The Cleveland Indians have designated 23-year old righty starting pitcher Hector Rondon for assignment.  Rondon has a fractured elbow which will cause him to miss the next 6-9 months.  He finally had made it back from 2010 Tommy John Surgery when he hurt his elbow.  Rondon pitched in 2 games (both starts) in A-ball last year and he was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 101 games (99 starts) in his first six years in the minors for the Indians and he is 33-33 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.  The Indians hope that Rondon clears waivers, as they would probably like to keep him.

UPDATE:  (12/8/2011) – Hector Rondon has cleared waivers and has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

The Indians have signed 29-year old righty swinging catcher Matt Pagnozzi to a minor league deal.  Pagnozzi played in 12 games for the Pirates & Rockies last year and he was 8 for 29 (.276 avg, .598 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  He also played in 54 games in AAA-ball for the Rockies last year and he was 49 for 178 (.275 avg, .758 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 3 homers and 29 RBIs.  Pagnozzi has now played in 33 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 22 for 71 (.310 avg, .744 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 13 RBIs.  The Indians love to stockpile veteran catchers to work in the minors with their pitchers, so Pagnozzi should be a perfect fit.