The Cleveland Browns have just two games remaining before they close the book on their latest season of frustration and disappointment.

While everyone will get a much-needed break after the final whistle blows in Baltimore on January 5, one topic related to the team will most certainly not be decided anytime soon. And that is debate over where the team will be playing its home games in the future.

Team officials have made it clear they intend to build a domed stadium and surrounding entertainment district in the Cleveland suburb of Book Park. City and county officials have continually countered with their preference for the Browns to remain downtown on the lakefront and play in a renovated Huntington Bank Field, which has been home to the team since its return to the NFL in 1999.

For the Browns, team officials have been busy focusing on a campaign to win the hearts and minds of fans and politicians. This campaign started with the release earlier this month of an economic study conducted by RCLCO, a real estate consulting company.

According to a story on the team’s website, the main takeaways from the study include:

• A domed stadium can attract up to an additional 1.5 million visitors through a mix of year-round programming of various sizes and major events.
• A projected annual direct economic output of $1.2 billion across Cuyahoga County, as well as create nearly 5,400 permanent jobs.
• Total annual spending at bars, restaurants, and hotels downtown is projected to increase by about $11 million over what is generated today by the activity at Huntington Bank Field.

That was followed up last week with a team-led interview with Lance Evans, lead architect of HKS, the firm chosen to design the domed stadium.

Evans hit all the right notes, especially by appealing to fans when he discussed the approach to creating the Dawg Pound in a new stadium:

“You’ve got to start with the Dawg Pound and the idea that it is a celebrated item. When we were listening to the fan base about what they wanted in the building, number one was to restore the power of the fans of the Dawg Pound. And so, we’ve created essentially a wall, a vertical wall of fans for the Dawg Pound. We have brought them as close as we can to the players and to the end zone. We’re going to have the visiting team run out right beside them. It is going to be a raucous wall of electricity, and we’re excited about that. That informed the decisions, like really the seating bowl was informed, the whole design of it, around this idea of catering to the kind of fandom of Brown’s nation, which is palpable.”

Finally, the Browns have been conducting surveys to gauge interest in the idea of the domed stadium project. While some local media have made a big deal out of the surveys, they appear to be filled with the standard type of questions that are commonly used when undertaking a project of this magnitude, such as how important the addition of restaurants and bars is to the project, how often the survey respondent would visit the area on non-game days, and the like.

One interesting element of the surveys comes in a series of questions that lay out some potential price points for season tickets, including amenities like unlimited food and drink, or priority access to other events. The prices are not the actual prices, but are shown solely for “research purposes.”

No matter what the results of the survey say – either for or against the domed stadium – there is nothing compelling either side of the debate to act on the results, so it is probably a good idea to not get too worked up about their existence.

There are two areas that deserve some attention, both of which come from the government side of the debate.

The first comes from Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin, who confirmed last week that the city plans to use the state’s Modell Law to try and keep the Browns downtown. Griffin is joined in that fight by Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.

The city first floated the idea of using the law, which requires owners of professional sports teams that play in a taxpayer-supported stadium to give at least six months’ notice before leaving and must give the city or local investors an opportunity to buy the team, in October.

While nothing official has happened, the city has hired the law firm of Jones Day to reportedly act as outside counsel as the city works on its response to the team’s position that the law is unconstitutional, according to NEOtrans blog.

Ronayne also continues to lead the fight to keep the Browns downtown as opposed to using public money for the Brook Park site, as the told NEOtrans:

“Cuyahoga County cannot afford to subsidize the creation of a second downtown with taxpayer dollars. I continue to ask for the downtown stadium renovation plan to be shared publicly and for the Cleveland Browns to come back to the negotiating table with the city of Cleveland to build off of the billions of dollars of investments already made in the downtown core.”

The second comes from the Statehouse in Columbus, where lawmakers closed out their year by giving the Cincinnati Bengals a tax break on their upcoming $120 million renovation of Paycor Stadium.

As part of an amendment to House Bill 315, the Bengals can exempt themselves from around $9.3 million in sales taxes if Governor Mike DeWine approves the proposal.

Ultimately it is a lot of posturing between the Bengals and Hamilton County officials, which you can read more about here. As it relates to the Browns and their plans, it is still unclear how the amendment could potentially impact a new or renovated stadium project, but it is something to keep an eye on in the coming months.

While the 2024 regular season is winding down, the battle over where the Browns will call home is far from over. As always, it is important to remember that the Browns current lease does not expire until after the 2028 season, so they are not going anywhere. And even if they eventually do land in Brook Park, it is only a move to the suburbs so they will still be the Cleveland Browns.

The house in Bratenahl, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, had special meaning for Carlos Santana and his wife, Brittany. It was the first home Santana, a native of the Dominican Republic, purchased in the United States, back in 2012 after he signed his first multi-year deal. All four of the Santanas’ children were born in the Cleveland area.

Explaining the Guardians’ latest moves

Both teams that reached the American League Championship Series will open the season with new first and second basemen. The New York Yankees are simply replacing departing free agents. The Guardians’ moves were more jarring, but typical of the roster roulette low-revenue teams play.

The trade of Andrés Giménez to the Toronto Blue Jays enabled the Guardians to escape the remaining five years and $96.5 million on the second baseman’s contract. The trade of Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks, in combination with the Santana agreement, left the Guardians with a similar one-year financial commitment at first base, plus right-hander Slade Cecconi and the No. 72 overall pick in the 2025 draft. Cleveland now holds the 27th, 66th, 70th and 72nd selections.

Naylor, 27, is 11 years younger than Santana, and almost certainly would have departed as a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. Santana, thanks in part to his Gold Glove defense, produced the higher fWAR last season (3.0-2.3). As one of the team’s most beloved players in recent memory, he again will be a strong presence in the clubhouse, if less emotional than Naylor.

Cecconi, 25, was the 33rd overall pick out of the University of Miami in the 2020 draft, but has yet to establish himself in the majors, finishing last season with a 6.66 ERA in 77 innings. The Guardians are not sure whether he will start or relieve but believe he might benefit from working with their pitching group and competing in better pitchers’ parks than he did at Triple-A Reno and in Arizona. According to Statcast’s Park Factor, Chase Field was the second-most run-friendly environment in the majors last season, behind only Coors Field.

The Guardians have spent much of their offseason adding pitching, previously re-signing free-agent right-hander Shane Bieber to a two-year, $26 million contract, and acquiring righty Luis L. Ortiz as well as pitching prospects Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy for infielder Spencer Horwitz. They also traded relievers Eli Morgan to the Chicago Cubs and Nick Sandlin to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Marlins flirting with CBA trouble

In early December, Evan Drellich and I detailed how the A’s need to add significant payroll this winter or else risk a grievance from the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Miami Marlins, who continued to tear down their roster Sunday with their trade of left-hander Jesús Luzardo to the Philadelphia Phillies, are treading on perhaps even more perilous ground.

Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement requires teams to carry a luxury-tax payroll more than one and a half times the amount they receive from local revenue sharing. A club in violation doesn’t automatically receive punishment but puts itself at greater risk of penalty if the union files a grievance.

The Marlins, like the A’s, are expected to be among the highest revenue-sharing recipients next year at roughly $70 million, if not more. Using that $70 million estimate, the Marlins’ luxury-tax payroll by the end of the season would need to be $105 million. Per FanGraphs, they currently are at $83 million. The A’s, following their additions of right-hander Luis Severino, lefty Jeffrey Springs and third baseman Gio Urshela, are at $90 million.

What’s amazing about the Marlins’ luxury-tax number is that approximately 45 percent of it is unrelated to their current roster. Two players no longer on the team’s 40-man, outfielder Avisaíl García and righty Woo-Suk Go, account for $15.25 million. Through 2027, the Marlins also are getting hit with a $3 million annual charge as part of their Giancarlo Stanton trade with the New York Yankees. And, like all teams, they are charged $17.5 million for player benefits and $1.67 million for their share of the pre-arbitration bonus pool.

Since the deadline, the Marlins have traded Luzardo, closer Tanner Scott, infielders Jake Burger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Josh Bell, left-hander Trevor Rogers, outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and relievers A.J. Puk, JT Chargois and Huascar Brazoban. The next to go, provided he makes a strong recovery from Tommy John surgery in the first half, should be right-hander Sandy Alcántara, whose 2025 salary is $17.3 million.

Wouldn’t it be something if the Marlins had to keep Alcántara because their luxury-tax payroll was too low? The average annual value of Alcántara’s five-year contract — the number used for luxury-tax calculations — is $11.2 million. Shedding the prorated portion of that amount at the deadline would drop the team’s luxury-tax number by roughly another $3.7 million.

Can’t wait to see how the Marlins raise payroll, with owner Bruce Sherman kicking and screaming. Like the A’s, they have little choice but to spend.

The Sandoval deal: A record of sorts

While no official records are kept, left-hander Patrick Sandoval’s two-year, $18.25 million deal with the Boston Red Sox is believed to be the largest guarantee ever awarded to a player who was non-tendered.

The Milwaukee Brewers retained righty Brandon Woodruff on a two-year, $17.5 million contract prior to 2024. The Chicago Cubs signed first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger to a one-year, $17.5 million deal — the highest AAV for a non-tender — prior to 2023.

With salaries for starting pitchers soaring, the curious part of the Los Angeles Angels’ decision to part with Sandoval is that they could have retained him over the next two seasons for perhaps $6 million less than he ended up getting from the Red Sox.

Sandoval, 28, projected to earn $5.9 million in arbitration in 2025, per MLB Trade Rumors. He is not expected to return from Tommy John surgery before the second half, so his raise in 2026 would have been minimal.

Perhaps Angels owner Arte Moreno didn’t want to pay a player who was hurt, something he has done regularly with Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon at higher salaries. Perhaps Moreno and general manager Perry Minasian are hellbent on winning this upcoming season and wanted to use the $6 million for other pursuits.

The Angels tried to trade Sandoval before the non-tender deadline, according to a rival executive who spoke with them. But the industry effectively called their bluff, daring them to offer Sandoval a contract. They did not.

Rangers bullpen: A work in progress

Slowly but surely, the Texas Rangers are rebuilding their bullpen.

Four of the Rangers’ six most frequently used relievers last season — David Robertson, José Leclerc, Kirby Yates and José Ureña — are free agents, as is Andrew Chafin, who arrived at the deadline. The team has responded by signing free-agent left-hander Hoby Milner to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, righty Jacob Webb to a one-year, $1.25 million deal and — in a move that could prove to be a steal — acquiring lefty Robert Garcia from the Washington Nationals on Sunday for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

Garcia, 28, finished with a 4.22 ERA in 59 2/3 innings last season, but his 29.9 percent strikeout rate and 6.4 percent walk rate contributed to a much lower expected ERA — 2.53, according to Statcast. He has five years of club control remaining as opposed to two for Lowe, who is projected to earn $10.7 million in arbitration this season with another raise coming through the process in 2026.

Re-signing Yates remains a priority for the Rangers. The team quickly identified a left-handed hitter to replace Lowe, reaching an agreement Sunday with free agent designated hitter Joc Pederson, according to league sources briefed on the discussions.

Around the horn

• Is it possible the availability of St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is clogging the market for free agent Alex Bregman?

The Cardinals, in their negotiations with the Houston Astros on an Arenado trade, were willing to include $5 million per season, leaving the Astros with approximately a three-year, $49 million commitment, sources briefed on the talks told The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Deferrals would have further lowered the present-day value of the Astros’ obligation if Arenado had not blocked the deal.

Arenado, who will play next season at 34, is three years older than Bregman. His OPS the past three seasons has dropped from .891 to .774 to .719. Bregman’s has fallen from .820 to .804 to .768. A team could bet on Arenado bouncing back, rationalizing he would be a better gamble than Bregman at a guarantee that could approach or exceed $200 million.

• A rival executive makes a good point about the Red Sox potentially pursuing either Bregman or Arenado:

If the Sox wish to move Rafael Devers off third base, why bother pursuing an external option when numerous internal options are available, or soon will be?

Those options include Trevor Story, who is under contract through 2027, as well as two prospects — Marcelo Mayer, who could wind up at shortstop or third; and Kristian Campbell, who seems more likely to land at second.

Of course, prospects are prospects, and Bregman, in particular, brings a special leadership intangible. But the Sox ranked ninth in the majors in runs last season. Their greater need remains pitching.

• First baseman Christian Walker, in moving from Chase Field to Houston’s renamed Daikin Park, is leaving the second-most run-friendly environment last season for the seventh.

Walker is so consistent, it shouldn’t affect him. His OPS+ the past three seasons was 25 percent above league average, 22 percent above and 21 percent above.

(Top photo of Carlos Santana with Cleveland in 2020: Ron Schwane/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) On Monday night Dec. 23 patients and staff at UH Cleveland Medical Center, UH Seidman Cancer Center, and UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital will be treated to a special parade of lights that includes the big man himself.

The fifth annual Operation Santa’s Sleigh is a statewide event organized by Light Ohio Blue and Light Ohio Red to spread the holiday spirit to hospital caregivers and patients.

The Cleveland Parade will also visit the Cleveland Clinic, The Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, and the Ronald McDonald House.

Seven other caravans will also be held at locations around Ohio.

More than 40 local first responders and public safety vehicles, complete with holiday lights and decorations, will be participating in the Cleveland area parade, including Santa himself!

Santa’s itinerary is as follows:

The parade steps off at 8:15 p.m.

• Arrive at UH Drive, slowly passing Lerner Tower and UH Seidman Cancer Center

• Turning right on Euclid Avenue, right on Cornell Road, right on Circle Drive

• Right on Adelbert Road, slowly passing UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital

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