Indians Official Statement On Lee Deal

The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired RHP CARLOS CARRASCO, INF JASON DONALD, RHP JASON KNAPP & CA LOU MARSON from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for LHP CLIFF LEE & OF BEN FRANCISCO.

“At the root of this deal was balancing the conviction of our ability to compete in 2010 with the opportunity to impact the team’s construction for years to come,” said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President & General Manager MARK SHAPIRO. “Without the sense of confidence in the team’s ultimate competitiveness, we acted aggressively to add players that will impact the organization in 2010 and beyond.”

Carrasco, 22, entered the season as the #2 overall prospect in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America (52nd best prospect in all of MiLB by BA) and has posted a record of 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA in 20 starts (114.2IP, 118H, 66ER, 38BB, 112K, .262 avg) at Triple A Lehigh Valley to date. He is presently leading the International League with 112 strikeouts and is 6th in innings pitched.

The 6’3” native of Venezuela split the 2008 season between AA Reading and AAA Lehigh Valley where he was a combined 9-9 w/a 3.69 ERA in 25 starts (151.1IP, 146H, 62ER, 58BB, 155K) and posted the 2nd highest strikeout total and 5th lowest ERA among all Phillies minor league pitchers. He entered both the 2007 & 2008 campaigns as the top ranked prospect in the Phillies system (Baseball America) and was a member of the World Team in the Future’s Game over three straight seasons from 2006-08. He owns a career minor league record of 45-44 w/a 4.14 ERA in 128 games/123 starts (696.1IP, 644H, 320ER, 278BB, 622K, .244avg).

Donald, 24, entered the 2009 season as the #4 overall prospect in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America (69th best overall prospect in all of MiLB by BA) is hitting .236 (49-208) with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home runs and 16RBI in 51 games for AAA Lehigh Valley. He recently missed 6 weeks from June 12-July 27 after having left knee surgery (torn meniscus). He is coming off an outstanding campaign in 2008, hitting .307 (111-362) at AA Reading with 19 2B, 14HR & 54RBI (11SB, 57RS, .889OPS), won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, was named an Eastern League All-Star, started the Future’s Game at shortstop and was named the Arizona Fall League’s top prospect (.407, 5HR, 17RBI, 25 games).

He owns a minor league career batting average of .286 (371-1299) with 80 2B, 16 3B, 28HR & 166RBI in 349 games (.369OB%, .806OPS) after being selected by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft out of the University of Arizona.

Marson, 23, has spent the majority of the 2009 season at AAA Lehigh Valley in the International League where he has hit .294 (62-211) with 32 runs scored, 13 doubles, 1 HR and 24RBI in 63 games. He also appeared in 7 games with the Philadelphia Phillies earlier this season (April 11-May 1) where he batted .235 (4-17) with 3 runs scored and a double. The 6-1, 198-pound catcher has hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games at Lehigh Valley, batting .373 (28-75) and on the year has thrown out 22.2 % (56SB/16CS) runners attempting to steal. Prior to the 2009 season, Marson was ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the Philadelphia organization and the 66th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

A fourth round selection by Philadelphia in the 2004 June Draft, Marson batted .314 (101-322) with 55 runs, 18 doubles, 5HR and 46RBI in 94 games in 2008 at AA Reading as he was the recipient of the Paul Owens Award as the best player in the Phillies minor league system. He led the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.433) and ranked 2nd in the league in batting average (.314) while being named to both the Eastern League midseason and postseason All-Star teams. Marson was the starting catcher for the Team USA in the 2008 Futures Game and also played for Team USA in the Summer Olympics (.308) along with Donald. He owns a career average of .286 (6-21) with 1 HR and 2RBI in 8 games at the Major League level and a minor league career batting average of .276 (444-1609) with 242 runs scored, 85 doubles, 9 triples, 26HR and 205RBI in 470 games.

Knapp, 18, in just his 2nd professional season in baseball, has spent the entire 2009 season with the Lakewood Blue Claws in the South Atlantic League where he has gone 2-7 with a 4.01 ERA (85.1IP, 63H, 45R/38ER, 39BB, 111K) in 17 starts. He currently ranks 5th in the South Atlantic League in strikeouts as he is averaging 11.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. A 6-5, 235-pound right-hander, Knapp has limited opposing hitters to a .208 (63-303) average against, including a mark of .206 (34-165) against right-handed hitters. He has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 13 of his 17 starts this year and has pitched at least 5.0 innings in 14 of his 17 starts. He is currently on the DL with right biceps tendinitis.

A second round selection (71st overall) in the 2008 June Draft, Knapp went 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA (31.0IP, 26H, 10R/9ER, 12BB, 38K) in 7 games/6 starts with the GCL Phillies last year. Following the 2008 season, he was named the 10th best prospect in the Philadelphia organization by Baseball America.

Carrasco, Donald and Marson will all report to the AAA Columbus in the coming days while Knapp has been assigned to the A Lake County roster.

Posted in: Ben Francisco,Carlos Carrasco,cliff lee,Jason Donald,Jason Knapp,Lou Marson