Indians Confidential

The Cleveland Indians today announced they have recalled INF JOSH BARFIELD and INF LUIS VALBUENA from AAA Columbus and have also purchased the contract of OF MATT LaPORTA from AAA Columbus. To make room on the Major League roster for Barfield, Valbuena and LaPorta, the club has placed RHP JOE SMITH on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 29 with a right rotator cuff strain, optioned OF TREVOR CROWE to AAA Columbus and designated INF TONY GRAFFANINO for assignment.

Barfield, 26, began the 2009 season on the Indians roster and appeared in 1 game (pinch ran) before being optioned to AAA Columbus on April 15. At Columbus he batted .306 (15-49) with 3 2B and 11RBI in 12 games. He has scored 5 runs, stolen 2 bases and compiled an on-base+slugging % of .701 (.333OB/.367SLG). While with the Clippers, Barfield made 9 starts at second base and 3 starts in centerfield. He batted .400 (4-10) off RHP, .282 (11-39) off LHP and .600 (9-15, 3 2B, 11RBI) with runners in scoring position. He wears #29.

Valbuena, 23, has spent the entire 2009 season to date in AAA Columbus where he has batted .321 (25-78) with 4 2B, 2 3B, 3HR & 13RBI in 22 games. He has scored 15 runs, stolen 3 bases and compiled an on-base+slugging % of .975 (.436OB/.538SLG). He is T1st in the league in walks (16), T4th in triples (2), 6th in on-base % (.436) and 9th in OPS (.975). The versatile Valbuena has appeared in 12 games at second base, 6 games at shortstop and 5 games at third base. He has batted .375 (21-56, 1.146OPS) off RHP, .444 (16-36, 1.396OPS) with runners on base and .278 (5-18) with runners in scoring position. He wears #1.

LaPorta, 24, has also spent the entire 2009 season to date in AAA Columbus where he has hit .333 (25-75) with 4 2B, 2 3B, 5HR & 14RBI in 21 games. He has also scored 22 runs and compiled a on-base+slugging% of 1.054 (.414OB/.640SLG). LaPorta hit .353 (6-17) off LHP, .328 (19-58, 5HR, 13RBI) off RHP and .333 (7-21, HR, 7RBI) with runners in scoring position. He was named the International League Player of the Week for the week of April 20-26th as he hit .520 (13-25) with 10 runs scored, a triple, 2HR and 6RBI in 7 games and among the International League leaders ranks T4th in home runs (5), T2nd in runs (22), 6th in slugging % (.640), 5th in OPS (1.054) and 9th in average (.333). He wears #16.

Smith has not pitched since experiencing soreness in his outing of Tuesday, April 28 vs. the Boston Red Sox in Progressive Field, allowing a run, a hit and a walk in 0.2IP. So far this year he has not posted a decision with a 7.11 ERA in 8 relief appearances (6.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 5BB, 6K, .280AVG).

Crowe batted .182 (6-33) with 4 runs scored, a double, 4 RBI and a stolen base in 12 games.

Graffanino is 3 for 23 (.130) in 7 games for Cleveland this year after opening the season on the Major League roster when Jamey Carroll was shelved with a broken left hand.

The Indians now have 5 players (Carroll, Hafner, S. Lewis, Smith, Westbrook) on the Major League disabled list. The Indians 40-man roster stands at 40.

From: The Indians

Matt LaPorta, who is playing for Team USA in the Olympics was hit by a pitch in the head in Team USA’s 9-1 victory over China today. LaPorta was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests, all of which came back negative. He rode the bus back to the Olympic Village with the rest of his teammates and is day-to-day.

Tomorrow Team USA will play Chinese Taipei at 7AM ET.

Below is a quick look at all the news around the Indians Tuesday:

* Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-4, clubbing two homers and plating three, as Detroit crushed the Indians, 9-2, on Tuesday night. Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson had three RBI apiece, with two of Thames’ RBI coming off his 17th long ball of the season. Ivan Rodriguez added a solo shot in the win. Justin Verlander tossed seven solid innings, allowing two runs and fanning seven to improve to 6-and-9 for Detroit, which has won two in-a-row to move to 45-and-44 on the season. Jeremy Sowers absorbed the loss for the Indians after yielding seven runs, six earned, over 5.2 innings of work. Jhonny Peralta clubbed a two-run homer for the Tribe, which has dropped a season-high nine straight games. The Indians will conclude their series with the Tigers tonight. Paul Byrd, who’s 3-and-10 with a 5.53 ERA, will start for the Indians. The Tigers will send out Eddie Bonine, who’s 2-and-1 with a 4.30 ERA. First pitch at Comerica Park is set for 7:05 p.m.

* The Akron debut of outfielder Matt LaPorta was delayed as the Aeros had their game against the Bowie Baysox rained out on Tuesday night. LaPorta is the main piece the Indians received from Milwaukee as they sent pitcher C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tonight. The first pitch of the first game at Canal Park is set for 6:05 p.m.

* The Indians are expected to call up from Triple-A Buffalo today relief pitcher Juan Rincon. He will take the roster spot left vacant by the trading of Sabathia to the Brewers on Monday. The Indians will need a starter to take Sabathia’s turn on Saturday and could call up Matt Ginter from the minors.

* The Indians placed pitcher Scott Elarton on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday for a non-baseball medical condition. Elarton had been on the restricted list because of personal issues. Manager Eric Wedge said that Elarton is out indefinitely. Elarton was 0-and-1 with a 3.52 ERA out of the bullpen.

* As for the debut of Sabathia in a Brewers uniform - he picked up the win as Milwaukee edged Colorado 7-3 at Miller Park. Sabathia allowed two earned runs while fanning five and walking five over six innings to pick up the victory. Ryan Braun smashed his 22nd homer of the year, and Bill Hall plated two for Milwaukee, which has won seven-of-nine. Prince Fielder and Corey Hart had an RBI apiece in the win. Yorvit Torrealba doubled in two runs in defeat for Colorado. Mark Redman gave up four runs over five frames to fall to 2-and-4.

The wait, the anticipation and the speculation is over, and the Milwaukee Brewers have won the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes. As the Indians continued to slip out of contention in the American League Central, Mark Shapiro and Larry Dolan decided this was the time and the deal to make. On WKNR 850AM in an interview with Mark “Munch” Bishop, Larry Dolan stated that there were 7 teams vying for C.C.’s services and the Brewers offered up the best package.

So who was the deal maker in this trade? His name is Matt LaPorta, a power hitting outfielder and the top prospect in the Brewers’ organization. When drafted in 2007 with the 7th pick in the first round many speculated that he could be the next Ryan Braun. If the scouts are correct and LaPorta does become the next Ryan Braun, this will go down as one of the best trades that they Indians organization has ever made. His stats currently demonstrate that he has a lot of power combined with a good eye at the plate. We must take into consideration that he has been hitting Double A pitching, but the fact that he shows patience at the plate this early in his development is a very good sign.

While college statistics can be very misleading, it’s hard to misinterpret LaPorta’s line from his senior season. Playing against top-notch collegiate competition in the SEC, LaPorta hit .402/.582/.817 with 20 homers and an astounding 55/16 walk/strikeout ratio in 52 games. After a mere seven games in rookie ball, LaPorta was assigned to the Double-A Huntsville Stars. When the trade was made on Sunday LaPorta was hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Huntsville. When asked about the trade Matt LaPorta said, “It’s kind of flattering to have your name brought up for one of the best pitchers in the game,” LaPorta told the Huntsville Times.

Many will say that the Indians should have waited for a better deal, or that they rushed to make this deal. Others will say that there were other needs that needed to be addressed on this team with the trade of C.C.. I for one think a trade needed to be done sooner rather than later. Right now you have many more teams contending for a playoff spot that you may not have in a month from now. If 7 teams were interested in C.C. than we have to cross our fingers, hope and trust that the Indians got the best deal available amongst those 7.

The Following is the official Press Release from the Indians on the C.C. Sabathia trade:

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired OF MATT LaPORTA, RHP ROB BRYSON, LHP ZACH JACKSON & a player to be named from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for LHP CC SABATHIA.

LaPorta, 23, has spent the entire season at Class AA Huntsville in the Southern League where he has hit .288 (87-302) with 23 doubles, 2 triples, 20 home runs & 66 RBI in 84 games. He currently leads the Southern League in homers, is 2nd in RBI and extra base hits (41), 3rd in slugging % (.576), 6th in on-base % (.402) and tied for 5th with 56 runs scored. The right-handed hitting outfielder is hitting .301 (68-225) this season off right-handed pitching and .307 (31-101) with RISP. The Double A All-Star has also been selected to play in the Futures Game on July 13 for Team USA and is one of 60 players currently being considered for the 24-man United States Olympic Team roster.

LaPorta is in his second year of professional baseball after being selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (7th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida where he was two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. Last season after signing with the Brewers he hit .304 (35-115) with 12 HR & 31 RBI in 30 games between rookie Helena and A West Virginia. Prior to the 2008 season the Pt. Charlotte, FL native was named the top prospect and best power hitting prospect in the Brewers organization by Baseball America. He was also named by Baseball America as the 23rd best prospect in all of baseball entering the 2008. He will report to AA Akron in the coming days.

Bryson, 20, has spent the entire season at Class A West Virginia of the South Atlantic League where he has gone 3-2 w/5 saves and a 4.25 ERA in 22 games/5 starts (55.0IP, 43H, 26ER, 20BB, 73K), limiting SAL hitters to a .209 (43-206, 3HR) average against. In relief this year he has compiled an ERA of 3.96 (35.1IP, 24H, 16ER, 11BB, 53K) and has allowed 1ER in his last 7 outings (9.2IP, 4H, 2BB, 16K). He is averaging 11.9 strikeouts per 9.0IP. Entering 2008 he was named 11th best overall prospect in the Brewers organization by Baseball America.

He was signed in 2007 as a draft and follow pick from the 2006 draft by Milwaukee (31st round) out of Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware. He posted a 2.67 ERA in 18 games/4 starts at Rookie Helena last year (54.0IP, 49H, 16ER, 12BB, 70K). Bryson was named the 8th best prospect in the Pioneer League following the 2007 season as he ranked 3rd in the league in saves (8) and 4th in strikeouts (70). He will be assigned to A Lake County.

Jackson, 25, has spent much of the season at AAA Nashville (1-5, 7.85ERA, 22G/6GS) and appeared in 2 games with the Brewers in May (0-0, 4.91ERA, 3.2IP, 5H, 2R/ER). He was acquired by the Brewers in December of 2005 from Toronto in a trade that sent 1B Lyle Overbay to the Blue Jays. He owns a Major League career record of 2-2 w/a 5.36 ERA in 10 games (7GS, 42.0IP, 53H, 25ER) with the Brewers and last year at AAA Nashville went 11-10 w/a 4.46 ERA in 28 starts (169.2IP, 184H, 84ER, 123K). He finished 2nd in the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched & games started and 3rd in strikeouts. Jackson, who has pitched professionally since 2004, will have his option transferred from Nashville to Buffalo.

Sabathia posted a career record of 106-71 with a 3.83 ERA (1528.2IP, 1435H, 650ER, 1265SO) with the Indians from 2001-08. The 2007 American League Cy Young winner owns the 7th highest winning % (.599) and 5th most strikeouts (1265) in Indians club history. He is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA in 18 starts this season with Cleveland (122.1IP, 117H, 52ER, AL-high 123SO).

Said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President and General Manager MARK SHAPIRO –

“While we are disappointed to have reached this juncture, we are focused on positioning the organization for success in 2009 and beyond. No player has impacted this team and community more in the last eight years than CC Sabathia. However, by trading CC, we have infused several promising players into our organization – including Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and a Player to be Named Later. ”

The 40-man roster still stands at 37 players.

The move that has been rumored about for the past few days is finally ready to go down, as reports have Tribe ace C.C. Sabathia about to change cities, moving from Cleveland to Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as well as Yahoo! Sports is reporting the deal, and that it came down Sunday afternoon.

The deal is Sabathia to Milwaukee for for four minor leaguers, including top prospect Matt LaPorta and third baseman Taylor Green. LaPorta is the ace of the deal for the Indians, as he has 20 home runs and 66 RBIs for Class AA Huntsville. He is a right-handed slugger who is below-average defensively. He was the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2007, and played first base at the University of Florida, but the Brewers converted him to left field.

“It’s kind of flattering to have your name brought up for one of the best pitchers in the game,” LaPorta told the Huntsville Times. “There would be no hard feelings one way or another. This is a business, and I understand that.” Green is a third baseman, and was being scouted by the Indians at Class A Brevard County back on July 3rd. This season he was batting .297 with 10 homers and 50 RBI. Last season at A ball he hit .327 with 14 homers and 86 RBI.

What could have been for Sabathia really died out when he declined a $72 million, four-year extension from the Indains back in spring training, and said that he would not talk to the team till after the season. With the Indians having the second to worst record in the Majors, time was now to trade their ace.