Bringing Thome back great for Tribe 

The Minnesota Twins have traded designated hitter Jim Thome to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Per the agreement, the player to be named later will be determined no later than Oct. 15. The joint announcement was made by general managers Bill Smith of the Twins and Chris Antonetti of the Indians.

This was a tremendous acquisition by Antonetti. Thome, 40, was hitting .248/.351/.476 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 70 games this season for the Twins. Thome began his career with the Indians when he was drafted in the 13th round of the June 1989 free agent amateur draft. He spent the first 12 years of his major league career, from 1991 to 2002, with the Tribe, where he mashed 259 doubles and 334 home runs and delivered 927 RBIs. He holds the Indians’ single-season home run record with 52.

The five-time All-Star and former Silver Slugger (in 1996) owns a career OBP of .403 and a career OPS of .960. He also played for the Phillies, White Sox and Dodgers during his career. His 601 home runs put him eighth in baseball history, and he’s well on his way to the Hall of Fame.

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