It was a move that will go unnoticed by most Indians fans, but late yesterday, GM Chris Antonetti sent Left-hander Aaron Laffey to the Seattle Mariners for minor league Infielder Matt Lawson. (No, its not the return of Matt Lawton people). Laffey was in a group of pitchers vying for the fifth spot in the Indians starting rotation.
That group has now been reduced by one.
Laffey was a guy who I felt was really jacked around with by the Indians brass. Some of it was his own doing because he showed such versatility. Rewind to 2007, Cliff Lee was a mess and the Indians were in desperate need of a fifth starter. They turned to the minors where Laffey was excelling in both AA and AAA. He combined to go 13-4 with a 2.88 ERA and was given the call to join the big club. He made nine starts and went 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA. His ability to induce the ground ball impressed the Tribe enough to put him on their postseason roster ahead of Lee.
Think about that for a second.
Heading into 2008, Laffey seemed to be ready to take the next step at age 23 and become a fixture at the bottom of the rotation. Instead he bounced back and forth between AAA and the majors, where he was 5-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts. Then came the 2009 season which seemed to be where Laffey’s arm strength and health began to fail him.
Laffey won a spot in the rotation out of Spring Training, but with all of the various injuries and bullpen failures, the Indians made the decision to put Laffey in the bullpen in a key role to stabilize things. While he did a solid job at the time, his elbow problems began to flare up. He did his best to soldier on through it, but a DL stint lasted through the dog days of summer.
When he returned, he just wasn’t the same. 2010 was another year of the I-71 shuttle. When Laffey was up with the Tribe, he spent most of his time (29 of his 34 appearances) coming out of the bullpen. Towards the end of his season (before another DL stint), Laffey admitted that his 81 mph pitch was his “fastball” on a day he struck out the Twins Jim Thome.
With the Indians in need of an open spot on their 40-man roster thanks to the signing of reliever Chad Durbin, Antonetti decided to ship Laffey to the Pacific Northwest and former skipper Eric Wedge. Laffey will grind once again.
“I’m completely content with where I’m at and how I’m coming along with Spring Training,” Laffey said last week. “I’m really just focusing on myself and taking care of the things I’ve got to do to get better.
He will now do that with Seattle.
The way things are shaping up, Josh Tomlin, Jeanmar Gomez, and David Huff are now in a three-man race for the fifth spot in the rotation. I still can’t see how Huff is going to be the guy. The Indians have seen what he has to offer already.
I was always a Laffey fan and think he got a raw deal here in Cleveland. Here’s hoping for heath and success in Seattle.
AP photo/Mark Avery
