First there was man, and then there was baseball. Soon after baseball there were baseball statistics, because there’s no sense in male competition if you don’t have a record of who’s good and who’s not. Baseball was played in ballparks, and in time people came to notice that different ballparks affected the game in different ways. Eventually people put numbers to park factors, and after there were park factors, there were park factors broken down by handedness. This is where we are today, with the focus being on how specific environments affect specific players. Later on, we’ll know a lot more than we know today, but today we know plenty, relative to what we knew just a few years ago.

As we’ve come to understand park factors, we’ve come to understand the importance of sample sizes. Many prefer multi-year factors over single-year factors, because single-year factors can be misleading. That’s when you’re dealing with events that happen a lot, like walks or strikeouts or singles. Even with multi-year factors, you can observe wild swings with events that happen more rarely. I’m talking here about park factors for, say, hit batters, or park factors for triples. With that in mind, the updated righty park factor for Progressive Field for triples could end up looking a little silly. Let me explain.

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The Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals organizations officially closed the book on the Mark DeRosa trade when right-hander Jess Todd was sent to Cleveland on Sunday as the Player to be Named Later. The Indians also received second-year reliever Chris Perez, 24, when the trade originally occurred on June 27, 2009.

The addition of Todd to the deal swings this trade in Cleveland’s favor, even if you don’t consider the wrist injury to DeRosa (torn tendon sheath), which has slowed the veteran infielder. Yes, DeRosa is a valuable player, but both Perez and Todd have set-up man and/or closer potential in the back end of Cleveland’s bullpen. These are not just two right-handed, middle-relief pitchers. Perez, a former supplemental first round draft pick, already has eight career saves in 78 MLB games. DeRosa, 34, is also a free agent after the season.

Todd, a second-round pick from 2007, has saved 24 games in triple-A this season. Last year, the 23-year-old hurler made 24 starts over three minor league levels and posted solid numbers. He performed both roles in college, as well, and has the potential to develop into a No. 3 Major League starter, if Cleveland chooses to place him back in the starting rotation.

Todd’s numbers in triple-A this season as a reliever have been excellent. In 49 innings, he’s allowed 39 hits with a walk rate of 2.39 BB/9 and a strikeout rate of 10.84. He’s also allowed just three home runs and he’s limited opposing batters to a line-drive rate of 14%. His repertoire includes a plus cutter, a fastball that can touch 94 mph, and a good slider.

Cleveland paid a reasonable price to acquire DeRosa this past off-season from the Chicago Cubs. I took a look back at the trade last week. The Indians essentially gave up one B-level pitching prospect in Jeff Stevens, and two C-level pitching prospects in Chris Archer and John Gaub. All three prospects, though, have seen their values rise in 2009. In trading DeRosa mid-season, the Indians got back a young MLB reliever with closer potential (and experience) and a low A- or high B-level prospect in Todd (as well as half a season of DeRosa’s production). In other words, Cleveland bought low on DeRosa and then sold high on the veteran. The Indians did not win just one DeRosa trade; it won both.

That loud collective groan you heard over the weekend was the sound of Cub fans reacting to one of their favorite players getting traded to their hated division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. When Mark DeRosa was moved to the Cleveland Indians for a trio of C grade pitchers, it was a salary clearing move to enable the Cubs to sign Milton Bradley, who has predictably been unable to stay in the lineup, and over the weekend was called a piece of excrement (to keep it PG) by his manager for his “shenanigans”. Before trading DeRosa, the Cubs signed Aaron Miles, lord of the .228 wOBA. Good times in Cub Town.

The Cardinals gave up one pitcher that is worth more than the three the Indians traded to obtain DeRosa’s services by trading Chris Perez, who has been regarded by most prospect watchers as a top 100 talent. He was all but anointed to be the St. Louis closer headed into the season, but wasn’t quite able to nail down the job. Depending on how you view Perez is how you evaluate this trade, and of course there is the other shoe still yet to drop. Perez is a fastball/slider reliever who can brings the heat at an average of 94 MPH. To give you an idea of Perez’s “stuff”, here’s his movement chart from 5/18/09.

With two above average offerings, the problem with Perez has never been his repertoire, but rather his command. In 113.1 innings pitched throughout the minors, Perez struck out 12 batters per nine innings, but walked 6 per nine. In the 65.1 big league innings, he’s struck out 10 batters per nine but walked 5.2 per nine and has a FIP of 4.38. It’s that lack of command that has prevented him from ascending into the high leverage innings, and he lost his manager’s trust this year, with an average leverage index of a .84, compared with an LI of 1.34 the previous season.

If the Indians can coax Perez into throwing more strikes, they’ll have a good, cheap high-leverage reliever under team control for the next five years, making this deal a real win. If that doesn’t happen, he’s basically another Kyle Farnsworth, which still has some value, but isn’t exactly a rare commodity.

Mark DeRosa is a La Russa guy if there ever was one, in that he’s a veteran who can play a bunch of different positions, and the good news for Cardinal fans is he can actually hit a little bit. With Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick and Chris Duncan slumping at the same time and Troy Glaus still on the shelf, the Cardinals in sore need of some run production. DeRosa is not a world-beater, but is projected to hit for a .348 wOBA the rest of the season, and he will probably be playing third base more often than not. The Cardinals are getting a .296 wOBA from the position, so they’ll gladly take it.

DeRosa’s not a plus defender at 3B by any stretch (-8 UZR per 150 games career), but neither was Joe Thurston. The last three seasons DeRosa’s been near a 3 win player or better, and should give the Cardinals about ~1-1.5 WAR the rest of the way. In a division in which the cellar-dwelling Pirates are just five games out, that could mean a world of difference for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals may have paid a stiffer price than they’d like by giving up their “future closer” for a half a season’s rental, but chances are Perez’s command never quite comes around, and they still would have been driven to the market once Ryan Franklin’s magic closer beard gets shaved off, or when he becomes a free agent in 2010, whichever comes first. I have to also think this trade was made not to just get DeRosa, but to keep him away from Milwaukee and Chicago, who also were expressing an interest.

The Graduate: Chris Perez | Born: July 1985 | Right-Handed Pitcher

The former supplemental first-round pick made his highly-anticipated MLB debut in 2008 and held his own. In 41.2 innings, Chris Perez allowed 34 hits and posted rates of 4.75 BB/9 and 9.07 K/9. He gave up his fair share of fly balls, with a GB% of just 38.7. His fastball averaged out at 95.2 mph during his stay in the Majors. He relied on it a little too much though – three-quarters of the time, with his slider coming in next at 24.6%. Perez is considered the Cardinals’ closer of the future.

The Riser: Jess Todd | Born: April 1986 | Right-Handed Pitcher

Jess Todd has done nothing but post solid pro numbers. The former college reliever has acclimatized well to the rigors of starting in pro ball. In less than two full seasons, Todd made it to Triple-A and held his own in four starts. He spent the majority of the year in Double-A where he allowed 79 hits in 103 innings. Todd posted rates of 2.10 BB/9 and 7.08 K/9. He has a solid fastball in the low-90s, a slider and a developing change-up.

The Tumbler: Colby Rasmus | Born: August 1986 | Outfielder

It’s not completely fair to list Colby Rasmus in this category. Yes, he had a disappointing season, but the outfielder was playing at Triple-A at the age of 21. He also struggled with injuries that should be fully cleared up by the start of 2009 with no residual affect. Rasmus hit .251/.347/.396 with an ISO of .145 in 331 at-bats. His batting average has dropped each of the last three seasons – from .310 to .275 to .251, which is cause for concern. On the plus side, his rates of 12.9 BB% and 21.8 K% are on par with those during his breakout 2007 campaign – which suggests he was not completely over-matched.

The ’08 Draft Pick: Niko Vasquez | Born: February 1989 | Shortstop

Niko Vasquez was select out of a Nevada high school in the third round of the 2008 amateur draft. He slipped a bit in the draft after an inconsistent prep season that left a lot of scouts wondering if he could play shortstop in pro ball. Defensively in pro ball, he was steady with 11 errors made in 63 games and average range. Vasquez had no issues with his bat in his pro debut. At Rookie Ball, he hit .317/.401/.462 with a .144 ISO in 208 at-bats. Vasquez posted rates of 12.2 BB% and 25 K%. He was promoted to A-ball for a late-season, 11-game stint and struggled with a line of .128/.209/.154.

The ’09 Sleeper: Nick Additon | Born: December 1987 | Left-Handed Pitcher

Nick Additon was no where near the prospect radar coming into the 2008 season, despite solid debut numbers in 2007. He was originally signed by the Cardinals as a 47th round selection out of a community college. Additon has a below-average fastball, but the southpaw has a plus-change-up and excellent control. In A-ball in 2008, he allowed 92 hits in 119 innings of work. He posted rates of 2.65 BB% and 8.17 K/9. He also received a late-season promotion to High-A where he posted a 0.50 ERA in three starts. Double-A will be the true test for Additon.

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