(1)
We traded a PTBNL for Carroll. Because the 40-man roster was full we ALSO had to remove a player (JD Martin) from our roster by designating him for assignment to clear a spot for Carroll. If we can’t trade Martin, a former #1 draft pick, and if he doesn’t make it through waivers that means that we will probably have lost TWO players for Carroll: JD Martin and whoever we trade. As if there was not enough head scratching with trading for Carroll, now Shapiro and Co. have added another head-scratcher, why JD Martin and not someone else like the injured pitchers Brian Slocum or Juan Lara? I am not going to get into the humanity issues with removing the seriously-injured Lara from our roster. However, facts are facts. Keeping Lara on the roster has now cost us either Brian Barton or JD Martin, depending how you look at it.
(2) You usually get your utility infielders as minor league free agents (like we did with Luis Rivas last year) because…
(3) Utility infielders are worth ZERO win shares which means, in layman terms, that no matter who your utility infielder is he will win you close to, if not exactly, ZERO games during the year. Thus they should cost you close to ZERO dollars.
(4) Your utility infielders don’t usually make over $2 million.
We now will pay the combination of David Dellucci, Jason Michaels and Jamey Carroll over $8 million this year. That money could EASILY have been spent on something better than three guys whose pictures are right next to the dictionary definitions of both ‘expendable’ and ‘minor league free agent material’, based on recent performance. So, Colorado was able to dump salary on us and we paid for that privilege, as well!
Additionally, this does seem to mean that the Indians plan to send Josh Barfield either to Buffalo or to another club next season. If he goes to Buffalo he will stay there until he is ready for the big leagues. If that is sometime in 2008 then Carroll will become Mr. Expendable before he has been here a full season as our utility guy. But there’s nothing new about that if you examine recent history:
2006 – Chose Ramon Vazquez over Brandon Phillips
2007 –
Chose Mike Rouse and, needing a roster spot, DFA’d Jeremy Guthrie 
2008 – Chose Jamey Carroll and it cost us Player X and maybe Player Y.
I am thinking here that Mark Shapiro is not learning from his previous mistakes and has an unusual infatuation with utility infielders who fail miserably…at least up to this point.
The Indians didn’t have to do this.
The solution to the utility infielder issue seems simple to me: Johnny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera AND Josh Barfield on the roster. If Asdrubal plays 2B and Peralta plays SS, Barfield is on the bench. If Peralta is on the bench, Asdrubal plays SS and Barfield plays 2B. If Asdrubal needs a blow, Peralta is the SS and Barfield is at 2B. If any one of them gets hurt we are still covered. If two of them get hurt, well, that’s why you stash guys like Luis Rivas at AAA. To me it seems simple: you already have your utility middle infielder on your team. His name is Joshdrubalny Cabraltafield. If you add in Andy Marte and Casey Blake, you are even better covered with infield depth…and the name of your utility infielder becomes even more unwieldy.
But the Indians didn’t agree with me….like that’s the first time that ever happened!
