Cleveland Indians: 5 starting pitchers to target at MLB trade deadline

Cleveland Indians: 5 starting pitchers for Tribe to target at trade deadline

The Cleveland Indians being without starting pitching for a significant portion of the first half of the season was a bizarre-o alternate reality that no one should be in a hurry to revisit. The Tribe had less than half of their first half starts handled by the Big Three, and The Replacements have had their struggles to put it politely.

However, out of the All-Star break, Cleveland received some strong starts from Eli Morgan, Cal Quantrill and Zach Plesac to take a series win in Oakland and position themselves at 47-43, within striking distance of a Wild Card spot and not yet buried in the American League Central.

With any luck the Indians will get Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale back right on the heels of Plesac who just made his second start back from injury, but the team certainly has a need at starting pitcher if the push continues.

The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching on July 30th, and the pieces are already moving with the Braves acquiring Joc Pederson from the Cubs. The Tribe currently possess the lowest payroll in baseball, just south of $53M, which would normally lend one to believe the team might spend at the deadline, but that’s simply not this front office’s MO.

Cleveland will likely add players on expiring contracts or cheaper prospects with a few years of arbitration remaining. With that being said, here are a few candidates that the Cleveland Indians might try to acquire at the deadline.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target#1: Tyler Anderson, Pittsburgh Pirates

The only two southpaws to register starts for the Tribe this year are Logan Allen and Sam Hentges, and they’ve been underwhelming to say the least. Tyler Anderson is one such lefty that Cleveland could trade for to bolster the back of the rotation down the stretch, a pitcher very popular among MLB pundits in way-too-early trade talk back in early May.

Anderson has cooled off from his 3.05 ERA on May 9th, but he’s been more than admirable for the Pittsburgh Pirates on a one-year $2.5M deal. Anderson has registered 17 starts this season, never once going fewer than five innings pitched, spanning 97.1 innings with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He’s only allowed more than three earned runs three times in those 17 starts, a reliable level of consistency notably absent in Cleveland’s rag-tag rotation.

Anderson’s velocity is certainly nothing impressive, yet he has an above average swing-and-miss rate among other pitchers in 2021. Opposing bats are whiffing on three of his five pitches at a clip of 22.5% or better, most noteworthy a 25% rate on his 4-Seam and a 28.6% rate on his Changeup.

Everything Anderson has done so far in his age 31 season is certainly sustainable as he’s about on par with his averages from his time with the Rockies and his lone year with San Francisco. The opportunity to join a contender for the remainder of 2021 might even spark a return to his early season form, but the Indians would take a starter they know will net them five innings every start.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #2: Jon Gray, Colorado Rockies

The Rockies have the opportunity to win the trade deadline more than any other franchise in baseball, with Trevor Story and German Marquez likely to be on the move now that All-Star festivities are in the past. It’s difficult to say what Colorado plans to ask for in return for players like Story and Marquez since they haven’t replaced their General Manager after Jeff Bridich gave Nolan Arenado away, but that might help an arm like Jon Gray fly under the radar.

Gray is in his age 29 season, and all eyes are likely on his rotation mate, but Gray is a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who avoids a lot of solid contact (4.9 Barrel%) and has flashed ace potential in his seven seasons with the Rockies.

So far Gray has registered 16 starts in 2021, mustering a 6-6 record, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP across 86 innings. Like Anderson, he’s only allowed more than three earned runs in three starts this season which is impressive pitching in Denver.

Even more surprising, he’s better at Coors than he is out of the low altitude (3.22 ERA at home, 4.54 on the road), but that shouldn’t discourage a team from trading for him. Gray is currently on an expiring $6M deal and will hit free agency going into his age 30 season, and that’s what makes him an intriguing option.

Gray is a player who has shown significant flashes, and it’s entirely possible a change of scenery and a new pitching staff can help to unlock that potential. Should the Tribe make a push for him, there’s the possibility that Gray would consider signing on another year in Cleveland to work with this pitching staff beyond the second half of 2021, and it should be possible under the team’s free agency approach of buying low.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #3: Andrew Heaney, Los Angeles Angels

The Angels are a strange case this season, sitting at 46-46 and seeming perfectly content to ride the Shohei Ohtani wave while Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon miss significant time. Even with that being said, Los Angeles’ circumstances aren’t all that different from Cleveland’s, sitting nine games back of Houston in the AL West and 5.5 back in the Wild Card.

Even if the Angels get Trout and Rendon back, it’s highly possible that Andrew Heaney is more valuable to the Angels as a trade chip than holding onto him for a potential playoff push. At age 30, Heaney is currently in his seventh season with the Halos, sporting a 5-7 record in 16 starts to go along with an ERA of 5.56 and a 1.36 WHIP through 81 innings. He’s a bit of an enigma, boasting a fantastic 98/26 K/BB and a FIP of 4.20, suggesting he’s been the victim of some bad luck and poor defense in 2021.

Heaney is the second lefty on this list, and like his counterpart he forces a bunch of swings-and-misses; 28.6% on his 4-Seam, 38.5% on the Curveball and 25.9% on the Changeup. Those rates further complicate the bad luck argument, but he’s another player who might benefit from the change of scenery and a new pitching coach.

Heaney has been roughed up a couple of times this season, but he’s a streaky starter. The gamble would be which Heaney are you getting and are the little things correctable? Cleveland certainly has the track record with pitching, so taking on an expiring $6.75M contract shouldn’t raise too many eyebrows.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #4: Alex Cobb, Los Angeles Angels

Alright, we’ve bemoaned the circumstances of the Angels’ season long enough, so let’s jump right into another Halos starter. Alex Cobb has experienced a bit of a revival in his age 33 season on the west coast after three poor seasons in Baltimore, returning more to his career averages in 2021.

Through 14 starts this season Cobb has compiled a 7-3 record to go along with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 72.2 innings. Cobb is a big right-handed sinker-baller who is doing an excellent job limiting hard contact this season (3.6 Barrel%) while striking out a career best 26.2% of batters faced. Those numbers are very solid for a 33-year old starter, and even better for a starter on an expiring $15M contract who’s only owed $5M thanks to Baltimore retaining part of his salary.

Over the course of his career Cobb has historically been a better pitcher in the second half of the season, with a career average 4.48 ERA in the first half and a 3.04 ERA in the second. He also possesses a 3-1 record and a 3.86 ERA in Progressive, a ballpark that would lend itself well to a sinker-baller.

Again, Cobb and Heaney both hinge on how the Angels view their own postseason odds, but like Heaney, Cobb might be worth more to the organization fetching a few prospects than allowing his contract to expire. Cobb would slot right into the Tribe rotation as the most significant improvement they could possibly externally afford compared to any of the other Replacements.