The Wind of Change has blown through the Cleveland Indians organization after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, yet The Song Remains the Same.

Pardon the Classic Rock song references and let’s put them aside, but the Tribe became a seller after a terrible week against the Chicago White Sox, which ended any playoffs talk and made it wise to shed some of its veterans to help bolster the future and save some cash.

Gone are Brandon Moss, David Murphy and Marc Rzepczynski. In their place are Lonnie Chisenhall, Jerry Sands and Tyler Holt. The transactions have made little difference to the anemic offense. The Indians are also expected to recall Kyle Crockett for Michael Roth later today.

Even so, I’m optimistic the moves could provide some addition by subtraction. Not only will the Indians save salary, but they will provide the Tribe with an opportunity to see what they have in some of these young players and potentially answer a few questions.

Can Chisenhall hit enough to justify playing him in the outfield? Is Jerry Sands the real deal? Is Tyler Holt good enough to at least be a fourth outfielder? Will Jesus Aguilar ever get an extended opportunity in the Big Leagues? Is there any chance Tyler Naquin gets a September callup?

With any realistic shot at the playoffs now gone, the Indians will focus on the future. Of course, the goal is still to try to win as many games as possible, but in the bigger picture, player development and positive growth headed in to the off-season will be the keys.

Indians starting pitchers continue to have fine seasons, but the lack of offense allows little room for mistakes and the losses pile on at an unfortunate rate with the team in last place in the American League Central Division.

In July, the Indians posted a .683 OPS to rank 13th in the American League. For the season, the Indians have hit .226 with runners in scoring position and only .128 with a .382 OPS with the bases loaded.

To make matters worse, it’s possible all-star Jason Kipnis could miss significant time with a sore shoulder and might land on the disabled list.

Which begs the question of how are the Indians going to score? The team has trouble as it is and now their best hitter is slated to miss some ballgames.

The Tribe now begins a three game series against the Angels to wrap up a seven-game road trip to the West Coast.

Games are scheduled for 10:05 p.m. on Aug. 3 and 4, with day baseball at 3:35 p.m. on Aug. 5 before a day off on Aug. 6.

The Tribe then returns to Cleveland for a three-game weekend series against Central Division rival Minnesota at 7:10 p.m. on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, and wraps up the set at 1:10 p.m. on Aug. 9.

Corey Kluber (6-11, 3.44 ERA) gets the start on August 3rd against Garrett Richards (10-8, 3.37 ERA).

In his last 15 games, Kluber is 6-6 with a 2.80 ERA in 112.1 innings and has struck out 126 batters while compiling a 0.98 WHIP. The reigning American League Cy Young winner continues to have a fine season even as the offense typically provides him little run support.

Richards also has pitched well this season and is 3-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 50 innings during his last seven games with 32 Ks and 1.14 WHIP.

Carlos Carrasco (11-8, 4.03 ERA) opposes Matt Shoemaker (5-7, 4.24) on August 4th.

Carrasco shook off trade rumors and gave an outstanding performance on July 30th against Oakland when he threw a complete game and gave up only two hits and one run along with seven strikeouts to earn the win.

He’s also pitched well in his last seven starts going 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 46.2 innings with a 0.94 WHIP while walking just nine and striking out 50 during that span.

In his last seven games (six starts), Shoemaker is 1-2 a 3.06 ERA in 35.1 innings with 10 walks and 27 Ks and a 1.33 WHIP.

Danny Salazar (9-6, 3.47 ERA) faces lefty Hector Santiago (7-5, 2.70 ERA) on August 5th.

Salazar is 6-5 in his last 15 games with a 3.38 ERA in 93.1 innings with 99 Ks and 28 walks along with a 1.08 WHIP during that span.

Santiago is 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his last seven starts spanning 42 innings and has walked nine and struck out 37 while compiling a 1.12 WHIP.

Starting pitchers for the Indians and Twins series have not yet been announced.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Michael Bourn has finally started to show the slightest flash of the player this season that the Indians had hoped they signed a free agent contract prior to the 2013 season. It might be too little, too late, but Bourn is 15 for 47 (.319) in his last 15 games with four steals. He’s also hitting .375 in his last seven games (9 for 24).

Sands has only played one game since he came back to the Majors, but he played a solid first base on August 2nd and went 1 for 3 and drove in the Indians only run with a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the 2-1 loss.

Despite hitting .345 in his last seven games with an .822 OPS, Kipnis may be forced to take some time off due to his sore shoulder that the Indians have tried to manage this season. Any extended time away will certainly hurt the Tribe, but it may be the best situation for the long run. Just be prepared for the offense to continue to be stagnant without Kipnis.

The situation gets worse if Kipnis does miss extended time because utility man Mike Aviles continues his struggles at the plate. In his last 99 at-bats, he’s hitting .172 with only 17 hits. It’s worse more recently as Aviles is 5-for-45 (.109) in his last 15 games and 1-for 24 (.024) in his last seven games. If Kipnis does go onto the DL, look for the Indians to call up an infielder, possibly Jose Ramirez.