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In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't, the Indians' chances of winning the AL Central and making the playoffs are toast. Tonight, GM Mark Shapiro indirectly acknowledged that by shipping arguably the Tribe's most consistent hitter and run-producer to the St. Louis Cardinals. In return, the Tribe will receive right-handed reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later.

For the second straight year, Shapiro sent a key position player with a grinder mentality (Casey Blake in 2008) to the National League weeks before the trade deadline on July 31st. Shapiro is from the school of thought that you get maximum value for a player when you aren't up against the deadline where a team may have to settle to get rid of a player that will not be back the following year.

That was the case with "The Pulse". DeRosa lost his everyday position when the Tribe finally made the defensive shift of Asdrubal Cabrera and later Luis Valbuena to short and Jhonny Peralta to third. DeRosa then spent most of his time in left and right field, spelling the struggling Ben Francisco and the previously-injured Grady Sizemore. With Sizemore healthy again and Cabrera back within days, DeRosa would have been taking time away from Francisco and Choo by being in the lineup everyday. While DeRosa did everything the team asked him to do, it was unlikely that he would return next year.

DeRosa hit .270 with the Tribe, belting 13 homers and driving in 50 runs; Mark was second on the team in both those categories behind Victor Martinez. While outfield is not his first position, he performed adequately out there, and he was carving out a nice role in the Tribe lineup as one of their more clutch hitters.

Perez, however, is someone who could help the Tribe out significantly this year and moving forward. At just 23 years old (he turns 24 on Wednesday), Perez closed 7 games in 11 opportunities for the Cardinals last season while posting a 3-3 record with a 3.46 ERA in 41 2/3 innings of work. This season, he has posted a 1-1 record with a 4.18 ERA in 23 2/3 innings with one save in two chances. He was the Cardinals' 3rd best organizational prospect coming into this season, and he was a first round selection by St. Louis in the 2006 draft. Perez throws a fastball, curve, and slider, and his fastball has been clocked at 98 but normally falls between 90-95. His biggest issue in the minors was control. While he surrenderred a small number of hits and had great strikeout numbers, he had a large number of walks, wild pitches, and hit batters. Far from a finished product, Perez will definitely get his shot at things in this smoking crater of a bullpen the Tribe currently sports. The most impressive stat I found on Perez is that opposing hitters are hitting just .195 off of him this season.

A note about the player to be named, the Tribe played this game last year when they got Columbus Clipper CF Michael Brantley from the Milwaukee Brewers in the C.C. Sabathia trade. The Indians were permitted to pick from a short list of players after watching them complete their minor league seasons. The player is thought to be a significant part of the deal rather than a throw-in player. The Indians will choose the player before September 1st.

We'll wait and see who the other player is, but the Tribe fills a pressing need for the short-term and long-term, and they give DeRosa a chance to help a contender out as he wouldn't have been back next year. Finally, it settles the question for once and for all that the Indians will not be second-half contenders, currently residing in last place at 31-45, 11 games behind the Tigers.

I for one do not think this is the last deal of this type to come. Jamey Carroll and Carl Pavano are both prime candidates for a similar type of deal to a contending club who is looking for a key utility player or another arm for the rotation. We'll see how the following weeks unfold.

For now, the Indians will continue to attempt to play competitive baseball, and Eric Wedge will stroll around like Bruce Willis in "The Sixth Sense", oblivious to the fact he's already "dead".

Kirk

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