DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Time for Tribe to start listening to trade offers?

But we DO have a shot at the playoffs










Not in 2008, but one of these years

Iwonder what we could get for Byrd? Would anybody be interested?

Indians sign Jeff Weaver to minor league deal

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - The Cleveland Indians signed free agent starting pitcher Jeff Weaver to a minor league contract Saturday. He will report to Triple-A Buffalo immediately.

Weaver, 31, has a career major league record of 93-114 with a 4.72 earned run average in 284 games in parts of nine seasons with the Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals and Mariners. He won three games in the 2006 postseason for St. Louis, which went on to win the World Series.

In 2007 for Seattle he went 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA. Weaver has not pitched in the majors this season. He was 2-4 with a 6.22 ERA in nine games this season for Milwaukee's Triple-A team in Nashville.

07/05 12:41:48 ET

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfo...aspx?id=4162495

I think this deal is likely to get done.... The Indians have been looking for the big bat and if the Brewers are dangling LaPorta the deal has to be taken IMO... If not and we lose Sabathia the chances of finding another LaPorta with those two extra picks next year is highly unlikely. Anything after LaPorta is insurance whether it be Escobar, Green, Gillespie or any other name.

Also... I like LaPorta better than Gamel because he has hit ever since he became a professional. Gamel has come out of no where...one year wonder? At least I think this is what happened. I try to keep up on prospects and have never heard his name until recently with his hot season.

Post deleted by Referee2

If this is indeed the case, I REALLY hope Shapiro doesn't pass on LaPorte and Escobar. IMO that would be a coupe. We get the power bat and the middle infielder we desperately need. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Wouldn't mind Gamel either, as 3rd base is a need but Escobar is a better long term prospect IMO. The biggest concern with Gamel is his defense. He's somewhat of a liability at this point.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3474824

Brewers unwilling to give up too much for Sabathia

By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine

With the Cleveland Indians in the process of considering offers for Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia, the Milwaukee Brewers -- who seemingly match up better with Cleveland than any other team in the Indians' need for young position players -- restructured their offer for the left-hander Saturday, sources said.

But the Brewers are simultaneously preparing for the possibility they may not be the team that lands the veteran left-hander, beginning the process of generating a B-list of alternatives.
The Brewers and Indians have had extensive talks about Sabathia, and if a deal is made, it is likely that Double-A outfielder Matt LaPorta, who has 20 homers for Huntsville, would be in the middle of the package sent to Cleveland. According to sources, the Brewers have been reluctant to part with two of their best prospects, preferring the Indians fill out the trade from a group of players not considered to be at LaPorta's level. The Brewers' Double-A team at Huntsville is loaded, from shortstop Alcides Escobar to third baseman Mat Gamel to catcher Angel Salome.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who recently demoted Brett Myers to Double-A, are looking to upgrade their rotation, and they appear to be lurking in these talks as the primary alternative to the Brewers if Milwaukee cannot finish the deal with Cleveland. The Phillies don't have position players that are considered blue-chip talents at the upper levels of their farm system, but they do have a group of intriguing prospects in lower levels, such as shortstop Jason Donald. If the Indians choose to deal with the Phillies, Cleveland would probably be opting for a larger volume of talent -- but not necessarily getting any players who had a chance to help significantly in the majors next year.

Pat Gillick, the Philadelphia general manager, has a history of making stealthy trades. During the 1992 season, he stunned other teams in the AL East by acquiring David Cone in a deal with the Mets, and Cone went on to make four postseason starts as Toronto won the World Series.

Meanwhile, the Indians have maintained contact with a broad array of suitors, including the Tampa Bay Rays, who are also loaded with prospects, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Rays may not be as motivated to make a Sabathia trade as the Brewers, and may instead choose to focus on other needs (a right-handed hitting outfielder). The Dodgers have frustrated other teams with their style of deal-making, which presents a constantly moving target and makes it unclear to other teams who, among the Dodgers' prospects, is actually available. The Dodgers do not appear anywhere close to making a deal for Sabathia, sources indicated on Saturday evening.

After 237 starts and 106 victories, Sabathia's time with the Indians could soon come to an end. He is eligible for free agency this fall, after contract talks broke off last spring, with Sabathia reportedly turning down an offer that would have been worth a total of about $85 million. If the Brewers don't make a deal for the lefty, their other options would be less costly, but also less dynamic, with greater performance risk. As the Brewers compile that Plan B list of possible targets, it might include the Padres' Randy Wolf, Seattle's Erik Bedard, Oakland's Joe Blanton and Rich Harden, San Francisco's Matt Cain and Toronto's A.J. Burnett.

Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine.

If Shapiro can get both LaPorta AND Escobar, he has to jump on it. From all I've heard, we'll likely get LaPorta and two others but Escobar will NOT be a part of the deal.

I don't really want to make the deal anyway, but if it doesn't include both those guys (LaPorta and Escobar) along with another player - walk away.

Like the article said, this is a team (the Brewers) that hasn't made the post season since Reagan's first term. The 3 month rental thing is their problem, not ours.

j/c

I think some of you guys are really underrating LaPorta and overrating what CC means to the Brew Crew. The Brewers are about to lose their best pitcher and hitter next year *Sheets and Fielder* and if they trade LaPorta, who is easily has the best bat of ANY minor league player, they might now be able to get this close again.

Not to mention, CC is only a rental...the fact that we can get LaPorta should already be considered a major victory...considering he would be our best hitting corner OF in the majors right now.

I don't see how we can underrate a guy that is playing AA ball or overrate the reigning Cy Young Award winner. Its still a crapshoot when you judge young talent - look no further than our own young players over the last few years. Good pitching is like "Location" in real estate ... at a premium. Great pitching (which CC was last year, and most of this year) carries an even higher price.

I'm not really an Indians fan but I don't see why the Indians wouldn't trade CC for just about any good player as long as he isn't a pending FA, too.

Hell, everyone knows they have absolutely no shot at signing CC to a new deal.

You get something now or end up with nothing at the end of the season. Seems pretty simple to me.

I did not know that. Not that big a baseball fan. But I'd still have to say a player that is "proven" (ie: is playing in MLB) has to be better than a pick that may end up being a career AA player.

IMO you have to get 3 of these 5:

M. LaPorta RF a deal breaker if you don't get him
M. Gamel 3B
A. Escobar SS
T. Green 3B
J. Lucroy C with intentions of moving to 1st.

If you don't get 3 of these 5, you don't do deal. As for the Indians right now, I bring up Trevor Crowe and play him at RF or LF and he bats lead off moving Sizemore to 3rd or 4th in the lineup. Also bring up Wes Hodges as soon as you can trade Blake.

Do you think that CC would be any more likely to resign with us...than say Jim Thome??? I don't think so.

There is no way we get both LaPorta and Gamel. If we can get two of any of those five (I would also include Jeffress and Salome) so 7 then I would take the deal. If we can get Escobar then we have the perfect deal because he takes over at SS and Peralta can now be moved for some starting pitching or another weak spot. He won't be moved to 3B because I believe Wes Hodges will prove himself capable of being our everyday 3B next season.

SS - Escobar
LF - Francisco
CF- Sizemore
RF - LaPorta
C - Martinez
DH - Hafner
1B - Garko
3B - Hodges
2B - Cabrera

That's not a bad lineup if we can stay healthy and get a new hitting coach.

Lee, Carmona, Laffey, Sowers, and Westbrook/Huff will be the starters next season. Westbrook is likely to miss the beginning of next season so Huff should be a part of the rotation since Miller will likely be in AAA

Its been a while since the Indians had a right handed power hitter. Maybe since Manny? Marte was supposed to bring a little power from the right side of the plate, but he isnt even making contact when hes not riding the pine.

Being able to move Grady down the order would also help the team score some runs. This is one reason I was so upset over the Coco Crisp deal. The Indians were near the bottom in SBs and needed more speed. Wedge even said the team needed more speed. So they trade their fastest player at the top of the lineup for Marte...a prospect. Having another leadoff hitter allows Grady (who is near the top of the AL lead in HRs) to get more runs in. Having a player that is faster then Grady wouldnt hurt. It helped out last year when Loften batted leadoff. There was a few games he batted near the bottom, but he did leadoff a few games. Grady is a very good leadoff hitter, but he isnt a 'true' leadoff hitter. He should be in the 2 or 3 spot in the batting order.

We traded Crisp to the Red Sox because we are nothing more than a farm team to the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, and any other Big Market team.

Why in the world would you trade a proven player to a competitor for a prospect? Why? Perhaps because the MLB makes more money if teams like Boston and New York win championships while teams like the Indians get really close and lose in the end. MLB gives fans of Mid Market, and Small Market teams the Rabbit chasing the Carrot treatment. Fans of Mid and Small market teams see a possibility midway through the season, spend money going to games, spend money on the post season, only to watch their team lose. MLB knows that once a mid or small market team wins it all, they no longer have that carrot to bait the rabbit with. -That's why guys like Coco Crisp get traded to the big market Boston Red Sox while the Red Sox part with nothing. Just like what's going on currently with CC. Lets do the stupidest thing possible and trade him to the Red Sox, or Yankees, for a few prospects, so the big market teams can win championships, while our team stays reasonably competitive, and us fans chase that carrot hoping that our developing players can beat proven talent that has been assembled in Boston but developed in smaller markets.

Garko has to go. You can't have a 250 hitter with no power playing 1st base.

LaPorta is not in the lineup tonight in AA Huntsville. Could be on his way to Cleveland soon.... or Akron/Buffalo?

yeah.. I saw on a blog (so please don't take this as truth) on mlbtraderumors.com that the deal is close to or completed and that the Dodgers are now done talking to the Indians...

This could be a good thing because maybe the Brewers finally ante'd up and gave us Escobar!

WTAM's Kevin Keane is reporting that a Milwaukee Journal reporter is blogging that the Indians will call a news conference tomorrow. I know, sounds like BS, but it is very unusual for a team to come home for a day off on the inside of a road trip - even if the road trip does close in Detroit. They are traveling tonight from Minnesota to Cleveland, and then going back west to Detroit for a 2 game series. Stay tuned.

i just remembered this... Max Ramirez was traded to Texas last season for Kenny Loften who ended up being a rental... Ramirez is currently batting .373 with 17 HR's and is now in the Majors.

Nice trade Shapiro.... you better make up for it by getting both LaPorta and Escobar!

I'm gonna puke...

I hate this.

Sell the team, Dolans. You promised you'd shell out the money when we had a contender. Instead you gave us Jamey freaking Carroll.

We won't be back for awhile, I'm afraid...

Report: Indians agree to deal Sabathia to Brewers for minor leaguers

ESPN.com news services

Updated: July 6, 2008, 7:32 PM ET

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It looks like the next time C.C. Sabathia takes the mound he'll be donning a Milwaukee Brewers jersey.

C.C. Sabathia

Sabathia

The Brewers and the Cleveland Indians agreed to a deal for the reigning AL Cy Young on Sunday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper reports the deal is contingent on paperwork being finished and the exchange of medical records.

Cleveland would get Double-A outfielder Matt LaPorta, who is hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Huntsville, and two other minor leaguers in return, according to the Journal Sentinel. The two other players do not include top prospects Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel.

The Brewers wanted Sabathia on their pitching staff in time to get him two starts before the All-Star break, according to multiple media reports. Sabathia, who is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA this season, could debut in Milwaukee against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told the Journal Sentinel on Saturday that a proposal was on table and he awaiting word from Indians GM Mark Shapiro.

"Mark said he'd be in touch with me," said Melvin. "I'm sure they've got to think through everything."

Laporta was scratched from Huntsville's lineup Sunday, another indication the deal was close.

Milwaukee has been considered the front-runner in the Sabathia sweepstakes. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays were among other teams vying for his services.