26-year old rookie righty reliever Hector Ambriz needs Tommy John Surgery. Ambriz pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Indians this year and he was 0-2 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Ambriz gave up 68 hits (10 of which were homers) in only 48 1/3 innings for the Tribe this year. The Indians selected Ambriz in the Rule 5 Draft away from the Arizona Diamondbacks so it’s not much of a surprise that he struggled this year. He will likely miss the entire 2011 season for the Indians.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Fausto Carmona had a nice bounceback year for the Cleveland Indians. Carmona made the American League All-Star Game this year. He has started 32 games for the Indians this year and he is 12-14 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Carmona’s record should be better than it is but he ran into run support, defensive problems and blown leads by the bullpen. Still, it was a fine comeback season for Carmona who started 46 games combined in 2008+2009 in which he was 13-19 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Hopefully Carmona will stay on track in 2011 as the Indians will need him to be successful at the top of the starting rotation.

The Indians have shut down 22-year old righty starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez (limiting his workload) and 25-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Jason Donald (finger) for the rest of the season. Gomez started 11 games for the Indians this year and he was 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He gave up 73 hits in only 57 2/3 innings for the Tribe so he wasn’t missing too many bats. Jason Donald played solid baseball for the Indians this year. He played in 88 games for the Indians this year and he was 75 of 296 (.253 avg, .690 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Donald will get a chance to compete for the starting 2B job next spring while Gomez will compete for a job in the starting rotation.

The Indians have acquired 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Preston Mattingly (Don Mattingly’s son) from the Dodgers for 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Roman Pena. Mattingly played in 49 games in A-ball this year and he was 36 of 165 (.218 avg, .538 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has played in 410 games in his five years in the minors and he is 358 of 1,544 (.232 avg, .609 OPS) with 184 runs scored, 20 homers, 146 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Roman Pena played in 21 games for the Indians in A-ball this year and he was 9 of 61 (.148 avg, .602 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. I will be surprised if either of these guys ever see the major leagues.

Sure, the Indians have sucked this year. But, it’s not dragging down 27-year old lefty swinging RF Shin Soo-Choo. Choo has played in 133 games for the Tribe this year and he is 151 of 512 (.295 avg, .872 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 20 homers, 82 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He is establishing himself as one of the better right fielders in the American League as he has been a 20/20 man the last two years for the Indians. He has been pretty consistent for the Indians the last couple of years so he looks like one of the few players on the roster that the Indians can actually depend on.