Meet the New LOOGY

Aaron Fultz, the Tribe's LOOGY who could not get enough batters out regardless of which side of the plate they were hitting from since returning from an oblique injury last year, will be DFAd by the Tribe according to a variety of sources.

The new LOOGY: Craig Breslow. The Red Sox tried to sneak him through waivers, but the Indians were not fooled.

What we know about Craig Breslow:

• He had great statistics in Pawtucket in 2006, but has not yet put it together at the major league level.
• He is in the middle of starting the Strike 3 Foundation to fight childhood cancer.
• He's not Aaron Fultz

Spring training is almost over and most of the major decisions have already been made. Cliff Lee has been named the fifth starter, with Aaron Laffey and Jeremy Sowers sent down to Buffalo. The only drama left - who gets the last bullpen spot. Jorge Julio and Scott Elarton appear to be the frontrunners, with Julio most likely based on his ability to throw hard and previous closer experience.

Big Day in Cleveland Sports

Yesterday was a big day in Cleveland sports, as all three major franchises made transactions.

The big news was the trade that reshaped the Cavaliers, who traded their spare parts and overpaid veterans for two other teams' spare parts and overpaid veterans. The Cavs gave up Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, Shannon Brown, Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall for Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak (to be henceforth referred to as Wally, or Wally Eyechart), plus a 2009 second round draft pick (Chicago's).

In doing so, the Cavs take on enough salary to have luxury tax implications this year, but also take on players with complementary skills to LeBron James and that should fit in well with what Mike Brown wants to do with the team (ie, play tough defense and let LeBron do his thing). Let's break this down player by player, starting with the new hires:

• Ben Wallace: if motivated, a key enforcer down low with tough defense - we probably won't be able to truly measure his impact until the playoffs. With Chicago - big contract, not much performance. With Cavs? Who knows? The Cavs are gambling that a change of scenery will inspire him.
  
• Wally Eyechart: 3-point shooter, defensive liability. All he has to do to help this team is spot up on the 3-point line and wait for the kickout. His presence should open up more room for LeBron to do his thing.
• Delonte West: combo guard with more point guard skills and better outside shooting ability than Larry Hughes. Should be able to provide a perimeter threat as well as the ability to distribute the ball and provide another late game ballhandler other than LBJ.
• Joe Smith: solid veteran forward having a good season.
  

What they lost:

• Larry Hughes: slasher who was miscast as a point guard. Solid perimeter defender. In hindsight, he was never a good fit for the Cavs because he is more of a slasher than an outside shooter and point guard. He was starting to make some progress offensively in the last few weeks. Often hurt and cast as a villain by fans upset with his inability to play up to his contract and tendency to get hurt. Genuinely seems like a good guy and will likely perform better in Chicago assuming he can stay healthy.
• Drew Gooden: when he's good, he can be very good. When it's not his night, you might as well sit him early. Excellent offensive skillset - defensive skillset questionable. Should do well in Chicago with former KU running-mate Kirk Hinrich to set him up.
• Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown: Projects with some potential upside
  
• Ira Newble: solid perimeter defender, occasional offensive skills. Defense will be missed.
• Donyell Marshall: streaky shooter capable who has run hot and cold throughout his career. With the Cavs, mostly cold.

The question now is how well the Cavs can integrate the new team with the holdovers. How good of a coach is Mike Brown? We're about to find out.

The Browns have resigned Jamal Lewis, apparently to a 3-year deal, believed to be worth $17 million. Good for the Browns, and good for Lewis, who genuinely seems to like playing for the Browns and being in Cleveland.

The Indians signed Jason Tyner to a minor league contract, without an invitation to the major league camp. Even with the glut of fourth outfielders in the big league camp, it seems that Buffalo will need outfielders, too. What does it say about Jason Tyner that no team wanted to give him as much as a non-roster invitation to their big league camp?

Do the 40-Man Shuffle!

In Indians transaction news -

• Options picked up for Byrd, Borowski and Fultz. These were all pretty much no-brainers. Borowski is cheap for a closer at $4 million, even if his saves induce stress. Fultz, at $1.5 million, can be jettisoned like Oldberto Hernandez if he tanks - it's a good bullpen depth option for the Tribe, especially if he reverts to his form at the beginning of last season, when he was actually pretty good. Byrd - well, despite the HGH stuff, a #4 pitcher at $7.5 million is a bargain for a team like the Tribe.
• So long Luis Rivas and Matt Miller. Miller was released. Rivas was outrighted to Buffalo. Rivas opted for free agency. Mike Koplove was outrighted to Buffalo as well and taken off the 40-man roster.
• The Trotster, K-Love and Chris Gomez have filed for free agency. It is highly unlikely the Tribe will offer arbitration to any of them.

So, all this leaves the 40-man roster at 34 players. Everyone is paring their rosters to prepare for the upcoming Rule 5 minor league draft.

According to Tony Lastoria, here are the guys who are currently eligible for the draft on December 6, 2007:

• Barton, Brian D
• Bunkelman, Cody R
• Burton, TJ J
• Butia, Mike W
• Buzachero, Bubbie D
• Camacaro, Armando J
• Cevette, Dan E
• Constanza, Jose G
• Cooper, Jason M
• Cumberbatch, Cirilo E
• De La Cruz, Christopher A
• Finegan, Brian J
• Gimenez, Chris P
• Goleski, Ryan S
• Haad, Yamid
• Harris, Jeffrey A
• Hoyman, Justin K
• Larkin, Shaun M
• Lewis, Scott E
• Miller, Adam W
• Mulhern, Ryan T
• Newsom, Randy
• Niesel, Christopher W
• Nottingham, Shawn M
• Panther, Nathan E
• Perdomo, Luis M
• Pesco, Nick J
• Pinckney, Brandon M
• Riera, Jorge
• Roehl, Scott D
• Romero, Niuman J
• Rundles, Richard L
• Santos, Reid G
• Sipp, Tony M
• Smith, Sean H
• Southerland, Chip F
• Tavarez, Argenis F
• Toregas, Wyatt R
• Valdes, Juan M
• Valdez, Luis C
• Wallace, David H
• Whitney, Matthew J

Protecting Adam Miller, Tony Sipp and Scott Lewis is pretty much a given. Most likely Brian Barton gets 40-man status as well. That leaves two spots up in the air for the likes of Sean Smith, Toregas, Cumberbatch and Santos. Some team might take a chance of Whitney - guys with power potential don't grow on trees, but most likely his injury history will scare most teams off. Goleski is pretty much blocked, and I don't think the Indians would mind if another team took him off their hands. Another team might also take a chance on a career minor leaguer like Jason Cooper for outfield depth. Overall, it is highly unlikely that the Indians will lose someone that they are seriously counting on for the future in this year's draft.