The Indians have been very active in the offseason, making two significant additions, positioning themselves as the team to beat in the AL Central in 2009. Their outstanding offensive lineup returns with standouts centerfielder Grady Sizemore, DH Travis Hafner and catcher Victor Martinez as well as 2008 newcomer Ben Francisco in leftfield and returning rightfielder Shin-Soo Choo. If you think Hafner will be slow to get going offensively don’t count on it. I consider it a lock that both he and Martinez will be back to form before too long into April. Martinez though very likely won’t be able to push last season’s injury replacement Kelly Shoppach out from behind the plate. Shoppach excelled last season when given the chance to become the everyday catcher hitting 21 homers, driving in 55 runs and finished with a very respectable .354 OBP. He is also superior defensively to Martinez making it even more difficult to foresee him back behind the plate. My guess is that Martinez will probably get more starts at first base but displacing incumbent Ryan Garko (.273, 14 HRs, 90 RBIs) may be just as difficult. It will be interesting to see how this minor dilemma gets resolved. The one question mark I see on the Indians roster so far is who plays second base. In-house candidates include Jamey Carroll & Josh Barfield; Andy Marte would be a longshot to get the nod at the position after proving unsteady both offensively and defensively in 2008.
After failing to put the Chicago Cubs curse to rest former Cubs’ teammates Mark De Rosa & Kerry Wood join the Indians, where they will be able to help the Tribe undo their curse (Cleveland hasn’t won the World Series since 1948). The two of them solve the two biggest priorities Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro had in the offseason.
Wood solves the ninth-inning issue that sunk them faster last year than the injuries to offensive stalwarts Hafner & Martinez did. De Rosa, I imagine, will be the third baseman they have needed after trading Casey Blake to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last season. Third base emerged as the team’s biggest problem when the team dealt Blake and then top prospect Marte flopped. Wood does immediately provide the Tribe with a closer and hopefully helps clear up the rest of the bullpen’s shortcomings. Carrying over from last season are a handful of their failed closers and setup men who I think should work out much better in the short or long relief roles they were always best suited for. The bright spots are second year man Jensen Lewis, who became the team’s most effective closer by season’s end, and the recently acquired Joe Smith (three way trade with the Mets & Mariners). Either are likely to become the setup man and each of them are quite capable of assuming that role.
The starting rotation is only a little shakier. Cliff Lee returns after winning the 2008 Cy Young but I don’t expect him to come close to repeating last year’s amazing performance. Fausto Carmona returns also and he did appear to be returning to his top form after coming back from surgery and I don’t think there’s any reason to believe he won’t continue excelling. The rest remain unproven: Anthony Reyes, Jeremy Sowers, Scott Lewis and just signed free agent Carl Pavano. At $1.5M Pavano was a risk worth taking for them even if he does bomb. Whether or not Jake Westbrook plays this season is still unknown; probably not until late in 2009 after rehabbing from Tommy John surgery (last June) would be my guess right now.
Still, even with a rotation and bullpen that each have a questionable supporting cast, I don’t think the Indians will suffer any for it. Their batting lineup will provide them with all the offensive power they will need to overwhelm anyone and they are solid defensively as well, though shortstop Jhonny Peralta continues to suffer periodic problems with range at the position. Providing that second base doesn’t become an issue either offensively or defensively I look for Cleveland to be a serious contender in 2009. One suggestion to the Indians front office: move (at least temporarily try) Garko to third, De Rosa to second and Martinez to first in an effort to keep all of their bats in the lineup.
Filed under: AL Central
