Indians Acquire RHP Jess Todd to complete DeRosa deal

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians announced that they have completed the deal that sent Mark DeRosa to St. Louis in exchange for Chris Perez and a player to be named later. It has been announced today that the player to be named later that has completed the deal is RHP Jess Todd.

Todd will be added to the 40-man roster and report to Columbus.

Todd is 23 years of age and entered the season as the Cardinals' #4 prospect. This season, he's posted a 2.20 ERA through 49 innings, allowing just 39 hits and 13 walks while striking out 59 and collecting 24 saves. Opponents are hitting just .214 against Todd this season.

UPDATE (6:00 PM EST): Official Press Release

INDIANS ACQUIRE RHP JESS TODD

FROM THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Acquisition Completes June 27^th Deal

CLEVELAND, OH—The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired RHP JESS TODD from the St. Louis Cardinals. The acquisition of Todd completes the June 27^th deal between Cleveland and St. Louis that sent INF MARK DeROSA to the Cardinals for RHP CHRIS PEREZ. Todd will be added to the Indians 40-man roster and will report to AAA Columbus in the coming days.

Todd, 23, has spent the majority of the 2009 season at AAA Memphis of the Pacific Coast League going 4-2 with 24 saves and a 2.20 ERA (49.0IP, 39H, 13R/12ER, 13BB, 59K, .214 avg) in 41 appearances out of the bullpen. His 24 saves currently lead the Pacific Coast League and rank T4th most in all of Minor League Baseball. Todd has limited AAA hitters to a .214 (38-182) average against, including a mark of .195 (22-113) against right-handed hitters, while fanning 10.84 batters per 9.0 IP. On June 4^th, Todd was recalled to St. Louis where he made his Major League debut on June 5^th vs. Colorado (1.2IP, 3H, 2R/ER, 2BB, 2K) before being optioned back to Memphis on June 6^th.

Last year, the 5-11, 210-pound right-hander, in just his 2^nd season of professional baseball, went 8-6 with a save and a 2.88 ERA (153.0IP, 116H, 54R/49ER, 42BB, 136K) in 28 games/24 starts between three different levels (A-Palm Beach, AA Springfield, AAA Memphis) as he was named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Todd struck out 136 batters and walked just 42 in 153.0 innings while limiting opponents to a .246 average against. He was named to both the Florida State League and Texas League All-Star teams while also pitching for the USA squad at the MLB Future’s Game. Following the 2008 season, Todd was named the 4^th best prospect in the Cardinals organization and the 7^th best prospect in the Texas League by Baseball America.

Todd was originally selected by the Cardinals in the 2^nd round (82^nd overall) of the 2007 MLB June Draft out of the University of Arkansas. In his first season of professional baseball he went 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA (58.1IP, 48H, 23R/18ER, 14BB, 69K) in 16 games/7 starts at Batavia as he was selected to the New York-Penn League All-Star team.

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