The Cleveland Indians made the first move in what is becoming its annual fire sale, dealing Mark DeRosa to the St. Louis Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and the infamous player to be named later. This leaves the disappointing Jhonny Peralta, whom Eric Wedge went out of his way to praise after Friday night’s game, as the regular third baseman. Things just keep looking up for the Tribe.
DeRosa was mishandled from the moment the Indians acquired him. When GM Mark Shapiro traded for him, most people thought the former Cub would play 2B with Asdrubal Cabrera going to shortstop and Peralta going to third. However, as usual, the Indians were smarter, putting DeRosa at third, where he had some defensive issues.
When they finally moved Peralta to third, it left DeRosa without a spot in the infield. Over the past month or so, he spent most of his time in LF or RF. However, he was still productive with the bat, hitting .270 with 13 homers (2nd on the team) and 50 RBI (also 2nd on the team).
In return, the Indians get a power arm out of the bullpen in Perez, who will turn 24 this week. The relief corps is the achilles heel for Cleveland, so from the standpoint of upgrading a weakness, it’s not a bad move. It will be interesting to see who will be erased from the ‘pen when Perez reports tomorrow, especially after Jensen Lewis was sent back to Columbus to make room for Jose Veras. The easy way out would be to send Tony Sipp back, but it terms of effectiveness, Rafael Perez or Joe Snith should be the one that goes.
Cabrera was activated to replace DeRosa on the roster which means the team has a million infielders and no outfielders. Ryan Garko is playing LF today, and no one wants to see that on an extended basis. So, who is going to replace DeRosa in left? Will Matt LaPorta be brought up? Or will it be Michael Brantley? The ballclub cannot continue to put Ben Francisco in that spot on an everyday basis. He has proven he is not an everyday player.
Again, dealing DeRosa was the easy way out. Wedge can talk up Peralta all he wants, but dealing DeRosa will make it harder for this team to score runs. Peralta simply has not become the player he was projected to be after his breakout 2005 season. It’s four years later, and we still see the same ups and downs you would associate with a guy just up from the minor leagues.
The front office is selling yet another season down the river, and the general manager’s staunch defense of his manager is getting tiring. The Cavaliers made a bold move this week trying to win a championship, meanwhile the Indians are considering having a meeting to discuss the organization. The White Sox’ Ozzie Guillen is right, meetings are for losers. And so is trading for prospects.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 