CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians made their second significant trade in two days, sending outfielder Eddie Rosario to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Pablo Sandoval.
Rosario signed as a free agent this winter with the Indians, who essentially signaled surrender in the AL Central by dealing second baseman Cesar Hernandez to the first-place White Sox for a minor league pitcher.
Cleveland, which has been ravaged by injuries, trails Chicago by eight games entering a weekend series between the teams. Also, Indians manager Terry Francona has stepped down for the rest of this season to address some serious health issues.
The 29-year-old Rosario has been on the injured list since July 6 with an oblique strain. He’s batting .254 with seven homers and 46 RBIs in 78 games.
Sandoval has been mainly used as a pinch-hitter by the Braves. The 34-year-old has four pinch-hit homers this season, and is batting .178 with 11 RBIs in 69 games.
Sandoval was the World Series MVP in 2012 for San Francisco.
Indians trade Rosario to Braves for Sandoval originally appeared on NBCSports.com