Thoughts on the Big Trade

It's hard to believe that the Indians had yet another walk off home run tonight and that is probably the secondary story on the Tribe tonight.

The big news, of course, is the "almost done" trade that sends Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Matt McBride, and Joe Gardner to Colorado for Ubaldo Jimenez.

My gut reaction is that I hate to see both Pomeranz and White on that list.  But I can get over that, because I think that this is ultimately a good deal for the Indians.  Here are my reasons:

1) Jimenez has struggled this year, but his big problems have come at home, place known as Coors Field.  The Rockies' stadium is the most pitcher unfriendly park in baseball.  Jimenez's ERA at Coors is closer to 6 than 5.  His ERA everywhere else is 2.83.  Granted, he's been in the NL, but his numbers away from Coors are better than everyone in our rotation but Masterson.

2) Alex White has never been projected at anything higher than a #3 starter, so losing him is more of a product of the fact that he's a guy we actually drafted, and we've had so few home grown pitchers make it to the major league team.  Pomeranz, of course, projects as an ace.  The problem, however, is that these are projections.  There's no guarantee that he'll pan out, although I do think he will.  Still, at the earliest we'd see him next year, more more likely 2013, which is a ways off.

3) Yes, this is a deal made because the Tribe is (now) only 1.5 games out of first place.  But let's not look past the fact that this is also a trade for the future.  Jimenez is locked in through 2013, with an option for 2014 (although he can void that since he was traded).  This means that heading into next year (and probably the year after), the Tribe won't be wondering who's going to be in their rotation.  In fact, they'll have about 9 guys between Cleveland and Columbus who could make a go of it, and suddenly two guaranteed front of the rotation guys in Jimenez and Masterson.

4) I would expect Carrasco to get sent down to make room for Jimenez.  He clearly needs to work something out given his last 5 starts.  I don't have a lot of faith in Huff, but he's been really good since getting called up, so no reason to send him down.  But let's not forget what Carrasco did in his 5 starts before those.  He obviously has the stuff to be a front end guy, and perhaps sending him back down to AAA will turn him around.  But, again, if we can get him straightened out, that's a heck of a 1-3.

5) Yes, we still need offense.  Rumor has it that the Tribe is in a good position to acquire Ludwick from the Padres.  While Ludwick's overall numbers aren't great, his OPS against left handed pitching ranks him at the top of the Tribe's order, so getting him to face just lefties would be great.

6) The time is now for the Indians organization.  Why?  Because Cleveland can really only support two sports teams, and the Browns will always be number one.  Attendance for Cavs games is only going to drop, if they even play next season.  Now is the time for the Indians to win back the city.  Not only does this move improve their chances of winning the division, it shows the fan base that they're serious about winning right now.  That's huge for the franchise.

Anyway, looking forward to see Jimenez pitch and I'm hoping we find a way to get Ludwick.  Should be a fun next couple of weeks.