Cleveland Indians
The Indians are officially weathering quite a storm. Their rotation — a perceived obvious strength — has dealt with long absences from Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco, and Corey Kluber. The Minnesota Twins jumped out to a divisional lead as large as 10 games, but Cleveland has gotten back to within striking distance while also pacing the AL wild-card race.
Hypothetically speaking, returns from Carrasco and Kluber would give the Indians a solid starting five when paired with Clevinger, Trevor Bauer, and Shane Bieber. That’s exactly what it is, though — a hypothetical. It remains to be seen when both of Cleveland’s longtime frontline starters will get activated from the injured list, so that’s not exactly something to hold onto.
The Indians are also in this weird spot of trying to compete while also trying to balance a budget for the present and future. That’s why Bauer’s name is still coming up through the trade rumor mill despite having one more year of team control following 2019.
If they can find a taker for Bauer and his potential $20 million asking price via arbitration for 2020, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them trade him away, opting for a dependable and cheaper option in Stroman.
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