UPDATE 9:47 PM – The Indians’ Press Release on the trade, including detail on all four new players, has been appended to the bottom of this post.
UPDATE 9:19 PM – Things are starting to clear up, and the trade is indeed bigger than originally thought. Let’s do this team by team.
And here are your supporting tweets:
Indians will end up with Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs and relievers Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers. Will part w/ Choo, Sipp, Lars Anderson.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) December 12, 2012
#Indians get Drew Stubbs, Trevor Bauer, Bryan Shaw, Matt Albers; Choo and Donald go to Cinci and Sipp, Anderson and Gregorius go to Az.
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) December 12, 2012
In the three-team deal, Tony Sipp and Lars Anderson are now with the #Dbacks. Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald going to the #Reds.
— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) December 12, 2012
UPDATE 9:09 PM – Buster Olney is confirming that the Indians will acquire Trevor Bauer.
The Indians are going to get Bauer in the deal with the Diamondbacks.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 12, 2012
UPDATE 9:06 PM – Multiple reports are confirming Drew Stubbs to the Indians, which comes as no surprise at this point in the game.
Much bigger news, though unconfirmed, comes from Tony Lastoria at Indians Prospect Insider:
No confirmation yet, but hearing the Indians may have landed Bauer.
— Tony Lastoria (@TonyIBI) December 12, 2012
9:01 PM – We’ll keep updating this as the news comes out, but for right now it looks like the Indians have traded Shin-Soo Choo and Jason Donald to the Cincinnati Reds as part of what should become a three-team deal.
choo goes to #reds. done deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 12, 2012
#reds also get jason donald in choo deal. working on rest. theres a lot more.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 12, 2012
According to multiple reports, the Indians will receive OF Drew Stubbs and SS Didi Gregorius in the trade, though perhaps not for long.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are reportedly the third team in the deal, and they have shown interest in Gregorius. What sounds possible/plausible at this point is that the Indians will move Gregorius and perhaps more to Arizona in exchange for one of their young starting pitchers. Keep an eye especially on 23 year old Patrick Corbin, though it’s still possible that Trevor Bauer or Tyler Skaggs could be included if the complexity of the deal continues to escalate.
____________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
INDIANS ACQUIRE FOUR PLAYERS
FROM CINCINNATI & ARIZONA
RHP Trevor Bauer, OF Drew Stubbs, RHP Matt Albers &
RHP Bryan Shaw Joining Cleveland
CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired four players in a three-team trade involving the Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Today, the Indians received RHP TREVOR BAUER, RHP MATT ALBERS and RHP BRYAN SHAW from the Diamondbacks and OF DREW STUBBS from the Reds in exchange for OF SHIN-SOO CHOO, INF JASON DONALD, LHP TONY SIPP, INF LARS ANDERSON and cash considerations. Choo, Donald and cash are being sent to Cincinnati while Sipp, Anderson and INF Didi Gregorius (from CIN) are now members of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bauer, 21, was the third overall selection by Arizona in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of UCLA after winning the 2011 Golden Spikes Award and National Player of the Year [1,2]. Named the 9th overall prospect in Minor League Baseball [1] entering 2012, Trevor spent most of the 2012 season between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno where he went a combined 12-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 22 starts (130.1IP, 107H, 35ER, 61BB, 157K, 223AVG) and averaged 10.8 strikeouts per 9.0IP. He also became the first member of the 2011 draft to appear in the big leagues ahead of Indians RHP Cody Allen, making four starts for the Diamondbacks in July. In his brief Minor League career he owns an ERA of 3.00 in 156.0 innings of work (134H, 52ER, 73BB, 200K, .229AVG) while fanning 11.5 batters per 9.0IP.
Stubbs, 28, has appeared in parts of 4 Major League seasons with the Reds since 2009 after being selected in the first round (8th overall) of the 2006 draft, batting .241 (431-1791) with 59HR, 178RBI, 110SB, 285 runs (.312OBP/.386SLG) in 486 career games. The right-handed hitter has also posted a career .276 (127-460) avg./.821 OPS vs. left-handed pitching. Stubbs recorded at least 30 stolen bases for the 3rd consecutive season in 2012, becoming one of just 6 Major League players to do so over the span since 2010 (Bourn, Crisp, R. Davis, J. Reyes, B.J. Upton). With 40 steals in 2011, Stubbs became the first Reds player to reach that threshold since Deion Sanders swiped 56 bags in 1997. Defensively, the University of Texas product has appeared exclusively in center field in 481 career games (24 outfield assists).
Albers, 29, split the 2012 season between the Boston Red Sox and Arizona, going a combined 3-1 with a 2.39ERA in 63 relief appearances (60.1IP, 46H, 16ER, 22BB, 44K, .215AVG). Over Matt’s final 11 outings with the D-Backs in September he posted an ERA of 1.80 (10.0IP, 9H, 2R/ER, 9K). On the year with Boston and Arizona he limited left-handed batters to a .207 (17-82) average against. The Houston, TX native was a 23rd round pick of the Astros in 2001 and debuted with his hometown team in 2006. He was traded to Baltimore prior to the 2008 season and after a successful stint in Boston in 2011-12 he was acquired by Arizona at the trading deadline for LHP Craig Breslow.
Shaw, 25, spent most of the 2012 season in the Arizona bullpen where he went 1-6 with 2 saves and a 3.49ERA in 64 relief appearances (59.1IP, 60H, 23ER, 4HR, 24BB, 41K, .273AVG). The Livermore, CA native also spent two weeks in Triple-A Reno in July and August, posting an ERA of 2.25 in 8 outings (8.0IP, 6H, 2R/ER, 10K, .207AVG). Shaw began his pro career in 2008 after the second round selection by Arizona out of Long Beach State (CA). He debuted with the D-Backs in June 2011 and owns a two-year career Major League record of 2-6 with a 3.18ERA in 97 relief outings (87.2IP, 90H, 31ER, 65K).
Following today’s transactions the Indians 40-man roster remains at 40.
