Even our Indians have been busy, making a small trade with the Angels yesterday, acquiring outfielder Collin Cowgill for cash considerations, DFA'ing reliever Nick Hagadone in the process to make room. This is a typical Indians trade, a low risk move that adds some depth to the roster. Cowgill is expected to platoon with Lonnie Chisenhall in right field and possibly back-up Abraham Almonte in center field. Collin is a right-handed-hitting outfielder (something our lineup lacks) who hits lefties pretty well (.271 average) and plays plus defense in all three outfield spots. I don't think this is the end of the Indians trying to upgrade the outfield but it's a nice minor move that could pay off and he'll likely see playing time whenever the Tribe face an opposing team's southpaw.
Which leads me onto the second part of my plan to fix the Indians this off-season. Part one looked at potential outfield free agents that could be acquired, whereas part two will look at possible trade targets that would significantly improve the Tribe's lineup.
Upgrade The Outfield Part 2: Trading For Outfield Help
The general consensus among fans and critics regarding the Indians and their attempt to upgrade their lineup sees at least one of our starting pitchers leaving the club in return for a bat that would take our offensive production up a notch. All the following trade scenarios are based on this premise, as the Indians have what many teams crave: young and effective pitching that is under club control for a good price. The market for quality pitching is so thin that teams have to pretty much overpay (see J.A. Happ's deal in Toronto) and so the Indians are in a position where they can demand a lot for one of their highly-prized arms. So let's look at the first trade target:
Yasiel Puig
The Cuban outfielder divides opinion. There's no doubt of his potential as a star player but then we've also seen the other, darker side of his production as a very average, and very distracting player in 2015.
When he burst onto the scene in 2013, the Dodgers had a phenomenon on their hands not seen since the days of pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Puig absolutely raked in 2013, batting .319 and producing a stellar 159 OPS+, and kept that level of production going for the majority of 2014, batting .296 with a 145 OPS+. But 2014 also saw the problems that would plague Puig start to creep in. Word started to spread that he was becoming a locker-room nuisance, that teammates were tiring of his off-field antics and his annoying entourage. Then in 2015 Puig crashed to earth, playing in only 79 games and batting just .255, whilst still pissing people off. He went from being the toast of Los Angeles to many people feeling that the Dodgers would be better off washing their hands of him.
But there's still a lot of positives surrounding Puig. He'll be just 25 on Opening Day and won't be a free agent until 2020, although he'll cost around $20 million over the next 3 years, which is a lot for a club like the Indians but not a lot when you consider what a player with his skill-set should cost. He's a right-handed bat with the ability to hit for power, something our lineup desperately needs, and he's a tremendous athlete. His production dropped off in 2015 largely because of injury but his off-field shenanigans probably also played a part. But if you put him in Cleveland, without the bright lights and distractions of LA, would he rededicate himself to the game? It's a strong possibility, just look at the Cavaliers' JR Smith since he moved away from New York. .
My biggest issue with Puig is his attitude and mental state, and whether the Indians would put up with all of his baggage. However, skipper Terry Francona has previous experience dealing with difficult outfielders, managing Manny Ramirez for a long time in Boston, so I feel like Francona could handle anything Puig has to throw at him.
Still, the risk is high with this trade. What would we have to give up? After Puig's poor 2015 showing, his trade value is lower than it would have been just a year ago, but the Dodgers would still command a lot in return. If they lose Zack Greinke in free agency, which is looking increasingly likely, then they will want a top quality starter to slot straight into their rotation. Any of our top three guys would be discussed, but I think a package of Carlos Carrasco and one of our outfield prospects (we'll go with Zimmer here to really sweeten the deal) could be enough to persuade the Dodgers to part with Puig. Here's my deal:
CLE sends: RHP Carlos Carrasco and OF Bradley Zimmer
LAD sends: OF Yasiel Puig
Mookie Betts
I'm a huge fan of Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and he would solve the Indians center field problem instantly. Betts is one of the most exciting young players in baseball and had an outstanding 2015 season at just 22 years of age. In 145 games Betts had a batting line of .291/.341/.479 (BA/OBP/SLG), clubbing 18 home runs with 77 RBIs, stealing 21 bases, on his way to a 118 OPS+ and a 4.8 WAR. He's now 23 years-old and is under club control until 2021, and isn't arbitration eligible until 2018. To put it simply, Betts would be my dream pickup if I could trade for anybody in MLB (outside of Mike Trout of course.)
With the Red Sox committing a record $217 million over 7 years to ace pitcher David Price, Boston have shown the league that they are ready to compete for a World Series once again. However, even with Price in their rotation, they still lack the starting pitching to be a true contender. You never know which Clay Buchholz will turn up, even when he's healthy, and Rick Porcello and Wade Miley will eat innings but won't give you the production a true number two starter would. Eduardo Rodriguez has potential but might still need time to grow. So would Boston be interested in adding another ace to their rotation? If they want to win right now, I think they would.
Now the painful part to acquiring Betts would likely see the Tribe lose Corey Kluber. Kluber is the undisputed staff ace, our 2014 Cy Young winner who I love dearly, but if I can acquire 23 year-old Betts in exchange for the turning-30-in-April Kluber, I would do that deal. Pitchers are notoriously unpredictable with injuries anyway, but once they get north of 30, the likelihood of them staying healthy drastically decreases. Despite Kluber having a good history with injuries, the Indians would almost certainly get more years of quality production out of Betts. Kluber is still at the peak of his powers and could have a few Cy Young-worthy seasons left in the tank, so if the Red Sox were willing to part with Betts, and it would take some persuasion, I think the Tribe could grab a pitching prospect in return. Here's my deal:
CLE sends: RHP Corey Kluber and OF/1B Mike Papi
BOS sends: OF Mookie Betts and RHP Michael Kopech
My reasoning here is Boston gets another ace in Kluber (can you imagine a rotation headed by Price AND Kluber? They would jump at this!) and we get our star outfielder in Betts, who the Sox would instantly replace with Jackie Bradley Jr. or Brock Holt. If the deal needed more than just a straight swap of star players, and it probably would, then Boston can have our number 13 prospect Mike Papi, who can play in the corner outfield spots or 1B (hey, they need a new Papi now Ortiz is retiring...) and the Indians could have Kopech, Boston's second-best pitching prospect and 5th overall.
This trade would dramatically improve both teams instantly and although Boston now have Price and don't necessarily need Kluber, I wonder if the temptation of having two aces in the same rotation could sway them into parting with Betts...
Jorge Soler
With the Cubs missing out on David Price to Boston and Zack Greinke almost certainly staying in California with either the Dodgers or the Giants, the top-tier pitcher Chicago would love to acquire will almost certainly have to come via trade.
The Cubs lineup boasts a number of young and promising bats and the guy I'd like the most on their roster would be Jorge Soler. The 23 year-old Cuban right fielder (who is 24 by Opening Day) had a respectable, if not disappointing 2015 season, batting .262 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs and a slightly below-average 97 OPS+ over 101 games played. He had a terrific post-season, batting .474 with 3 homers and a .600 OBP in 7 games against the Mets and the Cardinals. The Cubs hope he can carry that form into 2016 and start to realize his enormous potential.
I look at Soler as a Puig-lite without all the bad attitude issues. Soler does strike out too much, with 121 K's in 366 at-bats and he should probably hit more homers because his line drives fly off his bat. His lack of homers could just be a fluke, and as he gets older this will probably be corrected over time.
Trading for Soler is a small risk, because the Indians would be banking on him continuing to develop, so they wouldn't be trading for the finished package like they would if they went after a Carlos Gonzalez or a Brett Gardner. But that also means the Tribe wouldn't have to give up so much in a trade. Here would be my deal:
CLE sends: RHP Danny Salazar
CHI sends: RF Jorge Soler
Out of Kluber, Carrasco and Salazar, unfortunately Danny is the odd man out from that group that I'd be willing to let go for Soler. Salazar had a superb 2015, making 30 starts with a 3.45 ERA, with 195 strikeouts in 185 innings. He's only 25 and under club control until 2021, something that would be immensely appealing to the Cubs. The reason I'm willing to give up on Salazar is purely because of his history with injuries. Pitchers are unpredictable at best and if we could get a young outfield player in return for a pitcher that could get hurt in the near-future, well I'm willing to take a risk on the potential of Soler in this situation. I'm a big fan of Salazar and there's a huge part of me that would regret giving up on him this early in his career, but the possibility of Soler growing into an All Star, well I'm willing to take that risk. If the Cubs would take someone like Trevor Bauer instead of Salazar, I would jump on that trade, but I don't think Chicago would settle for anybody less than one of our top three arms.
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That's three possible trade scenarios, and I could have done many more. Remember, this is complete fantasy and fan wish-fulfillment.
Thanks for reading.
