Sun Nov 08 2009
By M.R. Kropko
Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians general manager Mark Shapiro is heading into baseball's winter meetings next week with an odd feeling. He has no major holes to fill.
The Indians took World Series champion Boston to Game 7 of the AL championship series, but that doesn't mean Shapiro will sit tight. He's already been active.
"We've had a couple of deals that we've been extremely close to doing, even one that I thought was done at one point," Shapiro said Friday in a conference call.
The Indians last week agreed to a $6.25 million, two-year contract with free-agent Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi.
Adding talent further will likely come through trades. Shapiro isn't much interested in the rest of the free-agent market.
"We have no real free-agent conversation of any significance right now," he said. "The free-agent market does not have a lot of impact talent and is very high priced. We hope the opportunity exists to improve our team at some point by trade."
While other general managers may show up for the meetings Monday through Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., looking for starting pitching, Shapiro has C.C. Sabathia, last season's AL Cy Young Award winner, under contract for 2008.
He became the first Indians pitcher in 35 years to earn the honor.
Shapiro may be cautious about throwing millions of dollars at a free agent because he is preparing an offer to Sabathia -- enough to deter the veteran left-hander from testing free agency himself after next season.
"We've spent a lot of time preparing internally and interacting with ownership, and we're very close to establishing a dialogue with him," Shapiro said. He would not discuss any specifics about an offer to Sabathia.
But a steep market price for Sabathia could be established based on what happens with Minnesota's Johan Santana during the Nashville meetings.
The Red Sox and their biggest rival, the New York Yankees, appear to be jockeying for Santana's services. The Twins are fielding trade offers for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who also can become a free agent after next season. The Dodgers, Angels and Mets also are thought to be interested.
It would probably take a deal involving major league-ready prospects to get Santana, who has a no-trade clause. Then, the new team would likely want to sign him to a multiyear deal, which could cost more than $100 million.
"I'm probably watching it more out of curiosity more than anything else," Shapiro said. "We're obviously not a factor in it."
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