The Cleveland Indians shocked the baseball world a year ago.
Improving by 24 wins from 2012, manager Terry Francona led the Tribe to a second-place finish in the AL Central and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2007. The city and its fans welcomed Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, Mike Aviles, Ryan Raburn and veteran power hitter Jason Giambi to the team, as the offseason’s free-agent spending spree helped put the team over the top.
Coming into this season, the Tribe are hungry to build upon their success and have their sights set on dethroning the Detroit Tigers for the division crown.
As always, the key to a title lies within a pitching staff. While Cleveland has a number of questions in both its rotation and the bullpen, the Tribe has assembled an exceptional lineup heading into 2014. The following slides depict how that lineup might look come Opening Day against the Oakland Atletics on March 31.