Indians Trade For Kosuke Fukudome

The Indians acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and about $3.9MM from the Cubs today for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith. This is actually a really good fit for the Indians. They have been having to play without Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore since they are on the DL and Fukudome can slid in and pick up some of the slack.

Fukudome isn't anything special, but he is a patient hitter that can at least be a nice stopgap option for awhile. Plus the Cubs are picking up most of the tab on him, so I think it's worth the risk.

The two minors the Indians gave up are nothing that they'll miss. Abreu is only in Class A ball, and is ranked 23rd among Indians prospects. Smith is just a AAA middle reliever.

Dice-K To Cubs?

There has been rumors going around that the Cubs and Red Sox have discussed trade Dice-K for OF Kosuke Fukudome. This deal makes zero sense to me. Fukudome has an extremely expensive contract, has never hit more then 13 HRs in his pro career, and is a platoon player at best, something the Red Sox have more then enough of. Plus his contract is an outrageous $13.5 million for next year.

Even for the Cubs it doesn't make a lot of sense, since reports have indicated they are trying to cut salaries, so they can make a run at Adam Dunn. So, we can put this rumors under the "bullshit" category.