The Traders Arena Blog

Last year the the Indians had an unexpected year, going 81-81. They were expected to compete and possibly win the division last year but were faced with the injury bug. Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez both were injured and the offense suffered. C.C. Sabathia did not start out great and ended up getting traded and now signed as the richest pitcher in the history of the game. Cliff Lee had an unexpected year, bouncing back, going 22-3 with a near 2 ERA, winning the AL CY Young award. They also traded away Casey Blake to the Dodgers for top prospect catcher Carlos Santana, and also got back Matt Laporta in the Sabathia deal. These two are the Indians future. They have made some nice moves this offseason, signing Kerry Wood to be their closer, as well as trading virtually nothing for Mark DeRosa.

Here is their projected position players this year:

C: Victor Martinez: Martinez is one of the top catchers in the league, but he was injured for most of last year. He did come back to find his stroke in September. Kelly Shoppach is a capable backup, and they also have Carlos Santana in the wings.

1B: Ryan Garko:  Garko, in his 2nd full season, had a nice season with 14 HR and 90 RBI. He should try to get that up a bit in order to ward of Laporta coming in instead, although LaPorta is also being tried in the outfield.

2B: Asdrubal Cabrera: Cabrera had a decent year last year, regressing a bit from his nice rookie year. He is average at best at 2nd base.

SS:  Jhonny Peralta: Peralta has been consistent over the last 3 years, posting nice numbers as a short stop with 23 HR and 89 RBI. He is a nice option at SS for them.

3B: Mark DeRosa: The newly acquired Indians player, DeRosa had a nice year for the Cubs and they really did get him for practically nothing. He is a great because he can play the infield and the outfield. He had over 20 HR this year and can see him producing the same:

OF: Ben Francisco, Grady Sizemore, Shin Soo Choo: Not the best OF, but Sizemore does make it decent. Sizemore is becoming an elite OF option and leadoff hitter. Choo and Francisco are average at best, and they do have Matt LaPorta waiting in the wings who could come in and provide a nice spark.

Here is their projected rotation and closer:

SP: Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers, Anthony Reyes:  Cliff Lee had a great year last yeargoing 22-3 but they will find a hard time replacing C.C. Sabathia. Carmona was hurt a bit last year and regressed since his amazing 2007 season. After that, it is all young pitchers in Laffey and Sowers.

CL:  Kerry Wood: Wood gives them a bonafide closer after yearsof Joe Borowski. They also have nice set up men in Rafael Betancourt and Perez. They now have a very good bullpen.

My expectations: I expect them to finish between 1st and 3rd in the Central. It is always a 3 way coin toss between the White Sox, Twins, and Indians now, and now you throw in the Tigers, no one really can predict that division with any certainty. I think they will get at least 85 wins this year though and compete down to the wire.

Tomorrow’s Preview: Colorado Rockies

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