Edwin Encarnacion has an interesting incentive in his Indians contract

Edwin Encarnacion officially became a member of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, and he’s already getting a lot of love from Cleveland fans. And that’s just what the Indians’ front office was hoping for. According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, there’s actually an attendance incentive in Encarnacion’s brand new contract.

Encarnacion’s agent Paul Kinzer told Cleveland.com that those attendance incentives were actually what put the Indians’ offer over the top. There are no details available on what the attendance goals actually are, so we don’t know how many people would have to attend games at Progressive Field for Encarnacion to get them. But it’s obvious why the Indians are looking for any way to get fans to their games. In 2016, they ranked 28th in attendance, which was an improvement from 2015 and 2014 when they were ranked 29th.

With Cleveland being a smaller market, they definitely have a larger attendance mountain to climb than some teams. Cleveland boasts a population of just over 390,000 (as of 2013), which is in the bottom third of MLB cities. But St. Louis, which has a smaller population than Cleveland, has been near the top of attendance rankings for years. And lest you think that Cleveland can’t draw those big numbers, they are capable: they drew more than two million fans in 2008. Even the Milwaukee Brewers, who also play in a small market, are capable of drawing lots of fans. In 2008, which is the last year the Indians drew more than two million fans, the Brewers drew more than three million.

The difference maker for teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brewers (back in 2008, at least)? Their on-field product was good. The Cardinals have been insanely successful for years (2016 was the first year they hadn’t made the playoffs since 2011). And in 2008, the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time since 1983. So there’s definitely hope for Cleveland. At least two of the city’s sports teams have had incredible years (sorry, Cleveland Browns), with the Cleveland Cavaliers famously coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA finals to win it all, and the Indians making it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series. Sports pride is high in Cleveland right now, and that could absolutely translate to more fans at the games.

Encarnacion is just one guy, and one guy isn’t likely to move the needle much. But combine the signing of one of the game’s best sluggers with a team that is absolutely on the rise and a city seeing sports success for the first time in decades (sorry again Browns), and you might have the start of an attendance renaissance.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher