Report: Belliard to St. Louis

Due to the complicated manner of when a team can negotiate with it's own FA, this will make it easier to re-sign Belliard in the off-season?

I don't think this one is going to go over real well.

However, I'm not sure Luna is going to be the answer at 2B.  Isn't he too similar to a Joe Inglett to justify handing him the 2B job?

No bragging intended, but I thought maybe Luna and a (minor) prospect for Belliard.  Looks like I was half-right - I thought Belliard would be worth a decent prospect, no offense to Luna.

Luna's not bad for a backup (he is almost hitting .300 at .296,) but Belliard is one of the better 2B in the league (especially offensively, and at times, isn't bad defensively,) so I thought a decent prospect would have been attainable.

However, because the Cardinals' farm system is still relatively poor, outside of a few notable prospects, I'm not sure any of their other prospects would be worth getting.  So maybe that's why they decided to take Luna.

WTAM 1100 is reporting from the Baltimore media that Belliard could head to St. Louis and Mota could be part of the deal.  I would think if Mota is involved, you would have to get another player in that deal - no offense, I can't see where Luna is worth that much, unless the Indians are getting substantial financial relief, but I don't think this deal is giving the Indians that much financial relief, are they?  

I know Mota hasn't been good this year, but with his electric arm and the possibility of him doing better against weaker NL lineups, you think he would be worth a prospect of some type.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

WTAM 1100 is reporting that the official trade will be announced after the Cardinals-Cubs game, which is in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Belliard is an above average second baseman in the league, I don't think there is any questioning that. However, it's time to finally give the new guys a chance, and it's better to do that now rather than next year.

As far as getting Luna, why can't he be our utility backup next season? Peralta at shortstop, Inglett at second base, and Luna as the utility man. Marte will be at third, and Blake can platoon between first and the outfield. I certainly don't want Vasquez back, so that's where Luna fits in.

"The 26-year-old Luna, known for a solid bat but inconsistent glove, will join the Indians in Boston on Monday. "

Isn't that wonderful?

Luna is a solid hitter against lefties.  If nothing else, he and Inglett make for nice insurance in case we fail to acquire a more solid everyday player for 2B before April.

The last thing we'd want to do is to rush AstroCab, who has already been rushed to an alarming degree by his former employers.

Ingluna could make a very reasonable platoon at 2B, at a total cost of less than 900K.

Looking more closely at Luna's stats, I can see that he can hit for some average, can hit for a little power, has some speed, and has fairly good knowledge of the strike zone - a solid combination of skills.

When I think about that, combined with the keen observation of his being used with Inglett as a platoon at 2B, I don't think it's a bad deal.  Combine that with the fact that outside of some solid prospects, the rest of the St. Louis system is relatively weak, so any prospect we could have netted for Belliard probably wouldn't have been any more of a sure thing than Luna, and probably less.

Luna is proven to a certain extent in the MLs, unlike any prospect we could have gotten, so I can see why Shapiro made this trade.

This also makes me believe they might spend that money on pitching, particularly a front-of-the-rotation pitcher, which I really believe could help this team be much better, rather than a free agent 2B.

Of course, there could be more to come (Boone, Mota, Hollandsworth) in the next 20 or so hours, not to mention the offseason (Westbrook/Lee/Byrd, etc.)  It will be interesting to see what happens.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

I'm starting to get concerned about the possibility of having platoons in RF/LF, at C/1B, and at 2B.  
Does the presence of Casey Blake and his versatility allow the team to do this?

Understanding, of course, that you don't need an All-Star at every position to win the WS, I would be disappointed by an Inglett/Luna platoon for 2007 as both of those players' values is significantly increased if they remain utility players.

This off-season is going to be very interesting to watch with the way the roster is now shaping up.  

Hello Ghostof WillHartley,

I agree that I like the trade.

However, unless thebaseballcube is incorrect, it lists Inglett as having an .841 OPS at AAA Buffalo last year, plus had an .848 OPS at AA back in 2004.  His career Minor League OPS is .798, so even if he had put up a .750 OPS at AAA last year, I still would think he could do better than that, and put up at least a .750 OPS in the Majors based on his overall career in the Minors.

Plus, looking at his Minor League career, it takes him a little while to get used to a new level, then his OPS really jumps up, so it wouldn't have surprised me if Inglett's OPS would have started off low, then jumped up a bit over time.  Instead though, his OPS has jumped up from the very beginning (.927!)

Therefore, I'm not so sure I have the same doubts you are having about Inglett's hitting ability.  I'm not sure he'll keep hitting .330-.350, but I don't think .280-.300 is out of the question, especially if he gets regular playing time.

Plus, look at his nice at-bat against Putz in the 9th inning - how many other Indians' players could you have seen fighting off pitch after pitch from Putz like that?  Maybe Hafner, and the way he has been going lately, I'm not sure he would have put up that at-bat either.  Another reason why I don't think Inglett's hitting is a fluke.

In fact, Inglett's OPS in the Minors was considerably higher than Luna's, so it wouldn't surprise me if Inglett does the same in the Majors.

While I think Luna is a nice addition, I'm not sure he's superior to Inglett - I think a platoon involving both of them might make them better together than they would be separately - if it works out, Shapiro may have pulled off another solid deal, even though it doesn't have the "flair" of the Choo/Broussard trade he completed a few days ago.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

While I can understand the concerns about their value as utility players, if the Inglett/Luna platoon at 2B gives us Belliard's production with as good or even a bit better defense, that could help the team be better next year, and at a cheaper price than you would have paid for Belliard.

Besides that, with the money you do save, you can upgrade the pitching, especially the rotation, which will likely need to be done if we want to compete in the AL Central any time soon - Detroit and Minnesota's rotations may actually get better with the likes of Joel Zumaya or Jordan Tata entering the Tigers' rotation and Matt Garza entering the Twins' rotation.  Our rotation must be improved - throwing C.C. out there with 4 #3s behind him is not going to consistently compete with and outperform their rotations.  

So, if you can upgrade the starting rotation with a front-of-the-rotation arm and still get relatively the same or better performance from 2B, I think this team will be better in 2007.

Plus, how often does Wedge use his bench?  Personally, I think it's a bit of a weakness that he doesn't use the bench to rest the regulars more often (Sizemore, Hafner, and Martinez CANNOT play everyday - very few, if any MLers do.)  

I think slowly, Wedge is figuring out that Martinez can't catch everyday, so he plays him at 1B a few times a week, but he still doesn't use the bench that often, so what value will Inglett and Luna bring if they just sit on the bench all the time?  How can you expect them to help the team when they only get a few ABs a week?  We've already experienced that with more accomplished and experienced bench players like Alex Cora, Todd Hollandsworth, and Tim Laker - their offensive contributions weren't much to write home about.

At least in a platoon situation, Inglett and Luna will get regular playing time and likely be able to better produce for the Indians by getting consistent playing time.  Inglett certainly has not hurt the Indians by getting regular playing time so far in 2006 - in his last 10 games he's played in (over a period of about 2 weeks,) only ONCE has he gone hitless, while getting 1 hit in 4 games, 2 hits in 3 games, and 3 hits in 2 games.  I'd think he be more valuable to us by playing him on a regular basis - otherwise, his bat may become rusty and have less value to us.  

If Luna can produce against lefties in a similar fashion, I think an Inglett/Luna split at 2B makes great sense for us.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Hello Tribefan48,

I know these are frustrating times, but I can't believe the Indians will just pocket the money - it would cause too much negative publicity and persistent rumors about Dolan being cheap.

Personally, I could definitely see them signing a big-name FA, preferably a dominant starting pitcher, to help them rebound significantly in 2007, without giving up their top prospects and the future.

Of course, I don't think they'll just going to spend it on anyone - if no dominant starting pitcher is worth the money, they may use it on a premium FA OF or 1B, they may use it on several quality relievers, and/or they may save it for the high draft pick they will likely select next year in the 2007 MLB Draft, a prospect that will likely be able to make a substantial difference for the Indians in the next few years (one that could really boost the farm system's ranking and quality - more of an Adam Miller/Chuck Lofgren type impact.)

I think the Indians have a plan in mind on using that saved money - my guess is the starting rotation because we need a dominant starter to team up with C.C. if we are going to make headway in this division and reach the playoffs - C.C. and 4 #3s are not enough against the likes of Minnesota and Detroit.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

no problem.

The point it, the FO has made a lot of smart decisions and been very fiscally prudent over the last four or so years.  We really don't have a bad contract on the team.  Which means we should be players on the FA market for a big time player.  The problem is there aren't a lot of big time players available and the market over the last several years has forced teams to overpay (at least in terms of risk) on the top talent.  Until Shapiro decides its ok to take on the risk of big contract, I don't see them getting any premier FAs or even trading for another team's good player w/bad contract.

the Tigers went from worst to first in 3 years;
it's not yet clear whether Indians or KC will be
the worst this year, but if Shapiro or his replacement learns from Detroit's success, he could put together a contender for 2008

it will be interesting to see how many players
from opening day 2006 are on team opening day
2008; at the current pace, it may be no more than 5 or 6;  that should qualify as rebuilding
even if Sizemore and Hafner survive