Jorge Julio Prevails; Elarton, Barfield Optioned

It looks like the Indians have made their decision on the final spots on the roster.

Although they aren’t ready to decide if the last spot in the pen will go to Craig Breslow or Tom Mastny, they have made a decision on the other spot.

Elarton Option, Julio Added: Elarton was optioned to Triple A Buffalo where he will start the year. He is a great depth option if you ask me.

With the release of Aaron Fultz it added a 40 man roster spot, to which Jorge Julio will occupy, which basically says he will be starting the year in the Tribe bullpen.

Now Tom Mastny is still around and that is because it’s now a two horse race for the last spot.

While it appears Craig Breslow will waltz right in and win it, the Tribe does want to see him in action. He pitched a perfect inning today with two strikeouts and earned a save. Wedge said he should pitch one more game before they break Thursday.

Scott Elarton’s contract has a clause that will let him look elsewhere if he isn’t on the big league roster by June 30th. But If things go well and some teams poke in interest, I don’t think the Tribe would hold him around, they are pretty good about that.

Mastny although I think it’s getting to him. The pressure that is. If that’s the case they made the right choice.

“No offense, but I’m sick of talking about it.” – Tom Mastny (Indians.com)

Barfield Optioned: Another job was settled as the Tribe demoted Josh Barfield to Triple A Buffalo.

Barfield will play second base every day at Buffalo, which is a plus. But I’m on the record of saying he is going to end the year as the Tribe’s second baseman.

Barfield lost out to Andy Marte. Who went deep again in the game against the Yankees. The downside though is he made his 5th and 6th errors of the spring. It’s gonna be an interesting ride for Marte this year.

Fultz Designated: The official word on Fultz is Designated for Assignment. Which means they have 10 days to trade or release him.

We’ll see what happens. If they do trade him it would be for a famous PTBNL and probably they would end up eating his entire $1.5 million salary this year.

Westbrook Goes Perfect: Donnelly Joins Camp

In his final start during Spring Training, Jake Westbrook was perfect.

Westbrook goes 6: Not only was he perfect but he was downright dominant.

Jake pitched in 6 innings and there isn’t much to tell you. He didn’t give up a damn thing. He did strike out 8 batters though. Which is higher than the norm for someone like Jake, especially in a 6 inning outing.

I caught some of the game and he definitely had some help. Franklin Gutierrez made a nice catch in the outfield to preserve the game.

Julio Making Bid: With only a few more days left before the Tribe leave for Turner field for some exhibition time against the Braves, Jorge Julio is making a late push.

Paul Hoynes and Anthony Castrovince both very close to the team as guys around them a lot say the Indians like Julio.

With Thursday as the target date to name the last two in the bullpen, Julio might have an edge. He pitched one inning gave up a hit and struck out two. His ERA was lowered to 1.64.

Kobayashi and Raffy Right also pitched scoreless innings apiece.

Peralta and Guit Doublin: Jhonny Peralta and Franklin Gutierrez were the source of run production in this one, although the Tribe didn’t need much of it. Guit and P-Gun both had doubles and knocked in a run.

Guit had 3 hits in the game while Peralta had two.

However, Kelly Shoppach was the big bat going 2-3 with a couple of RBIs. Casey Blake also knocked in a run.

Donnelly Joins Team: Minor League signee Brendan Donnelly has reported to Indians camp.

Donnelly had Tommy John back in August and is only in Winter Haven to rehab and stay for extended Spring Training.

“It’s nice to be in a clubhouse, as opposed to a rehab.” – Brendan Donnelly (Indians.com)

Donnelly will start throwing bullpen sessions by Mid-April. He isn’t expected to be ready for Major League action till towards the end of the year. But if he gets back he could be a fresh arm for the stretch run.

Tribe Around the Web

Here are some interesting links from around the web about the Tribe from the past two days.

Terry Pluto says Andy Marte will make the roster in spite of his struggles.

“The reason Andy Marte is expected to make the Tribe’s opening day roster is the same reason they traded for him after the 2005 season — the Indians still don’t have a long-term third baseman and he is out of minor league options.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Paul Cousineau discusses why the Indians might be toying with the #2 spot.

“One of the more interesting developments in Winter Haven is Eric Wedge’s announcement that Asdrubal Cabrera is not necessarily slated to fill the #2 spot in the lineup out of spring training, despite the fact the team went 24-6 over the final 30 games of the 2007 season with Asdrubal hitting behind Grady.” (The Cleveland Fan)

Bill Lubingill talks about the final week for the Indians at Winter Haven.

“In 1993, after nearly 50 years in Arizona, the Indians were bound for a brand new spring-training site in Homestead, Fla., until Hurricane Andrew shattered the ballpark and their plans.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Anthony Castrovince discusses the possibility that rain could hurt next Monday’s opener.

“The most recent Weather.com report for Monday’s regular-season opener against the White Sox at Progressive Field calls for a high of 47 degrees, a low of 38 and a 60 percent chance of showers.” (Indians.com)

Paul Hoynes discusses Craig Breslow and a few other notes.

“The Indians haven’t told left-hander Craig Breslow anything, but this guy must be pretty good at deduction since he has a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Pictures of the sign debut of Progressive Field.
(Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Two different Cleveland Indians previews from around the web.
Mike Castiglione of The Sports Network
Griffin Shibley of Bleacher Report