Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Indians plan to rebuild in "mini cycles" and could contend again soon:
- Some of the Indians' deadline deals were "financially motivated," but Shapiro distinguishes them from pure salary dumps like the Alex Rios deal.
- Shapiro doesn't see any of the Indians' division rivals becomining dominant forces in the near future.
- He expects to be the team's GM next year despite rumblings that he could ascend to another front office role. He says he has "unfinished business" as GM, but he acknowledges that he could move on to a different position later on.
- It's hard to say how much the Indians will spend on free agents, but Shapiro says he could sign one or two this offseason, something that would not have been possible with Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez around.
- He knows he overpaid for last year's free agent signing, Kerry Wood, but expects this year's market to be depressed.
- Why didn't the Indians acquire Kyle Drabek or Clay Buchholz? Young talent's at a premium and sometimes the Indians don't value players as much as other teams, scouts or analysts do.
- Carlos Carrasco is close to contributing to the Indians and will compete for a rotation spot next year.
