Cleveland Indians- 2013 Preview

2012 Results- 68-94 (4th in AL Central) 

The Indians weren't as bad as their record would show. The Indians actually had a pretty good first half of the season (44-41) but the second half was a failure. The Indians went 24-53 after the All Star Break and alot of the fault can be pointed to the pitching staff. The Indians ranked 29th in the Majors in ERA at 4.78, 18th in Batting Average (.251), and 9th in Fielding Percentage (.984). The fact is the pitching staff ERA went up dramatically after the All Star break and the Indians were not able to continue on their first half success.

Before the season ended, the Indians fired manager Manny Acta with 6 games to go. Truthfully, this was the first GREAT step for the Indians to do. Bringing in Terry Francona to manage the team is awesome and regardless of what went on with him in Boston, he's the right guy to start these guys back onto the road to success.

How does 2013 look?

Offseason Moves: ARRIVALS

C/IF Yan Gomes - Trade (TOR)
1B Mike McDade - Waivers (TOR)
1B Chris McGuiness - Rule 5 (TEX)
1B Mark Reynolds - Free Agent (BAL)
SS Didi Gregorius - Trade (CIN)
IF Mike Aviles - Trade (TOR)
IF/OF Russ Canzler - Waivers (TOR)
OF Drew Stubbs - Trade (CIN)
OF Nick Swisher - Free Agent (NYY)
RHP Matt Albers - Trade (ARI)
RHP Trevor Bauer - Trade (ARI)
RHP Brett Myers - Free Agent (CWS)
RHP Bryan Shaw - Trade (ARI)
RHP Blake Wood - Waivers (KC)

DEPARTURES

1B/OF Lars Anderson - Trade (ARI)
3B/1B Jack Hannahan - Free Agent (CIN)
SS Didi Gregorius - Trade (ARI)
IF Jason Donald - Trade (CIN)
IF/OF Russ Canzler - Waivers (TOR) / (NYY)
OF Shin-Soo Choo - Trade (CIN)
RHP Roberto Hernandez - Free Agent (TB)
RHP Esmil Rogers - Trade (TOR)
RHP Hector Rondon - Rule 5 (CHC)
LHP Scott Maine - Waivers (TOR)
LHP T.J. McFarland - Rule 5 (BAL)
LHP Tony Sipp - Trade (ARI)

The Indians have turned alot of their roster over and have greatly IMPROVED the team heading into 2013. They did well in the trade that brought Drew Stubbs and Trevor Bauer to Cleveland and getting Nick Swisher and Brett Myers is good to add veteran players to this young team. The latter, Myers, is going to try to go back into the starting rotation after spending the last 2 seasons as a closer. I think he can do good in the starting rotation and I think he can help guys like Justin Masterson and, newly acquired, Bauer to gain experience from Myers. Terry Francona is really a good guy to manage these guys and the Indians did well to make his job better in 2013.

2013 Predictions- 78-84 (4th in AL Central)

I really think the Indians will be a much improved team in 2013 but they aren't quite ready to compete with Chicago, Detroit or even Kansas City this year. The offseason moves have improved the lineup and the starting rotation but there's still some unanswered questions the Indians need to figure out. Are they going to keep Chris Perez and Asdrubal Cabrera? Those guys have been mentioned alot in trade talk the last few years and it'll be interesting to see if the Indians do anything with that. Truthfully, the Indians are WAY BETTER if they keep both guys on the team.

The Indians are going to be better but they still need to make a few more moves to compete in the AL Central. The trades they've done so far are great steps in the right direction for this team but a few more is needed. I think 2014 is a year in which Cleveland could actually start competing again for a playoff spot, mainly as a Wild Card team. 2013 will be a rebuilding year and that's ok. Cleveland has alot of great pieces in place for a good playoff run, but let's wait until 2014 for that.