Leo: Meetings Adjourned

The 2011 Winter Meetings are now in the rear view mirror and the next phase of the hot stove season is underway. The Cleveland Indians didn’t make any moves during the week in Dallas, but may have laid the foundation for some roster tweaking in the coming weeks.

The Tribe did lose two players in the Rule 5 Draft, both in the Triple-A phase, which means they don’t have to make the major league roster of their new club. Right-hander Marty Popham was selected by the Minnesota Twins and outfielder Donnie Webb was scooped up by the Miami Marlins.

Popham, 24, stands 6 foot, 6 inches. He made a spot start for the Clippers in his hometown of Louisville in 2010 and had one relief appearance with Columbus in 2011. Popham was 20-11 with a 3.72 ERA over 82 games (51 starters) in minor league four seasons. He was selected by Cleveland in the 20th round of the 2008 draft out of Union College (Ky.).

Webb, 25, is a blue-collar, hard-nosed outfielder that some Clippers fans may remember from his brief Huntington Park stint at the end of the 2009 season. He was a rare bright spot during a terrible season for the Clippers, batting .367 (11-for-30) in seven games and crashing into the outfield wall a few times, to make great catches. Webb also appeared in eleven Clippers games in 2011. He is a .254 hitter over four minor league seasons. Webb was a 10th round pick in 2008 out of Oklahoma State University.

In other news…

* Hector Rondon was the odd man out with the re-addition of Grady Sizemore to the 40-man roster. Rondon will be out for about six months because of a recent setback in his recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery. He went under Dr. James Andrews’ knife on November 15th in Gulf Breeze, Florida  to repair a fracture.

* Michael Brantley played a little bit of first base in the minors and now he may do the same in the bigs. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com has this story about the Indians weighing their options.

* The Clippers “12 Days of Christmas” Sale in underway. Check out your Hometown Heroes on Facebook and Twitter, then go straight to the Cargo Shop to get some holiday deals!

Adios!