Cleveland Rocks! Fukudome Leaves Cubs, Joins Indians

The Cubs and Indians have been talking about a Kosuke Fukudome trade for a few days now, but apparently it took having a no-hitter thrown against them to spur the Indians into action.  Jim Hendry has sent Fukudome to the Indians for two low-level prospects:  21-year-old OF Abner Abreu (who has a .294 OPB and 102/22 K/BB ratio in A-Ball this year, meaning that he should fit right in with the Cubs' organizational philosophy); and 25-year-old RHP Carlton Smith (who in two years at AAA Columbus has posted a 5.46 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP).  Oh, and the Cubs will be picking up most of Fukudome's remaining salary for the year (all but $775K).  So as far as return, not much in the way of prospects, and not much in the way of salary relief this year, although maybe enough to help get contracts done with some of the Cubs remaining unsigned 2011 draftees.  But how much can you expect to get for a 34-year-old corner OF with a $13.5 million contract and a .369 slugging percentage?  Of course, to the Indians, who have lost Shin-Soo Choo to injury and have been using a platoon of Travis Buck (.617 OPS) and Austin Kearns (.632 OPS) in RF, Kosuke must look like Mel Ott.

Fukudome never became the player the Cubs thought they were getting when they signed him.  The Cubs expected him to become a middle-of-the-order run producer from the left side, but that role didn't work out for him, as his high OBP made him more suited for the top of the order (unfortunately it wouldn't be the last time the Cubs made that mistake while assessing a player's skill set.  Of course, had Fukudome hit the way the Cubs thought he would in 2008, that 2009 mistake would never have been made in the first place.  But I digress).  Eventually, the Cubs found themselves in a similar situation with Kosuke as they were in with Matt Murton - another player with a solid on-base skills, but not enough power to be a corner OF and not good enough on defense to play CF.  Fukudome's habit of fast starts (.979 April OPS) and slow, painful declines during the season (.772 career OPS) was maddening, as were the ever-popular "helicopter" swinging strikeouts.  Bottom line - Fukudome's skills and the Cubs' needs weren't a good match.  Since he would have found himself playing elsewhere in 2012, at least now he finds himself in a pennant race.

With Fukudome gone, the Cubs will let Tyler Colvin, who is pretty much the complete opposite of Fukudome (decent power, low OBP), take most of the playing time in RF, and the Cubs will be down to two regulars (Soto and Peña) who consistently work counts.  And I guess this is as good a time as any to recall Kosuke's greatest moment as a Cub, which came in his very first game in blue pinstripes and gave us hope that the 2008 season was going to be a special one:

Thanks, Kosuke, for your often underappreciated skills, and best of luck to you in Cleveland, where I hope you'll help keep the Indians ahead of the 3rd place AL Central team.

Cubs Send Tyler Colvin to Triple-A

It's been a rough beginning to the 2011 season for Cubs OF/1B Tyler Colvin. Playing time has been scarce, and when he has found his way onto the field, he's managed a grotesque .113/.191/.258 line (OPS+ of 19) in 62 at-bats. So after Monday's loss to Cincinnati, the Cubs brass decided to end Colvin's misery and give him a chance to regroup in Triple-A Iowa.

In truth, while Colvin posted decent numbers in his rookie season - 20 home runs in only 358 at bats, along with a .500 slugging percentage - there were some red flags, particularly his poor 100/30 K/BB ratio. But it's not as simple as saying he's another Corey Patterson, and that pitchers have figured out that you don't have to throw him strikes to get him out. Looking at Colvin's strikeout and walk totals this year (17/6), the ratio is pretty similar to last year's, as is the percentage of strikeouts and walks per plate appearance (in 2010: 25.3% of PA were strikeouts, 7.6% were walks; in 2011: 25% of his PA have been strikeouts, 8.8% have been walks). The real problem is just that there's no place to put Colvin into the lineup right now to give him a chance to straighten things out at the plate. He can't really play CF. Alfonso Soriano has been the only Cub to show any power (11 HR, no other Cub has more than 4). Kosuke Fukudome has been off to his usual hot April start (.886 OPS) and since he and Colvin are both left-handed hitters, they can't be platooned. What's worse for Colvin is that Reed Johnson, a better defender, has posted a 1.086 OPS (in very limited playing time) and has thus passed Colvin for the 4th outfielder spot.

The good news for Colvin is that each of the Cubs regular corner outfielders have glaring weaknesses: for Soriano - a .293 OBP, with fewer walks than Colvin in more than twice as many plate appearances, while displaying the range and catching ability of a cactus in left field; for Fukudome - the fact that it's no longer April, and he generally hits worse as the season progresses. It's the same limitations that last year, helped Colvin get the opportunity to play as much as he did, and if he hits well in Iowa he'll get another chance to take at-bats from Fukudome and/or Soriano (and Johnson, once he comes back to earth) later in the season.

The worst news, as far as Cubs fans are concerned? As bad as Colvin has been this year, he still has more HR and as many RBI as the guy who's been our primary #3 hitter, and more HR than our primary clean-up hitter too.