Dodgers send pair of prospects to Indians for Blake

[wayne1218]

By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

The Cleveland Indians traded third baseman/outfielder Casey Blake and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers on Saturday.

"Casey Blake is a gamer," Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said. "His experience and character will be a plus as we head down the stretch in the final two months of the regular season."

The Indians received minor league catcher Carlos Santana and right-handed pitcher Jon Meloan. Santana is hitting .323, with 14 homers, for Inland Empire, in the Class A California League. The hard-throwing Meloan is 5-10, with a 4.97 ERA, at Triple-A Las Vegas -- but has piled up 335 strikeouts in only 262 innings in his minor league career.


With the trade of Xavier Nady to the Yankees on Friday, Blake was possibly the most highly sought-after bat on the market. Other teams that pursued Blake included the Rays, Mets and Phillies.


Those three teams would have played Blake in the outfield. But with the trade completed, he'll become the Dodgers' everyday third baseman, replacing slumping rookies Blake DeWitt and Andy LaRoche.


Blake, who can be a free agent after this season, was batting .289 for the Indians, with 11 homers, 58 RBIs and a .398 average with runners in scoring position.

[wayne1218]

Nice little bat that the Dodgers can use. I like the move for L.A.

[savage1]

Talk about giving up on a player too soon, I think letting Blake go was an incredibly stupid move on the part of the Indians considering the unproven garbage they received in return.

[wayne1218]

Talk about giving up on a player too soon, I think letting Blake go was an incredibly stupid move on the part of the Indians considering the unproven garbage they received in return.

Andy Marte is their 3B of the future and they had no room for Blake.

[DDP713]

Talk about giving up on a player too soon, I think letting Blake go was an incredibly stupid move on the part of the Indians considering the unproven garbage they received in return.

How can you call Carlos Santana unproven garbage ? Haven't you heard black magic woman? But seriously a switch hitting catcher with power isn't garbage. I think casey blake is decent bat, supposedly a great clubhouse guy. I would have rather seen the dodgers make a push for blalock.

[savage1]

Andy Marte is their 3B of the future and they had no room for Blake.

In all fairness I didn't realize that Blake was 35;I thought he was younger.
That being said, Marte has a .194 lifetime average whereas Blake is .262 with fairly good homerun totals.
I still think all things considered, LA got the best of the deal.

[DDP713]

In all fairness I didn't realize that Blake was 35;I thought he was younger.
That being said, Marte has a .194 lifetime average whereas Blake is .262 with fairly good homerun totals.
I still think all things considered, LA got the best of the deal.

....until carlos santana is ready to rock the house

[savage1]

....until carlos santana is ready to rock the house

The distance from Inland Empire is a lot closer to Cleveland than is the "distance" from Triple A to the Bigs.

[DDP713]

isn't lollapalooza next week ? I wonder if santana will make an appearance

[BigWeiner]

great trade for the indians. those prospects have serious potential and blake is old and mediocre

[ctt8410]

Whoa, how did I miss this trade? I agree with BW. There are no sure prospects in baseball, but Santana is raking in the minors right now and Meloan has put up some pretty ridiculous K numbers in the past. So trade them away for a mediocre bat and a bad glove at 3rd? Sure, why not.

My favorite part, though, is the comment from Colletti. "Casey Blake is a gamer," Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said. "His experience and character will be a plus as we head down the stretch in the final two months of the regular season."

That sounds like something Dusty Baker would say about Corey Patterson. Maybe he'll continue this hot streak and play above his career averages and help the Dodgers make the playoffs. But I seriously doubt that his gaming gamerability of being a gamer will be worth trading 2 top prospects away.

[wayne1218]

I guess i'm more about "Today" and the here and now. Out of every 100 prospects, one will be lucky to land a role on a major league roster. You guys love the "Possibility" of kids and i want to win now. I guess that is the difference in alot of these trades!

[Kaptain]

The hard-throwing Meloan is 5-10, with a 4.97 ERA, at Triple-A Las Vegas -- but has piled up 335 strikeouts in only 262 innings in his minor league career.


a good pitching coach can form/mold this guy into something.....he can fire it....needs just a lil mechanical help IMO.....might be a sleeper.....could be a good set up man, or come in the game in bases loaded situations, where you need a K.....IMO

[wayne1218]

a good pitching coach can form/mold this guy into something.....he can fire it....needs just a lil mechanical help IMO.....might be a sleeper.....could be a good set up man, or come in the game in bases loaded situations, where you need a K.....IMO

I'm just using your quote Kaptain because it came right after my post and it kind of fits into what i'm talking about. Even the good/great prospects have so many things that need to go right that many never bring the minor league success to the majors. Could/Might/can/needs help ... and that is all for a good prospect. Unless he is a top prospect in all the majors and a can't miss, i think winning now and taking a shot is a good move for the Dodgers. If Blake leaves, they get a conditional 1st round pick anyway right? I like the risk.

[Kaptain]

wayne

I'm just using your quote Kaptain because it came right after my post and it kind of fits into what i'm talking about. Even the good/great prospects have so many things that need to go right that many never bring the minor league success to the majors. Could/Might/can/needs help ... and that is all for a good prospect. Unless he is a top prospect in all the majors and a can't miss, i think winning now and taking a shot is a good move for the Dodgers. If Blake leaves, they get a conditional 1st round pick anyway right? I like the risk.

thanks wayne---appreciate the input---as always