Derek Lowe traded to the Indians

[Providence A's]

Atlanta Braves trade Derek Lowe to Cleveland Indians, sources say - ESPN

Lowe was traded for left-handed pitching prospect Chris Jones, a source familiar with the trade told Olney.

The Braves are eating all but $5 million of the $15 million remaining on the last year of Lowe's contract, sources told Olney.

Wasting no time here. I'm not sure how this really helps the Indians, but OK.

[love_that_reefer]

This helps the Indians by filling out their rotation before free agency even starts. The Indians already have Carmona (whose option was picked up today), Masterson, Jimenez and Tomlin. Lowe will be an innings eater and he still gets a ton of groundballs. Besides, this only cost the Indians a reliever. Now that the Indians have the rotation set, they can focus on other areas of need.

[Kingdom]

Addition by subtraction. I am so glad to see him gone. Cleveland can have fun with his mediocrity in the AL.

[Providence A's]

Filling out their rotation with someone well on the decline helps? OK.

[HollywoodLeo]

I've never understood why some value an "innings eater" when that's the only "value" the pitcher has.

What good does it do the team if the pitcher is "eating inning" if he's giving up a lot of runs during those innings?

In fact, I'd go as far as to argue that if the pitcher sucks him pitching a lot of innings is a bad thing.

[Foster]

Sin't he going to be eaten alive in the AL?
I mean, he wasn't that "great" for the Braves, and now, Detroit, and the White Sox are gonna fest on him, plus all the other teams that visit the "Jake."

Also, this marks one of my favourite times of the year.

[Kingdom]

Jose Bautista is excited I'm sure.

[Kingdom]

That said, Lowe is nothing more than a back-end guy at this point, and maybe less after the switch in leagues. Position players hit .301/.365/.433 (average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) against him this year, and he struck out just 112 of 762 batters against 66 walks. The sinker is getting softer, and its sink isn't as sharp as it was two years ago. Lowe has ramped up his use of the slider in the past two years, and that has become his weapon to miss bats because hitters are laying off the sinker more. He's also added a soft cutter in the 84-85 range to keep hitters off the sinker.


Lowe must continue to change his approach to handle the American League because the sinker alone no longer suffices, and the rise in his walk rate is a red flag. For $5 million, it won't be hard for Cleveland to get its money's worth out of Lowe, but I don't see him as a difference-maker for the Indians, either -- probably just an extra two wins over a replacement-level pitcher like the now-departed Mitch Talbot.

Lowe's 5.05 ERA will fit in nicely next to Carmona's 5.25 ERA

[love_that_reefer]

I've never understood why some value an "innings eater" when that's the only "value" the pitcher has.

What good does it do the team if the pitcher is "eating inning" if he's giving up a lot of runs during those innings?

In fact, I'd go as far as to argue that if the pitcher sucks him pitching a lot of innings is a bad thing.

Lowe still had the second best groundball rate in all of baseball. He had a terrible September but other than that would have been a good #5 for any team. You do need innings eaters at the back end of your rotation to save your bullpen. Sure he's in decline but for only $5 million and not giving up anything but a reliever, I don't see the problem. Rotation is set, Indians don't have to worry about it for the rest of the offseason.

[Providence A's]

Just because he gets groundballs, doesn't mean he's getting outs.

[love_that_reefer]

It means he should be getting them at a higher rate than he did.

[Providence A's]

Position players hit over .300 against him. Groundballs don't necessarily equal outs; in the 38 year old Lowe's case they equal hits more than not.

[Kingdom]

Derek Lowe would be a terrible #5 on a terrible team. Much like Carmona. Indians will no doubt enjoy toiling in mediocrity again.

[love_that_reefer]

Position players hit over .300 against him. Groundballs don't necessarily equal outs; in the 38 year old Lowe's case they equal hits more than not.

Groundballs don't automatically equal outs but when you're second in the league in groundball rates, you should be getting more outs than he did! It's not a hard concept to grasp. His FIP was a 1.5 run lower than his ERA showed. Looks more flukey than anything. What exactly did the Indians lose here? It's a good trade and the Indians are more likely to get their money worth than not.

[Providence A's]

Sure. He should be getting more outs because he gets a lot of groundballs. If only teams could have more than 9 guys in the field.