Kuzul

The Cleveland Indians shocked the baseball world a year ago.

Improving by 24 wins from 2012, manager Terry Francona led the Tribe to a second-place finish in the AL Central and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2007. The city and its fans welcomed Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, Mike Aviles, Ryan Raburn and veteran power hitter Jason Giambi to the team, as the offseason’s free-agent spending spree helped put the team over the top.

Coming into this season, the Tribe are hungry to build upon their success and have their sights set on dethroning the Detroit Tigers for the division crown.

As always, the key to a title lies within a pitching staff. While Cleveland has a number of questions in both its rotation and the bullpen, the Tribe has assembled an exceptional lineup heading into 2014. The following slides depict how that lineup might look come Opening Day against the Oakland Atletics on March 31.

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Spring training is finally here.

While many players reported to camp last week, Monday marks the first official day of workouts for the Cleveland Indians. What this also marks is the beginning to another magical season on Lake Erie. 

Absent the major free-agent signings from a year ago, the Tribe are poised to challenge the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central crown during the 2014 season.

There is a lot to look forward to this spring.

Perhaps the most versatile player on the Indians roster, Carlos Santana will get some looks at third base and allow manager Terry Francona to make the decision as to whether or not his primary catcher in 2013 is ready to make the jump to the hot corner.

Nick Swisher and Asdrubal Cabrera have returned to camp free of the injury bug that led to a modest season despite the Tribe’s triumphant return to the postseason.

Michael Brantley (and his new contract) and Jason Kipnis will look to improve upon their impressive campaigns a year ago to take the Tribe back to the promised land this October.

Justin Masterson begins his argument for a long-term deal, too, as he looks to anchor a promising, young pitching staff.

That only scratches the surface of the excitement.

Can Mickey Callaway rejuvenate the career of Shaun Marcum or Aaron Harang the way he did for Scott Kazmir last season? Can Jeff Francoeur or Nyjer Morgan return to contribute at the big league level the way Ryan Raburn did last season?

There are so many questions to ask, and there are so many questions that will go unanswered.

Without looking too far ahead, let’s see what Twitter is saying about the Tribe’s first official day of camp this spring:

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com