Revisiting the Ubaldo Jimenez trade of 2011

Last summer, the Indians were in the thick of a divisional race and decided that they needed to desperately upgrade their pitching. They chose to make a trade that would help them in the short-term, by acquiring pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies in exchange for prospects Alex White, Drew Pomeranz, Joe Gardner, and Matt McBride. At the time the deal looked very smart for both sides, because the Rockies were looking to get younger pitching. Like I mentioned before, the Indians were looking to contend. Jimenez did not play very well down the stretch for the Indians, and Cleveland ultimately missed their shot at the playoffs. Jimenez is still young, and Cleveland wants him to develop into their ace. Here is a breakdown of the Jimenez trade as of August 10, 2012:

Indians acquire:

Ubaldo Jimenez- 9-11 win loss record, 5.25 ERA, 23 games started, league-leading 77 walks

Rockies acquire:

Alex White: Triple-A stats: 3.71 ERA, 11 games started, 60.2 innings pitched
                     MLB stats: 5.75 ERA, 12 games started, 61.0 innings pitched

Matt McBride:  Triple-A stats: .354 batting average, 10 homers, 77 RBI, 395 plate appearances

Drew Pomeranz: Triple-A stats: 2.51 ERA, 9 games started, 46.2 innings pitched
                            MLB stats: 4.76 ERA, 12 games started, 56.2 innings pitched

Joe Gardner: Double-A stats: 4.64 ERA, 18 games started, 23 appearances, 106.2 innings, 9.3 H/9


As you can clearly see, this trade hasn't really seriously affected either side so far. The Indians are stuck with Ubaldo, and his terrible performance on a consistent basis. Obviously he is going to have to figure himself out because if he doesn't he will probably be dealt out of Cleveland. As for the prospects in Colorado's farm system, they have been pretty bad for the most part. Alex White and Drew Pomeranz have been awful, but you have to take in account that they play in the hitter-friendly Coors field. I have a feeling that they might figure themselves out eventually, it just might not be in a Rockies uniform. McBride seems like a very good hitter, and may have some upside. Gardner is struggling in Double-A, and I can only imagine how he would do if called up to the big leagues.

Overall, it looks like we will have to wait another few years to see how this trade unfolds. The Indians, at the moment, seem to be losers in the trade because Ubaldo has been THAT bad. At least the Rockies got some players with decent upside.