Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Mike Clevinger is drawing trade interest from both the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
It seems like the teams that missed out on trading for Corey Kluber are attempting to acquire a different pitcher from the Cleveland Indians. Mike Clevinger.
The fact that both the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are interested makes sense. Both teams were at one point in on Kluber and they both need help in their rotation. San Diego wants to make their move and contend for the playoffs this season. The clear weakness for San Diego is pitching. Chris Paddack is great, but after that it is a ton of question marks. Acquiring Zach Davies is a step in the right direction, but it shouldn’t end their quest to improve their pitching. Acquiring someone like Mike Clevinger would be a huge boost for the Padres.
The only issue is what they can offer. San Diego has already traded some players that could have been of interest to the Tribe. Players such as Luis Urias and Hunter Renfroe could have persuaded Cleveland to part ways with Sunshine, but they are no longer available due to being sent to Milwaukee and Tampa respectively.
For the Dodgers, they are facing the harsh reality of losing Hyun-Jin Ryu. Los Angeles has been actively trying to makes moves to limit that loss. At one point they discussed Gerrit Cole and they have had discussions involving Mike Clevinger, in addition to Francisco Lindor. That package would be massive for Cleveland if offered. The only obstacle is that the Dodgers are pretty much flat out refusing to include Gavin Lux in any trade discussions. That is just a case of getting in their own way, because the Indians need to acquire a talent like Lux if they are going to move both Mike Clevinger and Francisco Lindor.
The trade rumors are only going to continue this offseason. Whether or not Cleveland trades Mike Clevinger and/or Francisco Lindor is going to be an ongoing topic all winter.
