MLB Dirt

For the first half of the season last year, the Indians were looking pretty good. They were sitting at the top of the division and playing well. Things started to spiral down hill though in late May, in large part due to injuries. They acquired Ubaldo Jimenez in the middle of the season but he turned out to really disappoint and the second half of the season did not go well for him or the club. There were some positives to take out of the season though as Justin Masterson really emerged and the rest of the performed pretty well. Asdrubal Cabrera also really stepped up and was one of the top offensive shortstops in the league.

This offseason the Indians have made some nice moves to improve their team. They resigned Grady Sizemore for a relatively low risk, one year deal at $5MM and that could work out well, especially if Sizemore is healthy. They also acquired pitcher Derek Lowe from the Indians toward the end of October.

In December the club signed Felix Pie to a minor league deal with a spring training invite and he could be a useful piece. They just recently signed Ryan Spilborghs to a minor league contract with a spring training invite and he could be a nice outfielder off of the bench. Yesterday the Indians acquired Kevin Slowey from the Rockies who will provide some nice pitching depth. While those acquisitions are not huge, I think they bolster a team that has potential in 2012.

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Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana, Casey Kotchman, Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians, Derek Lee, Derek Lowe, Ezequiel Carrera, Fausto Carmona, Felix Pie, Fred Lewis, Grady Sizemore, Jack Hannahan, Jason Kipnis, Joe Smith, Josh Tomlin, Justin Masterson, Kevin Slowey, Lonnie Chisenhall, Lou Marson, Michael Brantley, Rafael Perez, Roberto Hernandez, Ryan Spilborghs, Shin-Soo Choo, Tony Sipp, Ubaldo Jimenez, Victor Martinez, Vinnie Pestano | 2 Comments »