The Indians have signed 30-year old lefty swinging Jason Tyner to a minor league contract. Tyner played in 114 games last season for the Twins and he was 87 for 304 (.286 avg, .686 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 1 homer, 22 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 439 games in his major league career and he is 373 for 1,356 (.275 avg, .638 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 1 homer, 94 RBIs and 61 stolen bases. This was a nice move for the Indians as Tyner could be a solid player off the bench for them at some point in 2008.

29 year old switch hitting Victor Martinez has had an incredible run the last 4 seasons for the Indians. Martinez has averaged 147 games, 77.5 runs scored, 21 homers and 98.8 RBIs per season over his last 4 years with the Indians. Martinez played in 147 games last season for the Indians and he was 169 for 562 (.301 avg, .879 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 25 homers and 114 RBIs. The most important development last season was the improvement that Martinez showed behind the plate as he threw out 30% of the runners that tried to steal on him and pitchers had a 4.01 ERA with him behind the plate. Martinez often plays first base when Kelly Shoppach is catching and he usually does a good job there. Look for Martinez to have another outstanding season in 2008 for the Indians.

28 year old righty swinging Kelly Shoppach could start for a lot of teams so the Indians are lucky to have him as a backup. Shoppach played in 59 games last season for the Indians and he was 42 for 161 (.261 avg, .782 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 7 homers and 30 RBIs. He also is an outstanding defensive player as he threw out 36% of the runners attempting to steal on him last year. Pitchers also had a 4.16 ERA when he was catching which shows that pitchers like to throw to him. Shoppach is Paul Byrd’s personal catcher. He should have another solid season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008: A

The Indians didn’t do much in the off season despite watching the Tigers load up. The Indians brought in some cheap help for the bullpen in Jorge Julio, Brendan Donnelly and Rick Bauer to compete for work early in games. Donnelly won’t be available until the 2nd half of the season. 33 year old righty reliever Masahide Kobayashi has experience as a closer in Japan so he could work himself into the 7th inning role in front of Rafael Betancourt and Joe Borowski in the pen. Reserve infielders Jamey Carroll and Andy Gonzalez were brought in to compete for roles on the bench. The Indians should have tried to do more to improve because the Tigers look at least 10-15 games better than they were last season.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE ON THE OFF SEASON: D

The Indians have decided to bring back Scott Elarton on a minor league deal. He pitched part of last season in AAA Buffalo for the Indians but he never got called up to the big club. Elarton started 9 games last season for the Royals and he was 2-4 with a 10.46 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. Elarton has now pitched in 224 games (170 starts) in his major league career and he is 56-60 with 3 saves, a 5.31 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. This was a low risk move by the Indians to provide depth in the upper minor leagues as Elarton will be a long shot to make the club out of spring training.

The Indians have signed 36-year old righty reliever Brendan Donnelly to a minor league contract. He will miss at least the first half of the 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer. Donnelly pitched in 27 games last season for the Red Sox and he was 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Donnelly has now pitched in 303 games (0 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 25-9 with 4 saves, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. This was a nice signing for the Indians as Donnelly should help them in the 2nd half of the season.

Join Our Sports Forum Community: BlogLockers.com