Rox get Betancourt, Sox get Duncan

The Rockies traded Connor Graham to the Indians for Rafael Betancourt while the Red Sox traded Julio Lugo to the Cardinals for Chris Duncan.

Rockies Side: Rockies get a solid middle reliever in Betancourt, who has posted a 3.52 ERA in 29 appearances, working 30.2 IP with 15 BB's and 32 K's. A somewhat extreme flyball pitcher, he goes to a weaker league, but a terrible park for his style.

Indians Side: Graham is a 23 year old in High-A and has posted a 7-4, 3.14 mark in 16 starts. In 80 innings, he has walked 41 and struck out 87. He was in Low-A last year, but Asheville did not visit Columbus.

Analysis: Rockies needed a reliever, Indians needed to get younger. Both teams did as well as could be expected. Give the win to the Rockies just because they were in a terrible need for a reliever and Graham will likely be converted to a reliever down the road anyways.

Red Sox Side: Sox get another lefty stick (presumably to replace Mark Kotsay) and Chris Duncan is their type of player. Duncan has splits of .227-.329-.358 in a weaker league and has experienced a loss of power. Reminds me of a Jeremy Giambi, Bobby Kielty type, a 4th OF who statistically inclined teams think can be a starter, but is best as a bench bat.

Cardinals Side: Cards get Lugo, a good risk for them. Lugo's bat wasn't a problem in Boston (.284-.352-.367) and it isn't out of the realm of possibility for him to now hit .300 in the weaker league. However, he may need to be turned into a utility player, as his defense has fallen off dramatically.

Analysis: 2 guys that needed to go to different places. It's a wash, as neither will make or break either team as they make a run.