Although it once appeared that the Indians would hold firm and not make any deals on the day of the trade deadline, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian is reporting that Cleveland has acquired 24-year-old Triple-A outfielder/first baseman Lars Anderson from the Boston Red Sox in a last minute swap:
Indians get Lars Anderson from Red Sox. More soon on Indians.com.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 31, 2012
Anderson is hitting .259 this season in the minors with nine home runs and 52 RBI, and was a top-ranked youngster in Boston's organization for virtually the last six years. Heading into the 2008 campaign though, which was essentially the peak of his hype, Baseball America tabbed Anderson as the No. 1 prospect in the entire Red Sox organization, which is an impressive distinction.
Despite struggling to get at-bats in the show with Boston, a 24-year-old Anderson offers plenty of upside on a power-hitting strapped roster like Cleveland's. And according to Red Sox beat writer Alex Speier at WEEI.com, the Indians only had to cough up Double-A knuckleballer Steven Wright to land Anderson's services:
Sox get Steven Wright from Indians for Lars.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 31, 2012
A second-round pick in 2006, the now-27-year-old Wright has bounced around between all levels of competitive baseball since joining the professional ranks. His knuckle ball has been described as nearly unhittable when things are going well, though, and it could be quite possible that the Red Sox think they can turn him into another Tim Wakefield.
For more trade deadline coverage involving the Indians, stay with this StoryStream. Head over to Let's Go Tribe for more Indians news, and be sure to check out Baseball Nation for more MLB analysis.