Kosuke Fukudome Dealt to Indians

Kosuke Fukudome has been traded to the Cleveland Indians for prospects Carlton Smith and Abner Abreu, and I'm surprised.  A possible Fukudome trade has been on the Cub fan's wishlist for over a year now but his bloated contract made it hard to do so.  While the Cubs realized they would have to pay most of the remaining money on the contract, Fukudome himself didn't gather all that much interest.  Solid defense and a great on-base percentage is pretty much all Fukudome is known for these days.  Although he is a veteran, he is definitely no clubhouse leader seeing as he still needs an interpreter during interviews.  

Fukudome had about $4.75 million left on his deal to be paid during the remainder of this season, and the Cubs will have to pay $4 million of it.  So this trade can't really be called a 'salary dump' because we're not really, umm, dumping any salary.  But overall this trade is good for the organization.  Now the logjam in the outfield isn't weighed down by the awkward commandments that although Tyler Colvin may be (is) the best right fielder on the team and would be more productive, the Cubs wouldn't want to pay a guy $12 million per season to sit on the bench.  Unluckily for the Cubs, Colvin had an awful start to the season and was sent to the minors, and so the logjam issue was solved, at least temporarily.  Now that Colvin has had some time to work in Triple-A Iowa, it's time for him to get another shot at the starting job.

While Colvin is expected to take over right field duties for at least the end of this season, whether or not he earns the job long term is unknown.  The Indians, on the other hand, will need Fukudome's help right away.  After a sizzling start to the season, the fading Tribe desperately needed to add an offensive piece to help them stay afloat in the weak AL Central.  Fukudome will play in an outfield where stars Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore have both been recently injured.  

For the Cubs, the return in this trade won't make an impact this season.  Smith, 25, is a righty-throwing reliever currently in Triple-A.  He owns a career 4.21 ERA and is a definite pitch-to-contact type pitcher, having struck out only 5.8 batters per nine innings in his career.  Abreu, 21, is a righty-hitting outfielder with a power and speed mix.  The power is still developing, but the decent speed is already there and he has 20-20 potential.  In fact, he's on pace for nearly 20-30 in High-A ball this season.  Not a great average hitter, Abreu needs to work on his plate discipline.

Although Smith is just a mediocre reliever who probably won't make it far in the Major Leagues (if he gets there), Abreu could be a Major League regular by 2014 thanks to his power-speed combo.  Smith could be one of the September call-ups for the Cubs, but Abreu won't be playing in Chicago until 2013 most likely.  Fukudome, meanwhile, is a free agent after this season and definitely won't be returning to the Cubs.  After all, I called it back in April.  But for Colvin, Smith, Abreu, and even Fukudome, who gets to play for a contender now, this was a positive trade.  And for that I applaud Jim Hendry, who's clearly being realistic about this team and how to retool for next season.