Cleveland Indians: 3 Bold Trade Ideas for potential fire sale

With several stars set to become free agents and a championship window closing, the Cleveland Indians are likely to have a fire sale this offseason. Here are five bold ideas for them to consider.

The Cleveland Indians reached the postseason for the fourth time in the last five seasons in 2020, but like each of those trips, the season ended in disappointment.

Cleveland was swept aside in a two-game Wild Card Series by the New York Yankees extending their MLB long title drought to 72 years.

Now, the Indians face a potential fire sale and rebuild with several of their star players nearing free agency and not having the luxury of a big market to help bring those players back.

With the White Sox surging, Twins still having a window and the Royals and Tigers both on the rise, it’s likely the Indians will opt to be major sellers this coming offseason by trading away several veterans, including superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor.

What moves will the Indians make this offseason? Here are three bold ideas for Mike Chernoff and Paul Dolan to consider.

The Miami Marlins have been perhaps baseball’s best story in 2020. After losing 18 players at one point in July due to a COVID-19 outbreak and already being in the midst of a major rebuild, it looked like 2020 would be another long season in South Beach.

Instead, Miami put together a 31-29 regular season to end their 17-year playoff drought and Tuesday will open an NLDS matchup with the Braves after sweeping the NL Central Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card series.

With a huge step forward in 2020, the Marlins will likely look to add young and controllable pitching this offseason to help their franchise take the next step. The Indians can help by sending them right-handers Aaron Civale and Adam Plutko for much-needed outfield depth and future help.

Lewis Brinson is one name the Marlins look to move this offseason given the emergence of Monte Harrison, Magneuris Sierra and Starling Marte now under contract after coming over in a midseason trade from Arizona, Miami no-longer has a need for the once top prospect that led the team to send Christian Yelich to the Brewers before the 2018 season.

Brinson, who is a former first-round draft pick and top prospect, has not panned out with the Marlins. He hit below .200 in 2018 and 2019 and this season slashed just .226/.268/.368 with three home runs and 12 RBI’s.

However, at just 26 years old, a change of scenery and low-stress situation in Cleveland could help Brinson turn things around.

A pair of prospects that make sense for Cleveland in a trade with Miami include right-handed pitcher Evan Fitterer and outfielder Jerar Encarnacion.

Fitterer was drafted in the fifth round by the Marlins in the 2019 Draft and was expected to turn them down and pitch for UCLA but opted to sign with the team and is now their 24th ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. In nine minor league outings, which included eight starts in 2019, he posted an impressive 2.38 ERA.

He is someone who down the road can find himself in an Indians rotation that even with a projected trade of Civale should have Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Zach Plesac for several years to come.

As for Encarnacion, he is Miami’s 17th ranked prospect. The 22-year old has spent the past four years in the Marlins minor league system and finished 2019 in High-A ball. He is a career .261/.309/.409 with 26 home runs and 130 RBI’s.

He is best known for having a “plus” arm in the outfield and big-power and at 22-years old is estimated to reach the majors by 2023.

This deal gives the Indians an instant starter in the outfield, a potential future down the road replacement for Civale in the rotation and another big future outfield bat that would help the teams rebuild process while also helping a Miami team take the next step.

Unfortunately, Francisco Lindor is likely not apart of the Indians’ future plans.

Lindor is seeking a deal that will pay him north of $300 million for the next decade and Indians owner Paul Dolan admitted several times that will be an impossible price tag for the small market Tribe to match.

Thus, the Indians must cash in and deal Lindor before he is able to walk free after the 2021 season.

One potentially perfect trade partner is the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies have several stars in their lineup yet were unable to reach the postseason in 2020, meaning they’ll likely be ultra-aggressive this offseason.

The Phillies’ deepest position in their farm system is the shortstop position which should allow the Indians to ask for Lindor’s eventual replacement and Bryson Stott is the name they should ask about.

Stott is the Phillies second-ranked prospect and was drafted in the first round of the 2019 and slashed an impressive .295/.391/.494 with six home runs and 27 RBI’s in the minors last season.

The two other names Cleveland should target are left-handed pitcher Erik Miller and outfielder Johan Rojas.

Miller is the Phillies’ 10th ranked prospect whom they selected in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft. The 22-year old quickly found himself in High-A Ball as he posted an outstanding 1.50 ERA in seven starts and 11 overall minor league outings last season.

Rojas ranks 17th in the Phillies system and is known for being a high-average and speed player who will likely be a future leadoff hitter if he pans out.

The Indians have struggled when Lindor has been outside of the leadoff spot in recent years and since he won’t be around in the future, having a future top of the order bat in the minors is crucial.