Breaking Down The Deals

The Indians finally completed their deal with the Boston Red Sox late Friday night, sending Coco Crisp, Josh Bard and reliever David Riske to the Red Sox for Andy Marte, Guillermo Mota, Kelly Shoppach, around $1 million in cash, and a player to be named later (PTBNL).

In addition, earlier in the day, they completed a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies by sending them Arthur Rhodes for Jason Michaels.

The fan backlash from these trades is likely to be brutal. Right now, all the fans really know is that they are losing a fan favorite. Coco has grown in popularity over the past two seasons, with his catchy name, infectious smile, and gritty style of play, in addition to being a fairly productive player.

Also, Indians ownership isn't exactly popular these days. Many fans who feel Larry Dolan is financially challenged to support this team will only see these deals as another effort by ownership to purge payroll.

On the field, Coco was just hitting his prime and could have been a staple in the lineup with Sizemore for at least the next four years. And, of course, prospects are never a sure thing.

That's the bad part of the deals.

The good part, is the Indians clearly maximized Coco's value. Not only did they get uber-3B prospect Andy Marte, but they also got one of the Red Sox top catching prospects in Kelly Shoppach. Both players fill two gaping holes in the Indians system. Prior to the trade, the Indians literally had no one in the minors behind Victor Martinez, and have absolutely nothing in the system at 3B. Mota and Michaels will help fill the loss of Crisp and Riske.

Over the next few days, SwerbsBlurbs.com will look into each part of the trade and analyze the components, starting with an analysis of Coco Crisp versus Jason Michaels, which will post Sunday morning.