May 25, 2013

MLB Trade Rumors: Fausto Carmona on the Block?

January 29, 2010 by 21 Comments

Fausto LangFox Sport’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Indians are exploring the possibilities of trading starting pitcher Fausto Carmona in order to clear space on the books to acquire free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.

Earlier this morning, we linked to a piece regarding Hudson possibly joining the Indians – an acquisition that would be the biggest move that the Tribe would have made through the entire off-season.  The main issues are two-fold: it would be one season too late and the team is now in full-fledged penny-pinching mode. 

A trade of Carmona, who is slated to make $4.9 million this season and $6.1 the next, would possibly clear enough space to acquire the talented second baseman.  The team holds a club option for Carmona for 2013, but as fans have seen over the last year, “club option” is Indians front office speak for “let’s trade this guy, pronto.”

The unfortunate part, for those looking to part ways with Carmona, is that his value peaked two seasons ago and it has been down hill ever since.  In 2009, Carmona was 5-12 with an ERA of 6.32 and a ridiculous 1.76 WHIP.  He’s currently the team’s number two starter (hands down the team’s weakest area), and trading him now would represent a complete failure on the part of the Tribe brass to regain (at least a fraction of) the form that baseball saw in 2007.

It is a sad state of affairs when a league has no salary cap yet a team feels the need that they have to trade away a 26-year old starting pitcher to do so.  In the NBA, a move like this would be considered “clearing cap space” for a future addition to the team.  For Cleveland baseball, it is just standard operation.  Other potential suitors for Hudson include the Washington Nationals and the division rival Minnesota Twins.

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  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    He looks happy at the thought of getting away from the Dolans. And boxing.

  • Harv 21

    So how much does Hudson want?

    With the Dolans having such trouble meeting payroll, my over/under for guys who will probably be shipped out this season was $6-7M. But if they even can’t wait through one Fausto season at $4.9 to see if he is back, wow,they are in worse shape than any of us suspect.

  • MrCleaveland

    Gee, I didn’t know we were so loaded with pitching that we can trade away our No. 2 or whatever for a banjo hitter.

    ARE THEY INSANE????????????

  • MP34

    Ah, yes, second base. Clearly the most pressing area of concern for the Tribe moving forward.

  • justin

    Everything I read about the Indians just frustrates me at this point!!!

  • Chrisjake

    I’m with MrCleaveland on this one…

    Leave the pitching alone! Or… acquire more! Dont diminish it further!!

    If they really HAVE to trade Fausto, can they please try to get more than Orlando Hudson?? Please?

  • B-bo

    While I agree that what we need is more pitching, not less, let’s face facts: Carmona is done. It was in question 2 seasons ago, and driven home last year. The biggest contribution he made during 2009 was getting epically shelled early against the Rays, setting the stage for that memorable May afternoon comeback. Maybe new/better coaching revives him, but I’m not seeing it. Is all this worth it in an effort to get orlando Hudson though? I would say no. However, I’m not the one who signs (or more often doesn’t sign) the checks for the organization.

  • http://filmschoolrejects.com Ryan

    You cant have both???? Seems like the Dolans are running this team on “my budget”.

  • Mark

    What!? Am I missing something here? I don’t get this at all. It seems to me, as bad as our starters look on paper, that Carmona is the key to whatever “success” the Tribe is going to have this year. Faustos development, if he can develop, is paramount because he has so much upside. If they are wiliing to let him go it seems to me to be a clear admission that they don’t think he can pitch. If that is the case what can they possibly get for him? Roll the dice and see what he gives you this year.

    And as MP34 says – 2nd base is are most pressing area of concern?

  • Scotty

    Boooooo…What a poorly run organization. The Browns look like geniuses by comparison.

  • Tribal

    Theoretically, I would not even trade Fausto for Hudson straight up. Who has the better upside here? An aging 2B with wrist problems? Or the former 19 game winner on our crappy staff?

  • MattC

    Yeah, if Fausto and Westbrook can somehow return to their old form, the Indians could suddenly become dangerous in the AL Central. I don’t really see the purpose of this move.

  • Jon

    Jeez. I really hope this doesn’t happen. I can’t think of anything dumber than to trade a young pitcher with huge upside for an old declining second baseman.

    Is Hudson, like, the last piece to a puzzle of mediocrity or something?

  • AMC

    Seriously? I know…. let’s take the weakeast position on the team and make it worse!

    Btw… the ghost of the Brandon Phillips trade continues to haunt this team as we’ve had a gaping hole at 2nd ever since. Thanks for that gift Wedgie. Your legacy lives on!

  • Chris

    This makes perfect sense. They have to dump Valbuena before he’s eligible for free agency in…

    /does quick math

    2014.

  • Nate

    Granted Hudson was a 2.9 win player last year, but he’s on the wrong side of 30, and is he supposed to be the last piece to the championship puzzle or something? Might as well play Valbuena, Donald, etc. and see what they’ve got. Also, Carmona’s trade value has to be abysmal. Might as well work with him for another year and see if they can get something out of him.

  • Seth

    Before everyone starts dumping on the Indians organization for this, remember it’s just a rumor and everything about it would indicate that it’s a false rumor. Hudson seemed to just name some random teams he could go to, whether they had interest in him or not. The part about Carmona probably just came about because someone was trying to figure out how the Indians could accommodate Hudson after Hudson listed Cleveland as a possible destination. I’d say Rosenthal doesn’t have a very good understanding of the Indians organization if he thinks this is true, because it doesn’t make sense for so many reasons. The Indians are going to pay Hudson like $8 million when they wouldn’t pay Cliff Lee $8 million? And when they already have Valbuena, and don’t expect to compete this year anyway? Come on.

  • Tapin

    Wait, they can’t trade Carmona yet — he hasn’t yet won his Cy Young.

  • http://www.60bpm.com Robbie

    Good pitching wins games. The Indians have a scarcity of good pitchers. Sure, Carmona has made 2007 look like a fluke, BUT… he did win 19 games!

    Also, Carl Willis is GONE! I never liked that guy as the pitching coach. Considering how much talent in pitching the Indians have had under Wedge’s reign, it always amazed me how it was never realized under his watch.

    I would like to see whoever Acta brings in have a chance at straightening Carmona out. I don’t know anything about that guy (not even his name)… except that he’s not Carl Willis, and that gives me hope.

  • ello

    Annnnnd this is exactly why I refuse to support the Indians and the MLB with my money. I refuse to buy anything with their logo on it and I no longer go to the games.

    This is until the Dolans sell and the MLB finally put in a salary cap.

  • http://www.msblsim.com boogeyman

    I agree with those that this rumor makes no sense at all given the Indians starting pitching depth but then again with them you never know these days. I can honestly say I’m not looking forward to baseball beginning and I used to love the game.