When I heard that former Arkansas pitcher Jess Todd had been traded to the Cleveland Indians to complete a trade, I immediately thought of a line from Bull Durham. 

  When someone asked about the identity of Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) upon his arrival to the ball club, Davis’ response was: “I’m the player to be named later.”

  Turns out, Todd was the player to be named later in this case.

  Todd, who had shot up through the St. Louis Cardinals organization since getting drafted out of Arkansas in 2007, was dealt to Cleveland to complete a trade for Mark DeRosa.

  According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “On June 27, the Cardinals traded righthanded reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later to Cleveland for the third baseman. The player to be named later was selected from a list of several minor-leaguers, two of which were known to be pitchers. Todd was the Indians’ choice.”

  The Post-Dispatch quoted Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak about sending Todd to Cleveland, and some of his remarks were rather interesting.

  “He’s a good pitcher, and obviously we’re disappointed, but knew what it was going to take to get the deal done for DeRosa,” Mozeliak said. “I don’t think (moving to the bullpen) helped get him to the big leagues and closer to the big leagues sooner. … We knew that move for DeRosa wasn’t going to be cheap.”

  Well, maybe Todd will break in with the Indians. Hey, it worked for another former Arkansas pitcher, Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.