Tribe Trade Tracker: The Review

I know I know, the Dolan’s are cheap. The Indians can’t contend. Baseball is sunk in Cleveland. The system stinks. All the Indians do is sell of their best players. Yada, Yada. Yada. I get it. But here is the thing, Tribe fans – the trades I am about to discuss were all the right calls. There is zero point in keeping around guys like Kerry Wood, Jhonny Peralta, and Austin Kearns (Jake Westbrook, still had value to this club in terms of leadership). Lets get it straight and out there in the open: in the situation the Indians are in, this was absolutely the right thing to do. So lets review the deals to put this into better perspective.

3B Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers for A Pitcher Giovanni Soto

There are no two ways about it, and as I wrote last week, it was Jhonny’s time to go. The guy had no future here;  a colossal disappointment over the past two years who regressed both at the plate and in the field. The move to third base was supposed to help his offense; that didn’t work. The move away from his arch-nemesis Eric Wedge to the player friendly Manny Acta was supposed to put him more at ease; that didn’t work either. So with his contract up at the end of the year and about zero chance of his $8 million option being picked up for 2011, the Indians actually found a taker for Peralta; the Tigers.

What they got in return was a 6’6 A ball pitcher in Soto who is more than just a throw-in prospect. Per Tony Lastoria of Indians Prospect Insider:

He is not considered a blue chip prospect at this point by any means, but he is very intriguing because of his age, projection, performance to date, and, well, because he is left-handed. He was a 21st round pick in last year’s draft out of Puerto Rico and had an impressive showing in the Gulf Coast League last year at 18 years old where in 13 appearances (6 starts) he went 4-0 with a 1.18 ERA (45.2 IP, 33 H, 20 BB, 37 K). He has followed that up this year where as a 19-year old in the Midwest League (Low-A) he is 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA in 16 starts (82.2 IP, 75 H, 25 BB, 76 K). His 2.61 ERA is ranked third in the league, and amazingly he has thrown two complete game shutouts this year which is almost unheard of at the Low-A level. So it’s kind of nice to get a guy who is for once combining performance with projection.

In his debut in Lake County over the weekend, Soto pitched five innings of one-hit, one-run ball, striking out seven. Heck, I’d have taken a bag of baseballs for Jhon at this point. Getting Soto is a bonus.

With Jhon now gone, Jayson Nix, Sweet Luis Valbuena, and Andy Marte will get most of the at-bats with Jared Goedert (.290 BA/17 HR/37 RBI/200 AB’s in AAA) no doubt a September call-up. The collection of those guys will be keeping the seat warm for top prospect Lonnie Chisenhaul, who we won’t see until mid to late 2011.

OF Austin Kearns to the Yankees for a Player to be named later

I like Austin Kearns. He came in on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training camp in hopes of making the Tribe as an extra outfielder. With Manny Acta being his former manager and advocate, Kearns broke camp with the big club and showed he could not only hit, but play all three outfield spots.

Who knew that by late-April, he’d be playing left field every day and batting cleanup? I give Kearns a ton of credit. He showed, when healthy, he can be a very valuable asset to any ballclub. That is why the Yankees wanted him for their bench. In his 342 at-bats with the Indians, Kearns hit .272 with eight homers and 34 RBIs. Nothing spectacular, but solid enough considering the circumstances. He has cooled off considerably since hitting .313 on June 7th.

All that is nice, but the fact is that the Indians didn’t need him. He isn’t a part of the future and with so many young outfielders in the pipeline (Trevor Crowe, Michael Brantley, Nick Weglarz), there was little reason to keep him around. Kearns did himself a favor by becoming a tradable commodity and the Indians did well by him to send him to the Yankees where he has a great shot at a ring.

“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “It’s the best chance you have to win, obviously, coming here. And that’s what it’s all about. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Brantley will be back this weekend as he has to be down in Columbus for 10 days before he can be recalled again. Crowe is already playing everyday. Acta told the media yesterday he expects to see Weglarz (.286 with 17 doubles, six homers, 20 RBI and an .889 OPS through 50 games) at some point before the end of the year.

SP Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals for AA P Corey Kluber

This one saddens me a bit. I know why the Indians brass sent Jake packing to St. Louis, but I have always been a huge Jake guy. He has been here since 2001, a deadline deal from the Yankees for David Justice, and has been a model of consistency and character. One thing you can say about Jake; he gave everything he had to this organization.

And the organization gave back too. He received a three-year, $33 million extension after the 2007 season, which at the time was well deserved. Westbrook was coming off of his fourth straight 25-plus start season and was the Indians best postseason pitcher. Don’t forget that while CC Sabathia was wetting himself in the ’07 ALCS, Jake won the pivotal Game Three and was nails as the Game Seven starter.

However, things seemed to spiral down from that point. After just five starts in 2008, he needed Tommy John surgery and was lost for essentially two full seasons – the first two years of his extension. Typical Tribe luck. They actually pony up and pay a guy to keep him and he gets hurt. In 2010, Jake came back as the Opening Day starter and stayed healthy all year. He had ups and downs, but you could see him regaining his old sinker-ball form. He went at least five innings in 19 of his 22 starts, and at least six in 13 of them.

I would have liked to have seen Jake stick around to help nurture some of the young arms down the stretch. He was the most respected veteran in that room and one of the better men you will ever come across in the game. The Indians rewarded his loyalty by giving him a shot to play in the postseason. Ever the team player, Jake restructured his trade bonus to make the deal work for all parties.

“Anyway I could help the Indians, I wanted to do that,” said Westbrook. “I don’t feel I honored the contract with them because of my health. It was in my best interest and the Indians’ best interest to do something like that.”

What a class act.

As for Kluber, the kid they received for Jake, he definitely has some upside as a potential major league rotation guy. He was leading the Texas League (AA) on strikeouts with 136 in 122.2 innings pitched. In his last three starts prior to the deal, Kluber was 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA.

“He throws between 88 mph and 95 mph and sits at 91-92 mph,” said Tribe GM in waiting Chris Antonetti. “He has an average to above-average fastball and a plus breaking ball. He has the ability to miss bats. He gives us another upper level starter who hopefully can be part of our major league rotation at some time.”

He will report to Akron to finish the AA season, but with the amount of arms being brought to Cleveland from Columbus, he could get a shot in AAA.

Kerry Wood to the Yankees for a Player to be named later or Cash

Like with Peralta, I’d have taken a bag of balls to get Wood out of Cleveland. The signing of Wood last winter seemed like such a great idea. The bullpen looked like it had reliable set-up guys in Joe Smith, Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez. The next thing you know, retreads like Matt Herges, Luis Vizcaino, and Jose Veras are pitching the seventh and eighth and nobody could get the ball to Wood. When Wood did get save opportunities, he was rusty from a lack of work.

It was a bad marriage from the beginning. Wood never really fit in here and never really took to the city. He kept to himself and has been described as aloof by some Tribe insiders who hang around the team regularly. I can’t say I blame him; he signed on here late in his career to be a closer on a contender. Instead, he found himself on a sinking ship. But don’t feel too sorry for him, he is laughing all the way to the bank with his $20.5 million.

Again, the Tribe can’t catch a break. They broke the bank to pay a closer $10.25 million a year, and not only does the team implode, but the player doesn’t come close to performing to the level of his deal.

As an Indian, Wood saved 28 games in 37 chances with allowing 40 earned runs in 75 innings. Not exactly All-Star closer material. With Chris Perez a dynamic option as the closer of the future, there was zero reason to keep Wood in the fold. The question in getting rid of Wood was could they find someone to taken him off of their hands with his big money contract on board. Obviously, the Yankees could, though the Indians ended up kicking in some of the money.

Perez is ready. He has shown this year during Wood’s annual two DL stints that he is going to take this job by the collar and put a stranglehold on it. He saved back to back games this weekend in Toronto and has always wanted the job.

“It all worked out,” said Perez. “Kerry is going to a playoff contender, and I’m getting my chance. This is what I’ve dreamed of and worked hard for since college. I hope I come out on top more times than not.”

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Now the Indians only have three guys on their roster making substantial money – Grady Sizemore, Fausto Carmona, and the immovable anchor on the Tribe brass’s back, Travis Hafner. The organization spent most of the winter selling the youth movement and it is finally here. No more Russell Branyan’s of the world clogging up at-bats from the kids. Now lets see what they can do the rest of the way.

AP Photo/Mike Carlson