RHP Brendan Donnelly, RHP Juan Rincon, and RHP Scott Elarton filed for Free Agency

Not exactly cornerstone contributors, but let's talk about them.

Brendan Donnelly is the most interesting of the three. The Indians signed him knowing that he'd be rehabbing most of the season, and have only a slight chance of getting anything out of him before the end of the season; even after a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery is physically able to throw competitively, it usually takes at least a couple months to get back to his former prowess. And while Donnelly doesn't enough service time to file for free agency, the contract he signed stipulated that the Indians would have to essentially release him so that he'd be a free agent along with all the other players with 6+ years of service time.

Whichever team signs him will be getting Donnelly at full health; whether that translates into getting a good reliever is unknown, but I think it would have been a very easy decision to keep Donnelly around had the clause not been in his contract. But with him out on the open market, there's really no reason for the Indians to favor him over any of the other relievers available. Maybe Donnelly would favor the Indians if he had a good experience with the staff, but given that this is his first (and likely last) chance as a viable reliever on the open market, those distinctions probably won't come into play.

I'm a lot less interested in Juan Rincon, who although healthy, has been a train wreck for the past two seasons. Like Donnelly, this is Rincon's first shot at free agency, but while Donnelly can point to his elbow surgery for a reason why he struggled in Boston last season, Rincon can only point to his past success. Juan wants to come back to Cleveland, but I don't see the Indians wanting Rincon back, at least on a major-league deal.

Scott Elarton missed the final three months of the season due to a "non-baseball medical condition," so I don't even want to comment on his baseball future, other than to hope that some time in the future he's ready to play again.

Catching up on the minor-league FAs/NRIs:

Signed RHP Scott Elarton to a minor-league contract; Invited him to Spring Training

After pitching well for the Indians in 2005, Elarton signed a lucrative 2-year deal with Kansas City. 20 starts into the contract, he ended up on the DL with shoulder problems. He returned last season, but was cut after just 9 appearances. The Indians signed him to a minor-league deal and shipped him to Buffalo. After apparently not getting any substantive offers from other clubs, the Indians have given Scott an NRI so that he can showcase himself in Spring Training to other clubs.

Signed Brendan Donnelly to a minor-league contract; Invited him to Spring Training

Another guy who has zero shot of making the major-league roster. Donnelly underwent Tommy John surgery last August, which means that it's unlikely he'll contribute much at all this season.    

Donnelly made his major-league debut with the Angels at the age of 30 in 2002, and was a key part of Greater California's championship run, striking out 54 in 49.2 innings. His best season came in 2003, where he made 63 appearances (74 innings), allowing 55 hits and just 2 home runs. He leveled off after that, but still remained a good reliever until his injury. Boston non-tendered him after this past season, not wanting go to arbitration with someone that probably won't pitch in the majors until 2009.

If everything works out, Donnelly will spend the year rehabbing, sign back with the Indians next season, and Cleveland will get a nice reliever at less than market value.

Signed RHP Matt Ginter, RHP Jeff Harris, and LHP Rich Rundles to minor-league contracts; Invited them to Spring Training

All of these guys were Bisons last year, and will likely return to Buffalo this season.

Invited RHP JD Martin to Spring Training

The Indians outrighted Martin after they acquired Jamey Carroll. Martin has plenty of talent, but hasn't been able to stay healthy; he hasn't pitched 100 innings in a season since 2004.

Invited C Armando Camacaro, C Chris Gimenez, C Yamid Haad, and C David Wallace to Spring Training

Signed IF Andy Gonzalez, 2B/3B Aaron Herr, and IF Danny Sandoval to minor-league contracts: Invited them to Spring Training

Gonzalez is probably the most interesting of the bunch; he's just 26, can play shortstop and second, and isn't horrible offensively. Herr played both second and third in the minors, but his strikeout/walk ratio doesn't bode well for major-league success. Sandoval hit .244/.266/.301 in 365 AAA at-bats last year, so I don't think we'll see much of him.