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Wickman’s departure pretty much signals the end of a dismal season for the Tribe as they start building for the future…again. According to Shapiro, additional trades are possible with the Indians so far back in the standings.

“Most likely this will be the trade of the biggest magnitude,” said Shapiro, “but when you talk to this many teams, the possibility of a bigger deal is not out of the question.”

Next on my list to see go would have to be Aaron Boone, no question.

As far as the player they received in return, Max Ramirez won’t be of help for the Indians for a couple of years. Ramirez’s stats and why Shapiro chose him:

The right handed-hitting Ramirez is a 21-year-old converted third baseman still in the low minor leagues. Last year at rookie-level Danville, he was named the co-Player of the Year in the Appalachian League after hitting .347 with eight home runs and 47 RBI. He was named the fifth-best prospect in that league by Baseball America. This year, in 267 at-bats at Rome in the South Atlantic League, Ramirez is hitting .285 with nine home runs and 37 RBI.

“We like this kid,” said Shapiro. “He’s very athletic and has been successful everywhere he’s played. Although he’s a converted third baseman, he threw out 38 percent of attempted base stealers last year.”

Shapiro said the Indians and Braves discussed a variety of players the Tribe might get in return for Wickman, including some Class AAA and Class AA players.

“We took the player we wanted, and sometimes to get a player with a high ceiling, you have to go down to a lower level,” said Shapiro. “This kid is still young, far away from the big leagues, with a lot of work ahead of him. But he’s got the tools and the bat to be a very good major-league prospect.”

The Indians seem to be very fond of drafting or trading for converted catchers. With so many former catchers on the coaching staff, you would hope they would be able to teach the art of throwing out a baserunner.

Of all the guys the Indians could’ve been shopping this season, Bob Wickman seemed the most logical choice to go. Teams are paying a premium for relievers this season (see Cincinnati’s insane multi-player trade last week) and a battle-tested guy like Wickman would no doubt help a team in need of a closer or simply bullpen depth. Add that to the fact that Wick is not in the Tribe’s long-term plans and it seemed a given that he’d be dealt at some point.

Well, here you go.

The Braves finally obtained a closer Thursday, acquiring right-hander Bob Wickman from the Indians for Class A catcher Max Ramirez, FOXSports.com has learned. …Wickman, 37, had to approve the deal as a player with 10 years of major league service, five with the same team.

No real word on this Ramirez kid yet, but one of the fantasy baseball sites I check regularly said he’s got a lot of offensive potential and he may very well not project as a catcher long-term, which makes sense considering we’ve already got Victor and now Kelly Shoppach behind the plate.

It’s tough to really gauge a deal like this with such an unknown prospect, but at least Shapiro is being aggressive with some of his marketable assets. Expect to see Fausto Carmona in the closer’s role now, though unless the team wants plans on auditioning Carmona as the closer of the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if several guys (Betancourt, Cabrera) get save opps over the rest of the season.

Indians closer Bob Wickman has been traded Thursday to the Atlanta Braves for an unnamed minor leaguer. More updates to follow.

The Tribe salvaged what they could of a disappointing road trip and left Anaheim with a 6-4 victory Wednesday afternoon. Just how the Angels put up five runs in one inning the night before, the Tribe returned the favor and scored five of their own in the fifth to jump out to a 5-2 lead. Ben Broussard hit a two-run homer and Jhonny Peralta added a two-run single in the monster inning. Peralta, Boone, and Inglett all had three hits on the day. Inglett started in place of Grady Sizemore, who had started every game this season. Grady didn’t get the entire day off, however. He singled in a pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth. In his first start against his old mates, Paul Byrd pitched another quality game, allowing three runs in six innings to earn the victory. As good as the big inning was for the Tribe, arguably the play of the game came in the sixth. With the Indians up 5-3, Casey Blake made an amazing diving grab with two runners on to save the lead.

“I remember thinking I didn’t know how I came up with it,” Blake said. “I didn’t think I had it until I looked at it in the glove.”

Bob Wickman entered in the ninth to save his 15th game, but not before Eric Wedge was ejected for arguing a strike-three call. What made the win so impressive was the fact that the Tribe snapped John Lackey’s scoreless streak. Before the five-run fifth, Lackey had not allowed a run in his previous 30 2/3 innings pitched.

“You don’t like what happened in between, but to win the first one and win the last one against those two pitchers says a lot about our club,” Wedge said, referring to Lackey and Twins phenom Francisco Liriano.

Cliff Lee’s last start against the Angels was a lot more enjoyable, one which resulted in a 14-2 Tribe victory. Lee was cruising along Tuesday night until he ran into some big trouble in the fourth. The Angels put up five on the board in the inning and went on to beat the Tribe 7-5 in Anaheim. Lefty Joe Saunders, making his third big league start, only allowed four Tribe hits in seven innings pitched. The Indians grounded into five double plays on the night as they lost their fifth straight. Ben Broussard and Grady Sizemore would attempt to bring them back in the ninth when the Tribe scored three. Too little, too late.

Brian Sikorski, a right-handed reliever the Indians acquired Tuesday from San Diego, came on to pitch the eighth. Juan Rivera, the first batter he faced, went yard, one of his two homers on the night. Sikorski was received from the Padres in exchange for reliever Mike Adams. To make room for the Sikorski, the Indians sent Rafael Perez back to Buffalo, leaving them without a left-hander in the bullpen.