The Indians have designated 27-year old righty starting pitcher Mitch Talbot for assignment to make room on the roster for Ubaldo Jimenez.  Talbot pitched in 11 games (11 starts) for the Indians this year and he was 2-6 with a 6.33 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP.  He gave up 81 hits in only 58 1/3 innings this year as he wasn’t missing many bats.  Talbot pitched in 39 games (all starts) in his two years with the Indians and he was 12-19 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  The Indians will likely try to deal Talbot to a team that missed out on a starting pitcher at the trade deadline.

UPDATE:  (8/5/2011) – Talbot has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA.  It will be interesting to see if he accepts this assignment or if he will reject it and become a free agent.

The Cleveland Indians have dealt 36-year old 2B/SS Orlando Cabrera to the Giants for 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Thomas Neal.  Neal came into this season as the Giants’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America.  Neal has played in 60 games in AAA-ball for the Giants this year and he is 65 for 220 (.295 avg, .761 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.  Neal has now played in 502 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 552 for 1,863 (.296 avg, .839 OPS) with 308 runs scored, 56 homers, 289 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.

Orlando Cabrera played in 91 games for the Indians this year and he was 79 for 324 (.244 avg, .598 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 4 homers, 38 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  The Indians just couldn’t pass up getting a prospect like Neal for Orlando Cabrera.

The Cleveland Indians have acquired 27-year old righty starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies for 22-year old righty starting pitcher Alex White, 23-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Gardner, 26-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Matt McBride and a player to be named later (Drew Pomeranz).  Jimenez has pitched in 21 games (all starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 6-9 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 138 games (137 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 56-45 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  Jimenez has only allowed 722 hits in his first 851 innings in the majors while also whiffing 773 batters which shows you what kind of stuff he has.  He threw a no-hitter last year for the Rockies.  Jimenez is not a rental either as he is on a long term deal, that’s part of the reason why the price was so high for him.

Alex White was the Indians’ #2 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Indians this year and he was 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  White was on a rehab assignment for an injured finger at the time of this deal.  Drew Pomeranz was the Indians’ #4 prospect heading into this year according to Baseball America.  He can’t officially be dealt until August 15th as due to the fact that he was the Tribe’s first round pick last year.  Pomeranz started 18 games in A+AA-ball for the Indians this year and he was 3-3 with a 1.98 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  Joe Gardner came into this year as the Tribe’s #9 prospect according to Baseball America.  Gardner pitched in 19 games (all starts) in AA-ball this year and he was 7-8 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.  McBride was the only guy the Rockies got from the Indians that wasn’t considered a top prospect.  McBride played in 96 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Indians this year and he was 99 for 355 (.279 avg, .841 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 15 homers, 56 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

The Indians paid full price for Ubaldo Jimenez, but he gives them a legit #1 type starting pitcher.  I like this move for both teams.

26-year old righty swinging 1B Matt LaPorta was the key player in the C.C. Sabathia deal with the Brewers 2.5 years ago, so it’s time for him to step up or sit down.  LaPorta has played in 16 games so far in July and he is 11 for 53 (.208 avg, .549 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs.  He has now played in 75 games for the Tribe so far this year and he is 59 for 251 (.235 avg, .694 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 9 homers, 35 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Those numbers are awful for a starting 1B in the major leagues.  LaPorta has now played in 237 games in his first three years with the Indians and he is 188 for 808 (.233 avg, .694 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 28 homers, 97 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  The Indians aren’t going to wait around forever for LaPorta to start hitting the ball like the minor league scouting reports said he could when they dealt for him.

The Indians have designated 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Travis Buck for assignment to make room on the roster for Kosuke Fukudome.  Buck has played in 50 games for the Indians this year and he is 34 for 149 (.228 avg, .617 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 18 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The Indians would probably like to have Buck back as long as he clears waivers and would accept an outright assignment to AAA.

UPDATE:  (8/5/2011) – Travis Buck has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.  The Indians will likely call him up when rosters expand on September 1st.