Indians: What happened (or didn’t) at the Winter Meetings?

The 2019 MLB Winter Meetings have concluded. The Cleveland Indians remained quiet on tangible action, but very active in the rumor mill.

In what has increasingly become the norm for the Cleveland Indians, they remained quiet while the big name free agents started signing this week. This time last year while most media and team personnel were flying home, the team completed a three-team trade that returned Carlos Santana to Cleveland.

This year it does not appear a massive trade is forthcoming. While the Indians were short on moves, they were one of the central teams of focus in terms of rumors. The first solid piece of news to come out of the Winter Meetings for the Indians was when GM Chris Antonetti spoke to the media.

Antonetti spoke with the media on the usual variety of topics. While most of the focus is on if he will trade Francisco Lindor this offseason or later, he never said more than the usual cliche and GM-speak one would expect.

However, on the topic of the other infield star, Jose Ramirez, Antonetti did specify that the Indians would prefer to keep him at third this season. This little nugget is actually big news for the Indians.

Per MLB.com, Antonetti said the following when asked about what position would be best for Ramirez:

“We are profoundly appreciative of José’s willingness to bounce back and forth,” Antonetti said. “At the same time, we’re also cognizant of [the fact that] he’s established himself as one of the best third basemen in baseball. That’s the default position. As we think about how we build our team, if the best way to do that is to shift him to second base, José has been open to doing that. But the most natural thing would be to leave him at third and maybe add at second.”

First, it means that star prospect Nolan Jones will likely be starting the 2020 campaign in Columbus. If the Indians were to trade its stars and rebuild, Jones would be a significant internal option for getting at-bats and developing at the major league level.

In addition, it clarifies that they may see more options at second Base in the trade and free agent markets, rather than third. In the trade market you will hear the name Gavin Lux (Dodgers) who would only be the Indians second basemen if they moved Lindor (more on that later). Beyond him, other realistic trade options would be Chad Pinder (A’s), Tommy La Stella (Angels), and Adam Frazier (Pirates).

In the free agent market, the Indians have serious rumors circling them. First it was now Red Sox INF Jose Peraza, which leaves former Phillie Cesar Hernandez as a realistic target. With all free agents, the Indians most likely will not be signing the top player at any position, but since Mike Moustakas and Peraza have signed, expect the Indians to make a move sooner than later at this position.

Now let’s look at the non-tangible fallout from the Winter Meetings and all the rumors.

Late Wednesday evening the news broke that Anthony Rendon had signed with the Los Angeles Angels. The ripple effect was that now the Angels focus was going to be on starting pitching, which finished last in the AL in 2019.

The Indians have been and will be linked to the Angels as a rumored partner because of the Indians starting rotation depth. The names most often linked to the Angels are Corey Kluber and even Carlos Carrasco.

Both pitchers are coming off of unhealthy 2019 campaigns, but both are signed for multiple seasons, feature a strong track record, and could be acquired at a slight discount knowing their 2019 performance and the Indians’ cash limitations.

The problem with this rumored link to the Angels is: Who would the Indians get in return to benefit the tam? Barring a corresponding Lindor trade, moving any starting pitcher is expected to bring back offense to Cleveland.

How do you feel about a Kluber for LaStella trade? It’s not extremely appetizing to trade away a fan favorite for a player who compares to current free agent Jason Kipnis. What the Angels do have that the Indians would want is a top-tier corner OF prospect in Jo Adell. Would the Angels give up a high ceiling prospect who’s poised to play next to Mike Trout for many years, just for a couple seasons of Kluber or Carrasco? If Adell is included in any trade package, expect the Indians to make a move.

That move, though, isn’t a ‘win-now’ move for the Indians. Beyond Adell and a few other lower level prospects, the Angels don’t have a significant MLB contingent to send back.

Finally, the most talked about rumor from the Winter Meetings was Francisco Lindor being discussed in trades to the Dodgers. Let’s start with the facts, this isn’t the first Winter Meetings with a Indians/Dodgers rumored trade in the works.

Last season, it was the Indians shopping their starting pitchers to the Dodgers. This year it’s a deal for Lindor. Unlike the Bauer/Kluber talks of 2018, this deal has a star-studded list of ingredients.

On the Indians side, there is rumors that both Lindor and Clevinger would be heading to LA. On the Dodgers side they would be sending some combination of LF Joc Pederson, OF Alex Verdugo, 2B Gavin Lux, and SP Dustin May. Of those players, you are looking at the Dodgers top prospects over the last two years, players who have a MLB sample to go off of, and significant team control.

If the deal was just as simple as all the players in exchange for each other, the Indians would be hard pressed to not make such a move. Lindor is the best player in any deal the Indians could make, but he is a star who’s unlikely to be re-signed. The Indians must determine if they want to go all in for two years, or use a Lindor trade to build a new championship window.

My personal opinion is that this is simply setting a framework for a potential Lindor trade later in the season. If there is any type of Lindor trade, then the Indians should go all-in on the reshuffling of the team and do corresponding moves with Kluber to restock the entire organization.

The Indians still appear to be very far away from any type of major decision like this. There are still a lot of good offensive options in free agency, and positional players to help this team win now, that don’t require Lindor to acquire.

All of this to say, the Indians came to the Winter Meetings to lay the foundation of multiple trades, and based on the numerous rumors, they did exactly that.