Cleveland Indians: 3 potential trades before the deadline

Trade 1: Cheap OF/P help

Indians Get: RHP Ryan Tepera and OF Teoscar Hernandez

Blue Jays Get: RHP Elijah Morgan (No. 29 MLB.com Indians prospect) and SS Ernie Clement (No. 25 MLB.com Indians prospect)

I believe the Indians would do this trade because it helps to bolster an inconsistent bullpen and adds some pop to the outfield. Ryan Tepera has been a good right-handed bullpen piece for the Blue Jays over the last four seasons.

He has a career 3.31 ERA and has been excellent against right-handed batters this season, as shown by righties hitting only .221 off him. Tepera is arbitration eligible each of the next three seasons.

Teoscar Hernandez is a 25-year-old, right-handed outfield bat that can provide some pop. He’s played all three outfield positions in his career. This season Hernandez has slugged 13 home runs, driven in 35 runs and is batting .256. With the impending free agency of Michael Brantley, Hernandez could prove to be a longer term solution to possibly filling that hole.

Hernandez is under club control through the 2020 season and then has arbitration until 2023. If the Indians wanted to make this trade cheaper, they could substitute Curtis Granderson for Hernandez, but that would only be a short-term solution. If that’s the case the Indians could do this trade for much less lauded prospects.

I believe the Blue Jays do this trade because everybody is looking for good young arms and Elijah Morgan fits the bill. Morgan is the Indians No. 29 ranked prospect, according to MLB.com. At 22 years old, he’s been outstanding this season between Low-A Lake County and High-A Lynchburg. Since being called up to Lynchburg on May 21, Morgan has an 2.06 ERA and hitters have batted only .172 against him in 52.1 innings.

Ernie Clement is the Indians No. 25 ranked prospect. He’s had an outstanding start to the 2018 season. Clement has played his way up to High-A Lynchburg and so far has raked there. He’s batting .394 in 16 games. According to MLB.com he profiles more as a second base/super utility type player. He’d be a welcomed addition to the Blue Jays minor league middle infield group.

This trade is contingent on Tepera returning healthy from inflammation in his right elbow. He’s scheduled to come off the 10-day DL on July 13.

Trade 2: The Blockbuster

Indians Get: SS/3B Manny Machado and Zach Britton

Orioles Get: RHP Triston McKenzie (No. 2 MLB.com Indians prospect), 3B Nolan Jones (No. 4 MLB.com Indians prospect) and RHP Elijah Morgan (No. 29 MLB.com Indians prospect)

If the Indians do a trade like this they are pushing all their chips into the middle of the table and going for it. This trade would send a ton of energy into the locker room and let the players know it’s time. Both players are rentals and it could come back to bite the Indians if they don’t win it all, but there is no doubt both would help a lot. The Indians would need Machado to play third base and move Jose Ramirez back to second base. That would put the Indians in an odd spot with Jason Kipnis, but that’s a bridge we can cross if this comes to fruition.

The Orioles do this trade because they net A TON of young talent. They may even ask for a major league ready arm, such as Adam Plutko or Shane Bieber. I don’t think the Indians would be open to moving Bieber in this deal though.

Triston McKenzie is very highly thought of and has been outstanding at Double-A Akron this season. In seven starts, McKenzie has a 3.05 ERA and has held hitters to a .181 average. McKenzie would definitely be the crown jewel of this trade for Baltimore.

Nolan Jones is a highly thought of third base prospect. Jones has produced at a high level this season for Low-A Lake County. He’s batting .275 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 72 games. As long as his defense continues to improve, he has all the tools to become an everyday third baseman at the MLB level.

Last, but not least, is Elijah Morgan, who I profiled in an earlier trade. Baltimore would welcome another arm like his with…open arms.

Trade 3: The Most Likely, One Stop Shop Trade

Indians Get: LHP Amir Garrett, RHP Jared Hughes and OF Scott Schebler

Reds Get: RHP Adam Plutko, C Eric Haase, RHP Elijah Morgan

This trade can take many different forms depending on how much the Indians want to give up so I won’t go into great detail about individual players.

The Reds bullpen looks like manna from heaven compared to the Indians pen this year. They have six relievers with ERAs under 3.00. Raisel Iglesias would be an awesome addition to the back end of the bullpen. He’s 18-21 on save opportunities and can’t be a free agent until 2022.

Jared Hughes possesses an ERA under 2.00 over 41 appearances and the earliest he could become a free agent is 2020 and he won’t make over $3 million for the rest of his contract.

Amir Garrett has found his stride in the Reds bullpen. He’s left-handed and has shown an ability to get hitters from both sides of the plate out. Lefties this season are batting only .227 against him. Garrett is another young, controllable pitcher. He won’t reach arbitration until 2021 and free agency until 2024.

The Reds could even offer any combination of David Hernandez, Dylan Floro and Michael Lorenzen and the Indians aren’t going to hang up the phone. As far as outfield help goes, Scott Schebler isn’t the sexiest move, but he sure wouldn’t hurt the team.

I think the Indians could offer some major league ready and future pitching to the Reds to make this trade happen. The Reds haven’t been able to find or develop starting pitching. Homer Bailey has been a disaster since signing his big contract. Matt Harvey has been a bit of a find, but I don’t think he can be fully trusted yet.

After the Indians torched Tyler Mahle the Reds only have one pitcher with an ERA under 4.00, Matt Harvey. This trade with the Reds could be duplicated to a few other teams with this same idea, bullpen and outfield help. The Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres fit the bill in both of those areas. In the bullpen, Texas has closer Keone Kela, Jose Leclerc or Jake Diekman as viable options. The outfield help could come in the form of old friend Shin-Soo Choo.

Next: Previewing the series against the Yankees

The San Diego Padres bullpen is ripe for the picking as well. Brad Hand, Adam Cimber, Kirby Yates and Matt Strahm all have pitched well this season. As far as the outfield goes, Travis Jankowski would be the player to look at for the Tribe.