Cleveland Indians Resolutions for 2014

Aug 12, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians shortstop

(13) throws the ball to first base in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Resolution #1: Save Money

For the Indians, this is a no brainer. After breaking the bank last winter to sign Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, the Dolan’s wallets have been under lock and key for most of this offseason. As a small market team, they need to be frugal with their spending. So far so good on that front. While the rest of baseball has been ready and willing to spend extravagant sums of money and commit multiple years to lesser player, the Indians have been content to just sit back and wait for the right move and the right player to come to them.

In order to better help accomplish this resolution, that means the Indians should continue to hold off on spending money on a weak free agent class. Rather, they should focus on improving the roster via trade. Baseball in the year 2014 is less about trading players and more about trading contracts. This mean dumping undesirable salaries and acquiring players with multiple years of team control remaining on existing contracts. Look for the Indians to make a move for pitching by moving their best remaining trade asset, Asdrubal Cabrera and his $10-million salary for 2014.