Dugout Seeds: Indians Need To Deal Asdrubal Cabrera Not Focus On A Backup Shortstop

Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes that the Indians need to find a reliable backup for Asdrubal Cabrera as Brent Lillibridge and Jason Donald have been ineffective in the role.

He quotes Manny Acta as saying:

"We really need somebody, when we give Cabby a day off or he goes down, who can step in help us out. It's been an issue. . .It's been an issue."

The words from Manny Acta seem rather odd to me as he had ample opportunity to bring up Jason Donald to give Asdrubal Cabrera an occasional day off early in the year. There was the time that Jack Hannahan missed 12 games and was out for 13 days while Jason Donald sat in Columbus and Cabrera played everyday.

Point being: An organization on the verge of losing close to 100 games need not worry about the backup shortstop rather they should focus on collecting talent.

I'd recommend shopping Asdrubal Cabrera, who is signed for two more years, to the San  Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, or Seattle Mariners. An example of a trade that could help both teams is a with the Braves. The deal would be centered around pitching prospect Julio Tehran who struggled in 2012 and top prospect shortstop Julio Andrelton.

If the Indians want a backup shortstop for the 2013 season their will be plenty of opportunities with guys like Reid Brignac and Elliot Johnson of the Rays that could step in and fill that role.

Dugout Seeds: Asdrubal Defends Acta's Performance, But Why?

Asdrubal Cabrera says Manny Acta is not to blame for the Indians poor performance and hopes that he (Acta) is not the scapegoat.

"It's not the manager's fault," Cabrera said. "He doesn't hit, he doesn't pitch, he doesn't throw and he doesn't play defense. We're bad right now. Everything is bad right now -- defense, hitting, pitchers. It's not [Acta's] fault. He does his job."

The one question I have is if a team isn't pitching, isn't hitting, and isn't fielding....and if everything is bad right now - how exactly is Manny Acta doing his job?