Last year's Thunder ace and the starter for the Eastern League All-Star game, Zach McAllister, was dealt to the Cleveland Indians a few minutes ago as the player to be named later in the Austin Kearns deal.

McAllister was rumored to have been part of the package that would have sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners, but the trade fell through when Seattle got negative reviews about the health of second baseman David Adams.

With Scranton this season, McAllister was 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 24 starts, including a complete game. He had allowed 165 hits in 132 2/3 innings, with 20 home runs thrown in. He fanned 88 hitters and walked 38.

McAllister reacted via Twitter, saying:

"Traded to Cleveland ... it's been fun tho Scranton! I'm going to miss my Yankee teammates. Looking forward to the beginning of a new chapter."

With McAllister gone, the Scranton rotation now consists of: Ivan Nova, Lance Pendleton and David Phelps. Jason Hirsh is on the disabled list, and will more than likely move back into the rotation when he returns. Kei Igawa is a candidate to fill the vacancy.

McAllister's dad, Steve, is a crosschecker for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Well, it finally happened. Brandon Laird, the Thunder's dynamic third baseman and the prime piston that kept the team's engine driving over the season's first two months, earned his call-up to Triple-A during yesterday's game with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Laird finished his work with the Thunder sporting a .291/.355/.878 average with 22 doubles, 23 home runs and 90 RBIs. He struck out 84 times and drew 38 walks. He played a solid if not spectacular third base -- although he showed off a top-grade arm on more than one occasion.

He slumped a bit in June and early July, but rebounded big-time over the last two weeks. Since the All-Star break, Laird is hitting .369/.453/1.069 with four doubles, four longballs and nine RBIs.

Tomorrow, even though he's with Triple-A, Laird will get his first taste of major league pitching. Opposing Scranton, with the Syracuse Chiefs, will be Jason Marquis, who won 15 games last season with the Cubs and who sports a 94-86 record in The Show.

So, who'll be replacing Laird, you ask? That would be Corban Joseph, yet another in the Yankees' vast oasis of middle infield prospects. A Franklin, Tenn., native, he's the brother of Caleb Joseph, a catcher for the Bowie Baysox, also in the Eastern League.

For those interested in such things (read: nerds like me), the Baysox come calling on August 17-19, giving fans a view of both Joseph brothers on the same field. That's right, get excited.

Now to my favorite part, the numbers. With Tampa, Joseph was at .302/.378/.814 with 27 doubles, six HRs and 52 RBIs. He stole five bases -- in 13 attempts. He should probably stop running sometime soon.

The next question, of course, is how Tony Franklin, will shuffle the deck come Tuesday at Reading, where yours truly will be in attendance. If I were in his shoes (they would be too big), this is how I would fill out the lineup card:

LF - Christian
CF - Krum
2B - Joseph
C - Romine
RF - Brewer
1B - Vechionacci
DH - Gonzalez
SS - Nunez
3B - Snyder

Both Justin Snyder and Matt Cusick have spent time at third base this season, albeit a small sample size in each case, but, as their manager says, they're baseball players, and baseball players aren't limited to certain roles. I expect to see both of them spend time at the hot corner for the remainder of the season.

Heading into the four-game set with Harrisburg that starts tomorrow, the projected starting pitchers look something like this:

Tomorrow: RHP David Phelps (6-0, 2.04) vs. LHP Ross Detwiler (0-0, 1.17)
Friday: RHP Lance Pendleton (6-3, 3.70) vs. RHP Andrew Kown (2-3, 3.77)
Saturday: RHP DJ Mitchell (6-3, 4.70) vs. LHP Aaron Thompson (4-9, 5.63)
Sunday: RHP Hector Noesi (5-1, 1.90) vs. LHP Tom Milone (6-3, 3.34)

The key word there is projected. Via Donnie Collins, Friday's starter in Scranton is TBA, although they already know who it is but are not at liberty to release the name yet. I've already started hearing rumors about David Phelps being promoted, and he certainly would deserve it.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me terribly to see Lance Pendleton get promoted, either. Between last year and this year, he's had what amounts to a full season at Double-A, and is pitching brilliantly. He, too, would be deserving of a move up.

This is where the fun begins.

With Manny Banuelos being activated off the disabled list this afternoon, Tampa has six guys who can start: Banuelos, Adam Warren, Graham Stoneburner, Shaeffer Hall, Dellin Betances and George Kontos.

Were Pendleton to go up, Betances would be on turn to start in Trenton on Friday evening. Were Phelps to go up and start Friday for Scranton, then things would get really confusing. Five days prior in Tampa, Adam Olbrychowski -- a former Thunder reliever -- was the starter. A day prior to that, it was Kontos, but he threw on Tuesday, so that would probably mean a bullpen start for Trenton.

In any case, things should get a lot clearer over the next 24 hours. Stay tuned.

Yesterday, while I was watching the Pirates beat Roy Halladay, Grant Duff got promoted to Scranton. To take his place on the Thunder roster, Josh Schmidt was transferred back to Trenton.

This means the Thunder have lost their closer, and have gained a long reliever to go with Ryan Pope. Based on the way Tony Franklin used his pen last night, it seems like Wilkins Arias might be the guy to step into Duff's role.

Of course, Tony really never likes to designate anyone for a specific role, so it might be closer by committee for a while.

Today, after a spate of poor starts, Jeremy Bleich was placed on the disabled list and sent back to Florida yesterday. There is no word on Bleich's injury.

To take Bleich's spot, Paul Bush, a member of the Thunder staff last year, was activated off the DL. He is in New Hampshire with the team, and will be available tonight.

Interesting note: Both Bush and Pope will work out of the bullpen. There's no word on a fifth starter, says Thunder broadcaster Justin Shackil. Also from Shackil, Wilkin De La Rosa and Cory Arbiso will start in games 1 and 2

Thanks to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times Tribune for this, but John Van Benschoten has been called to Triple-A to replace Boone Logan, who was called to New York to take Chan Ho Park's spot on the roster.

With the Thunder, Van Benschoten -- a first-round selection in the 2001 draft -- was 1-0 in two games, with four innings total.

There's no word of a corresponding move for the Thunder, who are now carrying 23 players. If I had to make a guess, I'd say either Cory Arbiso or Edwar Gonzalez comes off the disabled list. If they do make a real call-up, however, I would be shocked if Pat Venditte, who has been excellent with Tampa, doesn't get the call.

The Thunder released their official Opening Day roster mere minutes ago, and there are more changes than even I expected. Because there were 26 men on the preliminary roster, we knew two had to be removed in some way. That happened, and then some. Here's the overall changes.

On preliminary roster, now on DL
P - Cory Arbiso
IF - Neall French
OF - Edwar Gonzalez

Added to roster, placed on DL:
P - Alan Horne
P - Paul Bush

Added to roster, active:
OF - Reid Gorecki