When the Cleveland Indians hit rock bottom and decided to trade away several veterans to get a look at what was available internally, most thought the team would struggle even more than it had.

Instead, the moves to deal Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, along with the non-waiver deadline deals involving Brandon Moss, David Murphy and even Marc Rzepczynski, have seemed to provide a spark that has led to the Tribe’s best offensive stretch of the year.

Suddenly, Jose Ramirez has flourished in the leadoff spot and he’s playing with confidence in place of Jason Kipnis, who has been on the 15-day disabled list. Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley have heated up and even Carlos Santana has gotten some key hits with runners in scoring position.

The lower middle portion of the lineup has also picked it up with Yan Gomes showing some power and the additions of guys like Jerry Sands, Abraham Almonte and Chris Johnson are playing like their professional lives are at stake with their newfound opportunities. Even Giovanny Urshela is holding his own with a .251 batting average in the ninth spot in the order. I’ll even give Lonnie Chisenhall some props for looking like a competent outfielder and perhaps finally finding his niche at the plate while hitting 7-for-22 in his last seven games to bump his season average up to .228.

It remains to be seen if this trend is long lasting or if it’s a mirage or a temporary blip on the offensive radar. But the Indians have scored 34 runs and and belted 47 hits in the past three games to win two out of three in the series.

After an off day on August 10th, the Indians invite the New York Yankees into Progressive Field in Cleveland for a three-game series before heading to Minnesota for a rematch three-game weekend series with the Twins.

The Yankees have always seemed to have the Indians number and likely will once again as they are one of the top offensive clubs in the league. Although they have struggled by losing three in a row to allow the Toronto Blue Jays to close the division gap to just 1.5 after winning eight games in a row.

Since 1993, the Tribe has only won the season series twice against New York and is 67-122 (36-58 in Cleveland) for a .354 winning percentage. Against the Twins during that same span, the Indians are 196-171 (89-92 in Minnesota) for a .534 winning percentage. Overall, the Indians are 1,873-1,731 (993-801 in Cleveland) since 1993 for a .520 clip.

Indians starting pitching has done quite well including the gem pitched by ace Corey Kluber on Aug. 9 when he allowed only one run and throw a complete game in the 8-1 victory.

Carlos Carrasco (11-8, 3.76 ERA) looks to continue the trend as he faces righty Luis Severino (0-1, 1.80 ERA) at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 11.

Carrasco is 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA in his last seven games spanning 47.2 innings while striking out 50 and walking nine. Severino is making his second start in MLB after pitching five innings on Aug. 5 against Boston and giving up just one while striking out seven.

C.C. Sabathia (4-8, 5.34 ERA) makes a return to Cleveland to face Danny Salazar (9-6, 3.38 ERA) at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 12.

Salazar also has pitched effectively in his last seven starts going 3-3 with a 2.27 ERA in 47.2 innings while striking out 44 and walking 13 during that span. Meanwhile, Sabathia has struggled this year and is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his last seven starts spanning 40 innings while striking out 31 and walking 13.

Sabathia, 34, made his debut with Cleveland in 2001 and owns a career record of 212-127. He is in the middle of his seventh season with the Yankees after spending his first 8.5 seasons with the Tribe before he was traded to Milwaukee halfway through the 2008 season after he won the Cy Young Award in 2007.

Trevor Bauer (9-8, 4.06 ERA) will take the mound at 7:10 p.m. on Aug. 13 against Nathan Eovaldi (11-2, 4.15 ERA).

Bauer has pitched decently in 2015 and is 3-3 with a 4.27 ERA in his last seven starts spanning 46.1 innings while giving 13 walks and striking out 46. Meanwhile, Eovaldi has been spectacular in his last seven starts with a 4-0 record and a 2.83 ERA in 41.1 innings while striking out 28 and walking 13.

Starting times for the Twins series are 8:10 p.m. on Aug. 14, 7:10 p.m. on Aug. 15 and 2:10 p.m. on Aug. 16. Neither team has announced a starter for any of those games.

Who’s Hot – Who’s Not

Brantley has been on fire since the All-Star break and has pushed up his batting average to .313 for the season. He’s hitting .369 (41 for 111) in his last 30 games, .375 (21 for 56) in his last 15, and .500 (13 for 26) in his last seven. We’re seeing glimpses of the player who finished third in the 2014 season voting for MVP.

Lindor also has found his hitting stroke at the Major Leagues level and is batting .308 (8 for 26 in his last seven games, .310 (18 for 58) in his last 15, and .306 (37 for 121) in his last 30 games. Overall, Lindor is hitting .271 in 48 games and has stabilized the shortstop position. He’s also contributing in other ways including three sacrifices in the Aug. 8 game.

Cody Allen has struggled recently and is 0-2 with a 8.44 ERA in his last seven games. In 5.1 innings and blew the save and picked up the loss on Aug. 5 against the Angels. Allen has been solid most of the year, but occasionally will go through a short bad stretch. Hopefully, that time has come and is gone.

It’s probably not fair to pick on guys who are no longer part of the team, but the subtraction of Swisher and Bourn, who both seem to be great guys, has corresponded with a renewed sense of energy for the Tribe. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but maybe the remaining core players now realize they are leaders of the team and its fate rests with them. So, to invoke one of my favorite cliches, this seems to be a situation of addition by subtraction.