CC Sabathia Trade

CC Sabathia was traded on Monday to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Matt LaPorta and three other players. This looks to be a great trade for both teams. The Indians get Matt LaPorta, a great Double-A hitter who should start for them in left field next year and for years after that. For the Brewers, they get the best possible starting pitcher on the trade market. In addition to that, the best player they gave up, LaPorta, was blocked by Ryan Braun in left field and had little chance of breaking into the majors.

An overlooked advantage of getting CC for Milwaukee is that they traded for him on July 7, more than 3 weeks before the trade deadline. This gives them up until the 31st to see whether the rest of the team can continue their winning ways. As of before Friday's game, the Brewers are the Wild Card leaders, 1/2 game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals and 4.5 games behind the Cubs. Since trading for Sabathia, the Brewers are 2-2. If Sabathia, along with the rest of the staff, can continue playing well the Brewers are in prime position to head to the playoffs as the Wild Card.

Let's say, though, the Milwaukee slides in the next three weeks. What's to say they don't trade Sabathia to the highest bidder? Nothing at all. They traded a prospect that was blocked by their own future star. By trading Sabathia to another contender, they can get back at least two prospects that are on the same level as LaPorta. That would be a huge return for trading Matt LaPorta away. All of this is pretty speculative, of course, because it would take a lot of losing to convince the Brewers to trade away Sabathia three weeks after getting him. The important thing to remember, though, is that the option is there and very real. Just something interesting to watch in the next three weeks.