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. 11 Prospect: Lenny Torres, RHP

Like middle infielders, the Cleveland Indians have plenty of pitchers on their current Top 30 prospect list and that doesn’t include any of the 19 they just selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. In total, the club has nine pitchers on the list, so why is Lenny Torres the one included on this list?

Of the nine pitchers, Torres is the fourth listed. The first one is Daniel Espino, a first round pick by the Tribe in 2019. It seems a little early to deal a 2019 first rounder, so Espino is probably safe. Next up is Ethan Hankins. Hankins has a projected ETA in Cleveland for 2022 and given the current state of the rotation it wouldn’t make sense to move a piece that could help that soon.

That brings us to Josh Wolf on the list. Wolf is a potential trade piece, but since he arrived to the Tribe in the Lindor trade the team hasn’t been able to really explore his potential. For that reason, Torres ends up as the most likely to be moved of the bunch.

A first round pick by the Tribe in the 2018 MLB Draft, albeit the 41st overall selection, Torres is currently with Lynchburg, Class-A. There he has totaled 38.1 innings with an ERA of 5.17. He’s also walked 25 while striking out just 38. Those aren’t great stats, so why would a team want him?

Well, just 20-years old Torres has already shown potential. In 2018 he maintained an ERA 1.76 in rookie ball while logging 12.9 strikeouts per nine. Unfortunately, he had to have Tommy John in May of 2019 which could be the cause of the inflated stats.

However, if there’s a team that likes his potential and thinks that he can return to his 98-mph fastball with time, then Cleveland has the flexibility and depth to move him.