Though the Indians have been playing well – a 7-2 second-half record – the focus is still on the future.

So, in keeping with that theme, here’s a look at what  the team will most likely consist of to open the 2011 season:

First base

Option A: Matt LaPorta

Plan B: Andy Marte or Shelley Duncan

Forecast: LaPorta, who struggled out of the gate, has eased plenty of fears with a much better performance in his second stint on the big league level this season. There’s no guarantee Marte and Duncan will even be back.

Second base

Option A: Jason Donald

Plan B: Jayson Nix or Luis Valbuena

Forecast: Donald is probably more comfortable at shortstop, but that’s not an option on this team. He will probably enter training camp competing for the job with Nix and Valbuena, but it will be a formality. The Indians like this hard-nosed youngster.

Shortstop

Option A: Asdrubal Cabrera

Plan B: Donald

Forecast: Cabrera is the Indians’ best infielder and one of their top all-around players. They can’t lose him to injury for an extended period, as they did this year, and expect to contend.

Third base

Option A: Jared Goedert

Plan B: Marte

Forecast: Jhonny Peralta’s $7 million option for next season means he won’t be back. Goedert has established himself as a top prospect with a monster season between Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron. If the Indians don’t feel comfortable with a rookie at one of the corner spots, it might be something they address in the offseason, but don’t look for anything major.

Catcher

Option A: Carlos Santana

Plan B: Chris Gimenez, Lou Marson or Wyatt Toregas

Forecast: Santana, Cleveland’s top prospect, has arrived as advertised, beginning his big league career batting third – a spot usually reserved for the team’s top hitter. The Indians are hoping Plan B is never an option in this case.

Right field

Option A: Shin-Soo Choo

Plan B: Trevor Crowe or Michael Brantley

Forecast: Choo missed close to three weeks with a right thumb sprain and still left the disabled list as the Indians’ leader in home runs, RBIs and stolen bases. That’s how much he means to this club.

Center field

Option A: Grady Sizemore

Plan B: Crowe or Brantley

Forecast: Sizemore, a three-time All-Star, will be coming off consecutive injury-plagued seasons with plenty of doubts as to whether he is still one of the American League’s top players.

Left field

Option A: Crowe

Plan B: Brantley or Austin Kearns

Forecast: Kearns is under a one-year contract and has probably played his way into a better deal elsewhere. Even if he’s willing to take less money, the Indians might want to go the younger route with Crowe, who has moved ahead of Brantley in the pecking order.

Designated hitter

Option A: Travis Hafner

Plan B: Goedert or Marte

Forecast: Sadly enough, there is no other real option for the Indians, who unless they are willing to eat Hafner’s contract – he’s signed through 2012 – must take their medicine from an ill-advised multiyear deal. A bum shoulder, something, has turned a once-feared power hitter into a weak link in the lineup.

Rotation

Option A: Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Mitch Talbot, Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco.

Plan B: Carmona, Talbot, Masterson, Carrasco, David Huff or Aaron Laffey.

Forecast: Westbrook could be back if he isn’t traded before season’s end and is willing to accept a bargain contract. Obviously, someone else could creep into the picture this offseason or at spring training. Huff, Jeanmar Gomez and Josh Tomlin come to mind.

Bullpen

Option A: Chris Perez (closer), Tony Sipp, Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Frank Herrmann, Hector Ambriz, Laffey.

Plan B: Chris Perez, Tony Sipp, Rafael Perez, Joe Smith, Frank Herrmann, Hector Ambriz, Gomez or Tomlin.

Forecast: Chris Perez will take over the closer role from Kerry Wood, whose $11 million option for 2011 won’t be exercised. Laffey could easily wind up in the rotation, but figures to open the year as a reliever, as he did this season.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND – Shin-Soo Choo was activated from the disabled list on Friday.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Choo took the roster spot of starting pitcher Aaron Laffey, who was placed on the DL with left shoulder fatigue.

Laffey, who has pitched well since joining the rotation –

2-2, 3.60 ERA in five starts – underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage. The Indians are optimistic that the left-hander will be ready to leave the DL when he is eligible early next month.

“It’s shoulder fatigue. That’s it,” said manager Manny Acta. “The MRI was good.”

Laffey’s turn in the rotation comes Tuesday, with the Indians planning on promoting a replacement from the minors. The strongest candidates are Triple-A Columbus starters David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez.

Huff, who is 4-0 with a 3.14 ERA in five starts since being demoted, angered the Indians when he posted on his Twitter account that he would be called up to make a spot start last Sunday that wound up going to Gomez.

In his big league debut against Detroit, Gomez was brilliant, getting the win after allowing two unearned runs over seven innings of a 7-2 victory. He was optioned back to Columbus the following day.

Clippers right-hander Carlos Carrasco might have been the favorite to take Laffey’s spot but he is dealing with a right forearm injury.

According to Acta, whoever is promoted will be making more than a spot start, remaining in the rotation until Laffey has mended.

Choo, Cleveland’s best overall player, returns to the fold after missing close to three weeks with a right thumb sprain. He played in three minor league rehab games for Double-A Akron, going 1-for-11.

“It’s nice to have him back,” Acta said. “He’s another threat to our lineup. When he’s healthy, he can play pretty much every day. He can do more than just hit. He’s a multi-talented player that lengthens our lineup.”

Acta said there would be no restrictions on Choo, who entered Friday batting .286 with a team-leading 13 home runs, 43 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 78 games.

Choo’s arrival means that the Indians have three regular outfielders – Trevor Crowe, Michael Brantley and Austin Kearns – for two spots in center and left field. Kearns has missed the last three games with right knee soreness, but Acta said he was available to pinch hit Friday.

All three players can play both center and left.

“There will be enough at-bats for them all,” Acta said.

Lineup change

With Asdrubal Cabrera batting second since returning from the disabled list, Choo moved back to the third spot in the order.

Carlos Santana, who hit third in each of his first 35 games in Cleveland, batted cleanup for the first time in his big league career, while Travis Hafner hit fifth.

Minor details

Right-hander Josh Tomlin allowed two runs on five hits Thursday, striking out a

season-high 10 batters over six innings of Tripe-A Columbus’ 4-2 loss to Durham. Tomlin (8-4, 2.68 ERA, 20 games / 17 starts) would be an option to take Laffey’s spot, but he is not a member of the 40-man roster and likely won’t be promoted until September if at all.

** Akron’s Nick Hagadone took the loss in his first start back from the disabled list Thursday, allowing a run on two hits over three innings of Reading’s 4-1 victory. Hagadone, who was acquired in the Victor Martinez trade with Boston last year, is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA in seven starts since his promotion from advanced Class A Kinston.

Roundin’ third

Reliever Joe Smith entered Friday having not allowed a run in 12 straight appearances, a season best for Indians pitchers. The right-hander has allowed only two hits over the span, with his ERA dropping from 8.10 to 4.50.

** Santa Claus threw out one of the ceremonial first pitches in conjunction with “Christmas in July” weekend at Progressive Field.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.