The Indians could be willing to make a trade with the New York Mets. The Indians just can’t afford to have three soft tossing lefties in the starting rotation so with that in mind I would think that Jeremy Sowers would be the one they would want to move. The Mets would be interested in him and they also need a catcher which is where Kelly Shoppach comes into play. The Indians have enough depth at catcher to trade Shoppach and Sowers to the Mets. The Indians would likely want a return like 1B/LF Daniel Murphy, backup outfielder Jeremy Reed and infielder Argenis Reyes. This is the kind of trade that could help both teams but it would likely favor the Mets a little bit but Murphy definately has the potential to be the best player in the deal.

The Indians have signed Manny Acta to a 3-year contract with a option for the 2013 season to manage the team. This was a poor decision for the Indians as it spells a long rebuilding project for the team. Acta was fired by the Nationals last season after compiling a 21-61 (25.6%) record. In two plus seasons running the Nationals, Acta compiled a 158-252 (38.5%) record. He has the fourth lowest win-loss percentage in major league history for a manager who has worked in more than 50 games. The Indians would have been better off keeping Eric Wedge than hiring Manny Acta.

The Cleveland Indians only have one free agent going into the winter and they would likely bring back Jamey Carroll for the right price. The Indians will likely be in the market for a backup corner infielder and 1 middle infield backup. The likely targets for the corner infielders would likely be players like Tony Clark, Eric Hinske or Nomar Garciaparra. Of those three Hinske would probably be the best bet because of his versatility (RF, LF, 3B and 1B). In the middle infield (if they don’t re-sign Carroll) the Indians would likely look at guys like Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Jerry Hairston, Bobby Crosby and Khalil Greene. But if the front office wanted to throw a bone to Indians’ fans then they would bring back Omar Vizquel to play for them. The Indians will also likely be in the hunt for a couple of veterans for the starting rotation. Carl Pavano, Vicente Padilla, Jose Contreras and Brett Tomko would likely be considered from the right side. The Indians might also check into the cost of guys like Justin Duchscherer, Brett Myers and Kelvim Escobar who are all coming off injuries but have huge upsides. Don’t get too excited over the winter Tribe fans as I don’t see the front office throwing around a lot of money.

The Cleveland Indians have granted free agency to 36-year old righty swinging 2B/3B Tony Graffanino. Graffanino played in 7 games for the Indians last season and he was 3 for 23 (.130 avg, .341 OPS) with 1 run scored. He also played in 69 games in AAA-ball for the Indians last season in which he was 69 for 261 (.264 avg, .736 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 40 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Indians essentially did Graffanino a favor here as he can pick where he wants to play instead of returning back to AAA-ball.

24-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Matt LaPorta has underwent arthroscopic surgery on hit left hip and left big toe that will keep him out of action for the next 4-6 months. This will make him questionable for the start of the 2010 season in which he was likely to be the starting 1B for the Indians. LaPorta played in 52 games for the Tribe as a rookie last season and he was 46 for 181 (.254 avg, .750 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 7 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Indians are depending on LaPorta next season so they better hope he’s a quick healer.