Toregas Recalled

Congrats to catcher Wyatt Toregas on the call to Cleveland. He will take the major league roster spot of former Tribe catcher Victor Martinez, and will be making his major league debut.Toregas, 26, was hitting .284 (59-208) in 60 games this year at AAA Columbus with 10 2B, 7 HR, and 29 RBI. Since June 18, he is hitting .309 (30-for-97) with 3 2B, 3 HR, and 14 RBI in 26 games. Toregas was elected to the International League squad for the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 15th, but did not play as he was recovering from a concussion. He will wear...

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Martinez Sent To Red Sox For Three Players

(Courtesy of the Indians)The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired RHP JUSTIN MASTERSON, LHP NICK HAGADONE & RHP BRYAN PRICE from the Boston Red Sox for CA VICTOR MARTINEZ. Masterson, 24, has spent the entire season to date with the Boston Red Sox where he has compiled a record of 3-3 w/a 4.50 ERA in 31 appearances, including 6 starts (72.0IP, 72H, 36ER, 25BB, 67SO, .271AVG). He has not allowed an earned run over his last 4 appearances covering 7.0 innings of work (2H, 2BB, 8SO). He spent most of the 2008 season in a similar...

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Indians Reportedly Trade Victor For Three Prospects

Various sources are reporting that the Indians have traded Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for RHP Justin Masterson, LHP Nick Hagadone, and RHP Bryan Price. More on this later, but boy, did the Indians load up on arms in the past we...

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Random Thoughts On The Lee Trade

With all the recapping of the Cliff Lee trade the past two days, I have not had a chance to really give much of an opinion on the deal. Here are some random thoughts and notes:• I’m indifferent on the trade at the moment. I don’t think the haul they got in return was great, but by the same token I don’t think it was the train wreck many people are making it out to be. This is a trade I think will take some time to show its true warts or sheer genius, although I think in...

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Game Recaps: Thursday 7/30

Kinston was rained out and Lake County was off on Thursday.Clippers win in extrasThe Clippers scored a run in the tenth inning to beat the Iron Pigs 5-4 Thursday night. The Clippers opened the scoring in the first as Josh Barfield and Jordan Brown hit back-to-back doubles for a 1-0 lead. The Clippers advantage would be short-lived however as the Pigs crossed the plate three times in the first against Kenny Ray. The Clippers rallied in the seventh against Francisco Butto, who relieved Drew Carpenter after six innings of work. Stephen Head and Wyatt...

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Excellent Article On Lee Trade

Paul Cousineau, my co-host on our radio show Smoke Signals and colleague who writes for SportsTime Ohio and The Cleveland Fan, absolutely knocked one out of the park today with his piece on the Lee deal.Pretty much hammers home what is really going on and takes a good, rational approach at the deal. Kudos to Paul on an excellent pie...

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Lee Trade A Sign Of More To Come

Get ready for some potentially stormy weather Tribe fans, as yesterday's trade that sent left-hander Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for four minor leaguers may open up the floodgates for even more trades involving some Indians fan favorites in the coming hours.With a little more than 24 hours until the trade deadline this Friday at 4:00 p.m. ET, the Extreme Makeover Indians Edition could leave an Indians roster completely overhauled from...

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Game Recaps: Wednesday 7/29

Clippers fall againLehigh Valley won a 4-2 decision over the Clippers for the second straight day at Coca-Cola Park. Carlos Carrasco was scheduled to start for the Iron Pigs, but was pulled about 35 minutes before game time. Several media outlets reported that the Phillies were in serious negotiations with the Indians to acquire lefty ace Cliff Lee, with Carrasco as a part of the package. Jake Woods took the ball for Lehigh Valley in a spot start and tossed three innings, allowing both Columbus runs as the first of six pitchers used by the Pigs....

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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...

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Indians Trade Lee, Francisco To Phillies For Prospects

The Indians today have traded LHP Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for four prospects: RHP Carlos Carrasco, RHP Jason Knapp, SS Jason Donald, and C Lou Larson. In the preseason rankings by Baseball America, Carrasco was ranked #2, Larson #3, Donald #4 and Knapp #10.Carrasco, 22, is an immediate option to replace Lee in the Indians starting rotation the rest of the season. The 6'3" 215 pounder was 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at the time of the trade (114.2 IP, 118 H, 38 BB, 112 K). He...

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Pitching Probables: Wednesday 7/29

As noted last night, Connor Graham and Scott Barnes make their Indians debuts today.Columbus: Chuck Lofgren at Lehigh Valley @ 11:05 amAkron: Connor Graham vs. Erie @ 7:05 pmKinston: Scott Barnes at Winston-Salem @ 7:00 pmLake County: Danny Salazar at Bowling Green @ 1:05 pmMahoning Valley: Preston Guilmet at Auburn @ 7:05 pmAZL Indians: Gregorio Rosario at Dodgers @ 7:00 pm ...

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Henry Taking It One Step At A Time

While the early returns from the Indians 2009 Draft have been so-so to date - largely because their top three picks have yet to play - one player in particular has been very impressive through his first month of play for short-season Single-A Mahoning Valley. That player is Jordan Henry, a scrawny, lightning quick outfielder who has been a catalyst at the top of the Mahoning Valley lineup all season.Henry is in the midst of a 10-game slump where he is hitting just .162...

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Game Recaps: Tuesday 7/28

Rondon struggles early; Clippers drop series openerLehigh Valley beat Hector Rondon and the Clippers 4-2 in the series opener at Coca-Cola Park. Columbus was looking to surpass the .500 mark in July and sent Rondon to the mound looking for his fourth consecutive win in triple-A, but the young right-hander struggled for the first time since his promotion to the Clippers. Rondon allowed three runs in the first three innings, putting Columbus behind the eight-ball early. The Clippers scored in the fourth on Andy Cannizaro's RBI single to make it...

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Barnes & Graham Expected To Make Debuts

On Wednesday evening, recently acquired pitching prospects LHP Scott Barnes and RHP Conor Graham are expected to make their first starts as members of the Indians organization. Barnes joined his Kinston teammates late on Tuesday in Winston-Salem and will start for them on Wednesday. Graham joined Akron a few days ago and is expected to make the start on Wednesday as well. Official roster moves will be made sometime on Wednesday, and reports on these players as well as another pitching prospect in RHP Jess Todd will be posted short...

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Minor League Report: Tuesday 7/28

(Courtesy of the Indians and through Monday 7/27)CLUB NOTES & AWARDS· The Carolina League announced that LHP ERIC BERGER was named the Pitcher of the Week for July 20-26. Berger went six scoreless innings on July 25 vs. Wilmington (his only game of the week)…He gave up just three hits, walked two and fanned a season-high 11 batters but wasn’t a factor in the decision…His 2.29ERA on the year is the second lowest in the league (106.1IP, 85H, 33R/27ER, 45BB, 98K)· The Harrisburg Senators and the City of Harrisburg announced today that the 2010...

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Pitching Probables: Tuesday 7/28

Columbus: Hector Rondon at Lehigh Valley @ 7:05 pmAkron: Jeanmar Gomez vs. Erie @ 7:05 pmKinston: Michael McGuire at Winston-Salem @ 7:00 pmLake County: T.J House at Bowling Green @ 8:05 pmMahoning Valley: Brett Brach at Batavia @ 11:05 amAZL Indians: Rob Bryson at Dodgers @ 7:00 pm ...

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Game Recaps: Monday 7/27

Clippers earn series split with winThe Clippers garnered a split in the series at Pawtucket, winning 4-3 Monday afternoon. Lefty Kris Johnson (3-11) shut out the Clippers for five innings and fellow southpaw Zach Jackson (4-7) allowed just two runs on five hits. Though both pitched well, neither factored in the decision. Pawtucket broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. After a two-out triple by Freddy Guzman, Ivan Ochoa laid down a squeeze bunt for a 1-0 lead. A bases-loaded walk to Chris Duncan later made it a 2-0 Red Sox. Torey Lovullo and...

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BREAKING NEWS: Ryan Garko traded

BREAKING NEWS: 1B Ryan Garko has been traded to the San Francisco Giants for Class A LHP Scott Barnes.Scott Barnes is 21 years old and has made 18 starts in Class A Advanced for the Giants, going 12-2 with a 2.85 ERA. In 98 innings pitched, he's struck out 99 while walking 29. Batters are hitting .227 against him. He leads the league in wins, is second in ERA and his 99 strikeouts are tied for ninth overall.Barnes was an eight-round Draft pick in 2008 out of St. John's University. He is listed at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds. Baseball America named him...

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Berger Named Player Of The Week

Kinston Indian’s starter Eric Berger is the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week. The Carolina League All-Star struck out a career high 11 batters in just six innings on Saturday, earning a no decision in his only start of the week. Berger gave up just three hits and walked two without giving up a run Saturday against Wilmington.Berger (7-7, 2.29 ERA) has the lowest ERA among active pitchers in the Carolina League. The University of Arizona product also leads the CL with 98 strikeouts. His 106 1/3 innings pitched are the fourth most in the Carolina...

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Diamonds in Single A: Connor Graham

This week’s Diamonds in Single A will focus on a player who hopefully never plays an inning with the Indians single A farm teams. This week will focus on the newest Indian, Connor Graham. The Indians have stated that Graham will report to Akron, which will be his first time above A ball. So, for the time being he is still eligible for this column. He was acquired this week when the Indians traded Raffie Betancourt to Colorado.Connor Graham is a 6’6” pitcher originally from Bowling Green, Ohio. He went to Miami of Ohio University, and was a 5th...

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