Indians getting help in the bull pen

CLEVELAND, OH –  The Cleveland Indians today announced the club has acquired RHP DEREK LOWE and cash from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for LHP CHRIS JONES.

Lowe, 38, owns a career record of 166-146 with 85 saves and a 3.94 ERA in 634 games/356 starts (2515.2IP, 2563H, 1101ER, 1659K) over 15 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, LA Dodgers and Atlanta Braves since 1997.  Lowe is a two-time American League All-Star (2000, 2002), owns a no-hitter (2002) and is sixth among active Major League pitchers in wins (166) and innings pitched (2515.2).  His 334 games started since 2002 is tops in MLB over the 10-season span.

He is one of just three pitchers in Major League Baseball history with 160+ wins and 80+ saves in a career along with John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley.  After leading the American League with 42 saves with Boston in 2000, Lowe was converted to a starting pitcher in 2002 and has made at least 32 starts and recorded at least nine wins over each of the ten seasons since. In 2002, he finished third in the AL Cy Young voting and second in the AL in ERA with the Red Sox after going 21-8 w/a 2.58 ERA in 32 starts (219.2IP, 166H, 63ER, 48BB, 127K).

Lowe has spent the last three seasons (2009-11) with the Atlanta Braves where he went 40-39 w/a 4.57 ERA in 101 starts (575.1IP, 648H, 292ER) after signing a four-year free agent contract with Atlanta prior to the 2009 season.  In 2009 he finished tied for 4^th in the National League with 15 wins and finished tied for 6^th the following season (2010) with 16 wins. In 2011 he finished tied for the National League lead in starts (34), compiled an ERA of 5.05 (187.0IP, 212H, 105ER, 137K) and was 13^th in the NL in fewest home runs allowed per 9.0 innings pitched (187.0IP, 14HR).

Jones, 23, spent 2011 at Class A (7-1, 3.36ERA, 43 games) and was selected by Cleveland in the 15th round (467^th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.