Mike DiMauro, a sports columnist at The New London Day, says that John McDonald has been traded to the Cleveland Indians.
Spies say John McDonald has just been traded from the Pirates to the Indians, now that Asdrubal Cabrera is injured #MLB
— Mike DiMauro (@BCgenius) June 10, 2013
I’m not sure how a writer from a Connecticut outlet would hear about this first. At the same time, I’m not sure why a writer from a Connecticut paper would think to make up a John McDonald-to-Cleveland rumor, so I don’t have any reason to not trust the report. Plus, the Pirates will need to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Gerrit Cole, and there’s no need for McDonald with Jordy Mercer doing so well in the majors and Chase d’Arnaud healthy in the minors. So it all adds up. I’ll update this with more if more information comes out on this rumor.
UPDATE 5:11 PM: As pointed out in the comments below, McDonald is from Connecticut. He’s actually from New London, which is where the paper is located. So it makes sense that they would have this before anyone in Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
UPDATE 7:51 PM: The Pirates have confirmed the move. The deal is for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
