by Paul Hoynes, Plain Dealer Reporter , Plain Dealer

"I don't think the front office figured they'd bring him here for a two- or three-month deal," said Cliff Lee. "But we're the ones who have put ourselves in this position. I just hope the guys we get back can help us be a better team."

The Indians traded DeRosa to St. Louis after Saturday night's loss to Cincinnati for right-hander Chris Perez and a player to be named. Perez was scheduled to join the last-place Indians on Sunday night following an 8-1 loss to the Reds.

This is the second straight year the Indians have approached the All-Star break in a fire-sale mode. They traded CC Sabathia on July 7 last year. Casey Blake and Paul Byrd were traded after the break.

Lee, last year's Cy Young winner and the Tribe's No. 1 starter, has been targeted by several teams. The Indians , who would have to be overwhelmed to consider trading Lee because they don't have a No. 1 starter to replace him, hold a $9 million club option on him for 2010.

"Unless you have a no-trade clause, anybody can be traded," said Lee, when asked if he felt he could be traded next. "I would think that's more of a question for [GM] Mark Shapiro. I don't have the answer.

"Anybody can be traded at anytime. There's a business side to this, and anything can happen. You never know what the front office is thinking on how it can make the club better."

Catcher Kelly Shoppach says trading DeRosa is different from the trades that the Indians made last year for Sabathia, Blake and Byrd.

"We're getting value back that can help us right now at the big-league level," said Shoppach.

When Perez officially joins the Indians , he will go right into their battered bullpen. Last year's deals were mostly for prospects. Left-hander Zach Jackson, one of four players acquired from Milwaukee for Sabathia, made nine starts for the Tribe last year.

The Indians were paying DeRosa $5.5 million this year. The Cardinals will assume the estimated $3 million left on his contract.

Perez, 23, is making $402,000. The major-league minimum is $400,000.

He's 1-1 with one save and a 4.18 ERA. The 6-4, 230-pound right-hander has 30 strikeouts, 15 walks and 17 hits in 23 2/3 innings. He's appeared in 29 games.

He's back: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera returned to the Tribe's lineup Sunday after being on the disabled list since June 3 with a strained left shoulder. He singled to start the game and scored to give the Indians a short-lived

1-0 lead in an 8-1 loss to the

Reds.

Manager Eric Wedge says Cabrera's return should help settle the lineup. He wants Jhonny Peralta to spend most of his time at third with Cabrera playing short and Jamey Carroll and Luis Valbuena sharing second. Carroll can spell Peralta at short, while Valbuena can give Cabrera a break at second.

"Asdrubal looked good," said Wedge. "It will take him a few games to get back into it, but I was pleased with what we saw.

"The dynamic with Asdrubal, Carroll and Valbuena should work very well. They're very versatile players. We can do pretty much whatever we want with those guys, and that's going to help us in our matchups with pitchers."

Head buckeye: Ramon Hernandez was named MVP of the Ohio Cup series between the Indians and Reds by a vote of the media.

In the six-game series, the Reds catcher batted .474 (9-for-19) with a double, triple, homer and five RBI. He went 3-for-5 Sunday.

The Reds won the series, 4-2.

Finally: Jake Westbrook says his right elbow is feeling better. He's nearing the end of his two-week shutdown period after he experienced pain in his elbow. Westbrook is coming back from Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: phoynes@plaind.com, 216-999-5158

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