offer that was never going to be accepted. Sure, anyone can offer a lot of money to a player, but if it still well short of what they are seeking does it really matter? There is a succinct answer to that question. No.
