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

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #3: Merrill Kelly, P, Arizona Diamondbacks

Of the three starting pitchers on this list, Merrill Kelly is the one that’s a bit questionable. Kelly has showed promise in the past, but this season has shown otherwise. Now, he is the cheapest option of these three, but that doesn’t make him the best.

Last year, Kelly put together a decent stat line. Over five games he logged a 2.59 ERA, striking out 29 batters over 31.1 innings. That’s not bad at all. However, this year has been a bit of a struggle. Tossing 70.1 innings, he’s registering an ERA of 5.12 with 62 strikeouts. One positive, though, is just 19 walks.

While Marquez and Gibson have had one start that’s inflated their ERA, Kelly has been rather consistent, which in this case isn’t great. He’s allowed at least one run in every start and has given up three or more in eight of his 12 appearances. So, why is he on this list?

Well, like I said, he did show promise last year. That paired with a price tag of $4.25 million this year with a club option of $5.25 million in 2022 and then also two more years of arbitration makes the case a bit better. He is 32-years old, but there’s a chance he could stay in Cleveland for three seasons beyond this year.

Gibson and Marquez are the better options, but Kelly might be a cheap last resort if everything else falls through. There’s potential there and upside in his contract, he’s just having a rather rough season.