Cleveland Indians Wiretap

Grading The Deadine Deals

There wasn't a last minute trade of the same magnitude as 2008 when Manny Ramirez went to Los Angeles with Jason Bay going to Boston, but between Victor Martinez and Jake Peavy, you have a couple of players with All-Star appearances changing addresses.

Here are the preliminary grades of Friday's major deals:

Martinez to Boston

The price for Boston was Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price, but acquiring Victor Martinez will give them an undeniable lift this season and next.

Martinez is a career .832 OPS hitter, who is still just 30 and can play both catcher and first base. Boston will be able to play any matchup they want, rotating around Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, David Ortiz and Casey Kotchman at four slots. He is a better left handed hitter and will also try to catch Tim Wakefield, which is especially valuable in the postseason when Boston has traditionally given up a lot offensively.

Boston hasn't been sure what to do with Masterson for quite a few years now and though he still has a promising arm, it was unlikely that he would ever materialize in the kind of pitcher they couldn't live without.

Hagadone was the 55th overall selection in 2007, but hasn't advanced past Single-A as he was a Tommy John player in 2008. He had a 2.52 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25.0 innings, showing he has made a nice recovery.

Price was the 45th overall selection in 2008 and he struggled this season, with a 4.67 ERA in 96.1 minor league innings. He has a 9.2 K/9 rate and impressive velocity.

Not having to give up Clay Buchholz was the real win for the Red Sox.

Grade for Red Sox: A

Grade for Indians: A-

Peavy to White Sox

Ken Williams said 'Let's try this thing again' and landed Jake Peavy on the second time around. The price for Peavy was left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

Peavy is kind of like the pitching equivalent of Matt Holliday; a player that has benefited from a pitcher friendly park in San Diego. He has a career road ERA of 3.84, compared to a 2.74 mark at Petco Park, a split that cannot be ignored.

Furthermore, Peavy hasn't pitched since the first week of June, won't be back for another week or two and has an extremely modest 3.97 ERA.

At the same time, Ken Williams is the kind of competitor that more GMs should be.

Poreda was the 25th overall pick in 2007 and will become an excellent Petco starter. He has respectable K/9 rates and a career 2.65 minor league ERA. He had a 2.45 ERA in 11.0 relief innings in the bigs.

Richard is 25 and gave the White Sox 14 starts this season with a 4.65 ERA, but had been brilliant in his past two starts, giving up one earned run in eight inning outings.

Carter is kind of a flier, but has had a nice Single-A season, with a 3.13 ERA and 10.9 K/9 rate.

Russell didn't stick last season as a reliever in the bigs, but has put up respectable Triple-A numbers and could become a reliable long reliever.

Grade for White Sox: C

Grade for Padres: A-

Washburn to Detroit

Jarrod Washburn was dealt to the Tigers for a pair of southpaw pitchers in Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

Washburn is having the finest season of his career and his first truly productive one in Seattle, posting a 2.64 ERA and 1.068 WHIP. He has unquestionably benefitted from the improved defense behind him, as his BABIP has gone from .306 in 2008 to an incredibly low .245 this season. The Tigers don't have a defense that can compare to the Mariners in any way, so there will surely be a dip in his numbers.

Washburn will be a free agent this winter and will likely offer him arbitration to at least salvage some form of compensation.

Luke French had a 3.38 in 29.1 innings (five starts) and that appeared to be at least a slight aberration given his strikeout rate and WHIP. He is still just 23, but didn't have the kind of numbers in the minors to suggest a future any bigger than a fifth starter.

Robles is a small 20-year-old, who hasn't advanced past Single-A, but has had an excellent strikeout rate. He struggles with his command and it will be interesting to see if that continues as he moves up in the Seattle system.

Grade for Tigers: A

Grade for Mariners: B

Cabrera to Minnesota

The Twins improved at the plate and in the field by acquiring Orlando Cabrera for Tyler Ladendorf.

Cabrera is in many ways a prototypical Minnesota player and though his numbers have dropped in Oakland, he will likely be rejuvenated with the move to the Metrodome, one of his favorite places to play.

Ladendorf was a second round pick in 2008 and has struggled in Single-A, hitting .233/.292/.267 in 60 at bats. This deal really only costs Minnesota some money.

Grade for Twins: A-

Grade for Athletics: B-

Reds and Jays swap Rolen and Encarnacion

The Jays got younger and out from under Scott Rolen's contract by dealing him to Cincinnati for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart.

Rolen has been having a bounce back season, hitting for an OPS of .846 in 338 at bats, nearly as many as he finished with in each of the past two seasons. But Rolen is 34 and there has to be some factor of sentimentality on the part of Reds' GM Walt Jocketty. The Reds are not in contention this season and would have a more promising chance next season with the players they gave up.

Encarnacion began 2009 miserably and then spent two months on the DL, but he had a .941 OPS in the second half and is just 26.

Roenicke is a nice pickup, even though he is almost 27 and only has 16.1 career big league innings. He's exhibited promising strikeout rates and could still become a dependable bullpen arm.

Stewart was a third rounder last year and has a 1.67 ERA and 7.8 K/9 rate in a total of 91.2 minor league innings in his various stops.

Grade for Jays: A

Grade for Reds: C+

Yankees land Jerry Hairston

Hairston isn't an impact kind of player, but he adds some versatility. He can play virtually any position on the field and will go a long ways in keeping the regulars fresh.

Surprisingly, Hairston only has 50 career at bats as a pinch hitter, with an OPS of .432.

The Yankees had to give up Chase Weems, who was hitting for an OPS of .664 in 173 Single-A at bats this season.

Grade for Yankees: B

Grade for Reds: C+

Via Christopher Reina/RealGM

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Boston Lands Victor Martinez

Boston has completed a deal for All-Star catcher Victor Martinez, sending three young pitchers, Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price, to the Cleveland Indians.

Martinez entered Friday hitting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs. He has a club option of $7 million for next season.

In the second half of 2008, Masterson became a major force for the Red Sox out of the bullpen and was used as the primary setup man during the postseason. Masterson, 24, was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

Hagadone was a teammate of Giants star Tim Lincecum at the University of Washington. The Red Sox selected Hagadone with the 55th overall pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

The lefty missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. He returned to the mound in June and went 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA for Class A Greenville.

Via MLB.com

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Masterson Included In Deal Between Sox, Indians

Peter Gammons of ESPN is reporting that pitcher Justin Masterson will be a part of the trade between the Red Sox and Indians involving catcher Victor Martinez.

Young left-hander Nick Hagadone is expected to be included in the deal as well, but the final terms are still being hammered out by Boston and Cleveland.

Via ESPN

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Red Sox Land Victor Martinez

Cleveland has agreed to trade C/1B Victor Martinez to the Red Sox, SI.com has learned.

The deal is believed to include right-hander Justin Masterson. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that another player involved is lefty prospect Nick Hagadone. And SI.com's Tom Verducci says minor league right-hander Bryan Price could also be headed to Cleveland.

Clay Buchholz is not included in the deal, SI.com has learned. Hard-throwing reliever Daniel Bard won't be involved either, as Cleveland only wants starters.

Via SI.com

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BoSox Make Deal For Martinez

The Red Sox and Indians have agreed to a deal to send Victor Martinez to Boston, sources have confirmed to SI.

The trade, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons, involves the Red Sox sending a number of prospects to the Indians for Martinez.

Boston isn't giving up Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard in the deal, according to sources.

Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone are believed to be included.

Via ESPN

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