Defense for Offense

Traded OF Jody Gerut to the Chicago Cubs for OF Jason Dubois

Mark Shapiro got his white whale, or at least this version of it. Jason Dubois is a masher, a guy who can hit for power, but doesn't really have a position. He's been playing left field for the Cubs, but he's a poor outfielder. He'll be under the team's control for the next 5+ years, and will be cheap for the next two seasons.

The problem (for me, at least) is figuring out where he's going to play. In the short term, the Indians might take the hit on defense to get Dubois in the lineup, but ultimately he looks more like a first baseman or DH. And you already have one guy (Hafner) who is pretty much a full-time DH, and another guy (Ryan Garko) who looks like a first baseman or DH. The other problem is that guys like Dubois tend to be a "boom or bust" player; if he sticks, the Indians will have themselves a 30+ HR player. Offensive, Dubois has a lot going for him; he can hit for power the other way, which is critical for a major-league power hitter. He's proven himself in the minors (2004 AAA numbers):

386 AB, .316/.389/.630, 31 HR, 26 2B, 97 SO, 41 BB

The problem is figuring out how to get him in the lineup. Hopefully, the Indians will run him out to right (or left) field for the rest of the season and see how he does. If he works out, you figure out where to put him next year. I don't want to see him given the Josh Phelps treatment and banished to the bench, only to see the light of day against left-handers. In his limited major-league at-bats, he seems to hit equally against righies and lefties. Note that he's been the right-handed half of a left field platoon for the Cubs, so he hasn't been receiving regular at-bats. Recently he was shipped back to Iowa, and went 9-18 in his short stint with the AAA Cubs.

As for Gerut, I've made my feelings known recently. The Indians lose a very good defender in the outfield, and he's a nice contact hitter, but with the production problems the team has been having lately, the Indians can't afford an outfielder with a defensive specialty. Now if they turn around and give the everyday job to Casey Blake, another miscast fourth outfielder, then there's something wrong here. Blake should probably be a late-inning replacement for Dubois, or spell Aaron Boone or the other two outfielders against southpaws. But he shouldn't be taking at-bats away from Dubois; the Indians owe it to themselves to find out what Dubois can do given an extended opportunity.

UPDATE: Some other opinions on the trade: BTF's Transaction Oracle, Tribe Report, Cleveland Indians Report, The Transaction Guy, and Cub Reporter

In other news, the Indians won a game in which Cliff Lee went the distance! Hey, it was only a five-inning game, but Lee got credit for the complete game. Cliff, after a shaky first inning, looked really good; he was spotting his curve and change for strikes. The Indians scored six runs, which almost matched their series total against the White Sox.

Reinstated RHP Rafael Betancourt from the Suspended List

Optioned RHP Fausto Carmona to Buffalo (AAA)

Believe it or not, no rookie has made their major-league debut for the Indians this year. And because Fausto didn't get in Sunday's game, he'll have to wait at least ten days in order to make his debut. Incidentally, Carmona pitched a gem for the Bisons tonight (8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 6 SO, 0 BB) but got tagged for the tough-luck loss.