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.

The Indians really need to make a few moves to improve the team by next Sunday’s trade deadline. The Indians should go after one of the following outfielders: Josh Willingham (A’s), Alfonso Soriano (Cubs), Ryan Ludwick (Padres), Carlos Beltran (Mets), B.J. Upton (Rays) and Coco Crisp (A’s). Those kind of outfielders would fill the Indians’ biggest need as they need to pump up the offense. But, they are really short two outfielders, so they should also target a second tier outfielder like Marlon Byrd (Cubs), Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs), David DeJesus (A’s), Jeff Francoeur (Royals), Melky Cabrera (Royals), Angel Pagan (Mets), Juan Rivera (Dodgers) or Corey Patterson (Blue Jays). The Indians need one outfielder who can play CF and another one that can play corner outfield. If it was up to me, I would deal for Alfonso Soriano (providing the Cubs pay most of the salary left on his contract) and either Corey Patterson or Angel Pagan. The Indians are also kicking the tires on starting pitchers like James Shields, Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, Jeremy Guthrie, Erik Bedard, Brett Myers and Chris Capuano. I would think that Shields and Myers are out of the Indians’ range either money wise or prospect wise. They don’t have a lefty in the rotation, so I think they should go with a lefty with Jason Vargas at the top of the list. The Indians need to make improvements on the roster next week if they are going to compete in the A.L. Central the rest of the year.

The Indians have called up 24-year old lefty swinging 2B Jason Kipnis. Kipnis came into this season as the Indians’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America. Kipnis has played in 90 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 95 for 338 (.281 avg, .849 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 12 homers, 54 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He has now played in 252 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 288 for 967 (.298 avg, .864 OPS) with 179 runs scored, 29 homers, 147 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. The Indians will use Kipnis as the starting 2B from now on, turning Orlando Cabrera into a utility infielder.

The Indians have designated 26-year old righty swinging 3B Jared Goedert for assignment. Goedert has played in 49 games in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 38 for 180 (.211 avg, .667 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 7 homers and 22 RBIs. He has now played in 536 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 519 for 1,969 (.264 avg, .788 OPS) with 307 runs scored, 72 homers, 317 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Goedert will likely accept a AAA assignment from the Indians if he clears waivers.

UPDATE: (7/26/2011) – Jared Goedert has cleared waivers and he has accepted a minor league assignment from the Tribe.

34-year old lefty swinging DH Travis Hafner has really helped the Indians big time when he has been healthy this year. Hafner has played in 57 games for the Tribe so far this year and he is 59 for 184 (.321 avg, .930 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 9 homers and 39 RBIs. The Indians need Hafner to stay healthy pretty much the rest of this season if they are going to make a good run at the playoffs. Hafner has now played in 957 games in his 9 years with the Indians and he is 957 for 3,374 (.284 avg, .907 OPS) with 543 runs scored, 184 homers, 636 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Hafner is currently 10th in Indians’ history in homers, just 6 behind Rocky Colavito and 8 behind Al Rosen.