Winter bodes well for Indians' summer

There was a nice side benefit for Cleveland to this month's 12-player trade with the Mariners and Mets.

Besides acquiring sidearm reliever Joe Smith from New York and infielder Luis Valbuena from Seattle, Cleveland kept Mariners closer J.J. Putz from going to an AL Central rival.

The Tigers were trying hard to acquire Putz, with closer Todd Jones in retirement and durability questions surrounding relievers Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.

Cleveland gave up Franklin Gutierrez in that dozen-player swap -- he will play center field for Seattle -- but Putz landed safely in the other league, with the Mets.

A few days later, Cleveland finished signing Kerry Wood to be its closer. After making those two bold moves, while the Tigers and Twins have left their bullpen needs unaddressed, the Indians look like early favorites to win the AL Central.

"We don't have much money left [to spend]," Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said in a telephone interview this week. "But this lets us sit back the rest of the offseason and be a little more opportunist.

"We're not going to fill all our needs. I'm not going to sign an infielder just to sign an infielder."

But at least Cleveland has addressed a glaring need.

The Twins and Indians entered the fall with similar goals: adding bullpen and left-side infield help.

While Cleveland has added Wood and Smith to a bullpen that had the worst ERA in the majors last year, at 5.13, the Twins have lost Pat Neshek to an elbow injury and re-signed infielder Nick Punto.

Interestingly, both teams passed on 35-year-old third baseman Casey Blake, who re-signed with the Dodgers.

As currently constructed, the Twins will spend about $59 million on their 25-man roster, and the Indians a shade less than $80 million.

Wood was a gamble. Cleveland gave him a two-year, $20.5 million contract, and an $11 million option for 2011 will vest if he finishes 55 games in either of the next two seasons.

Wood, 31, has been on the disabled list 12 times in the past 10 years. He's had Tommy John surgery and rotator cuff surgery. His medical file is so thick, he joked that he'd "need a dolly or two" to lift it to the Indians' offices.

They put him through an eight-hour physical that included X-rays and an MRI.

This year, in his first season as a closer, Wood converted 34 of 40 save chances for the Cubs, going 5-4 with a 3.26 ERA. He went on the DL once with a finger blister but didn't report any arm problems.

For years, Cleveland has been using soft-tossing closers such as Bob Wickman and Joe Borowski. Now, hitters will dread seeing Wood, with his high-octane fastball and refined slider.

In 66 1/3 innings last season, Wood struck out 84 batters and walked 18. Opponents batted .219.

"I don't think we could have done anything this winter to help our club more than signing Kerry,'' Cleveland manager Eric Wedge told reporters.

The Indians quietly went 40-28 after the All-Star break, outplaying the Twins and White Sox even after dumping Blake and CC Sabathia in trades that replenished the farm system.

The Indians have considered moving shortstop Jhonny Peralta to third base if they can acquire a slick-fielding middle infielder. For now, Cleveland's third-base options are Josh Barfield, Jamey Carroll and Valbuena.

But the Indians will have Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona heading their rotation. Grady Sizemore is one of baseball's best players. Victor Martinez should be healthy, and Shin-Soo Choo, Ryan Garko, Asdrubal Cabrera and Kelly Shoppach are coming off big second halves.

Travis Hafner had shoulder surgery two months ago and hopes to start the season at full strength.

"If Haf comes back and is anywhere near his career averages, our lineup's going to be very good," Shapiro said. "That's kind of our big if."

The other big if was their bullpen. Not anymore.

Joe Christensen • jchristensen@startribune.com