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Keystone player in Sabathia deal to play for Aeros tonight in Akron
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Tuesday, Jul 08, 2008
CLEVELAND: Aeros fans will have the first chance to see what the fuss is all about.
When the Bowie Baysox visit Canal Park tonight, it is expected that Matt LaPorta will be in the Aeros' lineup playing left field.
LaPorta was judged to be a worthy replacement for C.C. Sabathia by Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro and his lieutenants, who traded last year's Cy Young Award winner for a package of players from the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system, foremost among them being LaPorta.
''We made a trade that in the current market we think is of great value,'' Shapiro said Monday afternoon at Progressive Field. ''LaPorta is a corner outfielder who has proven to be one of the more productive players in Double-A this year, in all of minor-league baseball.''
LaPorta, 23, batted .288 with 20 home runs, 23 doubles, 66 RBI and 56 runs in 84 games at Huntsville. He also had a .403 on-base percentage and a .576 slugging percentage.
He was leading the Southern League in home runs, was second in RBI, third in slugging, tied for fifth in runs and sixth in on-base percentage. The right-handed batter was hitting .307 with runners in scoring position.
On July 13, he will play in the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium for Team USA, whose members are candidates to play for the U.S. Olympic Team.
LaPorta had been playing mostly right field at Huntsville, but the Tribe will shift him to left and maintain his acquaintance with first base.
''I think we'll continue to play him in the outfield,'' Shapiro said. ''But here he will play left. We also will have him take ground balls at first, and he'll probably play some there. We feel that he could be better at first, but we're comfortable with him in the outfield.''
LaPorta was the Brewers' first-round pick in last year's draft, the seventh player taken overall. He was a two-time Player of the Year in the Southeastern Conference while attending the University of Florida. Entering this season, he was rated the 23rd best prospect in the game by Baseball America.
LaPorta is the keystone of the trade, but the Tribe also received right-hander Rob Bryson, 20, a reliever at Class-A West Virginia, where he posted a 3-2 record with five saves and a 4.25 ERA in 22 games, including five starts.
His ERA as a reliever was 3.96. Overall, he averages 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. At the outset of the season, Baseball America rated him as the Brewers' 11th best prospect.
''Bryson has a good arm and a high strikeout total,'' Shapiro said. ''He has a long horizon, but he has a chance to be a contributor at the major-league level.''
Left-hander Zach Jackson, 25, is not expected to make much of an impact in the big leagues, but he might help the Indians get through this season. He was 1-5 with a 7.85 ERA in 22 games (six starts) at Triple-A Nashville and appeared in two games with Milwaukee, giving up two runs in 32/3 innings.
He was acquired by the Brewers from the Blue Jays in 2005 and has a big-league record of 2-2 with a 5.36 ERA in 10 games.
The Indians also will select a player from a two-man list of minor leaguers, believed to include third baseman Taylor Green, 21, who is batting .298 with 10 homers and 54 RBI at Class-A Brevard County, and Lorenzo Cain, Green's teammate who is batting .288 with seven homers, 41 RBI and 19 steals.
The player to be named component was vital to the completion of the deal.
''That was very important for us,'' Shapiro said. ''It give us the opportunity to get someone who can be an everyday major-league player. We probably go in a different direction if that player is not included.''
The Indians can make their decision at any time before the end of the regular season.
Sabathia got off to a slow start but has been pitching exceptionally well for 21/2 months. He goes to Milwaukee with a 6-8 record and 3.83 ERA in 18 starts. He undoubtedly will be the No. 1 free agent when the season ends, which is why Shapiro felt it necessary to trade him now.
After negotiations on a new contract broke down in spring training, Sabathia informed Shapiro he would not talk during the season.
With the Tribe out of the picture as a playoff contender and a long shot to re-sign the pitcher, Shapiro had two realistic choices: Make a trade for prospects now or hold on to Sabathia and receive two compensatory draft choices if he walked away at the end of the season.
''The first draft pick definitively would have been No. 31 [at the end of the first round],'' Shapiro said. ''The second would have been anywhere from 16 to 55. Realistically, those players would take anywhere from three to five years to get to the big leagues.''
That made the choice to opt for a trade easy, and, according to Shapiro, seven teams had serious interest in Sabathia, a number that was whittled to five, then three, a few days ago.
''We had a lot of very attractive offers,'' Shapiro said. ''In the end, we thought this was the best.''
Would waiting until closer to the July 31 trading deadline have increased Sabathia's value? Shapiro didn't think so, for two reasons.
A team making a deal now will be able to use Sabathia for 16 starts rather than 11 (if he were traded July 31). Moreover, at least a couple of teams that are on the fringe of contention might be out of the race in three weeks.
Shapiro said he never asked Sabathia if he would reconsider negotiating during the season.
''We thoroughly explored an extension in spring training,'' the GM said. ''And C.C. made it clear he did not want to negotiate during the season. We respected those wishes.''
In other words, the two sides were so far apart, there wasn't much hope of getting a deal done. Or maybe Shapiro decided he could trade Sabathia for valuable players now and try to sign him when he declares for free agency.
''We hope to be part of that process,'' Shapiro said. ''It is something we will explore.''
Meanwhile in Milwaukee, there was obvious excitement on the part of the fans. Brewers Vice President Rick Schlesinger was quoted as saying, ''The phones have been ringing off the hook,'' for tickets to tonight's game, which will mark Sabathia's first start for his new team.
The front office seemed energized as well.
''We're going for it,'' General Manager Doug Melvin said.
Shapiro knows the feeling, but not this year.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: Aeros fans will have the first chance to see what the fuss is all about.
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