Hector

Luna

Luna started at third base Sunday before moving to his natural position at shortstop. The Cardinals probably just want to see if he’s worth keeping around, especially given their iffy second base situation.

At .291/.355/.417 in 223 at-bats, the 26-year-old Luna was outhitting Belliard this season. He’s not a particularly good defender at second, but since he can also play shortstop, third base and the outfield corners, he’s a pretty valuable player. This is disappointing news for those who picked Joe Inglett up in AL-only leagues, as instead of taking over as a regular, Inglett will have to compete for time at second base. The Indians need to figure out if either can be counted on as a 2007 regular. Luna becomes a decent pickup in AL-only leagues.

Maybe. Carroll also said the Yankees were giving up Eric Duncan and Tyler Clippard for Bobby Abreu (which would have been a much better deal for the Phillies). Luna would be a fair return for Cleveland, his original organization.

Luna still isn’t playing regularly, but he’s getting enough at-bats to contribute significantly in NL-only leagues. He’s hitting .319/.364/.451 in 144 at-bats. He’s been especially productive against left-handers and he will be in the lineup against them most of the time.

Luna scored two, had two doubles and delivered a key RBI single in the 10th inning to help cap a remarkable comeback for the Indians after they gave up 10 runs in the first inning.

Luna has not provided the offensive spark the Indians were hoping for when they acquired him at the deadline. He was batting just .161 before Tuesday’s performance which takes him back to .206. Luna needs to pick things up if he wants to be part of the Cleveland’s plans next season.

The outburst snapped a 3-for-20 slump. Luna figures to get plenty of playing time in the next week for St. Louis.

The Phillies will need to make a move in order to add him to the 40-man roster. Luna is hitting .277/.318/.406 with one homer and a .724 OPS over 110 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season. The 32-year-old owns a .265/.317/.388 batting line over 801 plate appearances in the big leagues between the Marlins, Blue Jays, Indians and Cardinals and will serve as a utility infielder.

Luna was hitting .277/.318/.406 with one homer and a .724 OPS over 110 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season. He’ll provide manager Charlie Manuel with some versatility.

It’s Luna’s glove, not his bat, that’s kept him from having a career as a utilityman. The Phillies may decide to live with it in order to give themselves a more potent alternative to Freddy Galvis if they can’t acquire an upgrade prior to Opening Day. Luna has three homers in 42 at-bats this spring.