I must repeat, I have no clue what this trade means for the Indians. Lillibridge is hitting .212avg with a .279OBP on the year in limited action(he is a bench guy). He is hitting better than Aaron Cunningham(.175avg), and he can play more positions, so I guess he significantly upgrades our right handed 7th inning defensive sub? He can also play every infield position, so that could mean we will see him somewhere in there too. He is fast, so a pinch-runner role is highly possible too.
He is under contractual control thru 2015, so Jason Donald better step up in spring training next year, because you got competition for bench utility guy! It's a move that brings added depth to our bench utility player roll for the next several years. Solid.
Manny Acta naturally sidestepped the poor offensive part of Lillibridge, and when asked he just focused on the word "versatility".
Per Indians.com - "He has hit in the past," Acta said. "But we're not bringing him over here to put him in the middle of our lineup. He's just going to be
a backup guy for us. You don't have backup guys hitting .300 on the bench."
Now I am really confused. I guess Cunningham and Duncan aren't hitting .300, but I can't remember when Cunningham started to commit a lot of errors, so what is the purpose of finding a better defensive bench guy? I guess Lillibridge can do more, so it will give Acta more options when Damon or Duncan do play a full 9 innings.
Ok, enough of the sarcasm. This move is most likely signalling the increased reliance on speed that the Indians wanted from the beginning of the season. On top of that, Jose Lopez and Jack Hanahan may be part of trades coming up as I think they actually are very good bench guys to have on a contending team. For some teams, they may even be an upgrade(i.e The A's and Brandon Inge). Let's wait and see what happens the rest of the week, I think this trade has a few layers to it, beyond giving Jason Donald spring training competition.
-Daniel Hahn
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