Apparently the Indians have a preliminary 2-year deal in place with Jason Michaels, avoiding arbitration.  According to initial reports it's a 2-year deal worth $2M this season, $2.15M for next season, and a $2.6M option for 2009.  Given he underperformed last season (and the presence of Gutierrez/Francisco/Barton et al), I'm a little surprised we went for a multi-year deal.  But I suppose the deal is cheap enough to not be considered an obstacle to organizational flexibility.

UPDATE: MLB.com chimes in with it's story. Still no quotes from Shapiro or Michaels on the deal. [APV]

UPDATE:  According to this wire report, Betancourt has also agreed to terms with the Indians, settling on a one-year deal for $840,000.  This would leave Jason Davis as the team's only arbitration case. [Jay]