Cleveland Indians Trade Abner Abreu and Carlton Smith for Kosuke Fukudome
The Cleveland Indians have acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and just under $4 million from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for two prospects: right fielder Abner Abreu and relief pitcher Carlton Smith.
Fukudome, 34, is hitting .273/.374/.369 with 3 homers, 13 RBI, 33 runs, 2 steals, and 0.2 WAR. He has terrific plate discipline (13.3% walk rate), but that’s about it offensively.
Fukudome’s defensive abilities are harder to pin down. UZR doesn’t like him (-7.5 runs this year and -12.9 runs since 2009), while DRS (+6 in 2011, +7 since 2009), FRAA (3.5 in 2011, 2.7 since 2009) and Total Zone (+16 in 2011, +32 since 2009) all give him positive marks.
Abreu, 21, is hitting .244/.294/.429 with 12 homers, 34 RBI, and 19 steals for the A+-level Kinston Indians. Smith, 25, is 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA and a 9.0 K/9 rate in 34 appearances for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.
Fukudome has $4.7 million remaining on his contract, of which Cleveland will be on the hook for just $775,000. He currently projects as a Type B free agent, but his contract forbids his team from offering arbitration, so he cannot net the Indians draft pick compensation.
I like this deal for the Indians, but I don’t love it. As I wrote two weeks ago, Fukudome isn’t great, but he’s definitely an upgrade over Travis Buck, Austin Kearns, and Shelley Duncan, and he didn’t cost too much. Let’s give it a ‘B+’ for the Tribe as we anxiously await what might come next.
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