12:41pm: Cleveland will receive left-hander Josh Outman from the Rockies in the trade, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
Outman, 29, pitched to a 4.33 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 51.3 percent ground-ball rate in 54 innings for the Rockies this past season. Formerly a starting pitcher, Outman converted to the bullpen on a full-time basis for the first time in 2013. Outman averaged 92.4 mph on his heater and held lefties to a minuscule .198/.278/.261 batting line.
MLBTR's Matt Swartz projects Outman to earn $1.4MM in 2013. He will give new manager Terry Francona a second left-handed option in the bullpen along with Marc Rzepczynski.
12:14pm: The Rockies are acquiring Drew Stubbs from the Indians, sources tell Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Tribe can afford to part with Stubbs thanks to their outfield surplus, which includes Michael Bourn, Michael Brantley, David Murphy, and Ryan Raburn.
We heard back in November that multiple teams approached Cleveland with interest in Stubbs. The 29-year-old hit just .233/.305/.360 in 2013 but is projected to earn $3.8MM in arbitration this offseason by MLBTR's Matt Swartz. Still, Stubbs offers quality defense, power and speed, and he's capable of handling all three outfield positions.
Stubbs, like the newly-acquired Brandon Barnes, is better versus lefties than righties, Rosenthal notes (link). The plan is still for Carlos Gonzalez to go to center field but the Rockies are collecting athletic outfielders that should give them a solid supporting cast in 2014.
KJ4realz
Depending what they gave up, I like this move for the Rox. Can put him in CF against LHP moving Cargo to LF on those days.
Tim Uglow
be prepared to c a strike out 40%of the time
Farmer Tan Colin!
30% K rate…but he’s shown a good career BB%, adds runs from base running and can add runs in defense. Career 800ish OPS against lefties. He’s not an everyday guy but there is value here.
JordanSwingman
Interesting, could be good for Stubbs to get back into a hitters ballpark again, but I don’t see him doing much to be honest.
Henry Thibaut
If you thought he struck out a lot before, wait until he’s overswinging in that thin Denver air!
c
That’s a little two-dimensional. Stubbs hits fastballs just fine, and breaking pitches experience much less movement at altitude. This change should cut down his strikeouts and whiffs.
-C
Henry Thibaut
It was a joke… not an analysis of Stubbs hitting in thin air.
Henry Thibaut
It was a joke… not an analysis of Stubbs hitting in thin air.
Henry Thibaut
If you thought he struck out a lot before, wait until he’s overswinging in that thin Denver air!
Greg Gabrielsen
I keep reading that last line as “…the Rockies collecting athletic supporters for 2014…”
vtadave
They might be better off if they did…
TurkeyClubSamich
Seems to be all they got in return for Dexter Fowler.
Rally Weimaraner
Stubbs’ best years came in the NL and the hitter friendly confines of Great American Park, Coors field may be exactly what he needs
Justin N
for who?
Ben Weihrauch
So if he has similar platoon stats as Barnes, why didn’t the Rockies acquire a platoon partner instead of a clone? Or better yet, why part with Dexter in the first place? Good gawd, logic defies management at 20th and Blake.
c
Brandon Barnes isn’t really a starting OF. He’s a 4th OF at best, with most of his value being on the defensive end of things. The Rockies didn’t trade Fowler to get Barnes, they traded him to get Lyles, who was very highly-regarded not too long back.
Stubbs (and to a lesser extent because he doesn’t figure to start, Barnes) fits because the outfield at Coors is massive. It essentially requires two CF-range players to cover left and center, with left being as tough or more difficult to cover than center. You can’t toss an all-bat guy in left and expect merely below-average results. It would be an unmitigated disaster. Right field is actually the easiest defensive position at Coors because it has the least amount of ground to cover.
So, when you look at the actual situation present, it does make logical sense. I don’t know if the moves were really that good (I didn’t like the Fowler trade, but I’m not sold on Lyles showing drastic improvement), but they did make sense.
-C
c
I’m guessing a Blackmon/Stubbs platoon for the starting role, actually, though either could potentially win the job outright (and later lose it, get it back, platoon, etc). Then Barnes. Plenty of strong defensive OF whenever Cuddyer plays first.
-C
Tribe82
Really interested to see who the Tribe got for him.
bob smit
Not having to spend ~4 mil on him?
bob smit
Not having to spend ~4 mil on him?
will
Looks like they got left handed reliever Josh Outman. Could be a nice 2nd LH reliever to pair with Marc Rzepczynski
Tribe82
Excellent trade on both sides I think. We were looking to pick Outman up at the trade deadline last season but got Rzepczynski instead…now we have both.
Kën Shrëk
seems like a left handed bat would have been the better move
Randy Klemme
His defense is good if you can use 200 strikeouts a year
Rally Weimaraner
Too bad Outman has never been able to live up to his name
Tribe82
His numbers look pretty good against lefties. My guess is he’ll be a specialist out of the pen in that regard.
Ruffner008
oh you know it. Terry’s lickin’ his chops lookin at those matchup splits.
The_Porcupine
I like the signing. For all their experiments trying to find a “winning formula” at Coors, I’ve always wondered why they didn’t try going with a more defensive presence. Get 3 outfielders who excel with defense (arm, range, ability to read the balls in play), then focus on guys with range in the infield, first basemen adept at picking the throws at first. My thinking is that pitchers are going to get hit at Coors regardless, so why don’t you limit the number of baserunners through defense.
vtadave
Tribe should have signed Balfour to pair with Outman.
Shin_Soo_Choo
Too cheap.
GoFish
Josh Outman is one of the most ironic names in MLB history seeing as how his career ERA is 4.61.
disadvantage 2
In 2011, the A’s had Grant Balfour (2.9 BB/9), Trevor Cahill (6.9 K/9), and Outman on the same team. It was almost as if Billy Beane was trying for the most ironic pitching staff in the league.
FS54 2
If they had Homer Bailey, that would have been awesome.
Mike Blowers
Would really liked to have seen the M’s make a move like this, he could have platooned with someone. Instead they signed the injury bug Guti. Good move Rockies.
Matt Talbert
Stubbs can be situationally played situationally, used as a pinch runner, pinch hitter and defensive replacement for a spare bullpen arm that’s not bad.
SwingtimeInTheRockies
Since Logan does what Outman did (better but for more money) I like this trade from a baseball standpoint. Stubbs seems expensive and I wish he could hit righties to pair with Barnes but, I guess I like this.
I’d still rather we just kept Fowler.
John Donovan
I agree. Stubbs is a nice get when all you have to give up is Outman, who has already been replaced in the pen. I’d say Stubbs and Blackmon will platoon LF, although it could just be a four way fight in ST with Dickerson and Barnes. I’d say 1 get the starting gig with 2 back ups and 1 either released or in AAA.
I like Fowler, so I am happy he is getting a fresh start in the AL. He was never going to be successful in Denver after O’Dowd’s foolish radio rant.
caughtredhanded
When he was a Red I hated to see him go, but enjoyed not seeing him on our 25 man roster. Maybe this’ll help him turn things around, although I’m not holding my breathe.
Thizzie
One thing about Stubbs is that he sure can play some great defense!
Sufferfortribe
But watch closely—he’s afraid to dive. Always tries to make sliding catches, instead. Cost one Indians pitcher a chance at a no-hitter.
Sufferfortribe
Let’s see what Callaway can do with Outman.
Anyone that can fix Ubaldo…………….
Cory Mumby
I wonder if the Indians will allow Outman to use the Outman Methodology for his pitching mechanics?
LetsGoBucs92122
I like this move by the Rockies. Fills the void left by Fowler being traded to the Astros
connfyoozed .
Stubbs should be a pretty good addition for the Rockies… but I would not sleep on Josh Outman. I can see him contributing well to the Indians. Being somewhat of a LOOGY seems like the best thing for his career, but he still has the stuff to contribute in other roles, even as a fill-in starter.
Philip 2
Stubbs Ks total makes him a player I would avoid
Dale Pearl
I hope Drew has a break out year. With the right tutoring (Brett Butler) Drew could be a great lead off man. He is just about as fast as anyone in the league and he is a great defender.