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

3 prospects the Cleveland Indians can afford to move in deadline deals

As the Major League Baseball trade deadline draws closer we’re beginning to get a grasp for where seem teams will land. The Chicago Cubs have already made a deal to be sellers with the Atlanta Braves on the buying end. However, the Cleveland Indians are still dancing with the line of what to do.

The nine-game skid at the beginning on the month really derailed the Tribe’s trajectory that went from a strong contender to on the brink of being too far out at the All-Star break. Luckily, the team regained their footing and could now once again be on the buying side of the trade deadline.

While we’ve already talked plenty about all the names that could potentially help Cleveland down the stretch, we’ve yet to truly dive into the price it could cost to get some of those players in a Tribe uniform. For teams that are selling, they want to build for the future. That means parting with prospects for the teams buying.

The Cleveland Indians have been at this point in recent memory, but the issue is that they always had MLB talent they could afford to lose at the time. Whether it be Trevor Bauer or Mike Clevinger, the team really hasn’t had to dip into the prospect pool when bringing in help at the deadline. At least not in the last couple years.

The positive side to that is the Tribe’s farm system is rich in talent because it hasn’t been depleted by past deals. The negative is that also means Cleveland is out of options at the major league level.

Should the Tribe look to add players at the deadline they will have to include some enticing prospects to get the deals done. The good news is they should have a plethora of players to choose from, beginning with these three.

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.

Cleveland Indians No. 16 Prospect: Owen Miller, INF

Despite having played 18 games this season at the major league level, Owen Miller is still technically classified as a prospect and is No. 16 on the club’s list. While he hasn’t played too well in Cleveland, he has shown flashes in Triple-A. That paired with most of the same reasons as Tyler Freeman make Miller a decent trade candidate.

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Utility infielders are always appreciated in the game of baseball, especially ones that can also play the outfield. In the case of Cleveland, they almost have too many. The problem is that none of them are playing at a high level.

Whether it be Gio Urshela, Erik Gonzalez or someone else, the Tribe have always had versatile infielders. Now, they have a mixture of Miller, Ernie Clement and Yu Chang that can all do relatively the same thing, but none can get it going at the dish. While it might seem all bad, it could make trading one a bit easier.

Teams around the league need infield depth and Miller presents that. He also showcased early in the season at Triple-A that there is some talent in his bat as well. It just didn’t transfer to Cleveland with him.

If there’s a team that is in dire need of infield depth or that thinks they can help Miller figure out his bat in the bigs, then all of sudden he becomes very expendable to the Cleveland Indians. Clement and Chang can handle the depth duties for now and the aforementioned wave a young talent coming will soon arrive. Like Freeman, Miller could end up the odd man out.

If that’s the case, then moving him now for something worthwhile to help down the stretch seems like the best option for all parties involved. There’s even the chance he could be flipped for a younger prospect that projects a bit better into the team’s future.