--C Carlos Santana, whom the Indians acquired from the Dodgers in the midseason trade for INF Casey Blake, never missed a beat following the trade. He was hitting .323 at Class A Inland Empire at the time of the trade. Following the trade, he hit .352 at Class A Kinston.
For the season overall, Santana hit .326 with 21 home runs 117 RBIs and a minor league-leading 125 runs scored. Santana is expected to start the 2009 season at Class AA Akron.
--RHP Bob Feller, the Indians' Hall of Famer who won 266 games despite missing just shy of four full years while serving in World War II, celebrated his 90th birthday Nov. 3. Feller remains very active, taking part in the Indians' Fantasy Camp every year and attending most of the Indians' home games, when he's not making personal appearances around the country.
--1B Ryan Garko is not guaranteed to be the Indians' Opening Day first baseman next year, despite the fact that he had 90 RBIs in 2008. Team officials still have concerns over Garko's streakiness offensively.
He was hitting just .241 at the All-Star break, but then hit .319 in the second half, including a blistering month of September, during which he batted .384.
"If he could sprinkle that (his production over the last six weeks of the season) over six months, we'd like it a lot better," manager Eric Wedge said.
--RHP Jensen Lewis, the Indians' incumbent closer, and three other relievers are the only pitchers whose spots in the bullpen for 2009 are secure, according to manager Eric Wedge. Wedge said the four relievers who are locked into the 2009 Opening Day roster are Lewis, RHP Rafael Betancourt, LHP Rafael Perez and RHP Masa Kobayashi.
--OF Matt LaPorta, the top prospect in the package the Indians received from Milwaukee in the CC Sabathia trade, could reach Cleveland sometime in 2009 but likely will start the season with Class AAA Columbus.
"He will be in our big-league camp," GM Mark Shapiro said. "Then we'll get him out to Columbus and playing every day. We won't plan our big-league club around him, but we'll let him determine his time frame."
BY THE NUMBERS: 701 -- Total number of days missed in the 2008 season by the players the Indians placed on the disabled list. In their division-winning 2007 season, the Indians lost 323 days to injury.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "To me, costs are costs, whether they are in dollars or young players." -- GM Mark Shapiro, when asked if he preferred to fill the holes on the Indians' roster through free agent signings or trades.
