Cleveland Indians: Three potential starting pitchers to add

Free agency is crawling along, and the Cleveland Indians can look to find affordable starting pitchers to add depth, experience, and talent to the strength of the team.

The Cleveland Indians are going to sign somebody this offseason. There will be spring training invitees and players that will be added to compete at key positions. Starting pitching may not seem like an obvious need for the Indians, and it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean that the Tribe couldn’t add depth.

The Cleveland Indians will have one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball entering 2021. This is even if they end up trading Carlos Carrasco. The main four would be Cy Young winner Shane Bieber along with Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, and Triston McKenzie. If there is one concern, those four pitchers have pulled the top end depth of the Indians farm for starters, and are very young.

With those four starting pitchers, the Indians have proven they can draft and develop top end starting pitchers as good as any team in baseball. The issue is they are still extremely young. Bieber, Civale, and Plesac are all 25, and McKenzie is 23. Carrasco brings the veteran presence to the rotation, and if the Indians are truly shopping him, they’ll be looking to add more experience via free agency.

So who are some realistic possibilities for the Indians to target this off-season? Trevor Bauer! Ok, not in the price range, and that’s the key with the names to follow. The Indians will be seeking very affordable options, older than 25, and ideally some postseason experience.

To be affordable, lets consider some signings the Cleveland Indians have done in the past. Let’s keep an eye out for pitchers coming off injuries who may be looking for opportunities for their next pay day. Pitchers who were in poor situations, but have shown to be capable to perform even with playing on a bad team. Or the easiest, just a player who had a bad 2020, and thinks working on a staff and in an organization like Cleveland will adjust their career.

With that said, lets take a look at a few free agent starting pitchers (who can’t be Marcus Stroman or Garrett Richards).

There is nothing wrong with a veteran who just eats innings. The Indians will have plenty of high potential and front-line starters, but in a 162 game season, it may be prudent to have a steady veteran in the backend.

Trevor Williams is a free agent who can benefit from a winning situation, of which the Cleveland Indians offer. Again, switching leagues can’t be discounted for potential success facing new hitters. From 2017-2019 Williams had at least 25 starts, and a career 4.44 ERA. Seems just the right amount of average to me.

What is nice about Williams, is that he is capable of a hot streak that made him one of the top pitchers for the Pirates. In 2018, he made nine straight starts where he had a 0.66 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.

While his numbers don’t jump off the page, his strikeouts per nine has improved every season, and from 2017-2019 he posted a positive WAR. If his walk rate decreases he could be a free agent steal.

Notice how I haven’t brought up 2020 yet? That was a bad year. Career worst ERA, WAR, and walk rate. 2020 hasn’t been the best year for most people, so a normal spring training and season may be just what the doctor ordered for Williams.

Still lackluster? Probably, but you’re looking for this veteran free agent to offer consistency, like Josh Tomlin used to. Even if the Indians know, that a fifth starter has a 4.44 ERA and will go five innings, that’s important and valuable to setup other pitchers and reset the bullpen.

Let’s take a look at one more pitcher, who may cost more, but sounds more fun if the Indians open their wallet a bit.

Jake Arrieta was a key member of the Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series win. After that, he got a big three-year contract with the Phillies and it just didn’t pan out. Now, Arrieta will be working his way back from a late season hamstring injury, and looking to sign with a contender.

Joining the Cleveland Indians is a smart move for Arrieta, who can recover from injuries while being asked to be a back-end rotation member. If the Indians contend, he brings postseason experience and top of the rotation stuff when right. If the Indians falter, he’ll be a valuable trade asset for any contender.

Due to his lackluster three seasons in Philadelphia, and his injuries, he won’t be getting a major contract. Spotrac estimates his market value as $6.5mil in 2021. That’s high for what the Indians appear ready to spend, but the money is still there.

I’ve mentioned his poor Phillies seasons, but that is relative. They signed him expecting him to be a Cy Young contender. He still started over 30 games in 2018-19, and a 4.50 ERA, give or take, over those three seasons.

The problem with Arrieta is that he is very bad against lefties. Teams are already stacking lefties when they face the Indians and since 2018 lefties are hitting .299 off of him. Those numbers aren’t good for a top three starter, but for Cleveland their luxury is that any free agent pitcher would be their fifth starter at best.

The Indians depth is what will also make it less likely they’ll spend any significant investment on a starting pitcher. The player may not even make the rotation in an open competition.

If the Indians do sign a starting pitcher, who makes sense to you? It feels like it will be a spring training invitee listing of veterans who will try and catch on.