23-year old lefty swinging 3B/DH Lonnie Chisenhall will miss the next 10-12 weeks due to a fractured right forearm.  He will need surgery to repair his forearm after getting hit with a pitch last night.  Chisenhall has played in 25 games for the Indians so far this year and he is 20 for 72 (.278 avg) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 91 games in his first two years with the Tribe and he is 74 for 284 (.261 avg) with 37 runs scored, 10 homers, 31 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  This is a big blow to both Chisenhall and the Indians, as they are going to miss his bat.

The Cleveland Indians need a righty swinging, power hitting left fielder and a starting pitcher or two if they are going to compete for the A.L. Central crown.  Top targets in the trade market should be Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Josh Willingham, Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Quentin.  All of the teams with an outfielder also have starting pitching available, so it could be one stop shopping for the Tribe.  That being said, I think the best match is probably with the Padres.  With that in mind, I think the Indians should go after Carlos Quentin and either Clayton Richard or Edison Volquez.  The Indians can’t afford to wait much longer to make a move as they are essentially just treading water in the A.L. Central right now.  They are 37-37 on the season, just 2.5 games behind the White Sox.

The Indians have released 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ben Copeland.  Copeland played in 56 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Indians this year and he was 36 of 181 (.199 avg, .558 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.  He has now played in 804 games in his first 8 seasons in the minors and he is 790 of 2,849 (.277 avg, .772 OPS) with 449 runs scored, 47 homers, 348 RBIs and 138 stolen bases.  Not much of a loss here for the Tribe.

The Indians have claimed 32-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Vinny Rottino off waivers from the Mets.  Rottino played in 18 games earlier this year for the Mets and he was 6 for 33 (.182 avg, .702 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers, 5 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  He has now played in 44 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 13 for 69 (.188 avg, .601 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  The Indians hope Rottino can help them off the bench.

The Cleveland Indians have designated 25-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Schwinden for assignment.  Schwinden pitched in 3 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Tribe and he was 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  He has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-3 with a 6.98 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  The Indians are now the 3rd team that has given up on Schwinden this year already (Blue Jays and Mets), so it’s not a big loss for them.

UPDATE:  (6/30/2012) – The Indians have lost Chris Schwinden on waivers to the Yankees.