A week after dropping Jeanmar Gomez from the 40 man roster the Indians have traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Quincy Latimore. Not only does this exponentially increase the amount of Quincy's in the Indians farm system, but it allowed them to gain some advantage from losing Gomez. This is the ideal way to lose a player. Gomez has had a few years to earn his place on the team and despite showing some signs of greatness (especially his AA perfect game and his first few starts in 2012), in the end it was decided that he will not be part of the future of the franchise.

The Indians have already lost the rights to quite a few players this offseason (including Russ Canzler twice) and this is the first time they got anything in return. Latimore looks to be a talented young player, poised to make his AAA debut in 2013. He has 50 steals already in his six seasons and has averaged more than 70 RBI per season since making it to single A. He has spent most of his time in left field, but has played a considerable amount in center as well and will do a lot to replenish the extremely depleted Indians minor league outfield depth.

It happens at least once every off-season. Players become names on a piece of paper, far removed from the human beings and are thrown into the wind, just waiting to see where they will land. This year's 40 man roster trash is Russ Canzler. A victim of Major League Baseball's minor league option rules, Canzler has bounced back and forth between American League teams who think they might want him, then decide they'd rather have someone else.

Canzler was a late round draft pick (30th) in the 2004 draft by the Chicago Cubs and moved through their minor league system over the next seven seasons. He proved to be incredibly productive for a 30th round pick, especially his 2010 AA season for the Tennessee Smokies when he hit 21 home runs and knocked in 66. The Cubs disagreed and released Canzler at the end of his contract.

His first real chance came with Tampa the next year, when he won the International League MVP in his first year in AAA. He was a September call-up at the end of that year and played in five games for the Rays. At the end of the year, he didn't fit on the Rays 40 man roster and he came to Cleveland for the first time. He spent another year in AAA and was actually used as a September call-up in 2012, playing in 26 games for the Tribe. In fact, he played so well he looked to be a strong contender for the first baseman's job in 2013. With the signing of Mark Reynolds, the Indians decided they didn't have any more use for him, so they removed him from the roster.

The Blue Jays took advantage, thinking they found a diamond in the rough and brought Canzler into the fold. A quick change of mind brought Canzler back to Cleveland when the Jays signed another player and the Indians released Jeanmar Gomez. This strange decision by the Indians to bring Canzler back after already admitting they didn't want him made little sense as they had two more roster moves to make within the next week after adding Nick Swisher and Brett Myers. 

As the low man on the totem pole, Canzler was gone again (although he made it through the Swisher signing). Russ Canzler is currently a member of the New York Yankees 40 man roster, but who knows how long he will stay there. If the Yankees decide they have no use for a 30 round draft pick that has bounced around the Majors, he could easily be somewhere else by next week. The last three moves have occured during the last two weeks, giving him a tour of North East.

The problem with all this is that he is being treated as a rounding error without any consideration to him as a human being. His talent level hasn't changed in the past two weeks. The Indians depth at first base hasn't changed. So why did they bring him back into the fold when they had to have known they were going to release him again? The same is true of the Blue Jays. What could possibly have changed within their organization within that week that made a player they were interested in become disposable?

Canzler is a talented baseball player that has beaten the odds to make it as far as he has, but, as a borderline Major Leaguer is now being treated like dirt. At some point Canzler will find his fit, whether it is with the Yankees or elsewhere. Hopefully, for his sake, he will find it before he becomes a waiver wire frequent flier.

The Cleveland Indians signed veteran right hander Brett Myers to a one year, $7M deal today with a club option for 2014. They also announced that he will be added to the starting rotation, a surprise move considering the Indians rotation had already looked set and Myers spent all of 2012 in the bullpen. This move is disappointing in that it will mean Trevor Bauer will be starting 2013 in AAA with the rest of the rotation made of Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Carlos Carrasco and Zach McAllister. It is understandable that the Indians want to be careful with their prize that cost them a year of Shin-Soo Choo, but it certainly seems Bauer is ready for the Major Leagues.

Myers has been a very durable pitcher over his career and has the added benefit of being versatile, switching from starting to the bullpen when need be. After four slightly above average seasons as a starter with Philadelphia to start his career, he easily moved into the closers role in 2007 and saved 21 games. After that one season, he spent the next four in the rotations of Philadelphia and Houston, but was back in the pen for 2012. Myers is 32 and should be a decent improvement over Derek Lowe as the Indians new aging starter. 

The best thing about this signing is the added depth. Last season when a few pitchers were injured and everyone struggled, the Indians ran out of options, going as low as to start David Huff in multiple games. Having Myers will allow the Indians to spare Jeanmar Gomez, Corey Kluber and Bauer so they can be used as replacements if/when Jiminez has a repeat of last season or when the next hurler needs Tommy John surgery.

The Indians will need to make a 40 man roster move to add Myers to the team after his physical. Likely candidates are Huff, Thomas Neal  or Lou Marson (wishful thinking).

The signing is complete and there is no looking back now, Nick Swisher is an Indian and will be one through 2016 (possibly 2017). At this point everyone knows that he will be making $56M over those first four seasons with an option for the fifth. What we don't know is what he will produce.

The first thing to discuss is Swisher's age. He is going to be 32 in 2013 and playing in his tenth professional season. He has been incredibly durable over that time, averaging more than 150 games since 2006. He has produced at a pretty even level throughout that time, but did have a notable peak in 2009 and 2010 (age 28 and 29 seasons). It is likely that he will continue to slow as he ages, with his numbers dropping all over the board. Don't expect more than 20 home runs from Swisher again or a batting average over .275.

The second thing to look at is the Yankee effect. Simply by being on the Yankees, playing with that short right field and batting before or after some of the greatest hitters in baseball history can do a lot to help your stats. This is one of the reasons players can't be evaluated using regular statistics as these numbers won't correlate to other teams. 

Since 2008 (the year before the Yankees bought a World Series), the Yankees have had five starting players leave the team and go on to play elsewhere. These players, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera and Hideki Matsui, all had significant trends in their numbers after leaving New York. While most of these players were older than Swisher and past their prime when they left, the fact that Cabrera is included and has the same trends shows that it isn't simply a matter of age.

Averaging together each players three final years with the Yankees and first three years away from New York, it is easy to see the difference. On an average, each player lost 22 RBI and 22 runs per season, the most important stats to note, because they have the smallest basis in actual talent. The extra base hits that have lowered have to do with the aging players and the park factors more than the actual lineup around them. 

The most important individual player to look at is Melky Cabrera, because he is the exception where he actually improved as a hitter after leaving the Yankees. He has since played with Atlanta and Kansas City, most recently won a batting title (unofficially) with the Giants. The best seasons to compare are Cabrera's second full season in 2007 and his 2011 year with the Royals. Each year he played around 150 games, but in 2011 he hit ten more home runs and batted over .300 for the first time. Despite these amazing improvements he only knocked in 14 more runs (making him the only player to actually average more RBI after leaving the Yankees than before). 

The Yankees buy players, use them up and throw them away. It has been their team strategy for more than a decade and looks only to be increasing in severity. They want to win the World Series in 2013, just like they do every year and if they thought Swisher could have helped them, they could have afforded to resign him. As a 30+ year old outfielder, Swisher's numbers will more likely resemble Abreu and Damon rather than Cabrera. It's too late to do anything, but play him, but everyone should temper their excitement now, or risk wanting the home town kid's head when next summer comes around. The combination of age and leaving the Yankees look to smack Swisher back to reality, so expect numbers closer to 20 home runs, 70 RBI and 50 runs scored. These are still good numbers compared to the average Indian in 2012, but simply don't seem worth more than $56 million.

Oh, yeah. Merry Swishmas.

Here are the numbers for those who want to check my math:

Russ Canzler seemed like a great pick-up in 2012. The Indians didn't have a starting first baseman and Canzler had just came off a season when he won International League player of the year. Canzler was just the kind of young player the Indians wanted to build the team around and looked to be under team control for a few years. Then in the following weeks the Indians signed Casey Kotchman and Jose Lopez, pushing Canzler back to AAA.

The Indians were in a similar situation going into 2013, but this time Canzler had just played a few games as a September call-up and impressed, totaling 26 games at four different positions over the last month. He batted .269 with three home runs and 11 RBI, impressive numbers compared to the rest of the team. This time, the Indians filled their hole at first base with Mark Reynolds, leaving Canzler on the outside again as he was dropped from the 40 man roster and released (and subsequently picked up by the Blue Jays). 

The problem with this is that there are still holes remaining on the roster that Canzler could have filled. Right field and designated hitter have no prospective players at this point and Canzler could have played either. There is also an opening for a corner utility infielder following the departure of Jack Hannahan, another role Canzler would have fit in perfectly. This would have been an ideal place for Canzler as he could play either corner outfield spot or first base on any day. He could even play third base if needed since he did so in the minors from time to time.

Instead of Canzler, the Indians decided to hold on to a few players that will almost certainly not be on the roster at the start of next season. David Huff is the first as he is out of options and the Indians rotation is completely full (Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, Ubaldo Jimenez, Zach McAllister and Trevor Bauer) with extra to spare (Jeanmar Gomez and Corey Kluber). There is no way that Huff will pass enough of these pitchers on the depth chart during Spring Training to make the team, so he may as well be released now.

Lou Marson is another player there seems to be little reason to keep around. He has proven over the past three seasons that he has no desirable characteristics and the Indians traded a decent relief pitcher to get his replacement, Yan Gomes, on the team, so it would seem they think so as well. One option here would be to carry three catchers however, using Carlos Santana or Gomes as part time DH or first baseman.

Finally, there are a couple of players that seem close to the same value as Canzler in Thomas Neal and Rule 5 pick Chris McGuiness. Both players need to make the 25 man roster in 2013 or will be lost (Neal to waivers, McGuiness back to Texas). Both are secondary options for right field and at DH just like Canzler. The difference is that Canzler has more experience at the Major League level and can play multiple positions.

The Indians obviously believe that Canzler was the lesser of these three players, but I have to disagree. He has already proven at the major league level that he can contribute, something Neal and McGuiness (highest level was AA in 2012) have yet to do. To keep McGuiness, he will have to bypass AAA entirely, something most players are unable to do successfully. It would have been a much less risky proposition to simply keep Canzler and drop Neal, still taking a chance on McGuiness, or to release Huff and let the three of them battle it out in Spring Training.

This isn't a huge deal, as Canzler doesn't look to be a future Hall of Famer, but the Indians are not at a point right now where they can waste talent of his level. In fact the upside on McGuiness is almost certainly higher than Canzler's, but with that higher chance of reward is a higher risk as well.

There have been rumors going around for weeks now that the Cleveland Indians are interested in acquiring the services of former Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher. The latest rumors say that Swisher has visited Cleveland and met with Chris Antonetti and was offered a deal worth more than $50 million for the next four seasons. After years of claiming poverty it is inexplicable where the Indians are coming up with this kind of money for a very average outfielder that has already passed his prime. When offering amounts of this level, what the team really has to focus on in how many actual extra wins a player will provide for the money offered. In this case, the Indians have a few true replacement level players available to play right field (including Ezequiel Carrera and until yesterday, Russ Canzler), so judging Swisher against a replacement level player is fair. Any replacement level player used by the Indians would likely be paid league minimum for 2013 in order to provide a fair comparison.

We rarely discuss WAR (wins above replacement) on this site, but in this situation, it is the most applicable stat there is. Since joining the Yankees in 2009, Swisher has averaged 2.5 wins above replacement each season (the best season in his career was 4.1 during his age 26 season in Oakland). As Swisher gets older and further away from the numbers of his prime seasons, we can expect his value to decrease even more. Assuming the production Swisher gave to the Yankees, the Indians would be paying Swisher almost $5M for each win above replacement. Assuming Carrera (.5 WAR in 2012) is the replacement right fielder, he would be paid about $1M for each extra win. 

The fact is that a win is a win, however much you pay for it. While most of the moves the Indians have made this year have been great (especially the Esmil Rodgers and Trevor Bauer trades), this is going too far. A small free agent market and pressure from the fans are forcing the Indians to make the same mistakes they make year after year. Every season the Indians make mistakes in the free agent market, over paying for players they don't need, but giving $50 million to Nick Swisher could be the biggest mistake in team history. Travis Hafner barely made as much per season with his extension after he hit 42 home runs in a single season and Swisher hasn't hit more than 30 since 2006. This contract would saddle the Tribe with an unnecessary contract for the next four seasons, crippling their ability to resign players and making Swisher impossible to trade in two years when his talent diminishes to the level it almost surely will.

It isn't too late. The Indians need to retract their offer to Swisher and move to acquire another outfielder through trade or look internally for another option. They are out of their depth offering such a gigantic contract to such a mediocre player. Swisher is not the answer on his own to bringing the Indians back to the World Series, but if they sign him to that contract, he will be the only player they will be able to add. It was bad enough the Indians had to trade Shin-Soo Choo because they couldn't afford to resign him. It will be worse when they can't sign Jason Kipnis to a long-term deal because they are still saddled with a terrible contract with Nick Swisher.

The dominoes in the Indians, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Reds love triangle (square) finally fell tonight with everybody getting a little something they wanted. First, the deal itself:

To Cleveland:

From Arizona: Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw

From Cincinnati: Drew Stubbs

To Arizona:

From Cleveland: Tony Sipp and Lars Anderson

From Cincinnati: Didi Gregorious

To Cincinnati:

From Cleveland: Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald (plus cash)

The Fallout: The Indians essentially traded Choo for Bauer and Stubbs, with the other players involved just to even things out a bit. The Indians really wanted Bauer and the Diamondbacks really wanted a short stop, that much was obvious from the Winter Meetings, despite the teams inability to work out a deal. For the Indians, trading Choo makes a lot more sense than trading Asdrubal Cabrera (who was in the original deal) as Cabrera is signed for an extra season and does not have Scott Boras as his agent. Cabrera is also younger and plays a higher demand position. So, for part one the Indians won by trading Choo and not Cabrera.

Stubbs is a player the Reds have been very high on for years now and has stolen 30 bases in three straight seasons. He also has a little power, hitting 14 or more home runs in each of his three full seasons (something Choo cannot say about his last three seasons). If the Reds truly want to use Choo in centerfield, the Indians definitely got the better of this part of the deal. Defensively, Choo has fallen off a ton in the past two seasons and will suffer strongly with a move to a more strenuous position. Stubbs will look to fit in as the Indians new starting center fielder (and possible lead-off hitter) with Michael Brantley moving back into left field. This leaves the Indians with a hole in the outfield, but it is a different one than before today.

The addition of Mike Aviles early in the offseason made Donald expendable and losing him almost makes the whole deal worthwhile in itself. Anderson is also a throwaway player who was recently acquired from the Red Sox during the tail end of the 2012 season. He was unlikely to ever play for the Indians, making the originaly trade seem pointless, but his addition to this trade inconsequential.

After the removal of Rafael Perez from the roster a week ago, Sipp became the most unpredictable part of the bullpen. To replace him, the Indians acquired two right handed relievers in Albers and Shaw. Both have seen recent success with Arizona and are still relatively young (arbitration eligible) pitchers. Of the two, Shaw looks to have the highest ceiling, though they will both likely be immediately added to the mix in the bullpen.

The real purpose of this trade from the Indians point of view was to shore up a very shaky looking starting rotation with the addition of Trevor Bauer. Bauer was a first round draft pick in 2011 and made his debut last season, pitching in four games. Last season he dominated the Pacific Coast League with a 2.85 ERA in 14 games before being promoted to the big league team. Bauer looks to be immediately added to the rotation, eliminating the doubt as to who the fifth starter will be. All-in-all, the Indians added four major league ready players at the cost of just three, one of whom is a glorified AAA utility man. 

One thing that could be lost in the shuffle is that with Choo gone, the Indians have now lost their top five tenured players already this offseason adding up to a total of 39 years with the team. This makes Cabrera the longest tenured Indian at six seasons. While this may not be an official rebuilding, the team that almost made it to the World Series in 2007 has been officially demolished.

Overall this trade looks good for the Indians, but only time will tell. If Choo continues to have injury problems, it will look like the Indians broke the bank. Bauer is the one that holds the results of this trade in his hands the way Matt LaPorta did with the C.C. Sabathia trade. If Bauer can play at a median starter level for the next three or four years, the deal will have been a moderate success. If he can become the ace the Indians need or even a number two, this could be one of the best trades in years. Unlike most trades the Indians make, no prospects came to Cleveland in the deal, so we will know within the next two years whether this was a good move or not.

The Cleveland Indians filled one of their three gaping offensive holes today by signing former Oriole and Diamondback Mark Reynolds. Reynolds is known for two things, striking out and hitting home runs (in that order). Four of the past five seasons he has lead his league in strike outs while hitting 23 or more home runs each season. Most importantly for the Indians, Reynolds has had no significant injury problems over his career, playing in 135 games or more each season since his rookie year when he played 111. He will make $6M for 2013 with another $1.5M in incentives, a significant decrease from what the Indians would have had to pay Travis Hafner had they accepted his option. Reynolds looks to be about the same quality of player as Hafner, but more durable, younger and able to play in the field.

Reynolds ability to play first base brings to mind a few more questions. Will the Indians use him primarily at first or DH? If they are going to use hit as designated hitter, will they still pursue Kevin Youkilis who has already been offered a reported deal worth $18M over two years? Defensively as a first baseman, Reynolds is at least serviceable and the Indians currently have no other Major League options available. Without another signing, there would be little reason to regularly DH Reynolds unless Yan Gomes turns out to be more than a back-up catcher. If this is the case, Carlos Santana could be used at first or DH while Reynolds played the opposite. Of course all experiments undertaken by the Indians in this direction in recent years have been disastrous (Kelly Shoppach, Einar Diaz and Lou Marson).

If the Indians don't believe they can compete in 2013 the offensive signings should probably end here with internal options like Thomas Neal, Russ Canzler and newcomer Chris McGuiness given shots at the rest of the openings. However, if they would like to try to win the division or at least have more than 10,000 people show up per game, they need to make at least one more move. This could be a trade for someone like Alfonso Soriano or Justin Upton or stealing Youkilis away from the Yankees. A single extra offensive player would still allow the Indians to develop young talent like Lonnie Chisenhall at the Major League level while attempting to compete. Even with the $6M added for Reynolds, the Indians are still below last years salary after dumping Hafner, Roberto Hernandez, Grady Sizemore and Rafael Perez, so there should be some room to take on more salary.

Overall this move was a solid, financially sound move by the Indians, picking up a player who has been underrated for years due to his propensity to strike out, while still saving enough money to improve the team some more. If nothing else, there is now a player on the Indians roster who hit more than 20 home runs in 2012.

The 2012 rule five draft took place yesterday with the Indians taking one new player and losing two. Long-time prospect Hector Rondon went to the Cubs after missing most of the last three seasons with injuries (Rondon pitched just 41 innings over those three years). The Indians had been very high on Rondon with thoughts of him being a top of the rotation starter, but after injuries derailed his career he is now looked to be more of a short inning reliever. Since this is an area of depth for the team, they decided not to protect Rondon, despite the money and time spent on him the last few years during his rehab and treatment.

The other pitcher that was taken from the Indians was T.J. McFarland who was taken by the Orioles. Leaving McFarland to get taken makes less sense than Rondon, especially since the Indians currently have an opening on the 40 man roster. Even if they didn't have that opening, there are other players on the 40 man that are more expendable right now than McFarland.

The draft wasn't a total loss, however, as the Indians did pick up one of the top hitting prospects available in the draft. Chris McGuiness is a power hitting first baseman the Indians drafted away from the Rangers. Last season McGuiness hit 23 home runs with 77 RBI for the Frisco Rough Riders AA team. He also won the MVP for the Arizona Fall League this past season. McGuiness will be directly placed into the competition for the first baseman's role on the 2013 major league team. With openings at left field, first base and DH, there is plenty of room on the 25 man roster for him right now.  

As always with the Rule 5 draft, the players need to be kept on the 25 man roster for the entire 2013 season of be relinquished to their old team for $25,000. This may fare well for the Indians as McFarland is probably not ready to break the starting rotation for the Orioles and may end up back with the Indians before too long (or he could be the next Jeremy Guthrie, another top Indians prospect that became an ace for Baltimore). It does put pressure on McGuiness, however, as he would probably have seen another year in the minors (at AAA) before being thrown into the major leagues. Now he will have to produce enough to at least earn a reserve position behind whoever the starting first baseman/DH ends up being.

Overall, the situation isn't too bad as the Indians probably would have been willing to trade one of the two pitchers for McGuiness, although losing both was a little much.  

The 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot is jam packed this year with players that were once considered automatic first ballot players that have now been thrown into question whether they will ever be allowed in the Hall at all. Included are two players with 3,000 hits (Rafael Palmeiro and Craig Biggio), four with 500 home runs (Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and the all time leader in baseball history, Barry Bonds) and one with 300 wins (Roger Clemens). These all used to be milestones that meant automatic induction, but every single one of these players have had their careers tarnished by playing in the steroid era, whether they actually did them or not. Of those listed, only Palmeiro was actually suspended for illegally doing steroids and while some of the rest have been accused, none have been convicted.

Along with the players listed above, there are six former Indians new to the 2013 ballot and one on the Veteran's Ballot. Here are their cases, starting with the Veteran's Ballot:

Wes Ferrell

Ferrell played a 15 year career that started in Cleveland at the age of 19. During his career he received MVP votes in four seasons, his best chance at the award coming in second in 1935 with Boston. Ferrel made two All-Star games, one with the Red Sox and one while he was still in Cleveland. From 1935-1937 he lead the league in innings pitched and complete games every year and he lead in complete games once before in 1931 as well. His 4.04 career ERA does not look good for a pitcher in his era, but is tarnished by his last few seasons (from 1938-1941) when he struggled with four separate teams. He will probably not get inducted into the Hall of Fame, but if he did, it would be as an Indian.

Roberto Hernandez

This is the O.G. Roberto Hernandez, who played a season for the Indians in 2007, not the new Roberto Hernandez who used to be Fausto Carmona. If this Hernandez makes it in, it will almost certainly be as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a closer for the first seven years of his career. Although he will probably not make it first ballot, he deserves consideration for pitching more than 1,000 innings with an ERA below 3.50. He also saved 326 games, good for 13th on the all-time list.

Jack Morris

Morris played almost his entire career with Detroit, but stopped in Cleveland in his final year, 1994, and made 23 starts. If he makes it in, it should be on the strength of his almost 4,000 innings pitched and five all star appearances, but he probably will not be elected.

Julio Franco

Franco had one of the longest careers in baseball history and holds distinctions for doing a lot of things as the oldest baseball player ever, such as the oldest player to hit a grand slam and steal a base. It was so long ago that many may not remember, but Franco got his start with the Indians, taking second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1983. During his career he won five Silver Sluggers and a batting title, moving from position to position as needed. In his first stint with the Tribe he played short stop, but was moved to second in 1988, then DH in 1993 with the Rangers. When he returned to the Indians in 1996, he was used primarily as a first baseman. Towards the end of his career he was forced into a pinch hitting role with a couple of National League teams. Franco played until he was 48 and is an example of the amount of numbers a player can add up if he plays long enough. He does not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but if he did make it in it would likely be as an Indian.

Jose Mesa

Mesa was one of the best closers in Indians history and continued his success with the Phillies a few years after leaving Cleveland, racking up 321 saves by the time he retired (14th all time, right behind Hernandez). Mesa's career numbers are very similar to Hernandez's, but they achieved them in different ways. When Mesa was good, he was great, by far the best in the league, but when he struggled (like every year before 1994 and 1998-2000) he was terrible. Hernandez was a much more even player, putting up consistent numbers year after year. If one of these two makes it in, they both deserve to, although first glance shows neither should. If Mesa did make it in the Hall of Fame he would go in as an Indian, much to his dismay.

Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Alomar is another case of an above average player playing for an extremely long time. Alomar played catcher for 20 seasons, quitting after he hit 41 years old. Offensively, he ranks behind another catcher on the ballot (Mike Piazza) for his era and defensively he always sat right behind Pudge Rodriguez, but Alomar deserves some credit for his own. During his time with the Indians he went to six All-Star games, won a Gold Glove and Rookie of the Year. When he left the Tribe, Alomar never really started again, but moved into more of a player/coach role, mentoring young catchers with every team he went to. The chances of Sandy making it into the Hall of Fame this year are very low, but he deserves some consideration and would be entered as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

Kenny Lofton

Lofton deserves a real chance at a place in the Hall of Fame, not just for his offensive contributions, but his glove as well. During most of his career he was considered the best defensive player at his position, which is filled with great defensive players. Offensively, only Ken Griffey, Jr. bested Lofton as a centerfielder, and they played a completely different type of game. During the mid 1990's Lofton went to 6 consecutive All-Star games and won four Gold Gloves. Starting in 1995 he played in the postseason every single year except two, all while playing for six different teams (and three different stints with the Indians). His 622 stolen bases rank 15th all time, despite playing in a time when the steal had gone out of style and he lead the league every year from 1992-1996. Lofton absolutely deserves a place in the Hall of Fame and his number "7" retired by the Cleveland Indians. If he makes it in he will be inducted as an Indian as he played ten years in Cleveland and no more than a single season anywhere else.