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.

Earlier this offseason we discussed a few options the Indians had in this year's free agent market and we sit today with just one of those options signed by another team (Melky Cabrera to the Blue Jays) and none of the Indians major holes filled. Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes (acquired in the Esmil Rogers trade) look to take Lou Marson and Brent Lillibridge's places on the roster, but these are only side problems, ignoring the gaping hole that is the middle of the lineup.

There is one player out there who could fill either one of two of the holes. Kevin Youkilis is a free agent for the first time after being traded to the White Sox during the 2012 season. At first it looked like the White Sox may resign Youkilis, but the fact that they haven't yet makes it seem like he is waiting for more options. 

Youkilis would be a perfect fit at first base. Defensively, he would would not be a let down after the fantastic year that Casey Kotchman had with his glove as he is easily within the top three defensive first baseman in baseball today (along with Kotchman and Mark Teixeira). The big difference is his bat, which he has been using to destroy the Indians since his debut for the Red Sox in 2004. His .288 average against the Tribe is his 6th highest against any team he has faced for more than 20 times. Even worse for the Indians were the type of hits he got with 22 of 47 going for extra bases along with 28 RBI.

The Greek God of Walks would fit well with this Indians team that has spent the last few seasons training players to be patient at the plate and work counts. Michael Brantley and Carlos Santana have been the most effective thus far, but the more patient hitters that are in the line up, the sooner the starter will hit his pitch count and be removed from the game regardless of how well he is actually pitching.

Youkilis is aging and his power numbers are waning, but his eyes are as good as ever. While he is no longer a real threat to hit more than 20 home runs in a season, this still would place him above almost every current Indians hitter. While he is going to be 34 before next season starts, that just makes the Indians job even a better fit for him as he can transition into the designated hitter role, splitting time at first, possibly with Russ Canzler.

One reason why Youkilis may consider for Cleveland when he wouldn't have in the past is the recent addition of manager Terry Francona. Francona was his rookie manager back in 2004 when the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in almost a century and when the team was cohesive and playing well together. When Francona left the team after 2011, Youkilis often publicly disagreed with new manager Bobby Valentine, ultimately leading to his trade. He may be comforted by a friendly presence in the dugout with Francona already with the team. 

Finally, the Indians should be able to afford Youkilis. In an offseason where a 33 year old left handed relief pitcher can get a contract for $18M (over three years), the Indians will need to look for deals wherever they can. Youkilis has never made more than $13M a year in his career so he should fit easily in the Indians budget as he enters the twilight of his career. The Indians should be able to offer him a contract worth about $40M over four years to fill the space that Travis Hafner left open when the Indians declined his option. The Tribe can't afford to go too crazy with him as he only has a limited number of useful years left, but if done correctly, Kevin Youkilis could be a solid base to build the rest of the lineup around for years to come.

An era came to the end in the bullpen today as the Cleveland Indians released left handed reliever Rafael Perez to make room on the 40 man roster for Nick Hagadone. Hagadone had been on the minor league ineligible list since breaking his hand during the middle of the 2012 season. The move is interesting as it was unnecessary. Going into the offseason it seemed the Indians were going to need to move one of the lefties with Tony Sipp, Perez and Hagadone all ready to play at the major league level, but trading one of the three seemed to be the best move. Assuming the Indians did their due dilligence looking around the league for a trading partner, it must be assumed that he held no value, which is almost unbelievable seeing what teams are paying left handed relievers these days.

There were also better options on the 40 man to be removed to make room for Hagadone. David Huff (who will likely be released before next season starts), Juan Diaz (who is of little risk to be taken in the rule 5 draft) and Chris Seddon (no better than any of 10 other options the Indians have in the system already) would have all been better choices. By making the choice they did, the Indians are showing they are ready to move on and are officially giving Perez's bullpen spot to Hagadone.

Overall, this is the right move, replacing the old and worn out with the new, it is just disappointing that the Indians were unable to get anything for Perez as he enters his final year of arbitration.

Now that the Indians have picked up Ubaldo Jimenez's option, the next step needs to be fixing him for the 2012 season. When Jimenez came to the team in 2011 it was too late in the year to work on much of anything and he struggled through the end of the year. In 2012, Jimenez struggled again through most of the year, although he did have moments of brilliance. By utilizing his option, the Indians are showing they want to compete now, rather than rebuild again, as he is only signed through 2014 anyway.

If the Indians want to compete in 2013 and 2014, they will need Jiminez to be better than he was during the past season, when he pitched well below replacement level. For him to be better, he will first have to find out what he did wrong.

One major issue Jimenez had last year was control. When he was able to get ahead in the count, he was able to unleash his nasty curveball that gave hitters fits. This was especially evident in those games when he was almost unhittable, like on 5/6 against Texas and on 7/24 against Detroit. One of his biggest issues this year was that he was unable to get ahead in the count consistently. In 2012, Ubaldo went 1-0 to 426 batters and 0-1 to 417 batters (compared to 443 1-0 counts and 474 1-0 counts in his best year, 2010). These control issues, especially early in the season, likely lead to Jimenez throwing easy pitches to lead off at bats, just trying to throw a strike. As a result of this, during the 72 at bats that ended after the first pitch, he gave up a batting average against of .371 compared to a .261 BAA in similar situations in 2010. Interestingly enough, this appears to have continued even if he did throw a good first pitch, as he allowed an average of .424 after a 0-1 count (.215 BAA in 2010). One last note on count situations, once Jimenez gave up the first ball, he often had hard time getting back into the at bat, walking 75 batters after starting off 1-0 and 33 (out of 52 total chances) after getting down 3-0.

Jimenez's struggles have often been blamed on his mental outlook. It has been stated all over the web that he felt dismissed when Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez each signed long-term contracts with the Rockies. Ubaldo felt he was part of the future of the franchise and was slighted by his much smaller contract offer. More likely, the Rockies saw a flash in the pan who far outperformed his expected ability in 2010 and was poised for a fall. The trade further pushed Ubaldo down his current train of thought and instead of striving to prove his old team wrong, he proved them right.

If his problem is mental, maybe he will be able to use his current contract situation to help work it out. At 28, Jimenez has one more shot at a big contract, but if he blows 2013, he won't even get the $8M option he already has offered for 2014. If he pitches like he has in the past next season, he could move back into the elite starter level, make $8M in 2014 and have the potential for much more once he leaves the Indians. If he doesn't pitch well next season, no team will trust him with a long term contract, even if he wins the Cy Young in 2014. If this isn't enough motivation to push Jimenez to his highest potential, then the problem isn't motivation.

If the problem isn't mental at all, but physical, this will be the job of new pitching coach, Mickey Callaway. His main goal should be to focus on Ubaldo's concentration, making sure he works for every pitch, throwing good pitches to start each batter off rather than get-me-over fast balls. If Ubaldo can get this together, he may never be able to be the pitcher he was during the first half of 2010 again, but he still could be a great starter for the Cleveland Indians for the next two seasons making the entire rotation stronger at the same time.

With a strong Ubaldo at the front of the rotation, the Indians would have Justin Masterson, and Jimenez as two strong starters, followed by the mid level Carlos Carrasco and Zach McAllister and whoever else the Indians choose to fill out the rotation. If Ubaldo struggles, the Indians will have no hesitation replacing him in the rotation as his 2014 option is not the deal the 2013 one was. He will be on a much shorter leash in 2013 with Corey Kluber, Eric Berger and others waiting in AAA, who would have been better than the 2012 Ubaldo Jimenez. Since the Indians already need a fifth starter with Ubaldo in the rotation, removing him would push the Indians pitching depth to a point that should be uncomfortable for management. Because of this, fixing Ubaldo needs to be the Indians number one in house priority this offseason.

Saturday, the Indians traded the recently acquired Esmil Rogers to the Toronto Blue Jays for short stop Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes. Aviles was just acquired by the Jays from Boston when they traded their manager to the Red Sox. Rogers spent just half a season with the Tribe after being picked up from waivers from the Colorado Rockies, where he had allowed an 8.06 ERA in 23 games. For the Indians, Rogers threw 53 innings, making him the fifth most used reliever and held an ERA of 3.06. This amazing turn around had a lot to due with increased control, some of which was probably due to the decrease in altitude. Rogers walked 18 batters during his limited time in Colorado, but just 12 while playing for Cleveland.

An even bigger part of his turn around was his BABIP (batting average on balls in play). While with Colorado in 2012, his BABIP was .425, almost 150 points higher than later in the season with Cleveland. While some of this may have been caused by park factors, and some to because of better pitch selection (not as many 3-0 fastballs) it is also a good show of how lucky Rogers was. Rogers was great during the second half of 2012 with the Indians, but the chances of him repeating that performance are almost zero. The Indians traded Rogers at his absolute peak, making this trade an almost certain win for the Indians no matter what the returns are. Bullpen depth is the Indians biggest team strength and Rogers was the most expendable of the group and the one that outperformed his talent level by the most last season, making him worth the most to other teams.

The two players the Indians got in return are at opposite ends of their careers. Indians fans should remember Mike Aviles from his time with Kansas City, but Yan Gomes is a young player who just made his debut this past year. While Aviles is the big name of the trade, Gomes is almost certainly the player the Indians are more excited about. In 2012 in Las Vegas, Gomes hit .328 with 43 extra base hits. He did this while transitioning into his first year playing third. Since his first professional season in 2009, he has been primarily a catcher, catching 172 games in the Blue Jay minor league system. The Indians are in drastic need of a back-up catcher after Lou Marson put in one of the worst seasons by an Indians back up catcher in team history. While this isn't a position worth wasting free agent money on or trading a big name for, this trade filled this hole perfectly. I entirely expect Yan Gomes to be a front runner for the back-up catcher job going into Spring Training next year. With any luck he could even pan out to be more if Carlos Santana is needed to cover the DH or firstbase positions in the future.

Aviles is a past his prime middle infielder, although he did have career highs in home runs and RBI last season for a very bad Boston team. For the Indians he will be at most fill in as a utility infielder with all the infield spots taken with very talented rising stars in Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera and Lonnie Chisenhall. Each of these players are already more productive than Aviles ever was and they are all younger and under team control. The current utility man, Jason Donald, however, is very replaceable. In 2012 Donald was one of the worst players on the team and his numbers make Aviles look like an All-Star. Since the Indians were willing to trade for him, he should simply be given the utility role outright and Donald can now be traded or released to make room for other, more productive players.

Overall, this trade looks fantastic. This is the type of move the Indians need to make to stay competitive, by trading players who are outperforming their own abilities for undervalued players who could turn into something special, but are acceptable even at their current level. This trade fills two minor holes on the 2013 roster without creating a new one (Frank Herrmann or Nick Hagadone could easily fill his place in the pen) and makes the team just a little bit better than it was before.

The Cleveland Indians announced their coaching staff for the 2013 season today and there are a lot of new faces. Starting with the returning coaches;

Sandy Alomar, Jr. will remain with the team as bench coach. He was interviewed for the manager position but beaten out by Terry Francona. He is the only coach returning in his position from 2011 and has been on the Tribe coaching staff since 2010.

Mike Sarbaugh received a promotion and will be the first base coach this year after spending the last three seasons with the Columbus Clippers as their manager and winning two championships. He has been a coach in the Indians farm system since 1995 when he was a hitting coach for Kinston. Before managing the Clippers he managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (SS), Lake County Captains (A) and Kinston Indians (A+) and won the Carolina League championship in 2006. After Manny Acta was fired, Sarbaugh took over for Alomar as bench coach on the Major League team. This promotion is a long time coming and should help him on his way even further up the Major League ladder.

As expected close collegue of new manager Terry Francona, Brad Mills will be coming to Cleveland and his role has been announced as third base coach. This is a slight drop off after being manager of the Houston Astros. Before being a manager, Mills was a bench coach from 1997-2000 with the Phillies and manager Francona and then in 2003 (with the Montreal Expos) and from 2004-2007 with the Red Sox with Francona again.

The Indians were looking for something rare in their new pitching coach and they found a Unicorn. A Hyundai Unicorn from the Korean Baseball Organization. New Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway was a two time all-star during his three year (2005-2007) international career. Since 2010, Callaway has been in the Indians organization as the pitching coach for the Midwest League Champion 2010 Lake County Captains and Kinston Indians. In 2012 Callaway served as the Minor League pitching coordinator for the entire organization, so the jump to the big league club should not be a huge stretch. Callaway has seen most of the Indians staff at some point during his tenure with the Tribe and should be familiar with all the pitchers. This should help him next season as he does his best to get the most out of the staff, especially the starting rotation.

There were also some surprises on Francona's new staff. Kevin Cash recently retired from a nine year baseball career where he was an unsuccessful back up catcher when he was able to make it to the majors. He has served as a scout for the Chicago Cubs since 2012 and will now be the Indians bullpen coach. Since Luis Isaac is still alive I have no clue why he wasn't a shoe-in for the job. Either way it shouldn't really matter who takes this spot as the Indians bullpen is the most dominant part of the team. All Cash will have to do is keep the peace and make sure not to mess up a good thing.

In another shocking decision, Ty Van Burkleo was picked as the teams new hitting coach. Burkleo had been the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics from 2007-2008 (and every one knows how amazing those teams were offensively), before moving to be the bench coach for the Mariners the next season. From 2010 until 2012 he served as minor league hitting coordinator for the Houston Astros and was chosen as their interim hitting coach after the Astros fired old hitting coach Mike Barnett (as part of the cleaning house along with manager Brad Mills.

Overall this staff looks pretty good as it combines a large amount of experience and allows people to work together who already know they can successfully work as a team. The use of internal options like Alomar, Sarbaugh and Callaway will also help the players have some sense of familiarity with the staff while still improving the overall staff. The additions of Francona and Mills are the most important and will bring years of experience, not just in the game of baseball, but in winning on the Major League level, something individuals from inside the Indians organization can have no firsthand experience with.

In the most fitting home field advantage in World Series history, the Tigers went off to face the Giants in San Francisco. The reason the Giants were the first team to ever actually earn home field advantage is that is used to just alternate season by season before it was replaced by the new system where the winner of the All-Star game gets home field. This year, Tigers ace Justin Verlander started for the AL while the NL starting lineup was filled with Giants. Matt Cain started for the NL, Melky Cabrera, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval all started offensively. The Giants hitters combined for a home run, a triple, a single, a walk, four runs and five RBI while Cain threw two innings or scoreless ball. Verlander on the other side gave up five runs in a single inning and took the loss.

Game 1: Tigers 3 - Giants 8

The Giants owned every part of game one. Barry Zito impressed over 5.2 innings after being a disappointment over the past couple seasons after signing a big contract with San Francisco. Tim Lincecum came in for Zito in relief and allowed no runs pitching through the 8th. Verlander on the other hand gave up five runs in four innings, much of that coming while Kung Foo Panda was at bat. The most impressive thing about this game was Pablo Sandoval's three home runs that tied a Major League record for most home runs in a World Series game (Babe Ruth did it twice, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols last season). He hit a single in his final at bat, giving him a perfect offensive day with 3 runs and 4 RBI.

Game 2: Tigers 0 - Giants 2

After Zito had a great game in game one, Madison Bumgarner outmatched him in game two. Both Bumgarner and Tigers starter Doug Fister pitched through six innings allowing a single combined run. In what was a great pitched game overall, the Giants scored their first run on a double play off Drew Smyly and their second after Smyly walked the bases loaded the next inning and allowed a sacrifice fly. This was all the Giants needed to win behind their great bullpen.

Game 3: Giants 2 - Tigers 0

Back in Detroit it was more of the same as the Giants blanked the Motor City Kitties for the second game in a row. This time San Francisco used a combination of Ryan Vogelsong, Tim Lincecum and Sergio Romo to keep the Tigers off the board. Offensive has been at a premium during most of the postseason this year and the Giants made the Tigers look Yankees through the first three games of the World Series.

Game 4: Giants 4 - Tigers 3

Game four was the first truly competitive game of the World Series, with the Tigers pushing the Giants into extra innings before being eliminated in the tenth. This was the first game that the Tigers came back to take the lead in, although they immediately lost it when Buster Posey hit a two run home run in the sixth to take back the lead. In the tenth Marco Scutaro (the likeliest of World Series heroes) knocked in Ryan Theriot.

It is to bad for those who wanted to see a little back and forth as the Tigers, while they may have been the worse team, were incredibly handicapped during this series. The pitching match-ups were set for the Tigers to take the first two games, with their top pitchers going while the Giants top pitchers going in games three and four. Once the Tigers lost the first two, there was very little chance for them to come back. Most likely the reason Verlander lost game was was the extended time off before the start. He is a pitcher who gets stronger as the game goes on and seems to pitch better after being a little tired. This length of time off almost certainly hurt him and pushed the Tigers to their 0-1 start.

With the Giants World Series Champions, we can now move on to much more important things like the free agent season. Now that the season is over, the Indians can start entering into some trade talks with other team, can make decisions on players under contract and finish signing the coaching staff. One positive point of Series for the Tribe is that of all the purchased teams filled with superstarts (the Tigers, Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Angels, etc) ended up failing while a team that was mostly home grown based around good pitching and role players rather than pure power. One last Cleveland Indians point, the Indians went 10-8 against the World Series teams this year and had a .433 winning percent against all playoff teams during the regular season, up from a .412 winning percent against all other teams.

The free agent market is a little shallow this year, but there are still a few players the Indians should look at that are within their price range. With the biggest holes on the team being first base, DH, left field and starting pitcher, those will be the positions highlighted. None of the players listed are perfect. The Indians will not be pursuing Josh Hamilton or Zach Greinke this off-season as they are out of their pay range, but those players could help fill the needs of the richer teams, leaving some of these other players for the taking.

Lance Berkman

Berkman is old (37 next year) and hurt, giving him just enough negatives to put him in the Indians price range. He has discussed retirement and may not be interested in playing for the Tribe, but a new focus in Cleveland, started by new manager Terry Francona could help him change his mind. One thing that could entice Berkman is the full time designated hitter role. While he has played first and left field for his entire career, a move to DH could extend his baseball life while he recovers from injury. Since 2000 Berkman has only had two seasons with less than 20 home runs. In 2011 he finished in the top ten in MVP voting, although injuries kept him off the field for all but 32 games this year. He has already stated that he will not decide what team to sign with until next February, but it couldn't hurt the Indians to make an offer. Of course this offer would have to be significantly lower than the price for Travis Hafner's option or exchanging one injured DH for another would be pointless.

Melky Cabrera

Cabrera has a very different problem from Berkman. His suspension for using PEDs just recently ended, but the Giants have decided morally to keep him out of the playoffs. This shows that they are probably ready to cut ties with Cabrera. Melky was great for the Royall in 2011 hitting 44 doubles along with an impressive 18 home runs. This year he technically (although unofficially) won the NL batting title, batting .346 in 113 games. Cabrera would be a great fit in left field for the Indians in 2013 and a possible replacement for Shin-Soo Choo in right if he leaves for free agency the following season. He is one of the few players in the league that could replace Choo and play at his same level. The Indians should make a multiple year offer to Cabrera that is maybe a little higher than they would normally go. He is just entering into the prime of his career and, while there is still some risk of loss of playing time with future steroid use, should be productive for his next seven years or so. A five year deal worth around $50M could be enough to pluck this star away from the Giants. 

Ichiro Suzuki

Suzuki would have to take a significant salary cut to join the Tribe, but he probably will no matter where he wants to go. Cleveland doesn't have the spotlight that he obviously enjoys, but they could offer him a starting job in left field with the opportunity to DH when he needs to. Suzuki has been steadily decreasing in production, but still outperforms almost every player currently on the Indians at the age of 38. Like Berkman, this would be a one year only solution while the Indians try to find a more permanent answer from within. 

Kevin Correia

Correia has fallen off some since leaving San Diego's cavernous Petco Park and moving into the friendly confines at PNC. In Pittsburgh he averaged a 4.49 ERA over two years and 59 games. He has started at least 25 games each of the last four years, something only Ubaldo Jimenez can claim on the current staff. In 2012 a pitcher that started 25 games with a 4.49 ERA would have been pitcher of the year.

If the Indians don't sign any of these players, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. The free agent market is so thin, it may artificially inflate prices, efficiently hedging the Indians out. Signing one of these players would be huge however, as it would allow the team to focus on one less position and give them more prospects to trade. There are a few other players of limited interest in the market, but signing of more players like Travis Buck, Casey Kotchman, Mark DeRosa, Jose Lopez or Austin Kearns (who are all free agents this upcoming off-season) would be a complete waste of money and a waste of a roster spot. It would be better to sign nobody than to sign players of this quality.

The Cubs are tired of Alfonso Soriano and have been looking to move him for more than a year. He has an incredibly high contract based completely on his high level of production year after year. The Cubs know they have no chance to compete during the rest of the length of Soriano's contract (through 2014) and would love to save a little money by dropping some or all of the last $36M owed to him. The Cubs would much rather use that $18M a year for more productive causes and give Soriano's at bats to players that could actually be on the team when the should be back in contention in a few years.

Soriano would be a perfect fit for the Tribe. He is a veteran, a power hitter and a left fielder. He also has a lot of postseason experience, playing 44 games between the Yankees and Cubs. He has had over 40 extra base hits every single season that he has had more than 50 at bats, a time spanning from 2001-2012. This includes last season when he hit 33 doubles, 32 home runs and knocked in 108 runs. When compared to all Indians hitters in 2012 he would have lead in home runs, RBI, slugging percent and OPS.

The Cubs may be interested trading with the Indians in this situation when they may not normally for the case of the salary dump. Just a few months ago the Red Sox traded all of their high talented, expensive players to the Dodgers in a move that freed up hundreds of millions of dollars. The Marlins also just dumped a lot of salary, moving closer Heath Bell and short stop Hanley Ramirez. While the Indians would be unable to take on all of Soriano's salary, they could make up for a large part of it with prospects, especially the young pitchers in Akron and Columbus. The Indians were willing to trade their best starter in Akron (Stephen Wright) for a journeyman AAA first baseman (Lars Anderson), so they can't say they value anyone else in the system too highly.

The Indians are ready to win now, despite what one bad month made the 2012 season look like. Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera are reaching the end of their time under team control and Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley are all heading into what should be career seasons. If the team was better, they might not have to spend very much to compete, but the fact is there are still problem areas. Trading for Soriano would fill one of those holes, allowing the team to put more focus on the starting rotation. With Soriano in left, finding a powerful DH or first baseman would no longer as big of an issue, although that doesn't mean they should stop looking.

If the Indians do make a move for Soriano, they should offer to pay for no more than $24 million of the remainder of his salary. This is about what he would deserve if he was in the free agent market now, and would allow the Indians to pay the majority of his salary while not being stuck with the whole thing. Soriano does have a full no trade clause in his contract, but has stated that he is willing to go to a contender. With the new addition of Terry Francona and a renewed sense of urgency, the Indians can hopefully convince Soriano that they are just one power hitting left fielder away from their next Central Division title.