May 24, 2013

Breaking MLB News: Thome, Indians Agree to Trade

August 25, 2011 by 31 Comments

While it is unclear just what the Cleveland Indians gave up to acquire his services, former Tribe slugger Jim Thome has reportedly agreed to a deal that will bring the future Hall of Famer back to where things starteed.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that Thome opted to waive his no-trade clause to return to the city where he played the first 12 seasons of his career. Speculation surrounded Thome’s potential reluctance to play for the Tribe given their current place within the AL Central and his alleged desire to go back to Philadelphia to pinch hit and DH for the Phillies in the event they made it to the World Series.

We will certainly have more on this as the details unfold.

Other Stories:
I Still and Always Will Love Jim Thome
I’ve Finally Forgiven Jim Thome 

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  • christopher

    WE’RE SAVED!!

    (fail music from Price is Right plays)

    I’m gonna throw up when I watch all the 90′s bandwagon fans go down to the Jake and give him a standing applause his first game back.

    Suits and ties, suits and ties!

  • http://twitter.com/#!/w_ryan_k w_ryan_k

    a last month lineup of:

    brantley
    a cab
    choo
    santana
    thome
    sizemore
    kipnis
    chiz
    marson

    looks like it has the potential to make things interesting. just need a few guys to get healthy. assuming masterson, tomlin and jiminez sharpen it up a bit, i like our chances.

    i applaud the FO for going for it, it’s a nice change of pace.

  • Shamrock

    Maybe they can throw some fake money out ala when other ex-Indians returned. Maybe his wife will get back to broadcasting, ugh.

  • Tapin

    Haters gonna hate, I guess.

  • AMC

    Forget the emotional underpinnings of this move – it actually makes a ton of baseball sense. Thome comes cheap (both in terms of salary and assets given up) and is better than almost everyone who is still healthy enough to be in this Indians lineup. Regardless of how you feel about him and the way he left Cleveland, this move actually makes the 2011 Cleveland Indians a better baseball team. Will it be enough to help the catch the Tigers? Highly unlikely. But it may help them it at least staying relevant for the next few weeks. The Tribe is 6.5 games back now, but only has to be within 3 of the Tigers heading into the last series for those games to count. This team has clearly been a sinking ship and maybe a solid veteran presence like Thome will give the team a boost in the clubhouse at a time when they desperately need it.

  • Ghost To Most

    Im sure there will be quite a few 90s bandwagoners at the ballpark on Friday. Expect to hear snarky comments about how “they should bring back Omar too” and “Dolan should sell the team”. But hey whatever sells tickets. This is a good move for the team.

  • DocZeus

    This is AWESOME!

    AND SHAME ON YOU IF YOU ARE STILL HOLDING A GRUDGE ON JIM THOME AFTER 10 YEARS. GROW THE EFF UP!

  • Bill

    I like the move as it gives us a solid DH in the wake of Hafners injury as well as a veteran presence. This is also a guy who’s been there before and his leadership will prove useful down the stretch. All this for a PTBNL makes this a worthwhile trade. The fact that it’s Thome is just a bonus.

  • TSR3000

    Why not?

  • saggy

    i just wonder what all the Thomers would have said if Thome made it clear that he would exercise the no-trade clause on Cleveland because he wanted to go to philly…

  • architrance

    Wahoo! Great move. My Thome bitterness is long subsided.

    Remove whatever it is y’all have stuck up your bacskide…

  • Ben

    The master plan has begun…Thome leads team to playoffs…fans buy it up and pack the ballpark buying all new Thome gear. The Tribe declines options on Sizemore and Carmona and signs Prince Fielder in December leading to back to back titles in 2012 and 2013.

    Remember when I told you I was drinking heavily in the corner the night they traded Pomeranz…

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Denny

    LET THE TATER MASHING COMMENCE.

  • Goldenflash7903

    I was just happy that we got over on the Sox. I work in a office with a lot of Sox fans and I got a article thrown in my face in a meeting this morning, with someone saying “ha ha, we got him and you didn’t.”

    What it means is that maybe Thome retires a Indian, and goes into the Hall of Fame as a Indian. It would be a nice homage to how good the organization was in the 90s. Since he is the best(only) chance for a Indian hall of famer from that era.

  • NJ

    I’m a grudge holder and I’m still excited.
    12 HRs, 12 2Bs in 238 PAs. I’ll take it.

    Not every day you get a second chance.

  • smrtazz

    Yeah, it really sucks that one of the greatest, homegrown players in franchise history has to come back to Cleveland to possibly tie a bow around his potentially HALL OF FAME career. I’m so pissed.

  • christopher

    rah rah.

    This move wasn’t made to make the team any better or make a playoff push for this year…

    It’s a PR move entirely. Boost ticket sales, get another tribe uni in the HOF, blah blah.

    I didn’t like the guy then, I don’t have to like him now.

    Plain and simple.

  • Alex

    <- guilty of going to my first game all year to see Thome, and will applaud. Even if we got Albert Pulojs the playoffs seem bleak so why not enjoy seeing a future first ballot hof play?

    Now if we can just get Omar back….

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    Trolls in the mornin, trolls in the evenin’

  • Julie

    I really don’t get Cleveland fans anymore. Holding grudges is so juvenile. I just don’t get why people can’t move on.

    I love Cleveland teams and everything I’ve heard about Thome is that he is a great guy. I already had tickets for tonight’s game and I am excited that I get to be there for Thome’s first game back!

  • Dennison

    I really could care less that people have this conspiracy theory on how this is just a PR move. Big Jim has always been a great player, and a class act. We should be so lucky that he is coming back to us. It might just make this team watchable again.

  • NJ

    @16- Even if it is just a publicity move (can’t see how you can say that with Hafner out and our offense stagnant), what’s so bad about that? If it makes the Dolan money then it helps the team.

    @19 – EVERYTHING? Cause I’m sure some people here will be more than happy to let you hear (or read) some things that a great guy wouldn’t do, such as lie and manipulate a loyal fanbase.

    As irrational as some Thome haters may be, those who ignore his past or try to make him into some humble, aw-shawks folk hero are just as off. The guy is a pro athelete, a merc for hire. Nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

  • christopher

    Scott

    I’ve proudly read this site for 2 or 3 years now and am a frequent commenter.

    Just because a few of us aren’t running out to buy our Thome/Tribe lovefest kool aid doesn’t make us trolls.

  • christopher

    @NJ

    Yes I agree that Thome is a replacement body for Hafner.

    Where I disagree with most people is in that this move makes a playoff push.

  • Chucky Brown

    screw Omar..Find Assenmacher!

  • NJ

    I agree with that. If we’re going to make the playoffs, it’ll require our core to hit and pitch better. One guy doesn’t make a difference in baseball like in other sports. Fangraphs has Thome at 0.8 WAR this year so rationally I can’t see him supplying all that much of a boost over a month and a half.

  • stin4u

    This isn’t even a blip on my radar. Sure it’s nice to have the guy back but it’s more because of the rest of the teams offensive ineptitude than anything else.

    I don’t care about the band wagoners, if they want to come out then that’s great, it will be nice to see the park filled. I just never cared much for the guy as a player anyways so this isn’t all that exciting to me.

  • Matt

    @22 christopher,

    I believe Scott was commenting on @17 Alex’s trolling of @5 Ghost to Most.

    If it sells more tickets and gets more money to pay next year’s draft picks, I’m for it.

  • MallaLubba

    So, Grover is here is some kind of capacity (what does he do, again?). Sandy is here coaching. Lofton and Baerga are making appearances in the commentator’s booth. What year is it?

  • mgbode

    we traded for Hafner to replace Thome. it only makes sense that we would trade for Thome to replace Hafner.

    life is a perfect circle :)

  • Mike in Seattle

    Perhaps if Thome were black, we’d have one more commenter on board. I am just sayin….