Indians trade Wickman to Braves
07/20/2006CLEVELAND -- The Bob Wickman era has come to a close.
The Indians traded Wickman, their all-time saves leader, to the Braves for Class A catching prospect Maximiliano Ramirez on Thursday, marking their third deal involving a veteran member of the active roster in the past month.
With the Tribe out of contention for a playoff berth, general manager Mark Shapiro saw an opportunity to get an early read on what might be in store for his club in 2007.
The Wickman deal opens the door for 22-year-old right-hander Fausto Carmona to assume the closer's job for the final stretch of the '06 season.
"The standings speak for themselves and played a large role in the decision," Shapiro said. "In light of where we are, a lot of what we're doing is making quality decisions to make the club what we think can be a contender next year. The chance to look at Carmona in the closing role is very important to us."
Carmona began the year as the club's sixth starter. On May 12, though, he was called up from Triple-A Buffalo and placed in the bullpen. In 20 appearances since that time, he's gone 0-1 with a 1.03 ERA and pitched himself into the eighth-inning role.
"He's rapidly moved into that role," Shapiro said. "This will allow us to take a look at him the rest of the season in a closing role and see what happens. Until you give a player a look at that role, you never know."
The Indians always had a pretty good idea what they'd get out of the 37-year-old Wickman. Though he has a dramatic tendency to put baserunners on, he's one of the game's more effective closers.
In 156 save opportunities since being acquired by the Indians from the Brewers in the middle of the 2000 season, Wickman saved a club-record 139 games.
This year, Wickman was 15-for-18 in save situations, with his last coming Wednesday in the Indians' 6-4 win over the Angels. That appearance was the 750th of Wickman's big-league career.
Off the field, Wickman made a sizable contribution each year to Indians Charities through his Wickman's Warriors club.
"I think it's important to recognize what he's meant to this franchise and this city," Shapiro said. "His contributions on and off the field have been exceptional. In a lot of ways, he's not only an elite closer, but the way he did it with toughness and heart raised the standard for what it takes to be an effective closer in terms of toughness and mental makeup."
After looking for multi-year closing options last winter, the Indians eventually settled on re-signing Wickman, who saved 45 games in '05, to a one-year, $5 million deal for '06. He surpassed Doug Jones as the all-time saves leader on May 7 in Seattle when he notched his 138th save as an Indians closer.
With the club struggling, though, Wickman's save opportunities this season have been sporadic. The Braves, meanwhile, are desperate for veteran relief help for a squad that has vaulted itself back into the playoff picture.
Because he has 10 years of service time in the Majors and five with the same club, Wickman had the right to veto the trade.
"Bob expressed a lot of concerns about leaving the team," Shapiro said. "He had a strong sense of conscience not to abandon us. At the same time, where he is in career, he signed to be on a contender. That's what this trade offers him the opportunity to do."
The Wickman trade is the third such deal made by the Indians since the club effectively fell out of the American League Central race. Jason Johnson was dealt to the Red Sox for cash on June 21, and Eduardo Perez was traded to the Mariners for middle-infield prospect Asdrubal Cabrera on June 30.
Like Cabrera, Ramirez won't be making an immediate impact on the Indians.
The 21-year-old Ramirez, a native of Venezuela, has spent this season at Class A Rome, where he's hit .285 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 267 at-bats.
Known more for his offense than his defense, Ramirez was the Co-Player of the Year in the Appalachian League in '05 and was a starting catcher in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game earlier this month.
"He's young, he's far away and he still has a lot of work to do as a defender," Shapiro said of Ramirez. "But he's a guy who's got the tools and bat to be a good prospect. He's a guy we're excited to have."
The public perception will most likely be that the Indians didn't land much in exchange for Wickman. But Shapiro pointed out that the Braves are only acquiring the veteran as a two-month rental, and he insisted the Indians chose Ramirez over some higher-level prospects from other teams. The Tribe's farm system is weak at catcher, while the Braves' system is loaded at the position.
"At times, you have to go lower to get a high-ceiling player," Shapiro said. "It comes down to a choice between a lower-ceiling player at an upper level, or do you take a little more risk on a guy with a higher ceiling at a lower level. This is the guy we chose."
With 11 days remaining before the non-waiver trading deadline, Shapiro is still talking with other clubs about potential deals.
"Most likely, this one will have the biggest magnitude of any that we could make," he said. "But this is a period of time where you are constantly talking to a lot of other teams. When you talk to teams, the potential for deals always comes up. It's not out of the question that we could make a smaller deal, and it's not out of the question that something bigger arises."
Source: http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/
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