On Wednesday, the Cleveland Indians officially placed pitcher Fausto Carmona on the restricted list, which is often used by teams for players who have violated the terms of their contract.

According to Major League Baseball, players that are added to the restricted list do not count towards the team's 25-man roster, but are unable to sign with another team. Players on the restricted list also do not get paid by their team while on the list.

One week ago, Carmona was arrested in his home country of the Dominican Republic for allegedly using a fake identity. According to Dominican police, Carmona's real ame is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and he is 31-years-old, not 28-years-old as Carmona has claimed.

Col. Maximo Baez Avbar, a Dominican police official, said that Carmona was taken into custody requesting renewal of a citizenship visa, and is currently being held on a charge of using a fake identity on official documents.

Carmona has been released from jail, but remains in the Dominican Republic. During the off season, the Indians exercised a $7,000,000 team option on his contract, and hold contract options through the 2014 season.

Fausto Carmona was recently arrested for using a false identity. Authorities in his home country of the Dominican Republic say that his real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he is 3 years older than what he told the Cleveland Indians and the U.S. government. His future with the Tribe has been up in the air. On Tuesday, Indians' manager Manny Acta announced that while the team is trying to speed up the pitcher's legal process in the Dominican Republic, it is not likely that he will be able to join the team for spring training.

It is believed that Kevin Slowey will replace Carmona in the rotation.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested in his native country of the Dominican Republic on Thursday after being accused of using a false identity. Authorities claim that Carmona's real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he is 31-years-old, not 28 as he had previously claimed. He has now been released on bail as Dominican authorities investigate his alleged use of a false identity to play baseball in the U.S.

Carmona apologized to fans, his team, and the U.S. government as he left the jail. He was released on Friday by Judge Kevla Perez on $13,000 bail. He has been ordered to check in with prosecutors as their investigation continues.

So what does this all mean for the Indians? The club is more than likely following closely the situation with the Miami Marlins and pitcher Leo Nunez, who was outed as using a false identity. Nunez was found to be Juan Carlos Oviedo. He is currently on MLB's restricted list, and is stuck in the Dominican Republic without a visa to return to the U.S. The Marlins splashed out $27 million on a new closer, Heath Bell, a sign that they are either not expecting Oviedo back or will release him if he does return.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested in the Dominican Republic on Thursday for allegedly using a false identity. Officials in his home country are contesting his real name and birth date.

According to police spokesman Maximo Baez Avbar, Carmon was arrested in Santo Domingo outside the U.S. consulate where he'd gone to renew his visa. Carmona has been in the Dominican Republic to play winter ball in preparation to report to the Indians' spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona, next month.

Avbar says that Carmona's real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he is 31 years old. That's three years older than he claimed. The Indians list his birthday as being December 7, 1983 in their 2011 media guide.

Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti said of the situation:

“We were recently made aware of the situation that occurred today in the Dominican Republic and are currently in the process of gathering information. We are not prepared to make any additional comment at this time.”

Meanwhile, Carmona's agent Jay Alou said that he was caught-off guard by the arrest and noted that there are Dominican lawyers working on his behalf. Alou added:

The Cleveland Indians announced on Friday The Frozen Diamond Faceoff Fan Fest, which will take place on Saturday, January 14 at Progressive Field during the Indians Snow Days. The Fan Fest, which will run from 11:00am to 6:00pm, will serve as a prelude to The Frozen Diamond Faceoff between The Ohio State University Buckeyes and the University of Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey teams.

Fans interested in attending will have a chance to participate in various meet and greet events with OSU and Michigan players, select players from the Lake Erie Monsters, Sully the Mascot, and the Lake Erie Monsters Street Team.

The Ohio State vs. Michigan women's club ice hockey game will also be going on that day, and the men's ice hockey teams will be practicing on The Frozen Diamond.

Work on your hockey skills with fundamental drills led by The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), including: “Top Shot” electronic hockey net and tunnel shooting station; “Super Deker” stick handling drills; “Gockey” table hockey and LEM slap shot exercise. Throughout the day the CCHA, OSU, Michigan, hockey teams will hold giveaways and raffles.

Grady's Ladies are going to be mighty disappointed with this news: Grady Sizemore is engaged. The Cleveland Indians' centerfielder proposed to girlfriend Brittany Binger on Christmas day. She, of course, accepted.

A wedding date has not yet been announced.

Binger, a June 2007 Playboy Playmate and native of Bellvue, Ohio, announced their engagement on Twitter and tweeted a picture of her engagement ring.

Congrats to the couple!

In today's age of marketing and rampant consumerism, keeping the same uniforms unchanged year after year simply won't do. So every year in recent memory, the Cleveland Indians have launched new or tweaked uniforms. 2012 will be no exception. The Indians unveiled on Friday two new sets of uniforms to be used for the upcoming season, which will be used in addition to the uniforms that the team introduced last season.

The team's home whites and alternate road blues will be undergoing changes. The most noticable change is the elimination of piping around the collar and front buttons. According to the Indians' press release, the uniforms will look as described:

The traditional home white uniform will sport a front script “Indians” two-layer red and navy blue applique, navy blue trim around the collar combined with the navy blue and red cap with the Chief Wahoo logo.

The alternate road navy uniform will showcase a front script “Indians” two-layer red and white applique, gray trim around the collar paired with a solid navy blue cap with the Chief Wahoo logo.

The World Series ended, and Major League Baseball is officially in off-season. The Cleveland Indians, however, are not resting on their laurels. The Tribe's front office has already been busy making moves that will alter next year's line-up: they decided to waive Grady Sizemore's $9 million contract option for 2012, opted to pick up Fausto Carmona's option for next season, and have acquired right-handed pitcher Derek Lowe via trade with Atlanta.

Indians GM Chris Antonetti visited Arizona last week to tell Sizemore the news. The Indians have not officially closed the door to his return, but aren't willing to keep him at the option price. Over the course of the next couple of days, Sizemore and the Indians will keep talking as they still hold exclusive negotiating rights. Antonetti is not expecting any agreement to be reached this week, and if an agreement cannot be reached eventually, Sizemore will become a free agent where he will be sure to have his choice of new teams.

Jim Thome, who started his Major League Baseball career in Cleveland, was claimed off waivers by the Indians just one week after hitting his 600th career home run with the Minnesota Twins. The Indians and the Twins have until 1pm ET Friday to agree on a deal.

It had been rumored that the Chicago White Sox were interested in claiming Thome, if only to block the Indians from getting him, however, manager Ken Williams did not make a move for the left-handed slugger.

Thome is currently hitting .248 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. His contract includes a no-trade clause that could veto the trade. Thome would reportedly prefer to join the Philadelphia Phillies.

With Travis Hafner potentially out for the season with a foot injury, the Tribe is in the market for a power hitter. Thome is a familiar face to Indians fans, having been drafted by Cleveland in 1989, and playing 12 seasons (1991 to 2002) with the team. Thome hit a franchise record of 334 home runs while with the Indians.

The Indians are currently six games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central Division.

Today, the United States Postal Service is previewing the second of four iconic "Major League Baseball All Stars" that will be immortalized on stamps. Larry Doby, the first African-American to play in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, will be featured on a "Forever" stamp to debut in 2012.

Doby (b. 1923, d. 2003) joined the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947, making him the first African-American to play on an American League team. Just 11 weeks prior, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the National league.

When Doby first joined the Indians, he received a mostly chilly reception from his teammates and spent most of his first season on the bench. In 1948, however, he hit .301 and helped the Indians win the pennant. During game four of the World Series against the Boston Braves, Doby became the first black player to hit a home run in MLB's World Series, which Cleveland eventually won.

In 1949, Doby was elected to the American League All-Star team, and made the team again for each of the next six years. Sporting News named Doby the best center fielder in baseball in 1950, ahead of Joe DiMaggio (who is also being immortalized on a USPS Forever stamp).