Cleveland Indians: How the starting catcher role could play out in 2018

Having two elite defensive catchers on the roster is a luxury, and the Indians could look to explore just how valuable both Gomes and Perez are to other teams seeking an upgrade at the position.

Gomes is set to make just over $6 million this season, before his salary increases to just over $7 million in 2019, with a $9 million team option in 2020 and an $11 team option in 2021.

Perez is set to make just $1.625 million this season, with that increasing to $2.625 million in 2019, $3.625 million in 2020, followed by a team option of $5.5 million in 2021 and finally a $7 million team option in 2022.

Having Perez under team control for cheap for so long makes him a valuable target for other teams, while it also means the Indians could choose to keep him over Gomes because of that great value.

Gomes’ salary is a bit high for Cleveland standards, but that would be nothing for a big market team looking to add some talent at the catcher position. Gomes has more experience as a starter and could bring some nice talent in return in a trade.

As for the timing of a trade, I imagine it would take place during the season and not in the next few months. And it would only occur if Mejia was playing so well that having him stay behind Gomes and Perez no longer made sense, meaning a trade would be done to clear a spot for the young star.

This is the most unlikely scenario, but crazier things have happened.