STRONGSVILLE — Manny Acta was warmly greeted in the hallway by Slider, the Indians’ pink mascot, who wrapped his furry arms around Cleveland’s affable manager.

Acta

After the week he’s had, Acta needed a hug.

First, Acta learned that pitcher Fausto Carmona, his countryman from the Dominican Republic and one of his starters, was arrested on charges he falsified his identity to play in the U.S. Then, the Indians, who have spent the winter trying to add a powerful bat to their lineup, got news that Prince Fielder, the biggest free-agent bat of them all, had signed with Detroit.

Suddenly, catching the Tigers in the AL got a whole lot tougher.

“I would have preferred him to sign somewhere else, but we can’t worry about that,” Acta said, smiling. “We have to worry about our ballclub getting better and taking the next step. So we’ll just deal with it.”

Acta and several of his players kicked off “Tribe on Tour” Thursday, a four-day event where the Indians will stop at shopping malls around Northeast Ohio and interact with their fans, some of whom are still reeling from Fielder’s decision to sign a nine-year contract that will pay him at least $23 million per season until 2020.

The Indians don’t have that kind of money to throw around — not now, and probably not ever. However, just because Fielder landed with the division champions, Acta’s focus hasn’t changed for 2012. Cleveland challenged for nearly five months last season before injuries caused it to fade.

Acta is confident his team will contend again.

“We know what we have and we know what we have to work with,” Acta said. “Before the offseason started we weren’t targeting the guy who signed with L.A. (Albert Pujols) and the guy who just signed with Detroit. We’re just going to have to do it with our internal options. They played pretty well last year for 4 1/2 months, so we have to keep them on the field and we have to take the next step and go from there.

“We can’t sell dreams to people.”

Acta said there’s still a chance the Indians, who reportedly pursued first baseman Carlos Pena before he re-signed with Tampa Bay, could sign a hitter before the offseason ends. Acta has been a “witness” to general manager Chris Antonetti’s efforts to improve a team that went 80-82 last season.

The Indians have protected themselves this winter by inviting 20 non-roster players to camp with the goal of adding depth in case of injuries.

They don’t know when — or if — Carmona will be able to be with them in Arizona this season as he works through his legal entanglement. On Thursday, Carmona, whose real name is believed to be Roberto Hernandez Heredia, was placed on Major League Baseball’s restricted list.

The move allows the Indians to open a spot on their 40-man roster. Also, the club does not have to pay Carmona until he reports to the team and there’s no guarantee that will happen. He’s scheduled to make $7 million this season after the club exercised its option on him in October.

Authorities say Carmona, who was arrested last week in Santo Domingo, is 31 and not 28 as he had claimed and the Indians believed.

Acta has been in daily contact with Carmona. However, he said he could not comment on any specifics regarding the pitcher’s case, the latest involving a player from the Dominican Republic lying about his age and birthdate to play in the U.S.

Sadly, the deception has been a common practice in a country where baseball is the only avenue to a better life for many.

Acta feels baseball has made strides in fixing the problem.

“I believe Major League Baseball is doing a tremendous job right now to help better the system, but it’s been a flawed system for a long time,” he said. “You can be 21 and be a first-round pick out of college here, but when was the last time that anyone that signed out there that you knew he was 21?

“It’s a system in the past that has forced those kids to do some of that stuff. It’s getting better. They’re doing a good job of trying to fix the problem.”

Carmona’s loss leaves a hole in Cleveland’s starting rotation Acta knows won’t be easy to fill.

“You don’t find 200 innings in every corner of America, and just two years ago he pitched 210 quality innings,” he said. “But life goes on.”

The Indians signed relief pitcher Dan Wheeler to a minor league contract Thursday that includes an invitation to big league spring training camp.

The 34-year-old right-hander is a 12-year veteran that spent last season with Boston. He owns a lifetime record of 25-43 with a 3.88 ERA in 577 games.

The Indians placed pitcher Fausto Carmona on Major League Baseball’s restricted list, which means they are not responsible for the right-hander’s salary as he sorts out his legal problems in the Domincian Republic.

While on the restricted list, Carmona does not count against the club’s payroll or its 25- and 40-man rosters.

Carmona was arrested last week in the Dominican Republic on false identity charges that claim his real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that the pitcher is 31 years old, not 28, as listed in the Cleveland media guide.

Carmona has been released but has not obtained a visa to return to America and most likely will not be in Goodyear, Ariz., when pitchers and catchers report Feb. 19.

— Chris Assenheimer

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

CLEVELAND — The Indians moved quickly to take precautions against the uncertain future of Fausto Carmona.

With Carmona still detained in the Dominican Republic, Cleveland acquired starting pitcher Kevin Slowey and cash considerations Friday in a trade with Colorado for minor league reliever Zach Putnam. Carmona, the Indians’ opening-day starter last year, was arrested Thursday on false identity charges that claim his real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and that he is 31 years old, not 28, as listed in Cleveland’s media guide.

Though general manager Chris Antonetti said the Indians have had longtime interest in Slowey, a right-hander who went 0-8 with a 6.67 ERA for Minnesota last year, it was clear Carmona’s sticky status played a part in the acquisition.

“For a lot of reasons, this made sense,” Antonetti said of the Slowey trade. “There’s obviously some uncertainty with Fausto’s situation, but we’ve looked to improve the team any way possible this offseason.

We feel that we’ve added and improved our starting pitching alternatives. But certainly, with Fausto’s situation, it lends more clarity to (Slowey) having a chance to make the major league roster.”

As he works through visa problems in the Dominican, Carmona is not likely to arrive on time for spring training. Cleveland’s pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Goodyear, Ariz., on Feb. 19.

According to Antonetti, Slowey, 27, will enter camp competing for Carmona’s spot in the rotation, presumably against right-hander Jeanmar Gomez and lefty David Huff. Slowey does have a minor league option available.

Antonetti would not discuss Carmona’s situation directly, but said manager Manny Acta spoke with the pitcher and the Indians have been in touch with Carmona’s legal representatives in the Dominican.

“We’re going to continue to refrain from commenting (on Carmona) until we have a little bit more clarity,” Antonetti said.

The Associated Press reported Friday afternoon that Carmona offered a tearful apology after being released from jail on bail of around $13,000.

“I ask for the forgiveness of my fans, the government of the United States and the Cleveland Indians for this situation,” Carmona said.

According to the AP story, lawyers for Carmona said the pitcher would speak in more detail at a later news conference, but there is no indication as to when he will be able to return to America. A judge ordered him not to leave the Dominican as the investigation into his case continues.

ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reported the family of the real Fausto Carmona turned the pitcher in after he refused to increase the amount of money he was paying them to keep his identity a secret.

Meanwhile, Slowey joins Cleveland with five years of big league experience – all with Central Division rival Minnesota.

His 2011 season was derailed by oblique and shoulder injuries, but in three straight years prior to that, Slowey posted double-digit win totals while pitching out of the rotation. He owns a career 39-29 record and 4.66 ERA in 100 games (90 starts), with an 18-10 mark and 4.93 ERA against Central Division opponents — 6-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts against Cleveland (3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in four starts at Progressive Field).

“He struggled with minor injuries last year, but we feel he has the ability to get back to where he’s been in the past and help our major league team,” said Antonetti, who indicated Slowey isn’t a candidate for the final spot in the bullpen.

Minnesota traded Slowey to Colorado in December for a player to be named, and Slowey signed a one-year contract worth $2.7 million to avoid arbitration. Colorado is responsible for $1.25 million of Slowey’s 2012 contract.

The 24-year-old Putnam, Cleveland’s fifth-round draft pick in 2008, spent the majority of last season at Triple-A Columbus, where he went 6-3 with a 3.65 ERA and nine saves in 44 games. He appeared in eight games for the Indians, going 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA.

The Indians also continued to bolster their outfield depth, signing Ryan Spilborghs to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training camp. Spilborghs, a career .272 hitter in seven seasons with Colorado, was a starter in 2009-10, but battled injuries last year and batted just .210 in 98 games.

Cleveland will have 12 outfielders in camp, including projected starters Shin-Soo Choo, Grady Sizemore and Michael Brantley.

The Indians lost out in their bid to sign free-agent first baseman Carlos Pena, who agreed to a one-year, $7.25 million deal with Tampa Bay, his former team.

In search of a first baseman, Cleveland could turn its attention to Casey Kotchman, who played first for the Rays last year after Pena left to sign a one-year contract with the Cubs. Kotchman hit .306 with 10 homers and 48 RBIs in 146 games. Free agents Carlos Lee and Derek Lee are also free agents at the position.

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.