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Cleveland Indians Trade Deadline: Indians acquire LHP Marc Rzepczynski from St. Louis Cardinals

The Indians deal SS Juan Herrera for the left-handed pitcher also known as "Scrabble" and "Eye Chart"

By Ryan
Marc Rzepcynski
Marc Rzepcynski
USA TODAY Sports

The Indians have found their LOOGY, and his name is Marc Rzepczynski. Pronounce it "Zep-chin-skee". And it didn't take much to get him:

Rzepczynski is 27 years old, and has pitched with the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals. He was included in the Colby Rasmus/Edwin Jackson trade in 2011, and this season has pitched mostly with AAA Memphis.

Juan Herrera is a 20-year-old shortstop who is playing his second season in the US. Statistically he's an interesting player, having hit for decent power at each level, and has a nice strikeout/walk ratio.

More: Comparing Rich Hill to other LOOGY targets


This is a very minor deal. Rzepczynski has not been effective this season in the majors, and Herrera is the epitome of a low-level prospect, who could be interesting, but it'll be 3-4 years until he's ready for the majors, if at all. The Indians are deep in middle infielders, with Francisco Lindor, Ronny Rodriguez, Jose Ramirez, Erik Gonzalez, and Dorssys Paulino all ahead of Herrera on the depth chart.

Here is the main reason the Indians acquired Rzepczynski:

Career BAA/OBP/SLG vs LHB (365 PA): .224/.298/.310

In addition, Rzepczynski can be optioned, so the Indians don't necessarily have to add him to the 25-man roster right away. They can send him to Columbus to make a couple of appearances, perhaps giving Rich Hill a couple more chances. The Indians control Rzepczynski through at least the 2016 season, but he's getting expensive.

Does this trade improve the 25-man roster? I don't think it does. Rich Hill is having a better season than Rzepczynski, and this deal seems to say that the Indians are kinda ok with Hill being the key left-hander, but not totally convinced. So they added another option that they can call on if Hill goes into another bad stretch, and that option didn't cost a whole lot.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the deal?

Marc Rzepczynski's Career Stats (Majors and Minors)

Year Age Tm Lg ERA G GS IP R ER HR BB SO ERA+ H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2007 21 TOR-min A- 2.76 11 7 45.2 21 14 2 17 49 6.5 0.4 3.4 9.7 2.88
2008 22 TOR-min A 2.83 22 22 121.0 41 38 2 42 124 7.4 0.1 3.1 9.2 2.95
2009 23 TOR-min AA,AAA 2.66 16 16 88.0 39 26 1 40 104 8.9 0.1 4.1 10.6 2.60
2009 23 TOR AL 3.67 11 11 61.1 27 25 7 30 60 121 7.5 1.0 4.4 8.8 2.00
2010 24 TOR-min AAA 6.04 12 12 67.0 49 45 10 27 61 10.9 1.3 3.6 8.2 2.26
2010 24 TOR AL 4.95 14 12 63.2 37 35 8 30 57 85 10.2 1.1 4.2 8.1 1.90
2011 25 TOT MLB 3.34 71 0 62.0 27 23 3 26 61 123 7.3 0.4 3.8 8.9 2.35
2011 25 TOR AL 2.97 43 0 39.1 16 13 2 15 33 144 6.4 0.5 3.4 7.6 2.20
2011 25 STL NL 3.97 28 0 22.2 11 10 1 11 28 95 8.7 0.4 4.4 11.1 2.55
2012 26 STL NL 4.24 70 0 46.2 22 22 7 17 33 91 8.9 1.4 3.3 6.4 1.94
2013 27 STL-min AAA 3.07 32 0 44.0 23 15 1 18 31 9.0 0.2 3.7 6.3 1.72
2013 27 STL NL 7.84 11 0 10.1 9 9 1 4 9 49 13.9 0.9 3.5 7.8 2.25
5 Yrs 4.20 177 23 244.0 122 114 26 107 220 99 8.7 1.0 3.9 8.1 2.06
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/30/2013.



Juan Herrera's Career Stats:

Year Age Tm Lg Aff G PA 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
2011 18 Indians DOSL CLE 58 226 11 2 1 7 5 22 27 .297 .384 .391 .775
2012 19 Indians ARIZ CLE 39 168 11 2 0 8 2 26 35 .283 .395 .391 .787
2013 20 Mahoning Valley NYPL CLE 39 172 9 1 1 2 1 16 30 .275 .366 .369 .735
3 Seasons 136 566 31 5 2 17 8 64 92 .286 .382 .384 .766
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/30/2013.

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