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July 30, 2013“zep-CHIN-skee” is the phonetic way to pronounce the last name of the Indians’ latest acquisition, Marc Rzepczynski from the St. Louis Cardinals. He was brought to Cleveland in exchange for Minor League infielder Juan Herrera.the trade was first reported by Tony Lastoria of Indians Baseball Insider.
Rzepczynski, 27, has compiled a Major League record of 9-17 with a 4.20 ERA in 177 games/23 starts between the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals since debuting with the Jays in 2009. In his big league career lefties have hit .224 (73-326, .607OPS) off him. His best season came in 2011 between Toronto and STL, posting a combined ERA of 3.34 (62.0IP, 50H, 23ER, 61K) in 71 games while tossing 2.2 scoreless innings (4K) in the 2011 World Series for the eventual champs.
The Anaheim, CA native has split 2013 between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis. In two stints with the Cardinals he has posted a 7.84 ERA in 11 games (10.1IP, 16H, 9R/ER) and at AAA Memphis he has posted an ERA of 3.07 (44.0IP, 44H, 15ER, 31K), limiting lefties to a .185 (12-65) average against for the Redbirds.
So, if nothing else, the Indians have made a run at a left-handed reliever in order to try and bolster the bullpen. As has been noted at WFNY and other places continually, the Indians have even used right handed Joe Smith against lefties out of the bullpen, accentuating their need to address the lefty situation.
No word yet on when Rzepczynzki will be available to the Tribe.
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7 Comments
Rich Hill gone? Or does Shaw go down to the Minors?
wow. the tribe keeps trading with the cardinals and the cardinals are the only ones winning titles. reminds me of the old days when we used to always trade with toronto.
Only move announced so far was removing RHP Joe Martinez off the 40-man roster. My guess is either Shaw or Rzepczynski to Columbus.
Well, the Tribe’s Scrabble scores should go through the roof. Kinda disappointing if he’s the only lefty we grab before the deadline, though. Hagadone has had more success at the big league level than this guy has in 2013. If St. Louis gives up on “fixing” a pitcher, it’s a pretty good bet he’s a lost cause.
Oh well, anything to get rid of Rich Hill, I suppose.
I believe “scrabble” was Rzepczynski’s nickname. Back when the Cardinals made their run and he was obtained from Toronto he was stellar. Since then he’s been in the minors.
Cardinals just brought him up a few days ago when I saw the Cardinals play on MLB Network. He had been toiling in the minors almost all season.
I heard Rzepcynski will be with the tribe later this week. I am assuming they wouldn’t trade for a reliever and keep him at AAA when they need the help.