CC Sabathia traded to the Brewers (official)

Deal sending Sabathia from Indians to Brewers nearly done

The C.C. Sabathia Era in Cleveland is all but officially finished: The sliding Indians have an agreement in place to ship the left-handed Cy Young winner to the Milwaukee Brewers, CBSSports.com has learned, in a blockbuster deal that could have a dramatic impact on the NL Central race.

The deal, pending medical examinations and paperwork, will send Sabathia to Milwaukee for three prospects, including a top one in outfielder Matt LaPorta, sources with knowledge of the talks told CBSSports.com. It could be announced as early as Monday.

With Sabathia and All-Star Ben Sheets atop their rotation, and with each eligible for free agency this winter, the Brewers clearly are reaching for the stars now. Milwaukee, which has not participated in the playoffs since 1982, moved into a tie for second place with St. Louis on Sunday, just 3½ games behind the Chicago Cubs.

The expected addition of Sabathia should provide an incredible lift to the Brewers, who already rank sixth in the NL in ERA and field a young lineup that took last season's playoff chase into the final week of September before falling out.

Sabathia last started for Cleveland against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, coming away with a no-decision in a 6-5, 10-inning loss. Sabathia started slowly this season -- 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA -- but over his past 14 starts has gone 6-5 with a 2.16 ERA.

He professed a love for Cleveland and a desire to return, but the Indians in talks declined to offer the kind of long-term -- six or seven years -- deal that the New York Mets granted Johan Santana (six years, $137.5 million).

With Sabathia and Sheets, 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA, the Brewers will have a right-left combination atop their rotation that is unsurpassed in the NL -- and a 1-2 punch that could be devastating in the postseason, if the Brewers can get there. And, of course, if each pitcher can stay healthy. Sheets in particular has a history of nagging injuries.

The Sabathia sweepstakes came down to the Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers, as CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reported earlier Sunday. It is believed that the Indians spoke with the Dodgers about a package that would have included outfielder Matt Kemp, but the Dodgers also are looking for a shortstop (Toronto's David Eckstein?) and Milwaukee clinched the deal for Sabathia by offering a package centered on LaPorta, the highly touted outfield prospect the Brewers selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Tabbed by Baseball America as the top overall prospect in Milwaukee's organization, LaPorta, 23, came to the Brewers as a first baseman but, with Prince Fielder appearing to be ensconced there for the long-term, they moved him to left field.

But the Brewers this season moved slugger Ryan Braun to left from third base at the major league level. LaPorta, known as a bat whose glove is almost an afterthought, is viewed by scouts more as an American League player, where he could wind up as a designated hitter.

While the Brewers strengthen themselves dramatically with Sabathia, the Indians, who won 96 games and moved to within one victory of a World Series appearance in 2007, appear poised for a dramatic alteration: They designated closer Joe Borowski for assignment Friday, and they struck quickly in moving Sabathia well before the July 31 trade deadline.

And, clubsthe Indians have spoken to say they're preparing to move significant other pieces.

"They've had their scouts out looking at other clubs' farm systems, Triple-A, Double-A, even Class A," one NL executive says. "They've had guys out looking at the farm systems of contenders looking to add players -- the Cardinals, the Cubs, the Phillies, Milwaukee.

"Their scouts are just going to keep going until they get pulled back."

The Indians are actively shopping starter Paul Byrd, according to sources, who say they might also deal infielder Casey Blake and reliever Rafael Betancourt and might even discuss injured catcher Victor Martinez.

Among the things Cleveland is intent on acquiring are young, impact position players. The Brewers, as Knobler reported, told the Indians that they could have only two of their top five prospects -- but not LaPorta and Double-A Huntsville shortstop Alcides Escobar in the same package.

The Indians have been down this road before, and with great success:

In June, 2002, Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro traded then-ace Bartolo Colon to Montreal for three prospects: current center fielder Grady Sizemore, second baseman Brandon Phillips and left-hander Cliff Lee, who is a leading candidate to start next week's All-Star Game.

The deal is expected to be announced in time for the Brewers to get two starts out of Sabathia before next week's All-Star break, both in Milwaukee -- Tuesday against Colorado and Sunday against Cincinnati.

CBSSports.com senior writer Danny Knobler contributed to this report.

Won't be seeing him pitch at Comerica Tuesday

How the Mighty Indians have fallen

Brewers net Sabathia for four prospects
Tribe ace, 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner lands in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- All of the T's have been crossed and the C's have been dotted.

C.C. Sabathia, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner and arguably the best pitcher available on the midseason trade market, became a Brewer on Monday when the teams formally agreed to a swap that sent four prospects to Cleveland.

Assuming he had no travel delays, the Brewers expected to make Sabathia available to local reporters at 6 p.m. CT.

To bolster their starting rotation for a playoff run, the Brewers were forced to part with top prospect Matt LaPorta, an outfielder, plus Triple-A left-hander Zach Jackson, Class A right-hander Rob Bryson and a player to be named later. According to some reports, that player will be 2007 Brewers Minor League Player of the Year Taylor Green, a third baseman.

Sabathia is a left-hander and will join right-hander Ben Sheets atop Milwaukee's rotation in a bid to end the franchise's 26-year postseason drought. That the Brewers have not played a postseason game since 1982 surely figured into Brewers general manager Doug Melvin's decision to part with LaPorta, who has 20 home runs and 66 RBIs in 84 games for Double-A Huntsville and was the Brewers' first-round Draft pick last year.

"C.C. is one of the top pitchers in the game today," Melvin said. "His addition to the starting rotation will be a major key in helping the team reach its ultimate goal of going to the postseason and beyond."

Like Sheets, Sabathia will be a free agent at year's end and there is a strong chance he will prove a three-month rental for the Brewers. The Indians reportedly offered him a four-year extension worth $72 million earlier this year, but Sabathia rejected it.

Should Sabathia sign elsewhere in free agency, the Brewers would net two extra first-round Draft picks. Likewise should Sheets move on.

Sabathia's record this season is undistinguished at 6-8, but his secondary numbers are again strong. He has struck out 123 batters versus 52 walks and already has worked 122 1/3 innings.

Last year, he went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA to win AL Cy Young honors. Sabathia turns 28 on July 21.

LaPorta, 23, was just named the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Month for June. He hit .381 (40-for-105) for the month with two homers and 24 RBIs in 26 games and was named to the prestigious All-Star Futures Game. He will play first base for the U.S. team and also could be picked for the Olympic Summer Games.

bobrob2004 wrote:

MILWAUKEE -- All of the T's have been crossed and the C's have been dotted.

How do you dot a "C?"

A letter to Indians fans

Dear fans,

Thank you for your many years of loyalty to and support of the Cleveland Indians. Because you are vitally important to the success of the Indians, I want to communicate the thinking behind our recent player personnel decisions, including our decision to trade C.C. Sabathia, directly to you.

After keeping the strong nucleus from our 2007 playoff team intact, we all had high expectations entering the '08 season. Unfortunately, the team did not play up to our expectations and we sustained injuries to key players within our starting lineup and rotation. Due to our team's performance, as well as the significant opportunity to add talent that can impact the short-term and long-term success of the organization, we decided to trade C.C.

We did not take our decision to trade C.C. lightly. He has been an integral member of the Indians organization and the Cleveland community for the past eight years. We all shared the pleasure of watching C.C. develop from a young Draft pick into a mature team leader -- and one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. After re-signing C.C. in 2005 to a contract that extended into what would have been his first two free agent years, we were able to share in and enjoy his '07 Cy Young Award winning season as a Cleveland Indian, a performance that propelled our club to the AL Central Division Championship.

We made extensive attempts to secure C.C.'s future in Cleveland by signing him to a contract extension. In fact, we offered C.C. a top of the market contract that included the highest annual salary in the history of the Indians' organization. Unfortunately, due to C.C.'s desire to test the free agent market, we determined that trading C.C. provided the best outcome for the long-term success of the organization. By trading C.C., we capitalized on an opportunity to infuse upper level talent into our organization that can contribute to our on-field success for many years, rather than risk losing C.C. for only two Draft picks with a distant and uncertain future.

We remain enthusiastic about the steps we have taken towards fulfilling our organizational mission to build and sustain a championship-caliber team. Our Minor League system served as the catalyst for our 2007 playoff run and continues to develop exciting, young players. We look forward to the opportunity of watching many more young players blossom into Major League stars as Cleveland Indians.

We have confidence that the tremendously difficult decision to trade C.C. will enhance our ability to put a winning club on the field to make our loyal fans and the entire Cleveland community proud. On behalf of my family and the entire Cleveland Indians organization, I appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you at a game in the near future. Go Tribe!

Sincerely,

Paul Dolan

I had to laugh reading that letter. Indians fans must be so happy to read that. Oh well, 'em!

So the Indians are officially dumb. Why the hell do you trade a Cy Young winner for 4 rospects? I mean I can understand trading him for good people, but prospects suck.

Indians should change their name to the Quitters