by Pat McManamonFiled under: Indians, FanHouse Exclusive
One day after Indians general manager-in-waiting Chris Antonetti sat down with FanHouse's Pat McManamon to talk about Cleveland's future, the Indians announced that minor league pitcher Hector Rondon had undergone Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow.This was no mere disappointment. Rondon, 22, was the Indians' minor league pitcher of the year in 2009. He had the kind of ability to make the rotation this season, but was shut down due to elbow soreness in May. Now he will sit out a year.
It's been that kind of three seasons for the Indians, who have seen their fortunes and on-field record plummet since they came within one game of reaching the 2007 World Series. They have traded Cy Young winners and other veterans, and are trying to rebuild on the fly.
In the first part an interview with FanHouse, Antonetti detailed how the team hoped to rebuild quickly by trading players in their free-agent year for players with minor league experience. Those players -- like Carlos Santana, Carlos Carrasco and Matt LaPorta -- were further in their development than draft picks, which theoretically would shrink the rebuilding window. Antonetti also talked about complementing those players with enough starting pitching and bullpen depth to offset losses like the one to Rondon.
In Part II of the interview, Antonetti talks about players he sees as central to the team's future, including Grady Sizemore, sidelined since May after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee. Antonetti discussed others with McManamon as he looks to the Indians future:
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