Cleveland Indians: Three perfectly timed trades by the front office

Three perfectly timed trades by the Cleveland Indians front office

Over the last few seasons the Cleveland Indians have made their fair share of trades and more than one could be labeled as a blockbuster deal. Just from Opening Day in 2019, the Tribe have traded away four of the five pitchers from the starting rotation and could make the argument of a fifth if you count moving Adam Plutko just before the start of the 2021 season.

While there has been so much turnover in the starting rotation, the front office of the Cleveland Indians have walked away with the better end of the deal more times than not. Whether it be some secret formula for projecting pitcher injuries or just knowing when guys are reaching the end of their rope, the Tribe have managed to move these players at just the right time. The return price is still rather high, the player is replaceable and the other team usually ends up looking like they got fleeced a year down the road, if it even takes that long.

The one that doesn’t look as great on paper is moving Trevor Bauer, but he wasn’t coming back anyway. Since the Tribe traded him he’s pitched for two different teams and the other two teams in the deal have little to show from it while Cleveland still has Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen. Not as fleeced as the other three deals we’ll talk about, but also not bad at all.

At the time of these trades we were maybe left scratching our heads and trying to find the reason for the deal. In retrospect, the front office knew the perfect time to get these deals done to optimize return, be ready to replace the player and walk away with an incredible haul that left the other teams searching for answers within just a few short months.

Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers

Anytime a team trades away a two-time Cy Young winner there’s going to be some looking around. With that being said, most fans were still more than a little hurt to see Corey Kluber depart from the Tribe. A fan favorite, Kluber was fun to watch on the mound. Even so, this deal might have been done a year late.

Kluber struggled through an injury-riddled 2019 campaign that hurt his trade stock, but also helped introduce us to the next wave of Cleveland pitching with Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale. Despite the deal being done a year later than it maybe should have been, the Cleveland Indians still walked away with the better end of the trade by far.

It took us a year to see the full return with the suspension to Emmanuel Clase, but nevertheless it’s clear now that the Tribe won the deal. Kluber pitched all of one inning for Texas before his season ended due to injury and then left in the offseason for the Yankees. The Tribe saw a similar situation with Delino Deshields, but he at least played more than one inning in Cleveland. The real return was Clase.

After serving his suspension last season, Clase has walked into the closer role in Cleveland this season and has become a frequent flyer in the triple-digits on the speed gun. Barely 23-years old, Clase is set to be under team control or in arbitration through the 2025 season, giving Cleveland at least five seasons of a cheap, 100-mph closer.

Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres

The jury is still out on this one a bit, but in the short return it seems like the front office once again worked it’s magic to get this deal done. Greg Allen was in San Diego for a cup of coffee, playing in just one game, before joining the Yankees this offseason. As for Mike Clevinger, he’s pitched in just four games as a Padre due to missing time, including what is expected to be the entire 2021 season, with injuries.

As for the return to the Cleveland Indians, three of the players are already contributing in the majors and the other three are all on the Top 30 prospect list for the club. Austin Hedges has taken over the role as the backup catcher, Cal Quantrill is essentially the long reliever of the bullpen and Josh Naylor is still coming into his own with flashes of his potential, turning only 24-years old in June.

The writing was kind of on the wall for a Clevinger trade. The organization had young pitching rising through the minors, Clevinger had a bit of an injury history and his being sent down for his off-the-field issue might have been the last straw. Despite the injury history and bad publicity, the front office was still able to flip him for three current major league players with the possibility of getting six total big leaguers, including the potential shortstop of the future in Gabriel Arias. Like I said, the jury is still out but it’s hard to see a way this one sways toward San Diego.