Following the 2005 season when the Indians made an incredible, yet unexpected push towards the playoffs, there was some clamoring for them to do something to take that next step. An outfielder, a pitcher, some bullpen help, whatever. There were positives, but there were still holes and a reason the Tribe missed out following a 93-win season.

If you remember from the Kazmir piece, the Indians signed Paul Byrd that offseason, they also added Todd Hollandsworth (spell it again), and traded for Jason Michaels. That was the extent of their offseason, because do we really need to mention Coco Crisp was traded to Boston for Andy Marte? During the spring, they traded Brandon Phillips (oh no) and eventually the season spiral led them to trading Bob Wickman, Ben Broussard, and Eduardo Perez.

That of course netted them the duo of Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera for that most successful platoon, which would come into play later, but it also set the stage for a new platoon.

With 2006 a failure and pieces still in place, there was a little more urgency to do something for the 2007 season. Shapiro went crazy, signing three relievers (four if you count retired Keith Foulke) for the bullpen, trading for Josh Barfield, and signing veterans Trot Nixon and David Dellucci. Michaels and Dellucci would combine to make for a platoon in the outfield, with Dellucci serving as the right-handed hitting side and Michaels the left.

I recap all of this to bring you up to speed. It seems as if the Indians are in a similar position to that of where they were in 2005, with the only difference being the lack of playoffs in 2005. Of course there are more differences, but it is almost eerie how the situations are mirroring each other.

And the talking of Michaels and Dellucci? Well, I only say this because it looks as if the Indians are venturing into the realm of platoons in the outfield once again.

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The offseason started to heat up this past week, at least as far as the American League Central Division goes. After the Indians signed free agent David Murphy to a two-year, $12 million deal that is supposed to be officially announced next week, the Detroit Tigers reached a major trade with the Texas Rangers to send Prince Fielder to the Lone Star State in exchange for Ian Kinsler. The Royals had a “major baseball-related announcement” at 4 p.m. on Thursday to announce a non-major signing of Jason Vargas.

With dominoes starting to fall around them, the effect on the Indians should be taken into account. Now that the Indians are contenders, almost every transaction around the league has an impact on them. These two transactions obviously have more of an effect on the Indians because they were completed by division rivals, but there are some subsidiary effects from these deals that could help or hurt the Indians.

Obviously the Fielder-Kinsler swap was all the rage on Twitter on Wednesday night. It’s not a good deal for the Indians. By jettisoning what was considering an immovable contract to Prince Fielder, the Tigers created more payroll space and improved the overall quality of their team. The wins above replacement player contributions from Fielder and Kinsler could come close to canceling out for the foreseeable future, but it’s what Kinsler allows the Tigers to do that has a bigger impact. The Tigers could use top prospect Nick Castellanos at third base. While he’s not a Gold Glove caliber third baseman, he will allow the Tigers to lessen the physical strain placed on Miguel Cabrera from having to play the hot corner. By most defensive metrics, Cabrera and Fielder were the worst defensive players at their respective positions last season. Between Omar Infante, Ramon Santiago, and Hernan Perez, Tigers second basemen combined to be minus-6 in defensive runs saved. Kinsler was above average at second base for the Rangers. The Tigers have also replaced Jhonny Peralta with Jose Iglesias, a plus fielder at shortstop. Kinsler and Iglesias will make a very nice combination up the middle.

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Even though the Indians increased payroll and made big splashes during last offseason’s free agency period, they’re still a small-to-mid-market team that needs to find value in places where other teams don’t. Chris Antonetti did that on Tuesday night with the free agent signing of David Murphy, a corner outfielder formerly with the Texas Rangers. The deal is for two years, $12 million, with a club option for a third year. Murphy was non-tendered by the Texas Rangers, thus making him a free agent.

Most people in Cleveland hate the notion of a “platoon”. A platoon is a situation where playing time is split between two players with the goal of creating one above average player by utilizing each player’s individual strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. It’s been a fairly standard operating procedure for the Indians for quite some time, especially at positions where big money contracts are the norm.

Visions of the failed “Dellichaels” (or was it Michaelucci?) platoon are always cited as the reason why platoons don’t work. In theory, they should work out well, especially for a team with the financial standing of the Indians. Some don’t. The David Dellucci-Jason Michaels platoon was an example of one that did not work.

Most Cleveland sports writers are expecting Murphy to be part of a platoon with Ryan Raburn or Drew Stubbs. The most logical scenario is a Murphy platoon with Raburn, with Stubbs garnering a lot of trade interest and an escalating salary through arbitration. The Indians signed Raburn to a two-year, $4.75 million contract this past season. A Murphy-Raburn platoon in right field could turn out to be a great value for the Indians.

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It’s no secret that the Cleveland Indians are always looking at ways to cut even the most modest of unnecessary costs. The latest player at risk of being let go by the Tribe due to budgetary concerns is Drew Stubbs. After it was originally thought that Stubbs would be a non-tender candidate, Buster Olney reported ($) that several teams are knocking at the Tribe’s door in an effort to acquire Stubbs.

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