Cleveland Indians: 3 prospects Tribe can afford to move in deadline deals

Cleveland Indians No. 2 Prospect: Tyler Freeman, SS

Trading one of the team’s top prospects is never an easy decision to make, but in the case of the Cleveland Indians there’s a chance they could do just that. For a team that is trying to save both money and assets, Tyler Freeman has the potential to net a player in return by himself. Even if a package is needed in addition to Freeman, it shouldn’t include much.

The reason that Freeman is expendable despite being the club’s No. 2 prospect is his position. Being a middle infielder, Freeman is part of perhaps Cleveland’s biggest minor league strength. Cleveland has four middle infielders in the Top 10 prospects alone and a total of 12 in the Top 30.

The biggest question with Freeman is of the group, why him? Well, in the eyes of the organization he might have already been surpassed. Still in Double-A Akron, Freeman is now behind No. 6 prospect Gabriel Arias who is in Triple-A Columbus.

Between Arias, Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario, the Tribe are relatively set in the middle infield for the next three years at least. Rosario’s contract will expire first and he will be under team control through the 2023 season. At that point, the next wave of No. 7 prospect Bryan Rocchio, No. 8 Aaron Bracho and No. 12 Carson Tucker should be on the brink of arriving.

While Freeman is playing really well in Akron, slashing .322/.376/.463 over 37 games, he’s fallen behind a bit in terms of progression. Given the depth of the position and the value of Freeman, he might draw the most interest of any prospect on the Tribe’s roster. If the right player could come to Cleveland in return, they might just agree to the deal.