"Jim Thome was a Twin long enough to win a Central Division championship and make baseball history, but he couldn't achieve what he most hoped would happen for him in Minnesota, and that was win a World Series.

The Twins gave the slugger one more chance, albeit an outside one, by trading him to Cleveland on Thursday for a player to be named. Hopelessly out of the postseason race, Minnesota sent Thome back to the team with which he started his professional baseball career 22 years ago.

"This is the right thing to do for Jim Thome," Twins general manager Bill Smith said. "We have loved having him in our organization the past two seasons. He's one of the great gentlemen in the game, and this gives him a chance to go full circle, to go back to Cleveland where he started his career.

"It puts him back in a pennant race. It's the right move for Jim Thome."

The Indians selected Thome in the 13th round of the 1989 first-year player draft, and he hit 334 of his 601 career homers in a Cleveland uniform. His two World Series appearances - in 1995 and 1997 - were with the Indians, as well.

With designated hitter Travis Hafner on the disabled list and facing foot surgery, the Indians see Thome, 40, as a needed bat and the kind of feel-good, nostalgic addition who could help turn the team's fortunes. He played 12 seasons in Cleveland, helping turn the Indians from a punch line to an American League powerhouse. "