Cleveland Indians: 5 players to target at the trade deadline

The Cleveland Indians are on a roller coaster. After winning seven of eight, the Twins just went in and swept Cleveland. After pulling away, the Tribe is back in a fight with the Twins for first place. Time to target some players for trades.

The Cleveland Indians could use some help in a few areas. Let’s discuss the top five targets for the July trade deadline.

The Indian’s specific areas of need are: 1) starting pitcher, 2) catcher, 3) long-relief pitcher, 4) utility outfielder, and 5) first baseman. The Tribe has long-term players in place in each of these positions, but there is an opportunity to both improve this season and for the future with some good moves.

The Cleveland Indians have about two reliable starting pitchers now, maybe three. Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber are solid, but beyond those two guys, it is tough to have confidence in anyone else in the rotation.

Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin have a few good starts under their belts, but they are unreliable. Mike Clevinger has been a pleasant surprise, but will the Tribe count on him down the stretch? Finally, Danny Salazar remains a question mark while he makes his way back from injury.

So, the Tribe has a few options, depending on how much the team wants to spend. Knowing that the Indians are not going to spend money on someone like Zack Greinke, I’ll present a few realistic options.

Option #1: Jason Vargas, LHP, Kansas City Royals. Vargas is a left-handed Josh Tomlin who is rolling this year. He would be a good addition.

Option #2: Ervin Santana, RHP, Minnesota Twins. Santana likely would not be available unless the Twins fell out of contention, but if he is, the Tribe would love to have him.

Option #3: Jose Quintana, LHP, Chicago White Sox. Quintana is having a down season, but he would be an ideal lefty to go with the Tribe’s string of righties.

Option #4 and #5: Gerrit Cole and Sonny Gray. While not expensive like Greinke, these two are expensive in the number of prospects that they would have to give up. The Tribe would not go after either of these guys unless pitching got worse before the deadline.