It is still early in the off-season as we have only just reached the Winter Meetings but the Houston Cavaliers have already been very active and at least at one position they have surely advanced themselves.
Last year's veteran starting catcher, Orlando Sandoval, is a free agent and in his stead the Cavaliers have not only traded to get veteran Erik Buonopane, formerly the best catcher in the game, a 6-time All-Star and 7-time Gold Glove winner. While Buonopane is no longer in the peak of his career he remains a solid option as a backup and put together a 2.9 WAR season in 1978. And now the Cavaliers have announced that they have signed the top catcher among this year's free agent class, Carlos Lopez, who had a 5.0 WAR 1978 and is a fine defensive player with a decent power bat.
Houston also took a step towards solidifying their poor defense when they traded for Barry Owens, a poor hitter but a tremendous defensive backup shortstop who should be able to become proficient at other infield positions readily.
It will be interesting to see what else the Cavaliers have in mind this off-season to rise out of the cellar of the SJL.