So it looks like that means one of the two (likely Brantley) will be headed to Triple-A Columbus. LaPorta will probably make the opening day roster, but where he ends up is also a mystery, and it could be on the bench. Branyan will be in camp today to take over firstbase with his new deal for one year at $2 mil. “He adds depth we didn’t have at first base,” Acta said. “We were an injury away from not feeling as comfortable. We’re more covered now.”

He adds pop to a lineup that needs it. The 34-year-old Branyan belted 31 homers in 431 at-bats for the Mariners last season, batting .251 with an .867 OPS in 116 games. If he can give that same production, he’s a worthy signing and one that could help this young lineup be better in 2010.

“We fully support Grady as he deals with this personal matter. The posted photos were stolen from his girlfriend’s email account and a legal investigation is underway.”

Alomar, 43, spent eleven (11) seasons catching with the Cleveland Indians from 1990-2000 where he was a six-time All-Star selection and last summer was the 33rd player to be inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame. During his tenure with the Indians, Alomar hit .277 (944-3409) with 194 doubles, 92 home runs and 453 RBI in 985 games and was the Tribe’s field leader behind the plate on club’s that won five (5) American League Central Division titles and two (2) American League Pennants.

One of the most popular players in club history, Alomar’s best season came during the Tribe’s run to the 1997 World Series when he hit .324 (146-451) with 37 2B, 21HR and 83 RBI in 125 games, earning All-Star Game MVP honors and finishing 14th in the AL MVP voting. His 950 games caught are the third highest total in the 109-year history of the Indians organization. Sandy concluded his 20-year Major League playing career with the New York Mets in 2007 and finished with a career average of .273 (1236-4530) with 249 2B, 112HR & 588RBI in 1377 games. He was the 1990 American League Rookie of the Year and the Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipient that same season.

Alomar spent the last two seasons as the New York Mets Major League Catching Instructor. Additionally, Alomar will mentor and instruct Indians catchers as well.

Acta was fired by the Washington Nationals in July. The Indians chose him after a second round of interviews over former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine and Indians Triple-A manager Torey Lovullo.

The team was set to talk to Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly. Acta also interviewed for Houston’s opening.

“We are very excited to have Manny Acta as our Major League manager,” said Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Shapiro. “After speaking with an impressive array of candidates, we feel that Manny is a very strong and experienced leader who possesses great energy and enthusiasm along with tremendous communication skills and a positive mindset that will command a presence in the dugout, clubhouse and with our fans.”

“I am very excited to become part of the Cleveland Indians family,” said Cleveland Indians Manager MANNY ACTA. “I look forward to working with this talented group of young men who seem to possess a lot of energy and passion for their work. I believe we will grow together as a team with the ultimate goal of bringing a championship to Cleveland and its fans.”

The arthroscopic hip surgery was performed by Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed a debridement of a bony impingement in the joint. The left toe procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas Clanton, who stabilized the loose joint. LaPorta missed several games in late September with left hip inflammation and injured his toe on the final game of the season on October 4th in Boston running down a fly ball in the outfield. Rehabilitation for Matt is between 4-to-6 months with the goal of making a full recovery in time for the start of the 2010 Championship Season. He will remain in Vail for a week and will spend most of the off-season rehabbing in Goodyear, AZ.

In just his second full professional season, LaPorta spent the majority of the campaign at AAA Columbus where he hit .299 (101-338) with 23 2B, 2 3B, 17HR & 60RBI in 93 games for the Clippers. He finished 4th in the International League in slugging % (.530), 5th in on-base % (.388), 2nd in OPS (.917) & T11th in HR (17) despite not playing at the Triple A level after August 19. He spent two stints in Cleveland and during his 2nd stint from August 19th-on he hit .273 (38-139) with 12 2B, 6HR & 17 RBI in 39 games (.805OPS). Overall with Cleveland he made 29 starts in LF, 10 starts in RF and 10 starts at first base.

RHP CHRIS PEREZ underwent left ankle surgery yesterday to remove a loose bone from the back of his ankle and a cyst on the lateral side of the same joint. The 40-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Jim Sferra and Indians Head Team Physician Dr. Mark Schickendantz. Chris will begin rehab immediately and is expected to begin his normal off-season strength and conditioning program in December.

IND ASDRUBAL CABRERA underwent a right elbow arthroscopy yesterday. The 30-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Schickendantz, who removed loose bodies from the elbow. He too will begin physical therapy immediately and will remain in Cleveland for the next 4-to-6 weeks. He too will begin initiating his normal off-season strength and conditioning in December.

Carmona, who has had quite the season from the teams number two starter to Arizona rookie ball to basic afterthought in the rotation, threw 7 innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out eight, and his only mistake was a homer allowed to future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

Otherwise it was all Tribe, who won the season series from the Mariners 6-4, and took two of three in the quick three-game set. They got a homer from Jhonny Peralta, and were led by a big four-run sixth that was highlighted by a couple of key hits including Matt Laporta’s double and an Andy Marte single that drove in runs.

The Indians outhit the Mariners 10-6, and with the win improve to 54-69 on the season, dropping Seattle to 63-61. The team is now out on the road for a 9-game trip, starting Monday night in KC.

Sowers had allowed just two walks without allowing a hit in the first four innings, but it was that fifth inning that became his undoing. A walk, double, single, bunt single, sac to third, ground out to short and fly out resulted in three runs, and that was all the Angels would need.

The Indians again were soft at the plate, as they did have seven hits, but had three doubles, and for the 8th straight home game failed to go deep. They left seven men on base, and continued to not be able to come up with the big hit when they needed it. The top three hitters in the lineup, Grady Sizemore, Jamey Carroll and Asdrubal Cabrera went a combined 1 for 12.

Weaver went the distance to improve to 13-4, and came back nicely from a poor outing his last time out vs the Orioles. He walked just one and struck out three, and despite a hot night seemed to be cool and calm all night long in throwing 116 pitches to get the win.

The team is back to 17 games under .500 at 51-68, and they have lost this series losing the first two games. They will try to salvage the finale of the three-game set on Thursday as Justin Masterson goes for the Indians vs John Lackey at 7:05pm.

The best shot came in the 7th, as the Indians were able to take a 5-3 game and make it 5-4 with the bases loaded with one out. Enter Travis Hafner, who despite having a decent comeback year has not been the same player the team thought they were getting when he got his monster deal last season.

Hafner, who had scrapped all night, hit a slow roller to second that ended up as a 4-6-3 double play. The play at first was close, but Hafner was out, and the Indians best threat of the night was over. The team went quietly in the 8th and 9th, and the team dropped to 51-67 on the season.

LA took a 3-1 lead off Fausto Carmona with a single run in the first and two in the second, then went up 5-1 with two more runs in the third. The Indians rallied to draw within 5-3 with two runs in the third, but then the only other run came in the 7th, but it should have been more.

Carmona was not very good, allowing five runs, three earned on 10 hits in 5 innings. He gave up four strikeouts and two walks as well. He falls to 2-8 on the season, and while the rest of this year will all be about getting him right for 2010 and beyond, it would be nice to see him more consistant.

The Indians did pound out 12 hits in the loss. Asdrubal Cabrera led the way, going 4-for-5 and he’s now hit in 12 straight games, a career-high. The two teams do it again Wednesday night at 7:05pm.

White, 20, completed the 2009 season, his junior year at the University of North Carolina, going 8-4 with a 3.87 ERA (107.0IP, 93H, 49R/46ER, 44BB, 121K, .233 avg) in 16 starts for the Tarheels who advanced to the College World Series. The 6-3, 200-pound Greenville, NC native limited opponents to a .233 average against and in the Tarheels first game of the College World Series allowed just 1 run/earned on 7 hits in 9.0 innings while walking 3 and striking out 12. Following the season he was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference first team for the second consecutive season. Prior to the draft, White was ranked as the 6th best prospect (4th best pitcher) in the entire 2009 draft by Baseball America.

White was the 14th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 draft out of D.H. Conley high School (Greenville, NC) before opting to attend the University of North Carolina. In 2008, he went 13-3 with a 2.83 ERA (101.2IP, 78H, 43R/32ER, 42BB, 113K, .215 avg against) in 20 games/15 starts for the Tarheels as he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year and a third team All-America by Baseball America.

“By reaching an agreement with Alex White, we feel that we have added a very talented, young pitcher into our organization,” said Cleveland Indians Director of Scouting BRAD GRANT. “Alex’s combination of power stuff, competitiveness, intelligence and overall athleticism made him an attractive draft pick for us, and we look forward to him beginning his career with us.”

The Indians signed each of their first 20 picks from the June First-Year Player Draft and 28 of their overall 50 selections.