The Indians have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Weaver to a minor league contract. Weaver pitched poorly in AAA ball this season for the Brewers before they cut him loose. He started 9 games in AAA ball for the Brewers this season and he was 2-4 with a 6.22 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Weaver has pitched in 284 games (267 starts) in his major league career and he is 93-114 with 2 saves, a 4.72 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. It’s possible that Weaver will replace C.C. Sabathia in the Indians’ starting rotation if he’s traded and that’s not a good thing for Indians’ fans.

The Cleveland Indians have started to think about the future as they have designated righty relievers Joe Borowski and Rick Bauer for assignment. Borowski was giving the Indians’ brass migraines watching him blow leads with his 83 mph fastball so he will not be missed at all. He should thank the Good Lord above that his agent is related to Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro. Rick Bauer had a rough go in his short stint with the Indians. Bauer pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Indians this season and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.17 WHIP. The Indians have recalled righties Jensen Lewis and 27-year old righty Brian Slocum from the minors to replace Borowski & Bauer in the bullpen. Lewis has already pitched in 21 games (0 starts) with the Indians this season and he is 0-1 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Brian Slocum has pitched in 18 games (11 starts) in AAA ball this season for the Tribe and he is 3-5 with 1 save, a 4.62 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Slocum made his major league debut last season with the Indians working in 8 games (2 starts) in which he compiled a 0-0 record with a 5.60 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. These moves are addition by subtraction as Borowski and Bauer were pitching batting practice for the Indians this season.

The Indians have signed 29-year old righty reliever Juan Rincon and 36-year old righty swinging Tony Graffanino to minor league contracts. Rincon has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) with the Twins this season and he is 2-2 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. But, Rincon has been an effective pitcher most of his career in the majors so the Indians seem willing to give him a chance to re-establish himself. Rincon has now pitched in 386 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 30-26 with 3 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Tony Graffanino has not played this season as he has been recovering from a couple of surgeries. Graffanino has played in 974 games in his major league career and he is 743 for 2,787 (.267 avg, .732 OPS) with 441 runs scored, 58 homers, 302 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. These were two good depth signings for the Indians.

The Cleveland Indians have acquired 36-year old righty swinging Sal Fasano from the Braves for a player to be named later. Fasano has played in 26 games in AAA ball this season and he is 16 for 83 (.193 avg, .597 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Fasano has some experience in the majors. He has played in 412 games in the majors and he is 233 for 1,063 (.219 avg, .687 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 47 homers and 134 RBIs. But, he has also whiffed 310 times! Fasano is a lot better than Yamid Haad who has been designated for assignment….but that’s not saying much.

The Indians have signed 3B Morgan Ensberg to a minor league contract. The 32-year old righty swinging Ensberg played in 28 games for the Yankees this season and he was 15 for 74 (.203 avg, .506 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He had a problem with whiffing this season as he went down on strikes 22 times this year with the Yanks. Ensberg has now played in 731 games in his major league career and he is 579 for 2,204 (.263 avg, .830 OPS) with 340 runs scored, 110 homers, 347 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. This will help the depth in the Indians organization as Ensberg is still a decent ball player.