Cleveland Indians: 3 Orioles trade targets to keep an eye on this series

Cleveland Indians: 3 Orioles trade targets to keep an eye on this series

After the series against the Chicago White Sox was cut short due to weather, the Cleveland Indians will now transition to a new series, getting on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles for the next three games. The three games in Baltimore will be followed by an off day to allow the Tribe to fly to St. Louis for a two-game stint against the Cardinals before another off day to get back to Cleveland.

With all the rain outs, the Cleveland Indians will have a total of four off days over the span of nine days, something nearly unheard of in baseball unless it’s the All-Star break (which is rapidly approaching, stay tuned for more on that in the near future). However, at the moment the Tribe are preparing for the Baltimore Orioles.

To this point in the season, the Orioles are the worst team in baseball. Baltimore will enter the series with just a 19-37 record for a .339 winning percentage while being the only team in the MLB with fewer than 20 wins. With a record like that, it can be heavily assumed that the Orioles will attempt to trade away any desirable assets at the trade deadline that won’t be part of their future plans. For the Tribe, that means we could be getting a look at some future members of the Cleveland Indians.

While Cleveland doesn’t have a lot that the front office will be willing to part with, Baltimore is in the right situation that the two teams could be likely trade partners at the deadline. The Orioles don’t have many names that will draw a ton of attention, but their contracts are friendly enough to interest a small market team like Cleveland.

With that being said, these three players should be paid close attention to during the series between Cleveland and Baltimore this weekend. In less than two months time, there’s a chance they could be moving across the diamond to the other dugout.

Trey Mancini

A fan and clubhouse favorite in Baltimore, Trey Mancini would be hard to pry away from the Orioles. However, his contract and age don’t fit into the future plans of the team which could make him a target on the trade market over the next two months. After returning to the field following his battle with colon cancer, Mancini’s situation in Baltimore is similar to that of Carlos Carrasco in Cleveland over the last couple seasons.

From Cleveland’s perspective, Jake Bauers and Josh Naylor have been improving the stats produced from the first base position over the last few weeks, but adding an improved player like Mancini to the lineup could be a huge addition in terms of offensive production.

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Over 54 games with Baltimore this season, Mancini is slashing .284/.361/.512 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 44 RBI. Not only would that improve first base, but the whole team. He would instantly be second on the Tribe’s roster for doubles, tied for second in home runs and leading the team in RBI. Plus, Mancini’s been able to do that on the league’s worst team. Imagine what he could do when surrounded by guys like Jose Ramirez, Franmil Reyes and Eddie Rosario in the lineup.

The catch with Mancini is that he doesn’t have as much team control left as the more recent returns in trades for the Tribe. He has one more year of arbitration remaining in 2022 and is already making $4.75 million this year. For his stats, that’s a low price but it still might be too high for what the Tribe are willing to bring in.

Adam Plutko

At the beginning of the season the Cleveland Indians moved Adam Plutko to the Baltimore Orioles in return for cash, a move the club might now be regretting given the struggles and injuries of the starting pitching in Cleveland. With Plutko serving in a reliever role, the Orioles might be willing to send him back to Cleveland if there’s interest on both sides of the deal.

Despite pitching in 21 games this year, Plutko has just one start with most of his appearances being out of the bullpen. His ERA is rather high at 4.61 with his WHIP not far off at 1.39, however a homecoming of sorts could help those numbers improve.

While Plutko wouldn’t provide a long-term solution, he could be a band-aid fix for a starting rotation that is in desperate need of help, specifically from a veteran who doesn’t need time to adjust to the majors. Plutko wouldn’t be an expensive trade and his sub-$600,000 salary for the season fits into the Tribe’s goal of saving money this year. It would hurt a little bit to probably have to pay more than what the team got for him back in March, but if that’s what it takes to get another stable arm in the rotation, then so be it.