Cleveland Indians: 3 potential trades before the deadline

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.