The Indians have re-signed 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Grady Sizemore to a 1-year, $5 million dollar deal with an additional $4 million bucks that he can earn in incentives.  Sizemore played in only 71 games for the Indians last year and he was 60 for 268 (.224 avg, .706 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 10 homers and 32 RBIs.  He has now played in 892 games in his first 8 years with the Indians and he is 948 for 3,547 (.269 avg, .830 OPS) with 601 runs scored, 139 homers, 458 RBIs and 134 stolen bases.  This isn’t too bad of a gamble for the Indians.

26-year old switch-hitting shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians finished 20th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award.  He played in 151 games for the Indians in 2011 and he was 165 of 604 (.273 avg, .792 OPS) with 87 runs scored, 25 homers, 92 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  Cabrera has now played in 538 games in his first five years with the Indians and he is 567 of 2,019 (.281 avg, .756 OPS) with 285 runs scored, 43 homers, 258 RBIs and 44 stolen bases.  The Indians hope that Cabrera’s power he showed in 2011 wasn’t a mirage.

The Cleveland Indians are getting close to contending and they could use some tweaks to the roster for 2012.  Here is a trio of players I think the Indians should consider adding to the fold:

1. Carlos Pena – Enough waiting around for Matt LaPorta to come around.  Carlos Pena would bring Gold Glove caliber defense to 1B for the Tribe and that really matters with all of the ground ball pitchers on the team.  He also has huge power and it’s usually from right-center field to the right-field line…..which is the way the wind usually blows out at Progressive Field.

2. Jonny Gomes – Jonny Gomes can handle playing outfield corner slots and he also offers protection should Travis Hafner get hurt again (which is likely).  Gomes has huge power and he plays hard all of the time.

3. Vicente Padilla – The Indians could use another live arm in the pen, and Padilla fits that bill.  He would come at a bargain price due to his recent injury history.

The Cleveland Indians have designated 25-year old lefty swinging 2B Luis Valbuena.  Valbuena played in 17 games for the Tribe last year and he was 9 for 43 (.209 avg, .506 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.  He played in 211 games in his first three years with the Indians and he was 154 of 686 (.224 avg, .627 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 13 homers, 56 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  The Indians should try to deal Valbuena, because I don’t think he will make it through waivers.

UPDATE:  (11/26/2011)  – The Indians have dealt Luis Valbuena to the Blue Jays for cash considerations.

42-year old Manny Acta finished fourth in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the Year Award in 2011.  Acta led the Indians to a 80-82 (49.4%) record last season despite no one expecting much out of his team.  Acta now has a 307-427 (41.8%) record in his first five years as a manager in the major leagues.  He did a solid job for the Indians last year and I think his team will continue to improve in 2012.