Chris Antonetti is second to Alex Anthropoulos for GM of the 2012/13 offseason. Nice job. He stole Michael Bourn away from the Mets to play CF. He got Drew Stubbs, Trevor Bauer, Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers for 1 year of Shin-Soo Choo, Tony Sipp and two back-up INFs. Not bad. Oh yeah, and he signed Nick Swisher, Brett Myers and Mark Reynolds. Yeah, that's a solid offseason. So, let's get right to the Indians....
Starting Lineup
CF Michael Bourn
SS Asdrubal Cabrera
2B Jason Kipnis
C Carlos Santana
1B Nick Swisher
DH Mark Reynolds
LF Michael Brantley
3B Lonnie Chisenhall
RF Drew Stubbs
I'll be honest: I think this lineup can do some serious damage. Bourn will steal 40 bases and provide some great defense. This outfield can be arguably the best defensively in the league. Cabrera, Santana and Swish are all switch hitters who work the count and take walks. If there is a concern about this lineup, its that they will strike out a ton. Michael Brantley will probably be the only hitter who does not strikeout 100 times this year: he actually had more BB's than K's last year. Not to mention, he's one of the more underrated players in the league. I also believe that Kipnis and Chisenhall can break out this year (keep an eye on Chisenhall at third). Stubbs' K rate hurts his value, but he's a serious 30/30 threat if he gets it all together. Not to mention, Rule 5 draftee Chris McGuiness and Mike Aviles are good hitters too: Aviles can be a daily super-sub. An underrated lineup for sure.
Starting Rotation
SP Justin Masterson
SP Ubaldo Jimenez
SP Brett Myers
SP Zach McAllister
SP Carlos Carrasco
But, Justin, where's Trevor Bauer? I'm glad you asked. We'll get to him. This rotation's success depends on Masterson's return to 2011 form. He says he's corrected the flaw which plagued his 2012 season; he's talented enough to pitch like his 2011 form and I think he can get back to a mid 3's ERA. Ubaldo is a lost cause. He is also one of these guys who can suddenly put it all together, too. If he can cut his ERA to around 4.00, the Indians will probably be ecstatic. I love the Myers signing: he's a solid veteran at an affordable price. McAllister looks like he might have put it all together to be a solid #4 starter (nice job, there Brian Cashman. Austin Kearns was really worth it!). Now, on to Bauer. I think it'll be wise to start him in AAA. It won't hurt, and he was bad in the majors last year. Give Carrasco a chance to succeed and then bring Bauer up if he stinks. This rotation worries me production wise, but if they put it together, watch out.
Bullpen
CL Chris Perez
SU Vinnie Pestano
SU Matt Albers
SU Bryan Shaw
SU Joe Smith
SU Blake Wood
On names, this isn't inspiring, but let's look deeper. Perez can be inconsistent some times, but he usually gets it done. Pestano is one of the best set-up men in the bigs. Albers put together a really good year last year and Shaw has emerged as a solid set-up man. Smith and Wood have also been solid relievers, too. Perez might be the weakest member here, which lowers the Indians projections.
I think this team can really surprise, since the lineup's depth can mask some of the starting pitching problems. I am tentatively putting them 3rd, around 84 wins, but if they surprise and break out, I'm referencing this post as proof that I thought they could.
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