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 was not done with his tinkering. Specifically, he added veteran starting pitcher Carl Pavano to a rotation that had only two spots settled: Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee and No. 2 starter Fausto Carmona.
Pavano is coming off a four-year deal with the Yankees that was a bust due to injuries, as he made only 26 appearances in the span of the deal.
His one-year contract with Cleveland guarantees him $1.5 million and could net him up to $5.3 million in performance-based incentives, none of which become available until Pavano makes 18 starts.
Before the Pavano signing, the final three spots in the rotation figured to be filled by candidates including 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).
