27-year old lefty swinging starting CF Grady Sizemore of the Indians is going to have arthroscopic knee surgery soon which will cause him to miss at least the next 6-8 weeks. If he needs microfracture surgery (which is a distinct possibility) then he will miss the rest of the season. Sizemore has played in 33 games for the Indians this year and he is 27 of 128 (.211 avg, .560 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 13 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has really been banged up the last two years as he has been very ineffective. He has played in 139 games the last two years for the Indians and he is 135 of 564 (.239 avg) with 88 runs scored, 18 homers, 77 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. This will be the big chance for 26-year old switch hitting CF Trevor Crowe who will be the starting CF for a while for the Tribe. Crowe has played in 15 games for the Indians this year and he is 17 of 62 (.274 avg, .693 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Indians hope he can keep up the good work.

UPDATE: (6/4/2010) – Grady Sizemore needed microfracture surgery today ending his season. On the bright side at least he won’t be traded this year.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Mitch Talbot came to the Indians over the winter in the trade that sent Kelly Shoppach to the Rays. It has worked out really well for the Indians. Talbot has started 9 games for the Indians this season and he is 6-3 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has only given up 53 hits in 60 1/3 innings this season but I think that is going to change soon because he doesn’t miss a lot of bats (only 24 whiffs). Talbot also need to tighten up his control a bit to remain effective as he has walked 24 batters already this year. Still that stuff is nitpicking as the bottom line is that the Indians are very happy with how Talbot is pitching right now and they hope he can keep up the good work.

I see the Indians having another fire sale sometime before the trading deadline as I see at least 9 players being sent packing by the Tribe. At least this year they won’t be trading a Cy Young Award winner. Here is what kind of trades I think could go down this summer for the Indians. I see the Mets wanting Jake Westbrook and Mark Grudzielanek and offering the Indians 1B/OF Daniel Murphy and righty Fernando Nieve for them. That is a trade even I would make. Backup catcher Mike Redmond will likely be sent packing to a team like the Dodgers for a C-level prospect or cash considerations. The Mariners might make a play for DH Travis Hafner if the Indians send them a ton of cash in the deal which could net the Indians lefty starting pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith and 3B Matt Tuiasosopo. The division rival Twins will probably come after Jhonny Peralta with a offer of Alexi Casilla and Kevin Mulvey. The Reds would probably have a huge interest in Kerry Wood and Jamey Wright if the Indians sent them a bunch of cash. The Indians would probably get something back like OF Chris Dickerson and SS Paul Janish. The Yankees might have a interest in Russell Branyan who would fit their stadium like a glove offering the Tribe reliever Mark Melancon. Austin Kearns might be moving to a team like the Giants for 1B Travis Ishikawa and IF/OF Eugenio Velez. I’m not a fan of Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro who almost never gets value back in these kinds of trades so Indians’ fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

If Asdrubal Cabrera didn’t injure himself against the Rays earlier this week you have to wonder if Jason Donald wouldn’t have got called up anyway to replace Luis Valbuena who has been helpless with a bat in his hands this year. Valbuena has played in 28 games for the Indians this year and he is 12 of 81 (.148 avg, .555 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. He has also whiffed 27 times already this season which is way too many for a hitter like him. It’s too bad that 40-year old righty swinging Mark Grudzielanek can’t play every day or the Indians would be smart to go with him full time at 2B. Grudzielanek has played in 23 games for the Indians this year and he is 23 of 83 (.277 avg, .618 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Indians can’t afford to keep giving Valbuena at bats unless he earns them as the excuse that he’s still young is starting to ring hollow.

The Indians have signed 32-year old righty swinging DH/1B Josh Phelps to a minor league deal. Phelps has not played in the major leagues since the 2008 season with the Cardinals. Phelps has played in 465 games in his major league career and he is 380 of 1,394 (.273 avg, .815 OPS) with 198 runs scored, 64 homers and 244 RBIs. He has whiffed 397 times in the majors which has been a big problem for him but it hasn’t really hampered his production. Look for him to get a call from the Indians at some point if he hits well in AAA.

UPDATE: (6/11/2010) – The Indians have released Josh Phelps. He played in 6 games in AAA-ball for the Indians and he was 4 of 21 (.190 avg, .524 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs.