Fausto Carmona, If That Is Your Real Name!

Another year, another Latin American player caught falsifying their name and age. The latest player caught was Cleveland Indians starting pitcher “Fausto Carmona” who is actually Roberto Hernandez Heredia. And his age is actually 31 not 28! This is a huge blow for the Indians, who were counting heavily on Heredia to not only help this year but for next several years. He was arrested Thursday outside the US Consulate in his native Dominican Republic when he was trying to renew his Visa.

In recent years, the Indians have not had much luck with their hitters developing to the next level and/or staying healthy. But they do have a recent history of developing solid starting pitching. (Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia are Cy Young Examples) This year the Indians were planning to lean hard on their pitching once again to be competitive, and will still have to try to with or without Carmona… er… Heredia.

Heredia was scheduled to make $7 million this year with the team holding options on him the next two year ($9 mil for 2013 and $12 mil for 2014). The Indians will have to really think hard if they want to work with him or if they want to sever ties with him. Most starting pitchers hit their prime years between 28 and 32. The Indians probably would not have signed him to the same contract they did if they knew his real age was 3 years older. At 31 instead of 28 years old, there is a lot to be concerned about with Heredia (Carmona).

Heredia (Carmona) has been unbelievably inconsistent year to year, having some very good years along with some dreadful years. His best season was in 2007 when he won 19 games with a 1.21 WHIP and a 3.06 ERA. Last year he lost 15 games, with a 1.40 WHIP and a 5.25 ERA.

Now without Heredia (Carmona), the Indians are looking at a rotation that includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Kevin Slowey (They just traded for him to eat up some of the missing innings).IP and a

It is way too early to even know if he will be available this year at any point. The Indians will obviously monitor what is happening with him in his home Dominican Republic very closely, but if I were them I would cut ties and just move on. It’s hard enough for teams to work with the correct facts and make proper decisions without this kind of nonsense happening!