Just prior to the Opening Day, the Indians signed short stop Asdrubal Cabrera through the 2014 season and today the Indians have extended catcher Carlos Santana through 2016 with an option for 2017. Santana's contract is worth a total of $21 million which could end up being a steal if he continues to improve the way he is projected to. The Tribe already had Santana under control through 2016, but by guaranteeing him money now, they will end up paying a lot less then they probably would have to through the arbitration years. As it is the highest single season payout for Santana would be his 2017 option of $12 million. 

This deal is similar to the one Grady Sizemore signed in 2006 as it involves a very young player through his first year or two of free agency. As always with a long-term contract there is some risk, but in this case that risk is small, especially considering that the entire contract is valued at less than a single season of Prince Fielder. For those who may be of the mind that the Sizemore deal was a mistake or failure, realize that for the $23 million total value of his contract he played in almost 700 games and hit 113 home runs with 475 runs scored and 110 steals. He could have played two seasons at that rate and been a steal, but he played four great seasons and two subpar. If Santana can produce what he did last year every year for the length of his contract, he will have earned every penny of it.

The outlook for 2012 was positive going into Spring Training. Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner and Shin-Soo Choo were all healthy. The worst two pitchers from last season's starting rotation (Mitch Talbot and Fausto Carmona) were nowhere to be seen. The Indians actually went out and aquired some average talent players (Kevin Slowey, Ryan Spilborghs and Russ Canzler) to fill in the gaps in the roster. It looked like everything that made the Indians good last year was still in place while improvements were made in some weak spots. So much for that.

Within the first week of camp opening both Grady Sizemore and Chris Perez sustained injuries. Sizemore will be out until May while Perez was limited to only three innings all Spring (Perez was perfect over those three innings, so that is a good sign). The offense as a whole was terrible scoring only 133 runs and batting .147. On an individual level, no player was able to stand out and take any of the open positions. Old players like Shelley Duncan and Jason Donald played poorly and were unable to secure positions on the starting roster until late in Spring. Lonnie Chisenhall and Matt LaPorta were unable to secure positions at all and were sent back to the minors (along with Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera). The new players in camp didn't fare well either as the expected starting left fielder, Ryan Spilborghs, failed to make the team entirely as did expected starting pitcher Kevin Slowey. Of the players aquired in the offseason, only Derek Lowe, Casey Kotchman, Jose Lopez, Aaron Cunningham and Jairo Asencio were able to break the 25 man roster. To top a terrible Spring off, Ubaldo Jimenez has been suspended for his first start for hitting former teammate Troy Tulowitzki during an exhibition game. He will probably appeal the penalty so he can pitch the second game of the season, but he will still miss a start at some point because of it. 

The good news is that most of that doesn't actually effect the regular season. While some of the personell decisions could have been better (Chisenhall instead of Lopez and Carrera instead of Cunningham), these shouldn't be a huge drain on the team. The Indians strongest point from last year, the Bullpen Mafia, is still intact with the exception of the two weakest pitchers (Chad Durbin and Frank Herrmann). The offense is largely the same from last year, but hopefully we will see a resurgance from Choo and Hafner and some improved numbers coming from first base from Kotchman. The starting pitching staff looks to be a huge mystery after Justin Masterson as we wait to see if Josh Tomlin was a fluke last season, if Jimenez can forget about last year and if Lowe still has it. All in all it should be an interesting and entertaining season so stay tuned to what surely will be a wild ride.

The whole season is riding on one man's shoulders. We are all Kipnisses.

The Indians have set their 25 man roster for the regular season. There are a few surprises, but it is generally what was expected going into Spring Training. Shelley Duncan and Jose Lopez both played themselves into more important roles with the team while Lonnie Chisenhall, Matt LaPorta, Russ Canzler and Ryan Spilborghs were all unable to crack the top 25. Chisenhall will certainly be waiting in AAA for Jack Hannahan to make his first mistake, but the others may see their time with the Tribe cut short and have to move on elsewhere.

Position Players

 C: Carlos Santana
1B: Casey Kotchman
2B: Jason Kipnis
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
3B: Jack Hannahan
LF: Shelley Duncan
CF: Michael Brantley
RF: Shin-Soo Choo
CIF: Jose Lopez
MIF: Jason Donald
OF1: Grady Sizemore
OF2: Aaron Cunningham
C2: Lou Marson

The only change that needs to be made before the season starts will be the placement of Grady Sizemore on the 15 day disabled list. This will allow room on the team for one more outfielder. Last week it looked like this position would be taken by Spilborghs and it still could, but by doing it this way it allows a little hope that either Ezequiel Carrera or Trevor Crowe could make the opening day roster. These two players would offer something no one else on the starting roster really has, which is speed. It never hurts to have a player who can pinch run, steal a base, get a bunt down and come in defensively in the outfield.

Starting Pitchers:

 Ace: Justin Masterson
#2: Ubaldo Jimenez
#3: Josh Tomlin
#4: Derek Lowe
#5: Jeanmar Gomez

The rotation ended up being as expected with Gomez beating out Kevin Slowey and David Huff. Masterson, Jimenez and Tomlin remain from the 2011 rotation, while Lowe will essentially replace Fausto Carmona. The injury to Carlos Carrasco provided the other opening in the starting five.

Bullpen Mafia:

Reliever: Rafael Perez
Reliever: Joe Smith
Reliever: Tony Sipp
Reliever: Vinnie Pestano
Reliever: Dan Wheeler
Reliever: Jairo Asencio
Closer: Chris Perez

The bullpen is set, with the newest invitee taking the last spot. The fact that no pitcher was able to stand out and claim the last two spots during Spring is a little disconcerting, but the core of the Bullpen Mafia remains and that should be good enough. Chris Perez will be able to start the season as closer and his set up men, Pestano and Smith have pitched well this Spring. The left-handers Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp also remain from last seasons roster.

Disabled List:

Carlos Carrasco (60 Day DL - Out for Season)

Fausto Carmona (Roberto Hernandez Heredia - Restricted List)

This is the complete 25-man roster as of April 1, 2012. There will be no further updates on this page.

With Kevin Slowey starting today, the battle for the fifth starting pitcher should be a little clearer. Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Tomlin and Derek Lowe hold the first four spots in the 2012 Cleveland Indians starting rotation while Jeanmar Gomez, David Huff, Zach McAllister and Slowey compete for the last spot.

So far, Jeanmar Gomez appears to be the most ready. He has pitched in four games this Spring and is yet to allow a run and has only allowed four hits. His dominance has not been matched this Spring by any other Indians starter except Justin Masterson who has been dominant ever since his poor debut. After his successful rookie season, the only thing keeping Gomez in the minors to start this year is the lack of flexibility in Kevin Slowey.

Speaking of Slowey, his appearances have been getting worse and worse with each outing. In four starts, he has given up 0, 2, 3 and most recently 4 runs. Slowey has never been a considered a flame thrower, but this Spring he has been terrible at missing bats. In only 12 innings he has walked 4 and allowed 19 hits. Hopefully for Indians fans, this experiment will end before the regular season starts.

The other two pitchers up for that last spot have not really had enough innings to judge. Huff has a 5.73 ERA through 11 innings and McAllister has 4.50 through 6. McAllister has yet to start an official Spring game and Huff has only started 3. The lack of innings given to these two pitchers could be a sign that the Indians are already favoring Gomez and Slowey. With Huff's contract situation not being very different than Gomez's it is hard to conceive the Indians making him the 5th starter. It definitely seems that the Indians 5th starter competition is down to a two horse race.

Slowey throwing against the Giants on 3/21

There are two probable spots open for the 2012 bullpen and a plethora of possible pitchers to fill them. Since we are about two weeks into Spring Training, it seems like a good time to discuss the options. 

The 2012 bullpen will look fairly similar to the 2011 version with the exception of two pitchers. Chad Durbin left the team in free agency and Frank Herrmann's spot is up for grabs as well, although he could win it back with a strong Spring. To this point, Herrmann has thrown the most of any Indians relief pitcher and it doesn't look good. In 6 innings through 4 games he has allowed 10 hits and 5 runs. He does have a good strikeout to walk ratio of 6-1, but it doesn't matter if every out is a strikeout when allow almost a run per inning.

Jeremy Accardo, Hector Ambriz and Nick Hagadone are also in the running for either spot and currently hold identical 1.80 ERAs. Each pitcher has allowed a single run in exactly 5 innings pitched. Ambriz has been especially effective, only allowing two hits and striking out four. Hagadone has the highest ceiling of these three players, but is the least likely to make the team initially due to his age and the availability of minor league options.

Former AL East closers Chris Ray and Dan Wheeler have not fared so well in Cactus League play thus far, each with ERAs above 10.00. Both pitchers accepted Spring invites from the Tribe in attempt to regain their former glory. Even though their is no chance of them closing on a team with Chris Perez and Vinnie Pestano, they could still take that Chad Durbin role of veteran pitcher on this team. They will have to shape up soon however, as each pitcher has allowed 10 hits already this Spring in a combined 9 innings pitched.

The last player to mention is Corey Kluber, who has an outside chance of making the team this year. He finished the season on the Indians last year, but more than likely will be the first player cut of the group listed here. The Indians may pitch him more often as the Spring progresses, but to this point he has only thrown 3 innings and is yet to allow an earned run. He has walked 1 and struck out two.

At this point in the Spring, Accardo and Ambriz seem to be the front-runners with Herrmann and Hagadone waiting in the wings in case something happens. Ambriz has not pitched in the Majors since 2010 when he had a 5.59 ERA for the Indians, but the team seems willing to give him a second shot. Accardo had a bad season last year for Baltimore, but was once a strong closer, earning 30 saves with the Blue Jays in 2007. If the Indians decide not to go with the young guns, he wouldn't be the worst choice they could make.

Nick Hagadone throws a pitch against the Diamondbacks in Spring Training action.



A crowd of 5,500 watched today as The Cleveland Indians hosted the reigning AL Champions at Goodyear Ballpark. Much of the crowd came to see Texas Ranger's pitcher, Yu Darvish, who made just his second start of the Spring. Yu Darvish is one of the biggest hyped players this year. Texas acquired the 25-year old Japanese native in January, signing him to a 6 year, $60 million deal.

Amongst those at the game were several media outlets, including several Japanese media members, ESPN, and MLB.TV. The crowd seemed very anxious to see what young Yu Darvish could do. So what did he do?

Darvish started the game with 2 walks, to Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera. Unfortunately, the Indians could not take advantage of such a gift, as both Brantley and Cabrera were thrown out trying to steal second. The bottom of the first ended with a Shin-Soo Choo strikeout.

In the bottom of the second, Travis Hafner popped out in foul territory to first base. Jose Lopez received the first hit off of Darvish with a broken bat single to center field. The Indians were retired in the second inning after Jason Kipnis and Fred Lewis both stuck out swinging.

The Indians finally got to Darvish in the third inning. Jack Hannahan led off the inning with a double to center field. Darvish then walked the next two batters, Lou Marson and Michael Brantley. With the bases loaded, Asdrubal Cabrera knocked Hannahan in with a single. Choo then grounded into a double play, which scored Lou Marson. Hafner ended the inning with a fly out to center field.

Yu Darvish pitched three innings today, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits. He also struck out 3 and walked 4. Overall, Darvish did not look impressive. His pitches seemed to ride high and he was wild at times. Even though he struck out 3 Indians in 3 innings, he did not seem like a dominating strike-out pitcher today. This was only his second start of the Spring. We look forward to seeing what he will do in the rest of the Spring and how he will pitch in the regular season as the Texas Ace.

Final Score: Texas Ranger 8 - Cleveland Indians 8 in 10 innings

Yu Darvish throws to Michael Brantley

Fausto "Roberto Hernandez Heredia" Carmona has been cleared of his crimes in the Dominican Republic, but it is still unknown whether he will be allowed to return to the United States after his newly assigned work program has been completed. The real question now is, would the team even want him to?

Even before this news came out, the Indians were looking to shore up their starting rotation after an inconsistent season. Ubaldo Jimenez was brought in towards the end of the regular season and Derek Lowe immediately after, basically setting up a starting four (Justin Masterson, Jimenez, Josh Tomlin and Lowe) that Carmona wouldn't be able to touch. Immediately after the news came out, the Indians made another move as insurance in case Carmona couldn't come back by trading for Kevin Slowey.

The Indians have shown which pitchers they want to see work the most work this Spring as the only pitchers who have started games are David Huff, Jimenez, Masterson, Slowey and Lowe. Tomlin has thrown five innings in relief and Zach McAllister has thrown four. While it will take a little while longer to see which pitchers are the best fit for the rotation, it is unlikely with this many options that there won't be five options better than Fausto. 

Even if Carmona did return today, he would already be a week behind the other pitchers as far as actual games go and three weeks behind in training. Even with this new news we shouldn't expect him back anytime soon. Of course you cannot predict the future and if the Indians starting staff is struggling and Fausto gets his visa by the All-Star break he could be given another chance to make it. Who knows, maybe all his head problems were caused by the worry that his second name would be revealed and with it out in the open he will be able to relax. If he is able to come back later in the year he could be a great addition, especially if the team is dealing with the usually injury problems.

The good news is that the Indians do not need Fausto "Roberto Hernandez Heredia" Carmona in the rotation to compete this season and do not have to pay him anything until he returns to the team. If and when he does return, he could either help the team by pitching or could probably be released with little cost to the team. The Indians continue to hold their line, that they are undecided about what to do, but are keeping an eye on the situation.

After a three games in Goodyear, the Indians have went 0-2-1 against the Cincinnati Reds. While it's great fun to finally see baseball again after the long offseason, we shouldn't take these early games very seriously. In the three games played, the Indians have used a total of 21 pitchers, who have given up 26 runs in 27 innings. The statistically best pitcher so far this Spring? Jeanmar Gomez with three strikeouts in two innings and no hits allowed. The worst? Recently named Ace, Justin Masterson who was destroyed yesterday by the Reds lineup to the tune of a 40.50 ERA in 1.1 innings pitched. None of this is real or really matters.

The only truly important things that can happen this early in Spring are injuries and the Indians have already had a couple. The back injury to Grady Sizemore is definitely a cause for concern. Last October we discussed possible outfield configurations without Grady and none of them looked good, until the team re-signed Sizemore later in the offseason. Now it looks as if he will continue to miss time due to injuries and will need to be replaced, at least early on, in the outfield. The obvious first choice is to move Michael Brantley to center, leaving a hole in left field. This could be filled by any number of Spring Training invitees, or one of the three eligible players from last years roster (Shelley Duncan, Ezequiel Carrera or Trevor Crowe). The best choice at the moment would probably be Ryan Spilborghs (0-2 with a run and an RBI so far this Spring). He has the most experience at the pro level and is a more athletic choice than either Duncan or trying to change Matt LaPorta back into an outfielder. Felix Pie, Aaron Cunningham and Thomas Neal round out the rest of the options. Neal is probably the player with the most upside of those listed, but he has yet to prove himself in the Majors and the Indians are more likely to go with a veteran of at least a couple years at this point in the season. One of the players listed will also be on the roster as the fourth outfielder as well as either Duncan or LaPorta making the team as a pinch hitter/back-up firstbaseman.

The other injury of note was to All-Star closer Chris Perez. Pure Rage strained an oblique in his first bullpen session of the Spring and looks to be out at least three weeks. He should be back in time for the regular season, but without an entire Spring of pitching against real hitters, he may not be ready. This isnt as big of a deal as the Sizemore injury because of the great depth in the Indians "Bullpen Mafia". Look for Vinnie Pestano to get any of the save chances the first week of the regular season with Chris Perez moving back into that role as soon as he is ready.

I'll leave you with a few shots from Monday's game. Remember not to worry and just enjoy the game. Nothing really counts for another month. See you at the Ballpark!

Action during the second inning of Monday's Spring Training game. Zizzy, the Goodyear Ballpark mascot, enjoys the game with the other fans. 

Indians new starting first baseman, Casey Kotchman.

Today marked the first Spring Training game in sunny Goodyear, Arizona. Over 6,000 fans watched as the Cincinnati Reds played host to the Cleveland Indians at Goodyear Ballpark. The first pitch of the game came at 1:11 MST, as Michael Brantley took as called strike from Reds pitcher Mike Leake. The Indians took an early lead in the top of the first inning after Brantley led off the game with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Santana. The Indians added another run in the second inning after Jason Kipnis singled and later scored on a Lonnie Chisenhall single. David Huff started for the Tribe, pitching two solid innings, giving up just 2 singles. The Indians added two more runs in the third inning when Carlos Santana (who reached on a single) scored on an RBI double by Casey Kotchman and Travis Hafner (who reached on a single) scored on a sacrifice fly by Kipnis. Vinnie Pestano came on to pitch in the third inning, retiring the Reds in order. The Reds came back to tie the game in the fourth inning, after pounding several singles and doubles off Indians pitcher Frank Herrmann. After the fifth inning, all the the game's starters left the game. After nine innings of play, the Indians and Reds ended in a 6-6 tie.

Now that pitchers, catchers and yes, even the hitters have arrived to spring training throwing, hitting and running, injuries are going to occur. One of the first players of fantasy importance to get hurt was closer Chris Perez, who will be out until perhaps early April. Perez didn't rank as one of my top 20 closers for the pending season, as there were numerous red flags in his 36-save season from 2011, notably with strikeout rate, but he still seemed relatively safe in his role.

But this is what happens in late-February and March and the general result can be a good one for fantasy owners. In this case, Perez goes from overrated to … yep, a potential bargain, if he drops enough in your draft.

Vinnie Pestano was clearly -- if you remove saves from the equation -- the team's top relief pitcher in 2011, and he's likely to inherit closing duties until Perez returns. We don't know for sure that Perez will miss Opening Day, but this is a reminder that saves often result from opportunity, not performance. Perez fanned 39 hitters (in 59 2/3 innings) in 2011. He saved 36 games. I don't need to remind former Ryan Franklin owners in the fantasy realm that while strikeout rate doesn't tell us everything, it tells us enough that Perez wasn't the safest closer heading into 2012.

Pestano dominated right-handed hitters in 2011, permitting a .115 batting average, and while he needs work against lefties, let's just say if the Tribe let him close in 2012, he too could save 36 games. I don't think that's going to happen; Perez's injury doesn't seem to be a long-term issue, and since he's got that closer history, it's likely the team will give him the job whenever he is ready.

Knowing how potentially shaky Perez was even before the injury (high walk rate, .240 BABIP against), Pestano was on that list. For now, I'd still draft Perez over Pestano, because saves drive the bus in standard fantasy leagues more than effective relief pitching. Lower the season expectations for Perez a bit, perhaps to 25-30 saves, but he should remain attractive for the later rounds in a 10- or 12-team format, probably right where the likes of Twins right-hander Matt Capps, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Sergio Santos and Dodgers right-hander Javy Guera are going. There's some degree of doubt with each of them as well.

Vinnie Pestano