In another move in their efforts to resurrect themselves in the middle of a dreadful season, the Indians traded Casey Blake to the Dodgers today for pitcher Jon Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana.

Blake, a career .265 hitter, was batting .289 with 11 home runs when the trade was confirmed.  He will try to bring some offense to a offense-starved Dodgers squad, still in contention for the NL West, despite being two games below .500.

This trade has been compared by those in the know to the Bob Wickman trade from 2006 when the Indians traded Wickman to the Braves for Max Ramirez.

Ramirez made the majors this year with Texas but has only played in 12 games. In 67 games in the minors, he has hit .363 with 17 HRs.

Santana is hitting .323, with 14 HRs and 96 RBIs, this year for the Inland Empire 66ers. He is one of the Dodger’s best hitting prospects.

Meloan is their #8 propsect. He is a strikeout pitcher but has struggled of late. After being called up in 2007 and pitching 7.3 innings (with an 11.05 ERA), he has a 5-10 record in the minors this season with a 4.97 ERA, but he did have a 1.69 ERA in the minors in 2007.

Interest in Arroyo?

Despite Bronson Arroyo’s $11 million contract and his mediocre 9-7 record and 5.60 ERA, he is still being mentioned in trade talks. Recently the Rockies and Yankees have shown interest in the 65-66 career pitcher. My source doesn’t think the Rockies are very interested, but he doesn’t discount the Yankees.

He did say that the Yankees will probably trade for Jarrod Washburn, which may dry up their interest in another pitcher. He says right now the Mariners are asking too much but thinks they will eventually agree on a deal.

Popularity: 9% [?]