Tobias Myers: Have we seen this trade before

 More than a few of us were rolling our eyes and scratching our heads when the Guardians added a guy to their 40-man over the winter who had been DFA'd by Tampa Bay.  With the 40 man roster crunch (we didn't have a space for Oscar Gonzalez and we probably needed a veteran reliever or two) it seemed odd to add a guy like Myers but, you know, the Indians are great at developing pitchers.

Well, spring training went by and I wasn't impressed.

Early into the season, given the results at Columbus, I am not impressed.  The guy just looks bad.  Like minor league free agent bad.  

Which brings us to the other part the trade, the player the Indians gave up.   I admit I didn't know anything about Caminero before he signed with the Indians/Guardians.   But looking at his stats last year was eye-opening.   Look, guys just don't hit 9 HRs in the DSL.   These guys are young, not physically mature yet and need to learn to play.   As has been said, power develops later in a career.  They don't hit 9 HRs at 17 years old.

Then it occurred to me.  Was this deja vu all over again?  The following line from Baseball Reference should be burned in the brains of all long-time, die-hard Indians/Guardians fans:

April 3, 1974: [Bruce Ellingsen] traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cleveland Indians for Pedro Guerrero.

Yes, in one the absolutely worst trades in Indians' history, Bruce Ellingsen came to the Indians for a future all-star.   Ellingsen appeared in 16 games for the Indians that season and then never pitched in the majors again.  

Guerrero, who only hit 2 HR and ..255 in his DSL debut at 17, didn't here as many as 9 until 1975, didn't make a big impact in the majors until 1981.  Still, the similarities are very striking.   

Let's hope I am wrong but let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.  Or if we make another trade with the Rays, let's make sure we ask for Caminero back as a throw-in.   Heck, we'll even give them Myers back!