Derek Lowe: The Indians New Problem

Derek Lowe was traded today to the Cleveland Indians for a 23 year old single-A left handed reliever with a 3.36 ERA and Braves nation couldn’t be happier.  I don’t know how much more blatantly obvious the Atlanta Braves could have been that they didn’t have plans for Derek Lowe next year. Ever since the ink dried on the contract 3 years ago, everyone in baseball knew it was a bad deal for the Braves but they had to do what they had to do and got a solid 40 wins out of their $55 Million investment.  They’re paying him $10 MM next year to go play in a different league so they don’t have to even watch him pitch.  Derek has failed to live up to the billing and as a fan of the team I’m excited to see him go and here’s why.

• In the midst of the September collapse this year; he went 0-5 with an 8.75 ERA in five starts while the Braves needed him to pitch well given injuries to the rotation.
• His overall ERA as a Brave was 4.57
• He had a 5.05 ERA in 2011
• He had a 9-17 record this year while making $15 MM
• He didn’t belong in the rotation by seasons end but because he’s a veteran we had to watch him go out there and give it a whirl every 5 days.

Bottom line: With Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor, Randall Delgado, Julio Teheran, and Kris Medlen the Braves still have a surplus of starting pitching from which to draw.  Derek has proven he can no longer get people out at the Major League level and a move to the American League (with a DH) shouldn’t help his effectiveness.

The move is a good one for the Indians who now have a reliable starter to go every fifth day.  I’m sure after watching their roller coaster rotation this year, a guy capable of going every 5 days and giving you 5.1 innings of 4 earned runs would be welcome.  Of course, that’s a 6.75 ERA.

Here’s to you Chris Jones, the guy responsible for getting Derek Lowe’s drunk self out of Atlanta.

Stat of the Day:  T.J. Steele, an Astros farmhand, had the lowest batting average in AA Texas League.  The slugger hit .214 .

-Sean Morash