Cleveland Indians: Potential under-the-radar trades for the Tribe

With the trade deadline approaching, what smaller moves can the Cleveland Indians make that could aid their postseason run in 2020?

As the trade deadline approaches we’ve already looked at some of the big moves the Cleveland Indians could make as well as three dream packages for Francisco Lindor, five deals for Mike Clevinger and four general suggestions for bigger moves, but what small deals could the Tribe look to pull off down the stretch to better their chances?

The Chicago White Sox just played their hand in this arena, adding Jarrod Dyson from the Pittsburgh Pirates for just an international signing bonus pool space. On a low-cost one-year deal, Dyson is a veteran rental with speed and reliable play in the field that could come in handy for the White Sox.

Being a small market team, this is the type of move we could see the Indians’ brass make this off-season. With the shortened season, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sell the farm for a rental that you’re basically getting a few months of when everything is said and done. Instead, these “lower value” moves could be the way most teams look this year at the deadline.

In their current state, the Cleveland Indians are in the most need of outfield help, but utility players could also be targeted. Tyler Naquin has started to come into his own of late, but the other two outfield spots are up for grabs. Also, the Indians best utility-man right now is Mike Freeman, who could be upgraded through the deadline as well to protect the Indians in case of an injury. The same could be said for the catcher position that is rather lackluster if Roberto Perez goes down, as we just witnessed.

Given the situation of the season and the fact that the Indians just need small upgrades rather than full overhauls should point the front office down this path of finding cheap talent. These players won’t win a championship by themselves, but they all offer something that could be a huge contributing factor.