CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Indians have signed outfielder Felix Pie and infielder Jose Lopez to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training with the big league club in Goodyear, Ariz. Camp opens Feb. 20.

The Indians also traded for San Diego outfielder Aaron Cunningham in exchange for right-hander Cory Burns, who saved 35 games in 37 chances at Class AA Akron last season.

Pie can earn $700,000 if he makes the Indians out of spring training. The left-handed hitter has a chance to earn another $300,000 in performance incentives.

He played for Baltimore last season. He hit .220 (36-for-164) with eight doubles and 14 RBI. The Indians see Pie as a safety net for an injury prone outfield, starting with Grady Sizemore in center.

Pie, 26, played for Indians manager Manny Acta when he managed winter ball in the  Dominican Republic.

Lopez, 28, can make $900,000 if he makes the Indians out of camp. He played for Colorado and Florida last year. Lopez, who bats right-handed, spent most of his time at third base. He also played second and first.

He hit a combined .216 (50-for-231) with 12 doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI. He spent parts of seven seasons with Seattle. He hit .272 with 42 doubles, 25 homers and 96 RBI in 2009. He’s hit 18 homers since.

Cunningham, 25, is a right-handed hitter who played 52 games for San Diego this year. He hit .178. Burns was the Indians eighth round pick in 2009 out of the University of Arizona.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Indians might not have won the American League Central Division last season no matter how they had adjusted their roster as the season proceeded, given the eventual excellence of the Detroit Tigers.

But the Indians’ front office did little to give manager Manny Acta and his staff an even playing field in one critical matter: balance among the team’s position players.

Cleveland’s roster was as overloaded toward left-handed batters as any in memory.

In a game so driven by matchups — the pitcher vs. hitter conflict the grandest in major American team sports — the Indians found themselves in game situations time and time again where their lineup seemed to have little chance.

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Baseball Writers Association of America honors one baseball writer each year, and in 2002 it was Hal McCoy, who covered the Cincinnati Reds for the Dayton Daily News from 1973-2009.

McCoy now writes about the Reds and the Indians for FoxSportsOhio.com. He writes about what he’d do if he ran the Indians, and mentions his affection for the team: 

As a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Indians, beginning in my childhood as a resident of Akron, I feel a closeness to the team, even though I live 250 miles away from Terminal Tower….

And, at the end of McCoy’s column, his most succinct advice for the Indians:

Look for a right-handed left fielder.

Shelley Duncan, a 32-year-old right-handed hitter, enjoyed a solid season as a part-time left fielder/first baseman and a pinch-hitter for the Indians in 2011. He certainly is in the Indians’ plans, but he may be more effective in the role he played last season, and not as an everyday player. 

Plain Dealer Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes is at the general managers/owners meetings in Milwaukee, where the groundwork is being laid for trades and free agency signings by baseball’s 30 teams.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Indians coverage includes Hoynes’ GM/Owners meeting chatter, including a note on Indians starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and another on Acta placing fourth in American League Manager of the Year voting; his report that multiple teams, including the Indians, are interested in free agent center fielder Grady Sizemore, who became a free agent when the Indians last month declined to pick up the option year on his contract; and, more.

Around the horn 

An extensive look at what the Indians might have in mind regarding their minor league players, as this weekend’s 40-player major league roster deadline approaches. By Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider.

Projecting the Indians 2012 Opening Day roster. A Bleacher Report Slideshow.

Analyzing what the Indians might be able to offer in potential trades. By Geordy Boveroux for the Wahoo’s On First blog.

Manny Acta finishes fourth in the American League Manager of the Year voting. By Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

Answers to readers’ questions about the Indians. By Jordan Bastian for MLB.com.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News explains his Manager of the Year ballot, including his third-place vote for Manny Acta.

A feature story on right-hander Tyler Sturdevant, who has worked his way into the upper tier of Indians relief pitching prospects. By Tony Lastoria for Indians Prospect Insider. 

Updating winter league play of a few Indians/Indians farmhands. On Indians Prospect Insider.

CLEVELAND — Indians manager Manny Acta has finalized his coaching staff for 2012, promoting Scott Radinsky from the bullpen to pitching coach.

Acta also named Dave Miller his bullpen coach and Tom Wiedenbauer first-base coach.

Radinsky recently completed his second season as Cleveland’s bullpen coach. The former major league pitcher replaces Tim Belcher, who stepped down as Cleveland’s pitching coach to spend time with his family.

Miller just concluded his 10th season as a pitching coordinator in the organization.

Wiedenbauer will coach first, oversee the outfielders and work with the Indians on baserunning. He replaces Sandy Alomar, who will be Acta’s bench coach next season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CLEVELAND (AP)—The Cleveland Indians have picked up manager Manny Acta’s
contract option for 2013.

Acta kept the Indians in contention for much of this season before injuries
overwhelmed the young club, which finished second in the AL Central. Cleveland
went 80-82, an 11-game improvement over last season.

Acta was signed through 2012, and the Indians rewarded him by exercising the
option for 2013. He’s 149-175 in two seasons with Cleveland.

Acta’s staff already has undergone radical change for next season. On
Wednesday, bench coach Tim Tolman disclosed he has Parkinson’s disease and will
not be back, and pitching coach Tim Belcher stepped down to spend more time with
his family.