The Cleveland Indians have traded infielder Luis Valbuena to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. Valbuena was recently designated for assignment by the Indians.
This season, Valbuena played in 17 games for the Indians. The 25-year-old spent most of 2011 with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate.
Though he struggled during his short stint with the Indians (.209/.227/.279), Valbuena was impressive in the minors. Over his 113 games at Triple-A, Valbuena hit at a clip of .302/.372/.476 with 22 doubles, 17 home runs and 75 RBI’s.
Valbuena has had several successful stints at the Triple-A level, maintaining an OPS of .855 over parts of five seasons. Unfortunately for Valbuena and the Indians, this hasn’t translated to success at the major league level. Since making his debut with the Indians in 2008, Valbuena has only mustered an OPS of .630.
Though he was nearly as disappointing during the 2010 season as he was last year, Valbuena did show promise in 2009. Spending 103 games with the Indians, Valbuena hit .250 with 25 doubles and 10 home runs.
It is for this reason that a team such as the Blue Jays would be willing to make a cheap deal for Valbuena, who is still only 25-years-old.
Toronto’s second baseman from the end of last season, Kelly Johnson, is currently a free agent, though Valbuena hasn’t done anything to show he can hold down a full-time job at the major league level. The Blue Jays could also use him as a utility man. With Cleveland’s Triple-A club in 2011, Valbuena played every infield position other than first base as well as left field.
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