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CLEVELAND INDIANS

Fourth in the AL Central

2012 Record : 68-94

The Cleveland Indians had a disappointing 2012 campaign following a surprising second place finish the previous year. GM Chris Antonetti has pulled out all the stops to improve his team in the off-season, highlighted by the arrival of Terry Francona as manager and the $104 million handed out in contracts to Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.

The main concern going into the season for the Indians will be the fact that a decidedly average pitching staff hasn’t been added to in the way many fans would have liked. That being said, top prospect Trevor Bauer arrives in a trade, while the likes of Matt Capps and Daisuke Matsuzaka are experienced big leaguers who could make it onto the Opening Day roster.

With 16 arrivals, and that doesn’t include non-roster invites, and 15 departures it is a much changed Indians team this season and one that should take a big step forward following the poor showing of last season.

INCOMINGS 

C/IF Yan Gomes – Trade (TOR)

1B Mike McDade – Waivers (TOR), Chris McGuiness – Rule 5 (TEX), Mark Reynolds – Free Agent (BAL)

SS Didi Gregorius – Trade (CIN)

IF Mike Aviles – Trade (TOR)

IF/OF Russ Canzler – Waivers (TOR)

OF Michael Bourn – Free Agent (ATL), Quincy Latimore – Trade (PIT), Drew Stubbs – Trade (CIN), Nick Swisher – Free Agent (NYY)

RHP Matt Albers – Trade (ARI), Trevor Bauer – Trade (ARI), Brett Myers – Free Agent (CWS), Bryan Shaw – Trade (ARI), Blake Wood – Waivers (KC)

OUTGOINGS

DH Travis Hafner – Free Agent (NYY)

1B/OF Lars Anderson – Trade (ARI)

1B Casey Kotchman – Free Agent (MIA)

3B/1B Jack Hannahan – Free Agent (CIN)

SS Didi Gregorius – Trade (ARI)

IF Jason Donald – Trade (CIN)

IF/OF Russ Canzler – Waivers (TOR) / (NYY)

OF Shin-Soo Choo – Trade (CIN)

RHP Jeanmar Gomez – Trade (PIT), Roberto Hernandez – Free Agent (TB), Esmil Rogers – Trade (TOR), Hector Rondon – Rule 5 (CHC)

LHP Scott Maine – Waivers (TOR), T.J. McFarland – Rule 5 (BAL), Tony Sipp – Trade (ARI)

Outfielders

Michael Bourn will man centre having arrived from Atlanta in the off-season on a four year, $48 million contract. He has stolen 257 bases in the last five seasons and is one of the top speedsters in the league. Last year he had career highs in homers and RBIs. His outfield partners are set to be Drew Stubbs and Michael Brantley.

Brantley was in line to be the lead-off man before the arrival of Bourn, while Stubbs is set to be the only righty in the line-up. He’s coming off a down year, hitting just .213 but did get 14 homers. With his average having fallen every year since his rookie season, the Indians will be hoping that trend reverses. Alex Aviles and Ryan Rayburn are veteran options that can come off the bench, while youngster Ezequiel Carrera will be looking to progress from his bit part role last season.

Infielders

Nick Swisher is the big new arrival to the infield, although there’s every chance he will see some game time in the outfield. A surprise addition to the Indians roster, he signed a four year, $56 million contract. The 32 year old will be looking to add to his eight consecutive seasons with 20 homers.

Jason Kipnis and Asdrubal Cabrera will man second and short and are set to bat behind Bourn. The pair are coming off a combined 30 home runs last season, with the former also stealing over 30 bases. Lonnie Chisenhall split his time between Triple-A and the Majors, but will step up into the Opening Day starting line-up after impressing in 43 games for the Indians in 2012, batting .268 and hitting five homers. Mark Reynolds will start the season as the primary DH and has averaged 30 homers in his six year big league career.

Catchers

Carlos Santana one of the most highly touted young catchers in the American League and at just 26 years old, his best years should be in front of him. His power numbers were down last year, but his batting average went up and strikeouts down, suggesting he is maturing as a hitter. Lou Marson will be the back-up, but depth is a real problem, with no other catchers in the system having MLB experience.

Starters

The Indians may have greatly improved their line-up, but their pitching staff remains largely the same. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez will be the 1-2 punch, but coming off a combined 5.15 ERA in 65 starts last year the duo will need to improve.
Brett Myers thrived last time out as a closer for the Astros and White Sox, but his career as a starter has been somewhat chequered. Zach McAllister is a 25 year old who will be looking to take the next step in his career, having started 22 games with a 1.36 WHIP in 2012.

The fifth option remains up for grabs, with a slew of options. Daisuke Matsuzaka is the most experienced, but is coming off a series of injury riddled seasons. Trevor Bauer is the no.1 prospect and highly touted, but will almost certainly start in the Minors.

Relievers

Chris Perez will remain as the closer and notched up 39 saves last year, although was prone to the odd bad performance. Vinnie Pestano and Joe Smith could be the most underrated set-up duo in the game, with both having recorded sub 3.00 ERA seasons in each of the past two years.

Matt Capps is a non-roster invite that could make the bullpen and may even be the go-to guy should Perez suffer long term injury. Matt Albers, Nick Hagadone and David Huff are the most likely to make up the rest of the bullpen.