Cleveland Indians: Have they done enough to improve?

The Cleveland Indians have been relatively quiet, but when looking at how good they could be next year you have to look at the bigger picture. It’s not just what they’ve done but also what the teams around them have done.

The Cleveland Indians weren’t a bad team last season. If anything, we could say they were inconsistent. On top of that, to start the year, they didn’t seem comfortable committing to the youth in their system. It didn’t take long for that to change as they stumbled out of the gate and clearly didn’t look like the World Series contenders that Sports Illustrated saw them as. Corey Kluber didn’t look the same. Danny Salazar didn’t even make the Opening Day roster. And it didn’t take long for the entire left side of the infield to get an overhaul when Jose Ramirez and Lonnie Chisenhall looked like lost puppies.

Eventually, they called up Francisco Lindor. Kluber righted the ship, and Salazar and Carlos Carrasco emerged as aces. And through all that, the Indians stayed within shouting distance of the Wild Card–even if it seemed they were never a legitimate threat to win it. But with a limited payroll, the Indians weren’t expected to do anything eye-popping this offseason, and the bevy of minor-league deals with invites to Spring Training are a reminder of that.

They have added a few pieces–guys like Mike Napoli, Rajai Davis, and Dan Otero–who look to be part of the 2016 team. And then there are interesting fringe guys–the ones signed to minor-league deals–that could have a surprising impact. Names like Joba Chamberlain, Ross Detwiler, Joe Thatcher and Tom Gorzelanny–all who have had some success in one form another within the last few years. Not much is expected from them, but they could be intriguing adds as camp approaches.

My personal opinion was that if the Indians wanted to make an “impact” move, it would require trading one of their two young guns in Danny Salazar or Carlos Carrasco. The two were never untouchable, but it was going to take the perfect package for it to happen. So with the rotation still intact, a few relevant pieces added, and several “unknowns” destined for camp–are the Indians better than last season?

The absence of Michael Brantley to start this season will no doubt have an impact. No matter how well his replacement(s) play, you can’t replicate what he brings to the table. Assuming (and hoping) that his injury/absence is the worst the Tribe has to deal with, they should be in solid shape in 2016. They still lack a serious power threat but have several who can do damage. They’ll just need more consistency with runners in scoring position, and need Napoli to put it together over a whole season to make his signing avoid the “bust” category that we’re all too familiar with.

The rest of the division hasn’t been all that noteworthy this offseason. The defending champion Royals haven’t done much–and in most cases have probably lost more than they gained. The Tigers made the biggest splash with their signing of Jordan Zimmerman, but that’s a signing that looks to be bad on paper over the next five years.

Next: It's okay to be excited about next season

The Minnesota Twins seem to be keeping a low-profile this offseason as well, while the Chicago White Sox have tried to get past their bust of an offseason last winter with some “safer” moves. They acquired Todd Frazier in a three-team trade, and also added Brett Lawrie in a trade with the A’s. Long story short, no one in the AL Central has done anything to set themselves apart from the others.

There’s still time before teams report to camp, but I would be willing to bet that outside of a few more non-roster invites to camp you aren’t going to see much action by the Indians. It looks like they’ll head to Goodyear, throw all these guys against a wall and see who sticks.