Cleveland Indians: The expected trade of Yonder Alonso

The Cleveland Indians have shaken up the infield this past week, finishing up with a move that was bound to happen after the return of a fan favorite.

The Cleveland Indians finally made that big move earlier this week when Edwin Encarnacion was traded away to Seattle in exchange for Carlos Santana.

The Indians also sent Yandy Diaz to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jake Bauers, giving the Indians two players who could play at first base. That was before remembering Yonder Alonso‘s name.

It seemed that the Indians just needed a team to take on his deal, and that happened faster than some may have expected.

Not only did the Chicago White Sox take Alonso, but they didn’t want any cash in return.

In case you lost count, the Indians have now traded away the contracts of Alonso, Encarnacion and Yan Gomes. Adding Santana does account for a large chunk of the payroll, but trading Alonso and Gomes for cost-controlled players helps add to the savings.

Alonso’s one year in Cleveland was disappointing, and it is interesting to see how things played out. He was added to replace Santana, only for Santana to return a year later and boot his replacement.

Santana finished 2018 with an OPS of .766, while Alonso finished at .738. One major difference is that Alonso finished with 123 strikeouts and 51 walks in 145 games played. Santana had 93 strikeouts and 110 walks in 161 games.

Santana was always known for his ability to get on base, even if some worry about his batting average, and he could end up back in the leadoff spot in 2019.

Unfortunately, Alonso did not do much of anything memorable during his time in Cleveland. His lasting memory of his tenure will be the fact he made a nice amount of money, even though the second half of the deal will be paid by the White Sox.