On Saturday, the Indians traded third baseman/utilityman extraordinaire/Mr. Clutch Casey Blake to the Dodgers for two prospects.
From the Indians' standpoint, it's hard not to like this trade. Blake will be a free agent at the end of the year, and his performance over the next two months wouldn't have been particularly valuable for Cleveland. Ridding themselves of Blake will also force Eric Wedge to play Andy Marte on a regular basis down the stretch, giving the Indians a better idea of what holes they'll need to fill during the offseason.
They also received a pretty impressive return. For whatever reason, the Dodgers decided to try 23-year old Jon Meloan as a starter this year, an experiment which has not been successful. Prior to 2008, in 87 appearances (nine starts), Meloan struck out 236 and walked 61 in 157.2 innings. This year, his K:BB ratio is just 99:60 in 105 innings. The Indians will likely move him back into the bullpen, where he could be a significant contributor to the big club starting next year.
[Insert hilarious joke about musician here] Carlos Santana is a 22-year old third baseman turned catcher with a very odd statistical profile. In 86 games in A ball last year, he hit .223/.318/.370. This year, he has somehow improved his batting average, patience, and power, with a .323/.431/.563 line in the Cal League. With a strong arm, indications are he has the potential to be a starting major league backstop in a few years. The Indians control Victor Martinez through 2010, so Santana could be his replacement if Martinez signs elsewhere as a free agent.
Not surprisingly, Dodgers fans are not thrilled with this transaction. Blake's 2008 OPS+ of 121 is nice, but it's partially supported by a high BABiP; Los Angeles is getting something much closer to his career 106 OPS+. Combine that with what scouts, fielding metrics, and Indians fans agree is poor defense at third, and Blake, despite his clutchiness, really just isn't all that good.
The Dodgers' mishandling of Andy LaRoche has been criticized at length, and it pops up again here. No, he hasn't shown much power since injuring his thumb in March, but he did have a .444 OBP in 119 AAA ABs. Ideally, the Dodgers could start LaRoche at third and have an outfield of Blake/Ethier/Kemp. For various reason--including the fact that they'd have $80 million rotting away on the bench--that'll never happen. In reality, the Dodgers now have a groundball heavy pitching staff and possibly the worst infield defense in baseball.
On the bright side for the Dodgers, the Indians will be paying Casey Blake's salary, which likely contributed to Cleveland's substantial haul. They'll also receive compensation if Blake departs as a free agent, although it's unclear whether he'll be a Type A or B FA. In the end, the Dodgers are "upgrading" from LaRoche to Blake for two months, and getting one or two draft picks. It's just hard to see how that combination is worth the two prospects they traded away.
Photo: LA Times.
Original Story:
http://vegaswatch.net/2008/07/blake-t...
