The Cleveland Indians are open to trading just about anyone on their roster. The exceptions being Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. ESPN’s Buster Olney Tweeted Friday in regards to the Indians.
Faced with market constraints, the Indians will listen to trade offers for some of their veteran players this winter, according to sources. Kluber, Carrasco, Encarnacion, Gomes, etc. Lindor, Ramirez will definitely be held.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 2, 2018
The key phrase in Olney’s Tweet is market constraints. Cleveland is a small market baseball club and has to operate as such. Recently Cleveland has made bids at capturing that elusive World Series title. Most notably the three-year $60 million deal handed out to Edwin Encarnacion prior to the 2017 season.
Potential players the Indians may trade
Deals like the one handed out to Encarnacion are exactly what the Indians are looking to get out of. Encarnacion is due $20 million in 2019 and there is an option in 2020, which is also for $20 million. This is quite an expensive salary for a team like Cleveland. In fact Encarnacion is the highest-paid player on the team. Due to this fact he may be dealt rather soon in an effort to shade payroll while still being competitive.
Another player potentially on the trading block is Jason Kipnis. Kipnis is due $14.5 million next season, the third-highest on the team. A combination of declining play and being the odd man out in the infield could lead to Kipnis playing for a new ball club in 2019.
There have also been rumors about trading starting pitching. The Indians have plenty of depth at this position and a deal could be made to shed salary and improve the team at the same time. Corey Kluber will be 33 and is making $15 million in 2019. This is less than half of the deal that Clayton Kershaw just signed, but Cleveland may be persuaded to trade Kluber if the offer is right. Another pitcher that Cleveland may trade is Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is 32 next season and could interest a contender looking to bolster their rotation, With his inexpensive salary ($9.75 million in 2019) he is easily movable. Although a combination of low salary and Cleveland’s desire for a low payroll might keep Carrasco in an Indians uniform.
Shane Bieber and Danny Salazar may also be trade candidates. Cleveland held discussions about Bieber last season. Salazar was the subject of trade rumors prior to the 2018 season.
What does this all mean?
If Cleveland trades away any of the aforementioned players the return needs to be an outfield bat. Michael Brantley may not return. The same can be said about Lonnie Chisenhall. Brantley and Chisenahll may just be too expensive enough that Cleveland is unable to bring them back. While Bradley Zimmer, Leonys Martin and Tyler Naquin are still on the roster, this is not exactly an elite group. An upgrade is needed and a trade can provide that upgrade.
Parting ways with fan favorites such as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Kipnis or Edwin Encarnacion will be hard. In order to field a competitive and financially responsible team the Indians may have to do just that. For a small market club like Cleveland, it is just the cost of doing business.
