DeRosa dealt to Cardinals

In a deal on Saturday, Mark Shapiro and John Mozeliak, General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, finalized a trade that will send Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for right-handed reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later.

In losing DeRosa, Cleveland gives up a consistent bat, and maybe the best definition of a utility player in today’s game. DeRosa played whatever position was necessary to fit in the lineup. After obtaining DeRosa prior to the start of this season, fans sensed that a missing puzzle piece was finally found. The gritty thrity-four year old still played the game like a kid, wanting to do whatever it took for a win. In a recent interview on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Mozeliak praised DeRosa’s versatility, but mentioned that third base would be the primary target.

Chris Perez certainly provides one of baseball’s worst bullpens with some instant relief. Cleveland has been abysmal in holding late leads. This alone has put Eric Wedge, and possibly others, on the hot seat in the city by the lake. Perez is currently 1-1, with a 4.18 ERA, a 30-15 strikeout-walk ratio, and one save. Perez, who turns 24 next week, also brings some youth to the bullpen…hopefully meaning he can further improve on numbers that are akready good enough for the Tribe.