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Floyd, Moss among Tribe's new faces for 2015

Power bat, right-hander headline club's offseason

CLEVELAND -- While teams around the American League Central stole headlines this winter, the Indians remained relatively quiet. The reality of Cleveland's situation was that the team had much of its roster in place for the upcoming season.

The Indians headed into the offseason with two main needs: added power for the lineup and a veteran starter for the rotation. The Tribe addressed both issues this winter by trading for slugger Brandon Moss and signing veteran right-hander Gavin Floyd. Beyond those moves, the Indians spent the offseason adding depth pieces mostly through Minor League deals.

"I don't know if we're flying under or not," Indians manager Terry Francona said last month. "I'm not sure I need to spend much time worrying about that. Again, we were in a little bit of a unique situation where most of our team was in place. You don't see that very often anymore these days. I thought the additions of Moss and Floyd were good and important. Now, it's up to us just to see if we can go play better."

Video: Outlook: Moss could bounce back with new team

In the days leading up to the official start of Spring Training, MLB.com is examining various aspects of each roster. What follows is a quick look at some of the new guys who have been brought into the fold this winter for the Indians:

RHP Charles Brewer: The 26-year-old Brewer was the first external addition to the Indians' 40-man roster this offseason. On Nov. 23, Cleveland acquired the right-hander from the D-backs in exchange for cash. Brewer appeared in four games for Arizona in 2013 (3.00 ERA) and went 11-12 with a 4.46 ERA in 29 starts (169 2/3 innings) between Double-A and Triple-A last season.

LHP Scott Downs: The Indians added the veteran Downs on a Minor League contract on Dec. 20 and extended the lefty an invite to Spring Training. With lefties Marc Rzepczynski, Nick Hagadone and Kyle Crockett projected to be in the bullpen, Downs might have an uphill battle to crack the Opening Day squad. The 38-year-old Downs had a 4.97 ERA in 55 games between the White Sox and Royals last season and has limited lefty batters to a .219 average (.608 OPS) in his career.

Video: Bastian discusses lefties in Indians' bullpen

Floyd: The Indians signed the 32-year-old Floyd to a one-year contract worth $4 million (plus another $6 million possible through incentives) on Dec. 16. Floyd could slot as high as second in Cleveland's rotation after an injury-marred 2013 with the Braves. After returning from Tommy John surgery, the righty posted a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings before fracturing his elbow in June. Floyd went 62-55 with a 4.12 ERA and an average of 190 innings per season from 2009-12 with the White Sox.

RHP Jeff Manship: The Indians currently have 21 players scheduled to be in camp as non-roster invitees. Among them is the 30-year-old Manship, who inked a Minor League deal with the Tribe on Dec. 18. The right-hander has a 6.46 ERA in 72 games in parts of six Major League seasons with the Twins, Rockies and Phillies. Last season, Manship posted a 6.65 ERA in 20 games (23 innings) for Philadelphia.

Moss: The Indians sent Minor League infielder Joe Wendle to the A's on Dec. 8 in order to acquire Moss, who will have a home in the heart of Cleveland's lineup. Over the past three years combined, Moss' .544 road slugging percentage ranks fourth in the Majors (among players with at least 500 plate appearances). He hit .234 with 25 homers and 81 RBIs last year for Oakland, but was bothered by a hip issue in the second half (.584 OPS). Moss, who avoided arbitration with a $6.5 million salary for 2015, had surgery on the hip in October and could be fully recovered in time for Opening Day.

Video: Moss discusses being traded to Indians on Hot Stove

LHP Michael Roth: The 24-year-old Roth signed a Minor League contract with Cleveland on Jan. 6 and will be in camp with the Tribe as a non-roster invitee. The lefty has a 7.79 ERA in 22 big league games with the Angels between the '13-14 seasons. Last year, Roth had a 2.63 ERA in 22 starts for Triple-A Arkansas. The Indians originally picked Roth in the 31st round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, but he chose to stay at the University of South Carolina for one more season.

RHP Anthony Swarzak: On Jan. 15, the Indians added the 29-year-old Swarzak on a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Swarzak will have a chance at making Cleveland's bullpen after working mostly in relief for the Twins for parts of five seasons. Swarzak has a 4.48 ERA in 181 career games with Minnesota and posted a 4.60 ERA in 50 games (86 innings) for the Twins last year.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.
Read More: Cleveland Indians, Brandon Moss, Gavin Floyd, Anthony Swarzak, Jeff Manship, Scott Downs, Michael Roth, Charles Brewer