The Indians have signed 27-year old righty swinging infielder Gregorio Petit to a minor league deal.  He missed all of the 2011 season due to a knee injury.  He last played in the majors back in 2009 with the A’s.  Petit has now played in 25 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 15 for 54 (.278 avg, .637 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 RBI.  He will likely start the 2012 season in AAA-ball.

The Indians have signed 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Fred Lewis to a minor league deal.  Lewis played in 81 games for the Reds last year and he was 42 for 183 (.230 avg, .638 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 517 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 412 for 1,542 (.267 avg, .751 OPS) with 259 runs scored, 27 homers, 136 RBIs and 53 stolen bases.  Lewis will be a longshot to make the Indians out of spring training, but I still like the signing as the Tribe is going to have a lot of competition for outfield spots.

UPDATE:  (4/2/2012) – The Indians have released Fred Lewis.

The Indians have signed 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Ryan Spilborghs to a minor league deal.  Spilborghs played in 98 games for the Rockies last year and he was 42 for 200 (.210 avg, .588 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 3 homers, 22 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He played with an injured foot most of last season.  Spilborghs has now played in 619 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 424 for 1,561 (.272 avg, .768 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 42 homers, 218 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.  The Indians are a very lefty hitting team, especially in the outfield….so Spilborghs will have a good shot of making the team and starting against lefty pitchers….if his foot is healthy.  I like this signing for the Indians.

The Indians have acquired 27-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash from the Rockies for 24-year old righty reliever Zach Putnam.  Slowey was injured most of last season as he pitched in 14 games (8 starts) for the Twins in which he was 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 100 games (90 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 39-29 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  Zach Putnam got his first taste of the majors last year with the Indians as he worked in 8 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  The Indians are loaded in the bullpen, so they shouldn’t miss Putnam one bit.  Slowey will likely replace the pitcher formally known as Fausto Carmona (Roberto Hernandez Heredia) in the starting rotation.

28-year old righty starting pitcher Fausto Carmona is really 31-year old righty starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez Heredia.  This was discovered when he tried to apply for his new work visa for 2012.  This could cause Heredia to miss most, if not all, of the 2012 season for the Tribe.  Heredia pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Indians last year and he was 7-15 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 181 games (150 starts) in his first six years with the Indians and he was 53-66 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  This is not such a big loss as it would seem for the Tribe, as Heredia has been very, very inconsistent.  He should have kept paying the real Fausto Carmona, but he must not be that smart.