The Cleveland Indians need to be aggressive if they want to really compete for the playoffs this year.  They really need a righty swinging thumper for LF or DH.  Hunter Pence (a Cleveland Indians’ fan), Corey Hart or Alfonso Soriano would be a perfect fit for the Indians.  They could also use help at 3B.  Extracting Chase Headley from the Padres would be outstanding, but it the Indians aim lower…Ty Wigginton of the Phillies would be a good fit.  The Indians could also use a starting pitcher.  James Shields, Matt Garza and Jason Vargas has the highest upsides.  If the Indians aim lower, 1B Gaby Sanchez (Marlins) and infielder Jeff Baker (Cubs) make the most sense.  Cheaper starting pitchers that could appeal to the Indians are righties Joe Blanton, Kevin Correia or Lucas Harrell or lefties Paul Maholm or Clayton Richard.  The Indians just can’t afford to stand pat.

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 Cleveland Indians have a lot of ammo to make deals this summer.  I think they should jump right into the fray and deal 1B/OF Matt LaPorta and SS/2B Jason Donald to the Braves for righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens and some cash.  The Indians can’t rely on hoping that Fausto Carmona (or whatever his name is) to help the Indians in 2012.  I also like infielder Jeff Baker and outfielder Reed Johnson of the Cubs and I think he will be there for the taking.  I think the Cubs would take Trevor Crowe, Frank Herrmann and David Huff for Baker & Johnson.  If the Indians could pull off these two moves, they might just be able to hold off the Detroit Tigers in the A.L. Central this year.

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 Indians really need to make a few moves to improve the team by next Sunday’s trade deadline. The Indians should go after one of the following outfielders: Josh Willingham (A’s), Alfonso Soriano (Cubs), Ryan Ludwick (Padres), Carlos Beltran (Mets), B.J. Upton (Rays) and Coco Crisp (A’s). Those kind of outfielders would fill the Indians’ biggest need as they need to pump up the offense. But, they are really short two outfielders, so they should also target a second tier outfielder like Marlon Byrd (Cubs), Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs), David DeJesus (A’s), Jeff Francoeur (Royals), Melky Cabrera (Royals), Angel Pagan (Mets), Juan Rivera (Dodgers) or Corey Patterson (Blue Jays). The Indians need one outfielder who can play CF and another one that can play corner outfield. If it was up to me, I would deal for Alfonso Soriano (providing the Cubs pay most of the salary left on his contract) and either Corey Patterson or Angel Pagan. The Indians are also kicking the tires on starting pitchers like James Shields, Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie, Erik Bedard, Brett Myers and Chris Capuano. I would think that Shields and Myers are out of the Indians’ range either money wise or prospect wise. They don’t have a lefty in the rotation, so I think they should go with a lefty with Jason Vargas at the top of the list. The Indians need to make improvements on the roster next week if they are going to compete in the A.L. Central the rest of the year.