Trade becomes official

Just got the release from Josh, which I pasted below. Again, this is a scaled-down version of the eight-player deal the clubs never consummated earlier this month. That one was CC Sabathia, Casey Blake and Jamey Carroll for (I believe) Santana, Matt Kemp, James McDonald, Cory Wade and Andy LaRoche. I didn’t know who those players were when I reported that deal and McCourt denied he had nixed the trade for financia reasons and that the real problem was that the players simply didn’t match up. Once I found out who the players were (in dribs and drabs over the past couple of weeks), I tend to agree with him. Anyway, here’s the release. Corresponding roster move probably won’t be announced until they tell the player affected, but it almost has to be either LaRoche or DeWitt.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today they have acquired third baseman Casey Blake and cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor league catcher Carlos Santana and minor league right-hander Jonathan Meloan. The announcement was made by Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti.

“Casey Blake is a gamer,” said Colletti. “His experience and character will be a plus as we head down the stretch in the final two months of the regular season.”

Blake leads the Indians with a .289 batting average and 58 runs batted in this season. He has hit 11 home runs and has posted a .365 on-base percentage and .465 slugging percentage. Blake’s .393 batting average with runners in scoring position ranks fifth in the Major Leagues in 2008.

The Des Moines, Iowa native set career highs for Cleveland in home runs (28), RBI (88), hits (159) and runs scored (93) in 2004. Last season, Blake slugged 18 homers and drove in 78 runs while helping the Indians reach the postseason. In the American League Championship Series, he batted .346 (9-for-26) with one home run and two runs batted in.

He has appeared in 859 career games spanning 10 seasons with the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles, and Indians. The versatile veteran has played the majority of his career at third base, but also has logged significant playing time at first base and right field.

Blake attended Wichita State University, where he was drafted by the Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft. In his biography in the 2008 Indians Media Guide, Blake lists his favorite baseball moment at Kirk Gibson’s game-winning home run for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Meloan, 24, is 5-10 with a 4.97 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) for Triple-A Las Vegas. He has struck out 99 batters in 105.0 innings for the 51s. The right-hander reached the Major Leagues in 2007 for the first time, appearing in five games for the Dodgers and posting an 11.05 ERA in limited action. He is in his fourth professional season after being selected in the fifth round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft.

Santana, 22, is batting .323 with 14 homers and 96 RBI in 99 games for Single-A Inland Empire. The Dominican Republic native is in his fourth professional season after being signed as a free agent on Aug. 13, 2004.