Cleveland Indians Rumors: Carrasco Deal Falls Through; Tribe Interested in Gomez?

Indians yet to make move, but active in trade talks

The perception of what state the Cleveland Indians are in at the trade deadline seems to be clearing itself up after a terrible series against the former last-place Chicago White Sox. Now a few bits of news has surfaced that the Tribe nearly dealt Carlos Carrasco to the Blue Jays while also inquiring about the Milwaukee Brewers’ Carlos Gomez. Both of these fall in line with what I have said the Indians need to do. Make moves because this team isn’t going to be any different next year if they don’t. 

According the Sportsnet.ca reporter Shi Davidi, talks between the Toronto Blue Jays and Indians for Carrasco fell apart “near the finish line”, and no Carrasco is no longer on the table for the Jays. After missing out on Jhonny Cueto, the Jays were in search of a player who is under team controlled player (Carrasco is until 2020). There’s no word on what caused the talks to collapse or what players were offered in the deal.

The Indians staff is their strong suit while also being under team control for the near future. so while they don’t have any pending free agents stars on the staff to deal, teams who are in contention and hope to be in the coming years could be willing to part with a solid compensation package to attain one of them. This falls back to what I’ve said previously–I think they need to consider all deals but are in a position of power with regards to trading any of their pitching staff.

The pitching has been a source of positivity this season, but the offense has been far from it. Rumors of a Mike Aviles trade have been shot down, and the rest of the team doesn’t offer a lot as far as return, although Brandon Moss has been mentioned as well as Ryan Raburn and David Murphy. The good news is the Indians don’t appear to be willing to simply sit on what they have and hope things change as they’ve inquired about the Brewers’ two-time All-Star Carlos Gomez. But there’s a catch of course.

In the last two seasons, Gomez had a breakout as one of the best all-around hitters in baseball. He’s become a force, hitting 47 home runs while driving in 146 runs (73 each of the past two years), while also stealing 74 bases. It appeared that he was a potential 30/30 club guy, but this season has been a disappointment so far. Gomez has hit just eight home runs, although he’s still driven in 42–which the Indians would love to have–but stolen just seven bases. The reason? Hip and hamstring issues.

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Sound familiar?

The Indians have developed a propensity for getting guys like this. Former All-Stars, once successful players that may have had a “down” year due to injury. So the Tribe jump in and try to score them at a lower ticket price (still not cheap) and hope they return to form.

So far, we’ve got Nick “No knees” Swisher and Brandon Moss to use as examples. While I’m happy to see the Indians looking at potential moves, taking a flyer on another guy that’s hampered by injury isn’t the most genius idea right now. Of course, Gomez is only signed through 2016, so depending on what the Brewers as for it may be worth it.

They’re in last place as well and seem to be intent on rebuilding after dealing Aramis Ramirez last week to Pittsburgh for cash and a Triple-A pitcher. If that’s the going rate, the Indians might be alright pulling the trigger. The current roster needs a shakeup, and the Indians are going about this in the right way. Gomez isn’t an acquisition to help this year, but hopefully next should they make the deal.