Days after the Indians traded their two top pitching prospects for Ubaldo Jimenez, I'm still talking to myself ... and I still don't like it.
AP photoThere's nothing wrong with the Indians having Ubaldo Jimenez as the new ace of the starting rotation ... it's only the price tag for getting their new No. 1 that troubles Terry Pluto. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Talking to myself about the Indians' big deal.
Question: An hour after the Indians traded for Ubaldo Jimenez, you wrote an online column saying you didn't like the deal. How about now?
Answer: I understand why the Indians did it ... but ...
Q: What?
A: I still don't like it.
Q: Are you falling into the argument that Jimenez is another Fausto Carmona -- a guy who had only one really good year?
A: Remember, I don't like the deal. But that's such a superficial statement that unravels like this: How many times has Carmona had an ERA over 5.00? Three. That's three in the last four years ... the lowest being 5.31 this season.
Q: And Jimenez?
A: None.
Q: But isn't he 10-16 since the 2010 All-Star break?
A: Yes, with a 4.19 ERA over those 36 starts. His career ERA is 3.66. His highest is 4.46 this season. Even if you add a .50 run per game for switching from the National League to the American League with a designated hitter, he still doesn't come into a 5.00 in his worst season.
Q: Doesn't this sound as if you like the trade?
A: I like the idea of Jimenez. I like the idea of a 27-year-old who is signed through 2013. He makes $4.2 million in 2012 and $5.75 million in 2013. Since June 1, he's 6-4 with a 3.92 ERA ... and that includes the four runs he allowed in one inning on Saturday when the Rockies started him and he knew he was being traded to Cleveland. He has been pitching well lately.
Q: Hasn't he been losing velocity?
A: ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that early in the season, Jimenez was down about 3 mph from a year ago. But now, his average fastball is 95.8 mph -- compared to 97.4 when he was 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2010. He still throws hard. He's healthy. I'm not knocking Jimenez, who should be entering his prime.
Q: Didn't you want the Indians to make a dramatic move, and one that is about more than this season?
A: So true. I hoped it would be for an outfielder who could hit, but I'll take Jimenez.
Q: So what's your problem?
A: What they gave up. I still can't quite believe they traded Alex White and Drew Pomeranz. One certainly had to be in the deal. Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd demanded both. Part of his case had to be that they are both prospects, and odds are that one will get hurt or wash out. Not mentioned is the fact that Colorado has drafted pitchers in the first round of every draft between 2006-09, and none have reached the big leagues.
Q: White has a finger injury, and isn't that what destroyed Adam Miller's chances of being a star?
A: Yes on Miller, who has a 7.01 ERA in 26 innings at Class AA Akron. And yes, White has a finger injury, but he's pitching now and set to soon move into the Rockies' rotation. But the point that Jimenez is an established, winning major-league starter is beyond dispute. White and Pomeranz are not.
Q: Back to the original question, what is your problem?
A: The pitcher last drafted and signed by the Tribe with at least 50 major-league starts and a winning record is C.C. Sabathia (1998). Josh Tomlin could be the next. To see White and Pomeranz close to arriving -- and both throwing 95 mph with control -- and now gone really bothers me. These are not cotton candy lefties such as Jeremy Sowers or Aaron Laffey -- they deliver heat.
Q: So did Adam Miller, and he got hurt, right?
A: Before White and Pomeranz, Miller is the only one with that kind of talent drafted by the Tribe this century. It's so hard to find guys with those gifts, and the scouting director did in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. They have interesting prospects in Zach McAllister, Jeanmar Gomez, David Huff and Scott Barnes -- but they don't have the pure stuff of White and Pomeranz.
Q: So what's your bottom line?
A: This is not like the Rocky Colavito deal (first or second), as some have emailed me. It's not a repeat of Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens. It's not a stinker of a deal because the Indians received quality in return. But I would not have made it with the price being both prized pitchers.