Cleveland Indians Roundup: Indians Deal Michael Martinez, Beat New York Yankees; Danny Salazar for First-Half Cy Young Award

The Cleveland Indians beat the New York Yankees

The Cleveland Indians engaged in a minor trade yesterday when they sent utility player Michael Martinez to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations. The Indians had designated Martinez for assignment last Saturday as a part of the aftermath of the 19-inning marathon they endured the night before. With pitching becoming a dire need, there simply was no room left on the roster for a super utility player. 

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Martinez, 33, was in his second season with the Cleveland Indians. He appeared in just 48 games over that time span, and his impact at the plate was little at best. He had put up an encouraging batting average of .283 this season, but his on-base percentage and slugging percentage left much to be desired.

Speaking of slugging, the Indians absolutely pummeled the New York Yankees last night. They led off the game with back-to-back home runs from Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis and went on to establish a dominant 8-0 lead before the end of the fifth inning. As a part of the slugfest, Mike Napoli crushed a 460-foot home run, the longest for the Tribe this year.

Corey Kluber had another elite outing, pitching eight innings of one-run ball. He also struck out eight batters while only allowing five hits for the extra icing on the cake. The All-Star has now lowered his seasonal earned run average to 3.61, although advanced metrics feel that he has been much better than that.

In other news, I made the case for Danny Salazar to win the non-existent first-half Cy Young Award. His dominant pitching has made him one of the best pitchers in the league, and both traditional and advanced metrics love his work. Furthermore, formulae to estimate the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s voting patterns place him right in the heat of the competition.

More from around the American League Central:

Cleveland Indians Crush Homers, Yankees in 10-2 Win – Wahoo’s on First

Cleveland Indians: Danny Salazar for the First-Half Cy Young Award – Wahoo’s on First

Indians Deal Martinez to Boston for Cash – Indians.com

Napoli’s 460-foot Home Run Longest for Tribe This Year – Indians.com