Sonny Siebert was a throw back, putting up numbers in the 1960's that look like they should fit in the 1910's. His 2.76 ERA remains second all time of Cleveland pitchers who played their careers after 1920 (behind Gaylord Perry). He holds a few top ten single season marks as well, even when included with the early dead ball era pitchers. In 1965 he placed in the top ten in ERA and K/9, then set a mark in the top ten for BAA in 1968. In his career he ranks among the top five in both batting average against and WHIP.

Siebert started his career with the Tribe in 1964 after signing six years earlier as an amateur free agent. He was already in his prime during his rookie season at the age of 27 when he threw 156 innings and held an ERA of 3.23. He didn't allow his ERA to go above three again in any season until he was traded after just two starts in 1969. The trade was extremely lopsided with the Indians losing Joe Azcue along with Siebert to the Red Sox for three players who never amounted to anything with the team. Siebert wasn't the same pitcher after the trade, however, and he only finished a season with an ERA lower than three one more time. After five pretty good seasons with Boston, Siebert bounced around between four other teams before calling it a career in 1975.

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.  

Carlos Baerga was the All-Star second baseman that sat on top of the Indians lineup and helped raise the team to glory in the mid 1990s. In 1989, Baerga came over to the Tribe alongside Sandy Alomar, Jr in the trade that sent Joe Carter to San Diego. Carlos immediately started producing for the Tribe, knocking in 47 runs in his rookie year (1990) in a reserve role and becoming the second most productive offensive player on the team the next season when he knocked in 67 with a .288 batting average. In 1992, he placed himself on the all-time Indians leaderboards, breaking the top five in single season at bats and top ten in games played. He remains one of the top second basemen ever to put on an Indians uniform.

This was also his first of two 200 hit seasons. While this isn't the most miraculous of feats, it has been something hard to come by in recent years for the Tribe, with the last coming in 1996 when Kenny Lofton had 210. Baerga's two 200 hit seasons give him two of the last three in team history. Overall there have been 27 200 hit seasons in Indians history, but only the three mentioned already and one by Carter in 1986 occurred after 1950.

Baerga peaked slightly before the rest of the Indians team as he started his decline when the the Indians were finally seeing some success in 1994 and 1995. He did play well in his only postseason, hitting .292 in 1995, including four RBI in both the ALCS and World Series. His ten hits in the ALCS that year remains in the top five all time for more hits in a postseason series.

In 1996 Baerga was reaching the end of his usefulness as a player and was traded to the Mets for his replacement, Jeff Kent. Kent was the first of many attempts to find a new great second baseman, a quest that continued until 1999 when Roberto Alomar joined the team. Since the departure of Baerga, the Indians have not had a single starting second baseman last more than three years (both Alomar and Ronnie Belliard lasted three years).

In 1999 Baerga came back to the Tribe after struggling with the Mets and Padres for three years, but he was unable to solve his hitting woes and there was no room for him on the roster with Alomar at second and Fryman at third. Baerga bounced around with a few more teams until 2005 (including some time in Korea) and had one more resurgent season in 2003 with the Diamondbacks, but never really found the success he had with the Tribe in the early 1990s.

In 2013, Baerga returned to the Indians as a special instructer in Spring Training. He will be inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in August of 2013.

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.

Earl Moore ushered in the new era of Cleveland baseball as the Indians first ace and the only pitcher to stay on the team from the first to the second season. Moore didn't stay the ace very long as Addie Joss and Bill Bernhard both arrived in 1902, however he retained the role through 1903. He won the ERA title that season, giving the Indians three of the first eight American League ERA champions (Joss won the other two). That ERA remains in the top ten best single season ERAs in Indians history. Of course this is slightly overshadowed as nine of the top ten occurred within the first eleven years of team history (congrats to Luis Tiant in 1968 breaking the top five).

1904 saw one of the greatest rotations in Indians history as the team used just seven total pitchers for the entire year. Six pitchers started 16 or more games and each held an ERA under 3.00 (the best being the league leader Joss). The main rotation included Bernhard as the ace, followed by Red Donahue, Moore and Joss with Otto Hess and Bob Rhoads pitching in the extra starts. Hess was especially great, pulling a 1.67 ERA in his first full professional season. Most impressively, there were only 14 relief appearances during the entire season all made up by the rest of the starting staff. Moore himself completed 22 of his 24 starts and came in for relief twice as well. While his win-loss record was not what it should have been (12-11), that had a lot more to due with the lack of offense rather than his pitching.

After poor seasons in 1906 and 1907, Moore was traded to the New York Highlanders for Walter Clarkson and Frank Delahanty. He then spent the next eight seasons bouncing around between four teams, reclaiming some of his glory in 1909 and 1910 for the Phillies before losing a career high 19 games in 1911. He never held an ERA under 3.00 again for the rest of his career. Earl Moore died in 1961

The designated hitter was the most recent significant rule change in baseball, occuring in 1973. Because of this there are only 39 seasons of designated hitters to evaluate. Over those years, the Indians have only had two long term DHs, making this the least impressive of every top ten positional list. The rankings from 3-10 are players who have played between one and three years as starting DH. This includes every player who had even a single decent season at that position for the Indians. This list is the easiest for any future player to grab a place on as it could take as little as a single season. Including the five borderline players listed below the stats, every single player who has played a single season at DH (and did not make a top ten list at another position) for the Indians is on this page somewhere except Dave Clark (and now he is too).

10. Cliff Johnson - Years Starting DH, 1979

Johnson is on this list because the Indians didn't have any full time starting designated hitters that aren't listed. As soon as another Indians DH plays at least two seasons, Johnson is likely to be removed from the top ten.

9. Chris James - 1990-1991

James is basically the same as Johnson, although he had a slightly longer career. James does have one unique distinction, however. In 1991 he set the Indian record for most RBI in a single game with 9 on May 4th against Oakland. He only knocked in 41 total runs that season, making it even an even more impressive feat.

8. Oscar Gamble - 1973-1974

Gamble was the Indians first DH, when the new rule was instated in the AL in 1973. He held the job for two of his three years with the Tribe. This was his first chance to play an entire season in the pros after coming to Cleveland from Philadelphia and he played fairly well. Gamble hit more than 15 home runs with more than 50 runs and 40 RBI each season he spent with the team.

7. Richie Sexson - 1999

Although Sexson only spent a single season as a starter, he was around for a few years, filling in for Jim Thome at first base and alternating with Justice at DH. Despite his height, he was a below average defender at first, making him another great candidate for DH. While he played parts of three seasons, 1999 was by far his best and only starting year. That season he hit 31 home runs while knocking in 116. That year was enough on it's own for him to make the top ten, while his other two partial seasons move him up to number seven.

6. Eddie Murray - 1994-1996

While Murray was a good defensive firstbaseman during most of his career, winning 3 straight Gold Gloves in the 1980's, he was unavailable for anything but hitting duties when he joined the Tribe during the twilight of his career. Murray helped the Indians to the 1995 World Series and knocked in more than 200 runs in three years of limited service.

5. Ellis Burks - 2001-2002

Burks was another player who was unable to perform in the field by the time he joined the Indians, but still put in three good seasons at the tail end of his career. His 2002 season was the second best in his 20 year career even though he only had two years (and 66 total games) left in his playing career. Like seven other players out of the top ten, Burks made his career elsewhere, with just a minor note in Cleveland.

4. Rico Carty - 1975-1977

Carty transitioned to DH when he came to Cleveland after a lengthy career in left field with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. He was more successful than most of the short term DH's for the Indians and is the only Indians DH to ever bat over .300 for the entirety of his time with the team.

3. David Justice - 1997-1998

Justice only played a couple of seasons as an Indian, but won a silver slugger at LF in 1997 and is third in almost every cumulative stat among Indians DHs. While his tenure with the team was short, it came during the prime of his career and he was very productive. In his career, he ranks in the top 10 among every Indians hitter in history in slugging percent and OPS.

2. Andre Thornton - 1981-1986

Thornton was the Indians first long term DH and the only one between 1973 and 2003. He missed all of 1980 due to injury and was replaced at first base by Mike Hargrove. From 1982-1984, without the stress of playing defense, Thornton became the crux of the Indians offense, leading all hitters in home runs, RBI and runs scored. 

1. Travis Hafner - 2003-2012

It took the Indians over thirty years to find a player who truly fit the DH position so perfectly he spent more than a decade there. Hafner was physically unable to play any defensive position and was an amazing pure power hitter during his first few years with the Tribe. In his career he had more home runs than any player on this list except for Thornton and Thornton played half his career at first base. His slugging percent (the best measure of a successful DH) was higher than all but two of the shorter tenured players, despite playing in Cleveland through his whole career, including his decline over his last couple of seasons.

Borderline: David Segui, Joe Charboneau, Johnny Grubb, Ron Kittle, Reggie Jefferson

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.

Jeff Heath was one of the greatest left fielders in Indians history, playing a decade for the Tribe before being traded to Washington. Heath was a multiple all-star for the Indians, dominating American League pitching from 1938 to 1943. Heath missed most of the year in 1944 and was traded shortly after, at the end of 1945.

Heath was a triples machine, leading the league twice (1938 and 1941), both of which are also among the top ten in Indians history. His 83 career triples are fifth all time among Indians as well. While he was a little unlucky to play a decade for one team and not make the playoffs a single time, he got to play on some great offensive teams and was a huge part of those offenses. In 1938 he was in one of the best outfields in Indians history, along with Earl Averill and Bruce Campbell. This year was also another great year by Hal Trosky and saw Ken Keltner come in to his own for the first time. Keltner, Trosky and Heath were the major forces in the offense continually until 1942. Heath died in 1975.

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.