The Cleveland Indians find themselves in an interesting situation. They started the season red-hot, but hit a major slump in June. Still, the Tribe remains a half-game up on the Detroit Tigers and in a situation where they need to buy some outside pieces if they want to remain the AL Central’s top dog.
The Indians have been crushed with injuries. Grady Sizemore is the most recent player to fall, which puts him on the shelf along with right fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Both look to be out for quite some time. With two-thirds of the Indians’ starting outfield gone, they’ll need to rely on replacement players like Austin Kerns, Travis Buck and Ezequiel Carrera to fill the void. Not too inspiring. They also need to patch together their starting rotation, which has been struggling of late outside of the top three of Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco.
Rumors have been circulating that the Indians are looking at trades to help their rotation. Names like Aaron Harang and Hiroki Kudora have been mentioned. Harang would seem to be the better fit given his contract compared to Kuroda’s. However, Harang has also been aided by “the PETCO effect” this season. He has a 2.92 ERA at home and a 3.81 ERA on the road. It would take a decent, but not great prospect or two to pry Harang away from San Diego, but the Indians could also look to sweeten the pot by asking for Ryan Ludwick to be included in the deal, given their need for outfield help.
There are other names out there as well and the Indians seem ready to buy as the deadline approaches.
However, as they look to buy, they should also be looking to sell. Orlando Cabrera’s name always seems to pop-up around the trade deadline. It seems like every team he plays for instantly improves simply by his presence. O-Cab isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire at the plate this season — he’s actually been downright bad — hitting .248/.280/.330 with four homers and six stolen bases. He would give any potential suitor depth and versatility in the infield and the all important “clubhouse presence” and “leadership ability”. While the Indians wouldn’t get much in return for O-Cab — maybe a player to be named or cash considerations — the addition by subtraction could pay big dividends the rest of the way.
Indians’ top second base prospect Jason Kipnis has proven that he’s ready to take the next step in his baseball career, which would be the big leagues. Kipnis is hitting .291/.375/.495 at triple-A Columbus with 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 378 plate appearances. His bat would almost instantly be an upgrade to the Tribes’ lineup. While he doesn’t project as the best defensive second baseman in the world, there shouldn’t be much of a change over Cabrera’s declining skills defensively.
As stated earlier, outfield is a need for the Indians and Carlos Beltran is a name that has been floated around with regard to a number of teams, including the Tribe. While the Indians probably wouldn’t be able to absorb Beltran’s salary, the Mets seem to be willing to eat the entire remainder of the contract if they get a good enough prospect or package of prospects. Should the Indians decide to go all-in and empty the minor league cabinet for players like Harang and Beltran, they still have a chance to replenish some of that minor league depth by looking to deal from their team’s biggest strength.
Teams always seem to be looking for bullpen help at the trade deadline. Names like Heath Bell, Mike Adams, Jason Isringhausen and Leo Nunez have been linked to rumors. However, all of those players have fairly sizable contracts and won’t be under team control for more than one more season (Adams and Nunez). The Indians have seen some fantastic results out of their bullpen so far this season and just about all of their bullpen arms are under team control for at least the next few years.
Chris Perez, 2.83 ERA, arbitration eligible through 2014
Rafael Perez, 2.35 ERA, arbitration eligible through 2013
Vinnie Pestano, 2.80 ERA, won’t be arbitration eligible until 2014
Joe Smith, 1,30 ERA, arbitration eligible through 2013
Tony Sipp, 2.65 ERA, arbitration eligible through 2015
Relievers are by far the easiest players to replace. Even the Indians’ closer, Chris Perez, has only been worth 0.1 win above replacement according to Fan Graphs (fWAR). Their most dominant reliever, Vinnie Pestano, hasn’t even crossed the 1 fWAR mark yet (0.9 fWAR). Given the depth of their pen, it would make sense to approach teams about trading a reliever for a prospect or two. If the Pardes are asking for a top prospect in return for Mike Adams (1.1 fWAR), who is only under team control for one more season, why couldn’t the Indians ask for a good prospect in return for one of their relievers?
Even though it may sound crazy on the surface, their best trade piece might actually be their current closer, Chris Perez. Perez may have a low ERA and 22 saves, but he also has a very poor 1.4 K/BB rate and 3.93 FIP. Any team acquiring this closer would have him under team control for two more seasons than they would of Mike Adams. Should the Indians trade away Chris Perez, they would have plenty of options to use in the ninth, including Pestano and Rafael Perez, without missing a beat.
There are a lot of people who don’t believe that the Indians can make the playoffs this season, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the front office from looking at potentially adding a player or two. Prospects are never sure bets and when a team has a chance to make the playoffs this late in the season, they usually go for it. The Indians have a chance to improve their major league roster through a trade or two, but they also have a chance to get creative and add to their farm system at the same time. Not many teams have depth at a high-demand position (bullpen); the Indians should take full advantage of that and sell while they’re busy buying.
Contract information from Cots Contracts
