Cleveland Indians: Not overreacting to rumors in November

Cleveland Indians fans have heard some wild rumors throughout the week, but it is important to remember that November rumors are not fact.

A few simple tweets have led to Cleveland Indians fans going into panic mode.

News of the Indians willing to trade members of the starting rotation is bad enough. Those players potentially being traded to the New York Yankees is even worse.

But what fans must remember is that it is only November. The MLB general managers got together for their annual meeting and trade talks were bound to happen. It makes sense for the Indians to listen to offers in case a great one comes their way.

It would be naive to think that the Indians front office hasn’t listened to trades for top players throughout the years. Teams likely call every so often about Corey Kluber, Francisco Lindor and others to see if the Indians will budge.

True panic can come into play if word comes out of the Winter Meetings that the Indians are in serious talks to trade someone like Kluber. Especially if it is to a team the Indians will be fighting against in the American League. But for now, we can chalk it up as casual conversation.

One move that could prevent the trade of a member of the rotation would be to move Edwin Encarnacion. That would free up nearly $22 million in 2019, and a trade could potentially bring back some younger, cheaper players in return.

Even if Encarnacion were to go to a team the Indians will be contending against, his impact would be limited to what Kluber or Carlos Carrasco could provide in a playoff series. Imagine Kluber in Yankees uniform shutting down the Indians twice in one series. It brings a single tear to my eye.

There is a tiny bit of snow on the ground in Cleveland and that means we are in for a long, cold winter. Yet as of right now, I will hold off on panicking. We can all save that for December.