Dodgers acquire Cleveland Indians third baseman Casey Blake in trade

Five days away from the non-waiver trade deadline, the Dodgers acquired third baseman Casey Blake from the Cleveland Indians for a pair of minor leaguers.

Blake, who turns 35 next month, is a free agent at the end of the season and came at a reasonable cost: triple-A right-hander Jon Meloan and Class-A catcher Carlos Santana.

The Indians agreed to pay what remains of Blake’s $6.1 million salary.

Blake, who was batting .289 with 11 home runs and 58 runs batted in for Cleveland, is on his way to Los Angeles and is expected to be at Dodger Stadium for the game tonight against the Washington Nationals. His bat will be a welcome addition to the weak-hitting Dodgers’ lineup, which has included slumping rookie third basemen Andy LaRoche or Blake DeWitt on most nights.

Blake can also play in the outfield.

His major league career spans 10 seasons and includes stops in Toronto, Minnesota and Baltimore.

The Dodgers might not be done dealing. They remain in search of reinforcements in the middle of the infield and the back of the bullpen, and baseball sources indicate that they’ve been shopping LaRoche.

The Dodgers had a chance to acquire Blake at the start of the month as part of a blockbuster deal that would have also netted them star pitcher CC Sabathia and infielder Jamey Carroll. The deal would have cost the Dodgers five players.

The Dodgers started looking at third basemen when it appeared that acquiring a shortstop to replace the injured Rafael Furcal at this stage in the season could be difficult. Adrian Beltre of Seattle wasn’t an option because the Dodgers are among the 10 teams listed in his limited no-trade clause, according a baseball source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Meloan, 24, was moved from the bullpen to the rotation this spring. He was 5-10 with a 4.97 earned-run average in 21 games for triple-A Las Vegas. In a September call-up last season, he posted an 11.05 ERA in five games for the Dodgers.

Santana is by far the more intriguing prospect. The 22-year-old was hitting .323 with 14 home runs for Class-A Inland Empire and his 96 runs batted in were the most in the California League. Santana hit only .223 for Great Lakes, a low Class-A team, last season.

 dylan.hernandez@latimes.com