Indians acquire Thome from Twins

Jim Thome (Photo: AP)

The Cleveland Indians tonight have announced that they have acquired designated hitter Jim Thome from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for a player to be named later. The player to be named must be decided on by October 15th, and could also just be cash.

Thome, 40, returns to the Cleveland Indians where he spent the first 12 seasons of his Major League career from 1991-2002. He is the franchise career leader in home runs (334) and walks (997) and ranks second all-time in club history in career RBI (927), 5th in runs scored (917), 4th in total bases (2633), 3rd in on-base percentage (.414) and extra base hits (613). With the Indians from 1991-2002 he hit .287 (1332-4640) with 259 doubles, 334 HR & 927 RBI in 1377 games. His 52 home runs in 2002 remain the club record for single-season home runs and his 49 homers in 2001 is the 3rd highest single-season total in franchise history.

The five-time All-Star (1997, ’98, ’99, 2004, 2006) recently became the 8th player in the history of Major League Baseball to slug 600 career homers, hitting two home runs on August 15 at Detroit to surpass the 600-home plateau. Thome owns a career Major League batting average of .277 (2266-8188) with 1555 runs scored, 440 doubles, 601 homers and 1664 RBI in 2463 games with the Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Dodgers and Twins. He owns a career on-base % of .403 (49th all-time), slugging % of .557 (21st all-time) and OPS of .960 (17th all-time). His 1714 career walks are 8th all-time in the history of MLB. He has received MVP votes in 9 seasons over his 21-year Major League career.

In 2010 he helped guide the Minnesota Twins to the AL Central title, hitting .283 (78-276) with 16 doubles, 25 homers and 59 RBI in 108 games (.412OB/.627SLG/1.039OPS) and finished 18th in the AL MVP voting. This season he has hit .243 (50-206) with 12 double, 12HR & 40 RBI in 71 games in his second season with the Twins (.351OB/.476SLG/ .827OPS). He has played in 67 career post-season games over nine different seasons with four different teams.

Said Cleveland Indians Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Antonetti on acquiring Thome: “Jim Thome is a Hall of Fame-caliber player and person. He has meant so much to this organization - both on and off the field - and it is an honor to bring him back in an Indians uniform where he created so many great memories. Having his bat and presence in the middle of the lineup certainly improves our team"

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