The Rangers acquired lefty Kelvin De La Cruz from the Indians, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Indians received cash considerations, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. De La Cruz was designated for assignment a week ago to open a 40-man roster spot for Casey Kotchman. The Rangers currently have an open 40-man spot they can use for De La Cruz.
De La Cruz, 23, posted a 4.19 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 6.0 BB/9, and 0.31 HR/9 in 86 Double-A innings last year, his second stint at the level. A year ago, Baseball America ranked him 24th among Indians prospects, citing diminished stuff after an '09 elbow strain. De La Cruz dropped out of BA's Indians top 30 this year and will be a project for the Rangers.
Astros should have jumped on this guy.
Another lefty for the bullpen, making it seem like the Rangers aren’t going after Gonzalez after all. But, are they done spending…or is this another sign they will pursue Oswalt soon?
this is a minor league acquisition
This guy is a AA project. Doubt he effects a Gonzalez deal. However, it looks like either Gonzalez and Martin Perez are the leading candidates for the lefty spot. The latter should excite Texas fans.
Not particularly interesting but better than the cliche “Best shape of my life, playing for the whole thing” banter of Spring Training reports.
Not much in the form of big league help, but after some work this could pay off in the near future. Not a bad move.
I like this guy. not a bad deal.