CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians acquired versatile infielder Mark DeRosa on Wednesday in a trade that sent three minor leaguers to the Chicago Cubs.
The Indians traded pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub for DeRosa, who likely will slide into Cleveland’s opening at third base.
The 33-year-old DeRosa hit a career-high 21 homers and drove in 87 runs last season in 149 games while playing six different positions for the NL Central champions.
One of the Indians’ priorities during the offseason was to find a dependable, right-handed hitting infielder. They’ve considered moving shortstop Jhonny Peralta to third and Asdrubal Cabrera from second to short, and DeRosa’s versatility gives them even more options. He made 95 appearances (80 starts) at second base and 22 (10 starts) at third for the Cubs in 2008.
The only other everyday third baseman on Cleveland’s roster is Andy Marte. He batted just .221 in 80 games and had to hit .291 over his final 34 games to finish with a respectable average.
Peralta, who has limited range, has been playing third base during winter ball in the Dominican Republic. The Indians’ preference would be to leave him at short, where he makes all the routine plays but many not be as flashy as former Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel — the Gold Glove measuring stick at the position for Cleveland fans.
DeRosa will be eligible for free agency after making $5.5 million this season. He has been invited to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He has driven in at least 70 runs in each of the past three seasons, and the former college quarterback at Pennsylvania has a .302 career batting average against left-handers.
DeRosa is the second former Cubs player to join them this winter. The Indians signed closer Kerry Wood last month and may still try to add another starting pitcher in free agency.
Stevens was the only pitcher on Cleveland’s 40-man roster involved in the deal. The 25-year-old right-hander went 5-1 last season in 17 games for Double-A Akron and 0-3 with a 3.94 ERA with five saves in 19 games at Triple-A Buffalo.
Archer was 4-8 in 27 starts at Class A Lake County and Gaub was 1-1 in 34 games with the same team.
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