Rangers acquire LHP Kelvin de la Cruz

by Adam J. Morris on Feb 21, 2012 6:01 PM CST

In our big eve of spring training transaction, the Rangers have acquired lefthanded pitcher Kelvin de la Cruz from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations.

De la Cruz was designated for assignment by the Indians in order to clear a 40 man roster spot for Casey Kotchman. The Rangers acquired him because they apparently thought Miguel de los Santos needed another lefty on the 40 man roster for people to confuse him with.

De la Cruz was added to the Indians' 40 man roster prior to the 2010 season, so he has one option remaining. While de la Cruz is probably going to get a look as a possible lefty candidate out of the bullpen this spring, along with Joe Beimel, Miguel de los Santos, Mitch Stetter, and the favorite, Michael Kirkman, it wouldn't be surprising if the Rangers ended up running him through waivers around Opening Day.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2006	17	Indians	GULF	Rk	CLE	1	2	.333	10.98	9	4	19.2	32	29	24	2	13	15	2.288	14.6	0.9	5.9	6.9	1.15
2007	18	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A--Rk	CLE	5	4	.556	3.11	15	15	72.1	48	28	25	6	36	73	1.161	6.0	0.7	4.5	9.1	2.03
2007	18	Indians	GULF	Rk	CLE	3	0	1.000	0.50	3	3	18.0	7	1	1	1	2	20	0.500	3.5	0.5	1.0	10.0	10.00
2007	18	Mahoning Valley	NYPL	A-	CLE	2	4	.333	3.98	12	12	54.1	41	27	24	5	34	53	1.380	6.8	0.8	5.6	8.8	1.56
2008	19	3 Teams	3 Lgs	A-A+-AA	CLE	12	6	.667	2.98	27	27	130.0	110	49	43	4	62	136	1.323	7.6	0.3	4.3	9.4	2.19
2008	19	Lake County	SALL	A	CLE	8	4	.667	1.69	18	18	95.2	71	23	18	2	34	96	1.098	6.7	0.2	3.2	9.0	2.82
2008	19	Kinston	CARL	A+	CLE	3	2	.600	6.44	8	8	29.1	35	22	21	1	25	36	2.045	10.7	0.3	7.7	11.0	1.44
2008	19	Akron	EL	AA	CLE	1	0	1.000	7.20	1	1	5.0	4	4	4	1	3	4	1.400	7.2	1.8	5.4	7.2	1.33
2009	20	2 Teams	2 Lgs	A+-Rk	CLE	2	2	.500	4.58	5	5	19.2	16	10	10	2	7	24	1.169	7.3	0.9	3.2	11.0	3.43
2009	20	Indians	ARIZ	Rk	CLE	0	2	.000	9.39	3	3	7.2	10	8	8	1	5	5	1.957	11.7	1.2	5.9	5.9	1.00
2009	20	Kinston	CARL	A+	CLE	2	0	1.000	1.50	2	2	12.0	6	2	2	1	2	19	0.667	4.5	0.8	1.5	14.2	9.50
2010	21	2 Teams	2 Lgs	AA-A+	CLE	7	8	.467	5.01	26	26	127.2	120	82	71	15	72	105	1.504	8.5	1.1	5.1	7.4	1.46
2010	21	Kinston	CARL	A+	CLE	2	2	.500	2.91	6	6	34.0	22	14	11	3	8	28	0.882	5.8	0.8	2.1	7.4	3.50
2010	21	Akron	EL	AA	CLE	5	6	.455	5.77	20	20	93.2	98	68	60	12	64	77	1.730	9.4	1.2	6.1	7.4	1.20
2011	22	Akron	EL	AA	CLE	5	6	.455	4.19	23	16	86.0	70	42	40	3	57	95	1.477	7.3	0.3	6.0	9.9	1.67
6 Seasons						32	28	.533	4.21	105	93	455.1	396	240	213	32	247	448	1.412	7.8	0.6	4.9	8.9	1.81
AA (3 seasons)				AA		11	12	.478	5.07	44	37	184.2	172	114	104	16	124	176	1.603	8.4	0.8	6.0	8.6	1.42
Rk (3 seasons)				Rk		4	4	.500	6.55	15	10	45.1	49	38	33	4	20	40	1.522	9.7	0.8	4.0	7.9	2.00
A+ (3 seasons)				A+		7	4	.636	4.06	16	16	75.1	63	38	34	5	35	83	1.301	7.5	0.6	4.2	9.9	2.37
A (1 season)				A		8	4	.667	1.69	18	18	95.2	71	23	18	2	34	96	1.098	6.7	0.2	3.2	9.0	2.82
A- (1 season)				A-		2	4	.333	3.98	12	12	54.1	41	27	24	5	34	53	1.380	6.8	0.8	5.6	8.8	1.56

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/21/2012.

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Comments

Is he left-handed?

Sign him up.

"It's incredibly hard." - Ronald Washington

by 3Bagger on Feb 21, 2012 6:05 PM CST reply actions

Heh

The Rangers acquired him because they apparently thought Miguel de los Santos needed another lefty on the 40 man roster for people to confuse him with.

I hate The Angels so much, it's actually cramping my style. (See RevHaloFans SBN profile page)

by Gay For Feliz on Feb 21, 2012 6:16 PM CST via mobile reply actions

In the Spirit of Newhouse from the morning thread...

Kelvin of the Cross.

by Mike in Reno on Feb 21, 2012 7:40 PM CST via mobile reply actions

"and the favorite, Michael Kirkman"

Michael Kirkman is really only a favorite if the question is “who is about to walk a batter”

Go Rice Owls!
Would be a Matt Harrison fan, but I only like superstars

by JBImaknee on Feb 21, 2012 8:02 PM CST reply actions

I realize you hate Kirkman...

…because you see him as the Moriarty to Matty Ice’s Holmes…

But of the pitchers I listed, who do you think is more likely than Kirkman to end up in the Opening Day bullpen?

by Adam J. Morris on Feb 21, 2012 8:09 PM CST up reply actions

I'm just being snarky

my guess is this is one of those classic cases where whoever has the best spring (especially if they don’t have options remaining). I don’t usually approve of that strategy, but that tends to be what happens on the edges like this.

And maybe I’m still a bit bitter of him getting the lefty spot in the 2010 playoffs

Go Rice Owls!
Would be a Matt Harrison fan, but I only like superstars

by JBImaknee on Feb 21, 2012 8:12 PM CST up reply actions