The Cleveland Indians acquired Ubaldo Jimenez at the trade deadline last season, trading away Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Joseph Gardner and Matt McBride for the Rockies ace. Jimenez picked up a lot of attention by winning 15 games in 2009 and striking out nearly 200 batters that season, only to have his notoriety taken to a whole new level in 2010.
2010 was the season that Jimenez was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA…at the All-Star break. The second half of 2010 wasn’t anywhere near as great, but Jimenez was still a solid rotation anchor for the Colorado Rockies, going 4-7 with a 3.80 ERA.
On July 31, 2011, the Indians lost to the Kansas City Royals and were 2.5 games behind Detroit for first place. The Tribe would go on to finish the season at 80-82, 15 games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL Central. This is where the story begins for Jimenez, as his career has taken an odd turn since his arrival in Cleveland, but even moreso since the All-Star game in 2010.