Cleveland Indians: 4 trade ideas for Mike Chernoff

As mentioned, the Indians could still use one more arm in their bullpen to close out ballgames. A name that is flying under the radar that could help Cleveland out is Seattle Mariners’ right-hander Taylor Williams.

The 29-year old spent the first three years of his career with the Brewers, where outside of five games in 2017 that he pitched to a 1.92 ERA has struggled mightily. However, with Seattle this season he has been stellar and even has taken over the closer’s role.

In 12 outings, Williams has posted a 3.00 ERA with six saves and six holds has held batters to a .200 average against and has struck out 17 batters in 12 innings of work.

In the Cleveland bullpen, he can slide into a sixth-inning role in front of Wittgren and Karinchak while also offering an arm with closers experience incase Hand’s up and down season makes a turn for the worst.

Williams also should not cost the Indians much as Seattle is likely to sell off pieces at the deadline and will likely be looking to simply booster their farm system with depth.

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Sam Hentges is a name who could help do that. The Indians 24-year old is a former fourth-round pick who has yet to make his MLB debut but is ranked among Cleveland’s top 30 prospects. He can be an arm that joins the Seattle pitching staff immediately and hangs around for the future as well.