Cleveland Indians: 3 players most likely to be gone by trade deadline

Blake Parker, RP, Cleveland Indians

After signing just before Spring Training, Blake Parker was only recently added to the 40-man roster and called up to Cleveland. So far, he’s only tossed two games for the Tribe, but his career history and performance in Columbus this year could make him a desirable trade target around the league.

Parker is known for being a late-inning reliever, which Cleveland has plenty of at the moment. Between Nick Wittgren, Bryan Shaw, Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak the later innings are well occupied. Parker adds another arm to that group, but his value might be higher to a team in need of a setup man or closer down the stretch.

The last time Parker logged a save in the majors was during the 2019 season, tallying 10 with the Minnesota Twins, but a strong 2020 campaign with the Phillies and solid start in Columbus could draw interest on the market.

Before joining the Tribe in Cleveland, Parker recorded four saves for the Clippers and tossed 11 scoreless innings over 12 appearances, including 15 strikeouts and just five walks.

Now, Cleveland could want to keep that type of stat line in the system, but if a team is calling and offering prospects that might be the better option. There isn’t room in Cleveland to utilize Parker to his full potential. Odds are, there’s a team that will not only have a need for him, but will be willing to pay the right price to get him.