Indians officials believe they addressed their two most glaring needs by signing free agent closer Kerry Wood and trading for versatile Mark DeRosa, who will become the club's starting third baseman in 2009.
General manager Mark Shapiro admits the two acquisitions have eaten up the bulk of the Indians' offseason financial resources. However, Shapiro also said he hopes the team is not done with its tinkering. Specifically, Shapiro would like to add a veteran starting pitcher to a rotation with only two spots settled: Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee and No. 2 starter Fausto Carmona.
As the new year began, the final three spots in the rotation would figure to come from a group that includes Anthony Reyes, Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Scott Lewis and David Huff.
Reyes is the only right-hander in that group, which as a whole is extremely inexperienced and heavy with finesse left-handers (Sowers, Laffey, and Lewis).
Thus, Shapiro would like to add a veteran to that mix, but it would have to be an inexpensive veteran, on a short-term contract, capable of eating plenty of innings.
Whether the Indians can acquire such a pitcher by the start of spring training remains to be seen. If not, they might have to hope for a big spring from one of the young candidates in the mix or be ready to claim a pitcher on waivers at the end of spring training, when teams are cutting down to their Opening Day rosters.
