Over the last few years, the Cleveland Indians’ small trades seemed to have the same feeling you get when you find a $20 bill in your jeans in the laundry. Unless you’re still living in 2008-09 and don’t realize that Carlos Carrasco and Michael Brantley are pretty good, the Indians have been pretty good at winding up on the shiny side of the penny on trades. Even so, when you pull your jeans out of the dryer, sometimes all you grab are jeans. And maybe some lint.
On Sunday, the Indians traded the previous designated-for-assignment INF/OF Zach Walters and OF James Ramsey, to the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations. (Click the link if you need a refresher on how the DFA process works).
Unless any Cleveland-super sleuths are out there and get their hands on the Indians books to know what exactly they do with the “cash considerations” that the Dodgers are giving in exchange, these trades won’t quite net the same return the Indians got when they swapped Jake Westbrook for a right handed pitcher named Corey Kluber or that time when the Indians traded their first base platoon of Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez to Seattle for Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo.
At worst, it’s a wash or a slight loss.
At 53-55 on July 31, 2014, the Indians sent Cabrera to the Washington Nationals for Walters. The Indians went 32-22 from the day after that trade and wound up finishing shy of a berth in the Wild Card game for the second straight year. The Nationals won 96 games and lost in the NLDS to eventual champs, the San Francisco Giants after the Stephen Strasburg innings debacle. Cabrera hit five homers, had a .700 OPS and offered a slight offensive upgrade over Danny Espinosa and wasn’t really even average defensively at second base.
Walters hit seven homers in 88 at-bats as an Indian that year, including a walk-off homer in a double header against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which was probably the highlight of his Indians career. He still posted a K-rate of 35% in 2014 and 20.8% with AAA Columbus in 2015 after trying to recover from surgery in spring training. In 30 plate appearances with the big league club in 2015, he struck out 15 times. It appears ultimately, his versatility and pop couldn’t outweigh his strikeout rate to make him valuable enough to keep around.
Given the menial impact Cabrera had for the Nationals, it’s easy to call this a wash. Look at the trade chain, it winds up being Perez for Walters. Perez had a .979 OPS for the Indians in 108 plate appearances for the Indians in 2006, mostly against left handers. He had a .545 OPS for the Mariners in 43 games.
Following the chain, the Ramsey deal which saw Justin Masterson deal, doesn’t appear to be such a wash. July 30 of 2014, the Indians sent Masterson and his 5.1 BB/9 to the St. Louis Cardinals at 53-54. He struck out 23 and walked 13 in 30 innings for the Cardinals and didn’t make their postseason roster. Currently, Masterson has thrown for scouts, trying to prove he’s healthy enough to help a club.
Ramsey had 16 homers, 52 RBI a .295/.382/.509 slash line in 2014. It looked like a win for the Indians.
For whatever reason, Ramsey slashed .243/.327/.382 at AAA Columbus in 2015 with 12 homers. With outfield prospects Clint Frazier and Bradley Zimmer coming on and Tyler Naquin hitting his way to a big league job this spring, Ramsey lost his positioning on the depth chart. Sounds like a wash since Masterson didn’t really help the Cardinals as they envisioned in 2014 and Ramsey never had a big league at bat.
The trade chain however, links Masterson to the unforgettable Victor Martinez deal that still stings some to this day. Martinez had eight homers in 237 plate appearances for the Boston Red Sox in 2009 with a .336./.405/.507 line. Masterson had a total 7.1 bWAR in five and a half season with the Indians. Don’t ask about Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price‘s careers with the Indians. Masterson did have an impact on the Indians 2013 playoff team and was the best pitcher in some lean years. He’ll forever be linked to the Martinez deal, which doesn’t favor the Indians on this end.
It’s doubtful that someone like Ramsey can force his way into playing time over Joc Pederson or Yasiel Puig. Unless Walters finds a way to significantly cut his strikeout rate even one-third, he won’t be the next Justin Turner for the Dodgers.
While, the Indians hit big on the Esmil Rogers for Yan Gomes/Mike Aviles trades, the Ramsey and Walters deals look to be just a dime or quarter lost in the slot machine. Maybe the Dodgers will earn a few more plays out of them, but if Zimmer and Frazier wind up coming even slightly close to expectations, these are deals will probably won’t be anything you’ll share from your TimeHop.
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