There has been a lot of turnover in the Indians lineup in the recent years. This season will mark the fifth year since the whirlwind of a season that left Indians fans reeling after coming within one game of the World Series.

Looking at the roster the Indians put on the field in 2007, not many of the players are still in Cleveland. Some of the names are recognizable, and even memorable. But for most of the players, if they were with the Tribe beyond 2007, they probably weren’t there much longer.

It many respects, it’s easy to think of the 2007 Cleveland Indians and the 2012 Cleveland Indians as two entirely different teams, with completely unique identities. We have yet to see if the 2012 version has the ability to make a splash and have a magical season like the one of 2007.

Remember David Dellucci? Maybe, but do you know what he’s done since leaving the Tribe in 2009? He’s not the only member of that team who seems to have disappeared from the sport of baseball entirely and the faded from the memories of Indians fans. I doubt many future grandfathers will tell stories of the “great” Ryan Garko, but they will tell stories of that fateful October. It was one to remember, but it seems that many of the players weren’t.  So where are they now? (more…)

If you actually owned an Austin Kearns Indians jersey, don’t re-gift that sucker quite yet, as the Indians have signed Kearns to a one-year major league contract for $1.3 million, plus incentives.

The Indians signed Kearns to a minor league contract last offseason, and got quite a bit of bang for their buck. Kearns hit 8 home runs with a .354 OBP, playing mostly part time in left field before he was traded to the New York Yankees in July. The Indians received RHP Zach McAllster in exchange for Kearns, who put up s0-so numbers in Triple-A, but is only 23 and was rostered this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. McAllister projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter. Not too shabby for a guy who was originally viewed as roster filler (Kearns, that is).

The speculation is that as soon as Kearn’s contract is finalized, OF/DH Shelley Duncan will be designated for assignment. Even though I would much rather see Trevor Crowe DFA’ed, Duncan brings the same skill set as Kearns (except Kearns is, y’know, better) making Duncan redundant. Also, I think the Indians privately believe they can re-sign Duncan to a minor league contract and keep him around.

Kearns’s signing brings the Indians’ committed payroll to about $29.42 million, but they still have to add all the 1 year tender guys, and whatever Chris Perez, Asdubal Cabrera, and Shin-Soo Choo sign (Thanks to Nino Colla at the Tribe Daily for this info, saved me a bunch of time). My personal projection is that after all those players sign, the Indians’ payroll will probably be around $50 million. I’m sure many of the snarky cynics will scoff at that, but I’m totally cool with this. All of the Indians’ young talent is controlled well past this season. Tony at Indians Prospect Insider put together a payroll chart and it’s quite reassuring.  The only real player of importance to be a free agent befoer 2013 is Grady Sizemore (and who knows what happens with him). That’s a lot of payroll flexibility, and bodes well for the Indians to keep together a core group of players. Whether or not they have the right core is yet to be seen.

But the Kearns signing is welcome as it was an area of need that had a lot of available options. The contract is reasonable, and Kearns, by all accounts, was a stand-up guy and good teammate. And hey, he’s not David Dellucci.

This is the fifth in a series of posts looking back at the realities of the Indians 2010 season. We’ll look at what was hoped for, what actually happened, and what the expectations are going forward at the position in 2011.

Barring an injury, Travis Hafner will be the opening day designated hitter.

Beyond that, things get a lot more murky.

By now, you know the story with Hafner. Once one of the most feared hitters in baseball, the man lovingly called “Pronk”, Hafner signed a fat extension, and then conveniently stopped producing. This year, Hafner had a respectable .374 OBP (.824 OPS). In 396 at bats, he had 13 home runs. No, it’s not like his monster 2006 season (42 HR, .439 OBP, 1.097 OPS!), but at least it’s getting something for your money.

Hafner was still bothered by inflammation of his right shoulder and did a stint on the DL. This is the same shoulder injury that has ailed Hafner for the past three years. Hafner still appeared in over 100 games for the first time since 2007. However it appears Hafner’s days as an everyday designated hitter are over, especially given his health and the somewhat alarming statistic that 12 of those 13 home runs came versus right-handed pitchers. “Pronk” is no more. Hafner is an overpaid platoon player at this point, like David Dellucci times 15.

I am of the camp that Hafner’s contract shouldn’t guarantee him playing time if he’s sucking. I know the Indians desperately want him to do well enough so that some team will take him off their hands.  Hafner has two years (2011 and 2012) left on his contract. The Indians may want to consider just cutting him loose if they have someone else who deserves the at bats more. This may come down to a choice: the Indians must decide whether they want to improve the team, or worry about their wallets.

So, barring an injury, Travis Hafner will be in the opening day lineup. He’s been voted out as the mayor of Pronkville, but at least he wasn’t totally useless last year. The Indians will have to live with that, and learn from their mistake.