Friday Five: Trades for the Cleveland Indians to move Mike Clevinger

This is a very straightforward and rather even trade that both teams would benefit from.

With the call up of Jo Adell, the Angels have way more outfielders than spots right now, but all their outfielders are also playing at a rather high level.

The odd man out of the rotation in the field could be Brian Goodwin. Goodwin is off to a hot start this year and is posting career-bests. His average currently stands at .303 with four home runs and 12 RBI.

Goodwin also stands at the plate as a left-handed hitter, which is something the Indians’ surprisingly lack at times. The core of their lineup are switch-hitters at the top and Reyes provides pop from the right side, but they lack a true left-handed threat and Goodwin would provide that.

As for Clevinger’s fit in Los Angeles, it would work quite well. The Angels essentially lost Shohei Ohtani from their rotation and have struggled to put the pieces together. Mike Clevinger would provide a solid option in the rotation, and a younger one at that, to rather be an anchor for the unit.

Financially, the trade would work for both sides as well. Los Angeles has more flexibility, which is good, considering they would take on a bit more. As previously stated, Clevinger has a base salary of $4.1 million with two years of arbitration left. Goodwin is in a similar boat, having a base salary of $2.2 million with two years of arbitration left.

Not only would the Cleveland Indians shed some weight in the financial department, but they would also improve their outfield while not losing a whole lot from their rotation.