Padres Trade Josh Barfield

The Tribe acquired 23-year-old second baseman Josh Barfield from the Padres on Wednesday in exchange for infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown.

Barfield, a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League this season, gives the Indians some much-needed speed and fills the gap at a position that lacked an everyday presence since the July 30 trade of Ronnie Belliard to the Cardinals.

Wow - I'm shocked by this trade. The Padres let fan favorite Mark Loretta go because of Josh Barfield. Maybe Loretta is back in the plans for the Padres? Marcus Giles could be another possibility to reunite with his brother Brian (its 50/50 I think for Atlanta to bring Marcus back). Maybe Japanese star Akinori Iwamura is another option at 2nd for the Padres? Kevin Kouzmanoff fills a big a need for the Padres at 3rd as Barfield does for the Indians at 2nd.

It should also be noted that the Padres just cut ties to Dave Roberts because they want a middle of the line-up bat. Could Brown and a mid-level prospect be used to trade for Gary Sheffield or another big bat?

From the Indians perspective - great move They just filled the need at 2nd without taking a gamble on Akinori Iwamura. They also have Andy Marte at 3rd - so Kevin Kouzmanoff (also a 3rd baseman) was expendable.

Andrew Brown is out of options so he has to stick with the Padres' big club or pass through waivers.