Indians Confidential

Interesting dinner conversation tonight in the Indians press dining room, as I had the pleasure of catching up with media pals Greg Brinda of WKNR and the always entertaining Bruce Drennen of “All Bets are Off” on SportsTime Ohio.  The topic turned to the Indians offense (or lack of), and the latest rumor mill that Bruce said was a topic on his show today, which was the rumor of the Indians having interest in Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins.

If you haven’t heard about it, Buster Olney of ESPN threw out the following on the possibility of the Indians taking a look at Atkins: If Colorado eventually turns the page on 2008, the Indians and the Rockies could match up well in a deal built around Garrett Atkins. The Rockies have a third baseman waiting in the wings, in Ian Stewart — although he is not faring well so far — and the Indians, as they look for ways to improve their offense, are flexible at first and third base.

Now if you don’t know much about Atkins, he’s a solid hitter (.335 with 7 homers and 26 RBI), and according to Drennen he’s more than serviceable at third.  The Indians need a stick, no doubt, and third base is a question mark for the future with Andy Marte not doing much of anything, and Casey Blake is playing well, but he’s not your 3B of the future.

Atkins is not going to come cheap, and two names that Bruce brought up in a possible deal would be pitcher Aaron Laffey and 2B Josh Barfield, who is playing OK in Buffalo.  Atkins last season had 25 homers, 111 RBI and hit .301.  Follow this one closely, and while the trade deadline is a long way off, there is no doubt that this is an interesting rumor that could gain more steam before it’s all said and done.