Category: Cleveland Indians (Page 10 of 96)

Indians fans crack me up sometimes.

The general opinion on yesterday’s trade of Kevin Kouzmanoff and Andrew Brown for Josh Barfield seems to be split: some love the move, some hate it. Mike in Chicago commented on one of our threads that Shapiro has once again given up too much talent for “an upside guy that hasn’t proven anything.”

Um…actually, Barfield proved that he can hit, run and field at the big league level — .280 with 13 homers, 21 steals and a .987 fielding percentage that ranked third in the National League, all as a 23-year-old rookie. Plus he had a very good minor league career, hitting for average and a bit of power (15-plus homers from 2003-’05) while stealing bases and even taking some walks (an average of 50 per year from 2003-05).

Meanwhile, I don’t see anything overly impressive about Kouz’s minor league numbers. Granted, the kid can obviously hit (.379 with 22 homers combined between AA and AAA last year), but so can Barfield, plus Barfield plays exceptional defense and he can run. Those traits are much more valuable in a middle infielder than they are in a corner infielder.

Let’s turn this around for a second and say the Indians had Barfield last year as a rookie and the Padres had Kouz. If Shapiro dealt Barfield for Kouz, people like Mike in Chicago would be bitching about Shapiro dealing a proven talent in Barfield for an upside kid in Kouz. It’s true. I bet Mike in Chicago hated the Coco/Marte trade too.

It’s fun to play GM when a deal like this goes down, but some people love to hate no matter the situation. You’ve got to give talent to get talent, and you deal from your strengths to shore up weaknesses. Despite some people’s opinions, the Tribe believes Andy Marte has a chance to be special offensively and defensively, and they have several guys to play first base. Kouz was excess, and therefore a prime bargaining chip. Shapiro did an outstanding job using that chip to plug a gaping hole at 2B with a young, proven talent who will instantly add some much-needed speed to the lineup. Plus, he did it without eating up any of the payroll, which means he can now focus his resources on shoring up the bullpen and adding another quality right-handed power bat.

Kouz could be good, but Barfield already is. So what’s the problem?

The Indians completed a trade with San Diego, acquiring second baseman Josh Barfield in exchange for infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown. Barfield is 23 years old and had a solid rookie season in 2006 with the Padres:

Barfield, the son of former Blue Jays and Yankees outfielder and 1986 American League home run champ Jesse Barfield, made his Major League debut Opening Day in ’06. He went on to hit .280 with 13 homers and 58 RBIs for the NL West champs and finished second among big-league rookies with 21 stolen bases.

When initially informed of the trade, Barfield was shocked. But he soon warmed up to the idea of playing in Jacobs Field.

“I had no idea I was even being considered to be traded,” he said. “It took me by surprise. It’s starting to sink in now, and I’m realizing it’s going to be a better situation for me.”

Better in the sense that he won’t have to play home games in mammoth PETCO Park anymore. In ’06, he hit .241 at home and .319 on the road. His road average was the third-highest among NL batters.

The Tribe desperately needed a second baseman, and it looks like they got a good one in Barfield. He can hit and he adds speed to the lineup, and his defense is solid.

That said, they gave up a lot of talent to get him. Kouzmanoff looks like he can be a hitting machine, though he’s unproven at the big league level. Brown is a good young reliver. With Marte at third base, the Indians had a glut of young third baseman, so trading him to fill a need at second base probably makes sense. All three players have real upside potential, so it will take several years to see who got the best of this trade. Shapiro has a good track record evaluating young position players, so let’s hope he made the right call.

Despite the rumors that the Indians might be interested in re-signing Ronnie Belliard, Terry Pluto is reporting that his return next season is unlikely. Unfrtunately, the Indians do not have many good options at second base, making last season’s giveaway trade of Brandon Phillips even more painful.

Terry Pluto isn’t impressed with mark Shapiro’s argument that Eric Wedge is his “partner.” As Pluto points out, Shapiro is the boss and he needs to let Wedge know that. Pluto points out the painful example of the Brandon Phillips fiasco. Wedge didn’t want him, so Shapiro let him go and basically got nothing in return. Now we need a second baseman for 2007.