Looking Ahead

RHP Rafael Betancourt has been traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Class A RHP Connor Graham.

Graham is 23-year-old pitcher who's a native of Bowling Green and a Miami of Ohio alum, who possesses a big 6'7", 235 lbs. body. He is 7-4 with a 3.14 ERA, 87 strikeouts and 41 walks in 80 1/3 innings pitched (16 starts). His ERA is the sixth-best in the league, and he's limited the opposition to a .225 average against, with just two homers allowed. He is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA over his last three starts.

Following the '08 season, Baseball America named him the 12th-best prospect in the Rockies' organization.

My take on this trade is so-so. In a season where we're hard pressed for pitching as it is, especially in the bullpen, all signs point to selling, selling, and more selling. As far as Graham goes, he will report to Akron and is still at least a year away from the bigs. He possesses a dominating fastball that sits about 95 mph and a slider. His command can get wild at times and he's still working to develop a third pitch (changeup). It's something in return since the Tribe were unlikely to pick up his option at the end of the season.

The rumor mills are flying wild and the Indians are in the thick of the rumors. Several teams, such as the Rays, Dodgers, and Brewers have contacted the Tribe about Cliff Lee, while the Rays and Red Sox have had serious interest in Victor Martinez. I would suspect that neither of the two get traded at the deadline. The more likely two players I see getting dealt at the deadline are Carl Pavano and Ryan Garko, but no word on those two quite yet.

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Now that it seems imminent that Jamario Moon will be joining the Cavs, here's an early look at the 2009-2010 depth chart.

C
Shaquille O'Neal
Zydrunas Ilgauskas

PF
Anderson Varejao
J.J. Hickson
Darnell Jackson

SF
LeBron James
Jamario Moon

SG
Delonte West
Anthony Parker
Danny Green

PG
Mo Williams
Daniel Gibson
Tarence Kinsey