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Rockies Acquire Drew Stubbs For Josh Outman

By Zachary Links | December 18, 2013 at 12:41pm CDT

12:41pm: Cleveland will receive left-hander Josh Outman from the Rockies in the trade, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).

Outman, 29, pitched to a 4.33 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 51.3 percent ground-ball rate in 54 innings for the Rockies this past season. Formerly a starting pitcher, Outman converted to the bullpen on a full-time basis for the first time in 2013. Outman averaged 92.4 mph on his heater and held lefties to a minuscule .198/.278/.261 batting line.

MLBTR's Matt Swartz projects Outman to earn $1.4MM in 2013. He will give new manager Terry Francona a second left-handed option in the bullpen along with Marc Rzepczynski.

12:14pm: The Rockies are acquiring Drew Stubbs from the Indians, sources tell Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Tribe can afford to part with Stubbs thanks to their outfield surplus, which includes Michael Bourn, Michael Brantley, David Murphy, and Ryan Raburn.

We heard back in November that multiple teams approached Cleveland with interest in Stubbs.  The 29-year-old hit just .233/.305/.360 in 2013 but is projected to earn $3.8MM in arbitration this offseason by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.  Still, Stubbs offers quality defense, power and speed, and  he's capable of handling all three outfield positions.

Stubbs, like the newly-acquired Brandon Barnes, is better versus lefties than righties, Rosenthal notes (link).  The plan is still for Carlos Gonzalez to go to center field but the Rockies are collecting athletic outfielders that should give them a solid supporting cast in 2014.

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Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Transactions Drew Stubbs Josh Outman

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View Comments (46)
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46 Comments

  1. KJ4realz

    12 years ago

    Depending what they gave up, I like this move for the Rox. Can put him in CF against LHP moving Cargo to LF on those days.

    Reply
    • Tim Uglow

      12 years ago

      be prepared to c a strike out 40%of the time

      Reply
      • Farmer Tan Colin!

        12 years ago

        30% K rate…but he’s shown a good career BB%, adds runs from base running and can add runs in defense. Career 800ish OPS against lefties. He’s not an everyday guy but there is value here.

        Reply
  2. JordanSwingman

    12 years ago

    Interesting, could be good for Stubbs to get back into a hitters ballpark again, but I don’t see him doing much to be honest.

    Reply
  3. Henry Thibaut

    12 years ago

    If you thought he struck out a lot before, wait until he’s overswinging in that thin Denver air!

    Reply
    • c

      12 years ago

      That’s a little two-dimensional. Stubbs hits fastballs just fine, and breaking pitches experience much less movement at altitude. This change should cut down his strikeouts and whiffs.

      -C

      Reply
      • Henry Thibaut

        12 years ago

        It was a joke… not an analysis of Stubbs hitting in thin air.

        Reply
      • Henry Thibaut

        12 years ago

        It was a joke… not an analysis of Stubbs hitting in thin air.

        Reply
  4. Henry Thibaut

    12 years ago

    If you thought he struck out a lot before, wait until he’s overswinging in that thin Denver air!

    Reply
  5. Greg Gabrielsen

    12 years ago

    I keep reading that last line as “…the Rockies collecting athletic supporters for 2014…”

    Reply
    • vtadave

      12 years ago

      They might be better off if they did…

      Reply
    • TurkeyClubSamich

      12 years ago

      Seems to be all they got in return for Dexter Fowler.

      Reply
  6. Rally Weimaraner

    12 years ago

    Stubbs’ best years came in the NL and the hitter friendly confines of Great American Park, Coors field may be exactly what he needs

    Reply
  7. Justin N

    12 years ago

    for who?

    Reply
  8. Ben Weihrauch

    12 years ago

    So if he has similar platoon stats as Barnes, why didn’t the Rockies acquire a platoon partner instead of a clone? Or better yet, why part with Dexter in the first place? Good gawd, logic defies management at 20th and Blake.

    Reply
    • c

      12 years ago

      Brandon Barnes isn’t really a starting OF. He’s a 4th OF at best, with most of his value being on the defensive end of things. The Rockies didn’t trade Fowler to get Barnes, they traded him to get Lyles, who was very highly-regarded not too long back.

      Stubbs (and to a lesser extent because he doesn’t figure to start, Barnes) fits because the outfield at Coors is massive. It essentially requires two CF-range players to cover left and center, with left being as tough or more difficult to cover than center. You can’t toss an all-bat guy in left and expect merely below-average results. It would be an unmitigated disaster. Right field is actually the easiest defensive position at Coors because it has the least amount of ground to cover.

      So, when you look at the actual situation present, it does make logical sense. I don’t know if the moves were really that good (I didn’t like the Fowler trade, but I’m not sold on Lyles showing drastic improvement), but they did make sense.

      -C

      Reply
      • c

        12 years ago

        I’m guessing a Blackmon/Stubbs platoon for the starting role, actually, though either could potentially win the job outright (and later lose it, get it back, platoon, etc). Then Barnes. Plenty of strong defensive OF whenever Cuddyer plays first.

        -C

        Reply
  9. Tribe82

    12 years ago

    Really interested to see who the Tribe got for him.

    Reply
    • bob smit

      12 years ago

      Not having to spend ~4 mil on him?

      Reply
    • bob smit

      12 years ago

      Not having to spend ~4 mil on him?

      Reply
    • will

      12 years ago

      Looks like they got left handed reliever Josh Outman. Could be a nice 2nd LH reliever to pair with Marc Rzepczynski

      Reply
      • Tribe82

        12 years ago

        Excellent trade on both sides I think. We were looking to pick Outman up at the trade deadline last season but got Rzepczynski instead…now we have both.

        Reply
  10. Kën Shrëk

    12 years ago

    seems like a left handed bat would have been the better move

    Reply
  11. Randy Klemme

    12 years ago

    His defense is good if you can use 200 strikeouts a year

    Reply
  12. Rally Weimaraner

    12 years ago

    Too bad Outman has never been able to live up to his name

    Reply
    • Tribe82

      12 years ago

      His numbers look pretty good against lefties. My guess is he’ll be a specialist out of the pen in that regard.

      Reply
      • Ruffner008

        12 years ago

        oh you know it. Terry’s lickin’ his chops lookin at those matchup splits.

        Reply
  13. The_Porcupine

    12 years ago

    I like the signing. For all their experiments trying to find a “winning formula” at Coors, I’ve always wondered why they didn’t try going with a more defensive presence. Get 3 outfielders who excel with defense (arm, range, ability to read the balls in play), then focus on guys with range in the infield, first basemen adept at picking the throws at first. My thinking is that pitchers are going to get hit at Coors regardless, so why don’t you limit the number of baserunners through defense.

    Reply
  14. vtadave

    12 years ago

    Tribe should have signed Balfour to pair with Outman.

    Reply
    • Shin_Soo_Choo

      12 years ago

      Too cheap.

      Reply
  15. GoFish

    12 years ago

    Josh Outman is one of the most ironic names in MLB history seeing as how his career ERA is 4.61.

    Reply
    • disadvantage 2

      12 years ago

      In 2011, the A’s had Grant Balfour (2.9 BB/9), Trevor Cahill (6.9 K/9), and Outman on the same team. It was almost as if Billy Beane was trying for the most ironic pitching staff in the league.

      Reply
      • FS54 2

        12 years ago

        If they had Homer Bailey, that would have been awesome.

        Reply
  16. Mike Blowers

    12 years ago

    Would really liked to have seen the M’s make a move like this, he could have platooned with someone. Instead they signed the injury bug Guti. Good move Rockies.

    Reply
  17. Matt Talbert

    12 years ago

    Stubbs can be situationally played situationally, used as a pinch runner, pinch hitter and defensive replacement for a spare bullpen arm that’s not bad.

    Reply
  18. SwingtimeInTheRockies

    12 years ago

    Since Logan does what Outman did (better but for more money) I like this trade from a baseball standpoint. Stubbs seems expensive and I wish he could hit righties to pair with Barnes but, I guess I like this.
    I’d still rather we just kept Fowler.

    Reply
    • John Donovan

      12 years ago

      I agree. Stubbs is a nice get when all you have to give up is Outman, who has already been replaced in the pen. I’d say Stubbs and Blackmon will platoon LF, although it could just be a four way fight in ST with Dickerson and Barnes. I’d say 1 get the starting gig with 2 back ups and 1 either released or in AAA.

      I like Fowler, so I am happy he is getting a fresh start in the AL. He was never going to be successful in Denver after O’Dowd’s foolish radio rant.

      Reply
  19. caughtredhanded

    12 years ago

    When he was a Red I hated to see him go, but enjoyed not seeing him on our 25 man roster. Maybe this’ll help him turn things around, although I’m not holding my breathe.

    Reply
  20. Thizzie

    12 years ago

    One thing about Stubbs is that he sure can play some great defense!

    Reply
    • Sufferfortribe

      12 years ago

      But watch closely—he’s afraid to dive. Always tries to make sliding catches, instead. Cost one Indians pitcher a chance at a no-hitter.

      Reply
  21. Sufferfortribe

    12 years ago

    Let’s see what Callaway can do with Outman.
    Anyone that can fix Ubaldo…………….

    Reply
  22. Cory Mumby

    12 years ago

    I wonder if the Indians will allow Outman to use the Outman Methodology for his pitching mechanics?

    Reply
  23. LetsGoBucs92122

    12 years ago

    I like this move by the Rockies. Fills the void left by Fowler being traded to the Astros

    Reply
  24. connfyoozed .

    12 years ago

    Stubbs should be a pretty good addition for the Rockies… but I would not sleep on Josh Outman. I can see him contributing well to the Indians. Being somewhat of a LOOGY seems like the best thing for his career, but he still has the stuff to contribute in other roles, even as a fill-in starter.

    Reply
  25. Philip 2

    12 years ago

    Stubbs Ks total makes him a player I would avoid

    Reply
  26. Dale Pearl

    11 years ago

    I hope Drew has a break out year. With the right tutoring (Brett Butler) Drew could be a great lead off man. He is just about as fast as anyone in the league and he is a great defender.

    Reply

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