Indians, Kluber strike 5-year deal Cleveland also working toward an extension with fellow right-handed starter Carrasco By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | @MLBastian | 58 minutes ago + 16 COMMENTS HOUSTON -- Indians ace Corey Kluber is scheduled to make his first Opening Day start on Monday against the Astros. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is expected to take the mound at Minute Maid Park with a new contract on the books. On Saturday night, MLB.com confirmed that Cleveland has reached an agreement on a five-year contract with Kluber, pending the completion of a physical. While the financial details of the deal are not immediately known, the pact does include a pair of team-option years. The Indians are also working toward a contract extension with fellow Tribe starter Carlos Carrasco. Indians general manager Chris Antonetti could not be reached for comment, but he made it known earlier this week that Cleveland's preference is to wrap up any negotiations prior to the start of the regular season. "I'll stay away from anyone specifically," Antonetti said on Thursday. "But what we try to do is, once the season starts, have all of our focus be on preparing and winning games and trying to minimize distractions. That's a clear preference. It's how we've tried to operate in the past, so I expect that's how we'll move forward again this year with it." Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com first reported that the Indians were closing in on deals with both pitchers, while Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report that Cleveland reached an agreement with Kluber. The Indians were scheduled to travel from Arizona to Houston on Saturday night. Francona says new rule changes haven't been noticeable By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | 3:29 PM ET + 1 COMMENT GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Plenty of headlines this spring have been devoted to baseball's rule changes for the upcoming season. But after seeing those alterations in place for a month of Cactus League games, Indians manager Terry Francona called them a "non-factor." Francona said he barely even noticed the between-innings clock in center field, meant to make sure the first pitch of each frame is thrown promptly after break. He also doesn't think hitters potentially being fined for stepping out of the batter's box will be much of an issue. "The idea is to have it be sort of a work-together-to-get this-right thing," said Francona. "It's not something where they want to have guys at odds. It's just something in place to make the game a little more crisp." The other rule change Francona addressed was that he'll no longer have to come onto the field to challenge a call -- which he said should help the flow of the game. But he added that he'll make sure the Indians' replay crew has gotten enough time to get a good look at the play before he officially makes a decision. • Francona plans to rotate Brandon Moss, David Murphy, Ryan Raburn and -- when he's healthy again -- Nick Swisher at designated hitter this season. He also said that on certain occasions, if a player has a nagging injury or needs a slight breather, the DH spot could be opened up to anyone. • T.J. House pitched in a Minor League game Saturday, leaving him six days between his final Cactus League start and his first start of the season Saturday against Detroit. Francona said it'll be House's call as to whether he wants to throw an extra bullpen session to compensate for the added time off. • Francona fondly recalled the first time he broke camp with a big league club, in 1982 for the Expos. After hearing he had made the club, Francona faced four Yankees left-handers -- including Ron Guidry and Dave Righetti -- in an exhibition game in New Orleans. A left-handed hitter himself, Francona said he got "beat up" and "abused" by the Yankees southpaws that day, so much so that Expos veteran Woodie Fryman asked Guidry to talk to Francona after the game for reassurance. After Guidry told Francona things would be OK, Francona recalled thinking, "I don't know man -- Are there any more like you?" Quotable "Opening Days, regardless of how old you are -- they're all so meaningful, and there's so much emotion that goes into it. They're all unbelievable. It's like your first one. The 30th one is every bit as meaningful, and [you] still have the same emotions." -- Francona Bauer fans eight, allows three runs in final spring start By Cash Kruth / MLB.com | 6:48 PM ET + 23 COMMENTS PHOENIX -- Luis Sardinas ended Cactus League play in style Saturday afternoon, ripping a walk-off RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth to score Hector Gomez as the Brewers topped the Indians, 4-3, at Maryvale Ballpark. Cleveland's Brandon Moss knotted the game at three with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, while Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun each finished Spring Training on double-digit hitting streaks. Lucroy singled and homered to end the spring on a 12-game hitting streak, during which he hit .487 (19-for-39) with four home runs and 10 RBIs. Braun went 2-for-2 with an RBI double to conclude the Cactus League slate with a 10-game hitting streak. Braun finished the spring hitting 15-for-25 after opening 0-for-13. "They are [hot] and I think the whole lineup doing that is pretty good to start the season that way," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. Lonnie Chisenhall and David Murphy each went 2-for-2 with a walk for the Indians, while Jerry Sands added an RBI single. Brewers righty Jimmy Nelson gave up three runs on nine hits and walked three in 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven. Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings, striking out eight with no walks. "This was such an important start, and I thought he did fine" Francona said of Bauer, who recorded a strikeout with each of his pitches on Saturday. "He gave up some hits, but his stuff looked so good. Watching him warm up in the sixth, he looked every bit as strong as he did in the first. I think he's situated to have a nice, growing year from where he was last year. Where he goes -- that'll be fun to see." Up next: Corey Kluber, last season's American League Cy Young Award winner, gets the Opening Day start as the Indians take on the Astros at 7:10 ET at Minute Maid Park. Bastian’s 2015 preseason predictions by Jordan Bastian You can’t blame me this year. If any of you actually believe in jinxes — and plenty of accused me of such nonsense on Twitter over the years — well, I’m off the hook this season. The Indians are suddenly one of the sexy picks in the annual predictions from around the media-sphere. ESPN loves them. Fangraphs loves them. And (gasp!) Sports Illustrated put the Tribe on a regional cover and declared them the favorites to win the whole darned thing. “I don’t know the SI jinx,” said Michael Brantley, who joined Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on the cover. “I’ve never heard about it. I dont want to hear about it.” Here’s the deal. The jinx isn’t real. What’s real is that the Indians have a Cy Young winner (Kluber), a top-three MVP finished (Brantley), one of the best young catchers in the game (Yan Gomes), the Major League leader in walks (Carlos Santana), a two-time World Series-winning manager (Terry Francona) and a lot more core talent in the fold, and coming soon. So, guess what? I’m sippin’ the Kool-Aid this year. Here come my annual preseason predictions and, whether you like it or not, I’m picking the Indians to win the division. I won’t go as far as SI did, but hey, if Cleveland punches its ticket to October, you just never know. The Indians certainly would be set up nicely (in theory) for a short series with Kluber and Carlos Carrasco at the top of the rotation. Cleveland has a ton of potential, but even Francona has been quick to say throughout the spring that potential is nothing more than exactly that. They have to go out there and prove that there is substance to all the talk and analytical projections. The Indians have the makings of a dynamic rotation, but there are questions at each slot. Can Kluber repeat what he did in 2014? Can Carrasco be the kind of starter he was in August and September? Will Trevor Bauer take a leap forward? Can TJ House continue to shore up the back end, and will Zach McAllister finally be the innings-eater the Tribe envisioned him to be a few years ago? Even beyond the Opening Day staff, there are questions about Cleveland’s depth. Danny Salazar looked lost on the mound this spring, Josh Tomlin is out three to four months with a shoulder issue, and no one really knows what Bruce Chen or Shaun Marcum might have left in their respective tanks. Still, there was a plethora of problems that riddled the Indians last year, and the team still came within earshot of a playoff berth.