After being awarded a waiver claim earlier this week, the Cleveland Indians have worked out a deal with the Minnesota Twins to bring Jim Thome back to Cleveland.
Thome’s season was highlighted by his 600th career home run a couple of weeks ago. For the season, he’s still producing at a solid level, with an .842 OPS in 238 plate appearances for Minnesota this year. He’s been especially effective against lefties, with a .943 OPS in 50 plate appearances against southpaws.
He’ll fill in at DH for a Cleveland team just clinging to contention that lost Travis Hafner to a foot injury this week (shocking, I know) that could require season ending surgery. Cleveland’s offense has been pretty terrible all year, as the DH spot has been manned by Shelley Duncan during Hafner’s frequent DL trips. Duncan only has a .749 OPS against lefties this year, so Thome represents an immediate upgrade at the position. But it probably will be too little, too late for the Tribe.
