Transactions

The week started off pretty quiet on the player movement front, but once the transaction wire got going, it went into overdrive. Highlights include a two-level promotion for infielder Justin Toole, highly touted relieved Cody Allen getting promoted to Akron, and some new pitchers arriving at Lake County from extended spring training.

The Indians offensive woes of last season have been come back up to start the 2012 season. With the Indians desperate for help in the outfield the Indians reportedly have signed Johnny Damon. Andy Nichols takes a look at what Damon can bring to the Indians lineup, a lineup badly in need of stability and leadership.

The Transaction Rundown is a new feature that will post every Saturday late morning and be a quick recap of all the transactions that occurred during the previous week so that you can catch up on all the activity. To follow all the transactions all season, be sure to click on the 2012 Transactions link under the "Transactions" header along the top of the page.

Today the Indians announced that they have designated outfielder Thomas Neal for assignment and have placed outfielder Grady Sizemore on the 60-day disabled list. The moves were necessary as they had to clear two spots on the 40-man roster for right-handed reliever Dan Wheeler and infielder Jose Lopez by today's 5:00 PM EST roster deadline. Wheeler and Lopez were signed to minor league contracts this...

The official rosters for all four full season rosters should be officially released sometime on Monday afternoon, but Tony provides the 411 on what the four rosters should be when they are released. A lot of players are being pushed back a level because of all the Major League depth at Triple-A and some pitchers are dinged up. All the details are inside!

Below is a listing of all the 2012 transactions involving the Cleveland Indians farm system. This listing is updated daily. Transactions are listed first in an "Overall" heading that includes all transaction activity within the organization and then in the appropriate team-specific heading(s). Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the Arizona League Indians headings will not be added until each team's Opening...

The Indians made a small trade on Thursday as they acquired right-handed pitcher Jairo Asencio from the Atlanta Braves for cash. With the Indians still looking to fill two spots in the bullpen and many of the candidates currently in camp not impressing this spring, the Indians went outside the organization to potentially fill that need.

On Wednesday afternoon the Indians added yet another non-roster invite to their big league camp this spring when they officially inked free agent infielder Cristian Guzman to a minor league deal. He is a long shot, but he has the defense and experience to maybe be a big league utility option if he is healthy this spring.

The Indians traded left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz to the Texas Rangers today. So ends another career of a minor league pitcher in the Indians' system that had loads of potential but never realized it as an Indian.

The Indians announced today that they have designated left-handed pitcher Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment. The move was necessitated because they needed to clear space on the 40-man for first baseman Casey Kotchman who they signed back on February 3rd. The Indians now have ten days to trade, release, or outright De La Cruz to the minors.

The Cleveland Indians today announced that they have signed free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman to a one-year contract. He will earn $3 million in 2012 and there are incentives in his contract to earn more. The Indians have not yet announced the player that will be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Kotchman.
Kotchman, 28, played with the Tampa Bay Rays last season and finished...

On Tuesday morning the Indians announced that they acquired infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. The Rays had designated him for assignment on January 27th after they signed infielder Jeff Keppinger, and he is now on the Indians 40-man roster. He assumed the spot vacated by Fausto Carmona who was put on the restricted list last week.
Canzler, 25,...

The Cleveland Indians announced yesterday afternoon that they signed reliever Dan Wheeler to a minor league deal. The 34-year old Wheeler is a 12-year veteran right-hander who has spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays. He spent last season with the Boston Red Sox, going 2-2, with a 4.38 ERA, while striking out 39 batters and walking only eight in 49 1/3 innings pitched.
The move...

Today the Cleveland Indians announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Ryan Spilborghs and infielder Gregorio Petit to minor league contracts with non-roster invitations to Major League spring training camp.
Spilborghs, 32, has played in 619 total games at the Major League level - all with the Colorado Rockies - and owns a career batting average of .272 with 86 2B, 12 3B, 42 HR and...

The Cleveland Indians today have announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Fred Lewis and right-handed pitcher Jeremy Accardo to minor league contracts with non-roster invitations to Major League spring training camp.
Lewis, 31, is a career .267 hitting in the Major Leagues with 91 2B, 21 3B, 27 HR and 136 RBI in 517 combined games with the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays...

Robinson TejedaThe Indians have announced that they have signed free agent right-handed pitcher Robinson Tejeda to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to Major League spring training camp.
Tejeda, 29, has pitched in seven Major League seasons with Philadelphia, Texas and Kansas City. Since debuting in 2005 he owns a career Major League record of 23-27 with a 4.42 ERA in 186...