The Colorado Rockies traded pitcher Kevin Slowey to the Cleveland Indians for reliever Zach Putnam on Thursday, Slowey’s second trade in the same offseason.
The reason for the trade is much more interesting than the trade itself as the Indians had to get a stopgap in case one of their starting pitchers, Fausto Carmona, may not be available at the beginning of the season … or anytime soon. Carmona was arrested in the Dominican Republic under, apparently, his real name, Roberto Hernandez Heredia. Another twist to the story is there are reports he actually is three years older than his reported age with the Indians.
This could lead to Cleveland voiding Carmona/Heredia’s contract for using a false identity and providing false information to gain entrance to the United States on a visa.
This kick-started the trade of Slowey for Putnam, who spent most of the past season in triple-A. He did pitch seven innings out of the Indians bullpen, posting a 6.14 ERA.
The Rockies therefore completed another inconsequential trade.
Joining Ubaldo Jimenez in Cleveland is former Colorado outfielder Ryan Spilborghs, who signed a minor-league contract with the Tribe to compete for a reserve spot after a season hindered by plantar fasciitis.
The loss of Slowey does help Jamie Moyer gain momentum toward a starting rotation spot with the Rockies.
Scutaro a … nevermind
The biggest almost-news of the day was the quickly scuttled trade of Boston Red Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Rockies. I updated my Twitter feed to see breaking news from the Denver Post’s Troy Renck reporting a deal with Scutaro was “close.” Scrolling up another 10 minutes in Tweets past, showed the deal fizzled. I had elated excitement turn into indifferent disappointment as the Rockies missed an opportunity to pick up a great veteran player.
Oh well, business as usual: The Rockies swap players who don’t really matter, and miss a chance at a good veteran because of money.
