Cleveland Indians: Finding a trade fit for Jason Kipnis is not easy

The New York Mets

So far we’ve heard Jason Kipnis “linked” to at least two clubs in the news. The biggest, or at least the one that seems to have been talked about most, is the New York Mets. There have been some conflicting reports about how serious the talks were but Kipnis does have ties to new Mets manager Mickey Callaway, who was with the Indians as pitching coach.

The Mets currently look to employ former Indian Asdrubal Cabrera at second base but could use him as more a super utility guy if they landed Kipnis.

For the Mets, Kipnis does make sense, but I personally don’t see how the deal makes sense for the Indians. The Mets would likely have to move some prospects but none would be all that exciting for the Indians, at least in 2018 or 2019.

They do have some pitching they could maybe move though, so perhaps a deal involving Steven Matz would work? Matz has struggled with injuries but a gamble may be worth taking. That said, he has more years of control than Kipnis and Callaway could be looking to get his hands on all those Mets pitchers.

The Chicago Cubs

The other team that has been mentioned is the Chicago Cubs. This one really makes zero sense to me as the Cubs have Javier Baez, Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ to man second base. Zobrist is aging but owed a ton of money. He was bad like Kipnis in 2017 but I can’t see the Cubs making him a bench guy.

Zobrist can play the outfield as does Happ but the outfield isn’t exactly empty in Chicago either. If anything the Cubs should be looking to get rid of one or two of the players at 2B/OF, not adding one in Kipnis.

Sure, Kipnis is a Chicago guy and maybe the deal would involve a pitcher like Danny Salazar, but Kipnis to the Cubs doesn’t really make them that much better even if he rebounds to All-Star form. I would do a deal involving Kipnis and Cubs, especially if it meant Ian Happ or Kyle Schwarber were coming back to Cleveland but just can’t see the Cubs doing it even if Salazar was involved (but perhaps I’m very wrong).