Cleveland Indians: The odd feeling with the Yan Gomes trade

The Cleveland Indians traded Yan Gomes to the Washington Nationals on Friday. The return in the trade was a bit shocking to see.

Friday night went from peaceful to wild in a matter of moments.

Cleveland Indians Twitter blew up with the news that Yan Gomes had been traded to the Washington Nationals.

His name had come up in rumors, but all of a sudden he was gone. It took a bit to get the full details of the trade, but they emerged as the night went on.

This was a bit alarming at first. The Indians, a team still poised as a top contender, traded a starter for unproven players. This comes after the team traded its top catching prospect last summer, seemingly to let Gomes stay in the role for several years.

Well it appears it is Eric Haase time now. The alternative is making us sit through a whole season of Roberto Perez.

Gomes made his first All-Star Game last year and was only set to make $7 million this year. That figure is interesting considering the team just gave $4.5 million to Danny Salazar. Clearly the front office feels that his departure won’t have too much of an impact. I still worry about how it will affect the pitching staff.

There is still the possibility that the Indians add a veteran catcher at some point this offseason. That is why the initial worry from me went down as the hours passed. It is only the first day of December, and a move like this will only be the first of many.

The Indians may trade other starters, or sign free agents to assume starting roles. If that had happened first and then the Indians swapped Gomes for some minor league players, the move may not be as alarming.

But right now, there is still that small worrying feeling that the Indians got worse last night. Even if only in a small way. Now we need some other moves so we can all celebrate the fact the Indians got better again.