RealGM

now that our rotation is set, it is more than likely that we will be trading some or all of our surplus starting pitching to fill the need, and that is a combination or all of Capuano/Harang/Lilly.

we have a lefty utility player in skip, and if hairston is back to his usual self,we have a right handed bat off the bench but we are still lacking

#1 a power bat off the bench, preferably a 4th OF
#2 experienced/durable lefty specialist off the bullpen
#3 experienced catcher who can be reliable

if we can package a starter along with rumored uribe/punto being on the block, who should we go after?

frankly i like punto, he does bring a reliable glove who can slot in all the infield positions and if needed, a corner outfielder although it's been awhile since he played there.

we do have elbert coming off an injury, and if he can't go, paco is available.

having young tim federowicz does assure us a backup, and he just might be able to do the job, but an improvement there wouldn't hinder us.

never the less, all the above points to the direction of our priority for our bench in need for a dependable pinch hitter.

if possible, i would like to keep harang as our longman/spot starter as he performed up to expectation and kept us in games in most of his starts unlike hot/cold caps and lilly who was injured most of the season. but the reality is that lilly's contract and his recent injury history makes him the most likely candidate to be our 6th guy. the trouble is, if lilly is whom we have to depend on backing up billingsley, we are more likely having to witness fife coming off the AAA than having lilly last the whole season. i hope we can get rid of lilly and uribe together even if we have to eat most of their contracts and grab a 4th OF.

my personal feelings aside, who should we be going after with our trade assets?

im not sure if there's a good trade out there for us.

U think Nick Swisher will come hangout for a year or 2 to be under the bright lights of the big city instead of going to Cleveland?

RF
LF when CC gets injured
1B to give A-Gon a rest.

sounds like a good idea to me.

nick would be a dream to have as our 4th OF but he wants to start. unless we trade Ethier away i don't think there is much chance here at all. also, signing Nick and trading ethier doesn't solve our surplus of pitching.

dumping Uribe to whomever wants Capuano is probably the hook out there, and it seems GMs around the league aren't biting much yet. Uribe will probably be released imo but i have read somewhere that Ned is willing to eat a lot of that money just to get rid of some of our players.

there is also a rumor going around about trevor plouffe, but he is making so little i doubt that the budget minded indians who just traded shinsoo choo have any interest in any of our players and give us 1/2 mil player like trevor.

some possibilities remain that we will go into spring training with all of our pitchers and showcase lilly once he proves he is 100% back from his injury as I am sure Ned and Co are dying to get rid of his contract first among the surplus. Capuano's team option after next season and his performance during the first half of last season makes chris the most likely pitcher that other GMs are after, however.

it's gonna be an interesting for the next 3 months even if the moves to come from here aren't going to be as impressive as Gonzo trade or Greinke signing.

but if we do go the way of trading ethier out to sign another FA, i hope it is Bourn. we need a leadoff hitter and he is as good as it gets.

JP Howell is a good sign for us.

should i worry about a long man?
could i make that guy harang?

JP is a great signing for us. his BA against lefties are right at .200, and he doesn't give up multi base hits often. a perfect lefty specialist out of the pen.

even if we trade cap and harang both, which i don't think will happen, we would still have to start the season with lilly as our long man off the pen. i would much, much rather prefer to have harang as he was consistent all season last year and we know what to expect out of him. i think cap will be gone, and there is a small chance lilly maybe shipped out, but i expect billingsley to start as our 5th starter, and to be out for a tommyjohn surgery long before the all star break, and lilly to step in as our 5th and harang as our long man/insurance just in case lilly is hurt again or fail to resume his pre-injury shape.

situation is changing every time we sign someone else, but i think the biggest wildcard in our pitching staff is going to be the korean phenom ryu. we fully expect kershaw to be kershaw, and greinke to be greinke. beckett is expected to have a great season but if he just muster his career average or slightly below, it would be aceptable. bills/lilly are 5th starter combo and if we hold on to harang, i don't see any harm they can do. but ryu is the joker of our deck that can either make this starting rotation into the best or the bust. of course i believe in this youngster but he needs to do it on the mound

wait a minute.

Beckett is #5 on our depth chart?

he sucked in Boston but I think he's gonna be good this year.
wtf.

that doesn't matter. as long as he is one of the fab five, he'll get to start just as often as anyone. more importantly, i don't believe for a second that billingsley will be able to go the entire season and beckett will be our 4th or 3rd for the most of the year.

i believe in ryu and beckett, our only wildcard will come out of lilly/harang/capuano trio.