Cleveland Indians: Potential trade targets before the deadline

The Cleveland Indians have been struck with the injury bug. There are a couple of names on the trade market who could help stem the tide and provide production heading towards the playoffs.

When I sat down to write this post I was going to look into the Cleveland Indians possibly upgrading their team by finding a second or third baseman. That was before another Indians outfielder, Tyler Naquin, went down with an injury.

There’s no way around it anymore, the Indians need a bona fide outfielder. Moving Jason Kipnis to the outfield would be nothing more than applying a band-aid where stitches are needed.

The Indians window to contend is the next couple of seasons, so anything they do I know they have that as their guide. I believe they will make a move for an outfielder, their hand has almost been forced with the injuries they’ve sustained. I don’t know if they will make a move before the July non-waiver deadline, but they will definitely make one before the August waiver deadline.

More teams will fall out of the race by the end of August and the Indians will be heavily involved with any outfielder placed on waivers. In 2016, the Indians traded for Coco Crisp from Oakland during the waiver period and he ended up playing a role on their run to the World Series. So if the Indians don’t make a move over the next few days don’t worry, there is still a possibility for help down the road.

While I still wouldn’t be opposed to finding an upgrade at second base, the outfield is the glaring need. After doing some roster searching I’ve found a few pieces I think could help the Tribe.

Teoscar Hernandez, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are out of the playoff race and need to upgrade their starting pitching. The Indians can help the Jays in that department. I wrote in an earlier article that Teoscar Hernandez could be a nice upgrade for the Indians outfield. He’s not eligible for arbitration until 2021 and can’t become a free agent until 2024, so this trade could help fill a hole for the next six seasons.

Hernandez is 26 years old and stands at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds. He made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Houston Astros and was traded to the Jays at the trade deadline in 2017. This season has been his first extended chance as the true starter and he’s produced well. Hernandez is batting .243 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles and 40 RBIs.

The issue with Hernandez is that he’s struggled for the last month. He’s had a very rough July, batting only .191. With no real track record to go off of it’s up to the Indians scouting department to decide if that is an aberration or the league has figured Hernandez out. Defensively, he’s nothing to write home about, but it seems like this season the Indians have punted on outfield defense since Bradley Zimmer went down with an injury.

For the WAR crowd, he’s a -1.7 dWAR (according to Baseball Reference). He’s in roughly the same ballpark as Michael Brantley who sits at -1.3 dWAR. The plus to all of this is that, as mentioned earlier, he’s under club control and he’s young. This would be a move for this season and the future, he has the potential to continue improving with more time.

Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Texas Rangers

There’s becoming a theme for these trade targets. Can you tell I think the Indians need outfield help?

The Indians have recently been linked to the Rangers for one of their outfielders, unfortunately it’s not the one I think can help the most. Old friend Shin-Soo Choo would be a huge upgrade offensively over anybody who’s played right field this year. He’s batting .281 with 18 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .395 OBP.

Slotting him into the bottom third of the lineup would really solidify it. Choo has struggled a bit against lefties this season, so he would make an ideal platoon with Brandon Guyer in right field. A few issues with Choo is his age, he’s 35, and his contract. Choo is owed $42 million through the 2020 season. If it wasn’t for his contract Choo would be the perfect fit. The Indians would have to send back a large contract or have the Rangers pick up a big chunk of his remaining salary.

With the amount of money still owed to Choo the Indians could use that as a bargaining chip to bring the trade price down.