MLB

The Winners Of The Ubaldo Jimenez Sweepstakes Are…The Cleveland Indians

The Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez was generally viewed as baseball’s biggest potential trade deadline prize, and according to reports, the Cleveland Indians got him. The trade was close enough to completion earlier tonight that Jimenez got pulled from tonight’s start against the Padres after just one (really bad) inning, and it’s sure looking official now.

Though the price is steep for the Indians (top pitching prospects Alex White and Drew Pomeranz reportedly head to the Rockies), but with the team unexpectedly in the middle of a pennant race – they’re just two games back in the AL Central as of this writing – they decided it was worth it to get a deal done. And Jimenez, though he hasn’t pitched as well as he did last season, is a fine pitcher – one who could potentially make an impact in a division race, particularly a division without one standout team like the AL Central.

It’s hard to fault the Indians for going for broke here – if Jimenez pitches to his potential for the rest of the season, the team might just return to the playoffs. And once you’re in…who knows? A proven commodity is worth parting with good prospects with this much on the line, and we at least know this: the Indians are serious about winning, and winning now.

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