Cleveland Indians: 3 prospects to watch for in return packages at deadline

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #1: Drew Waters, OF, Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are currently two games below .500 at 48-50, sitting just five games behind the Mets in the NL East. It’s possible Atlanta is having a bit of a playoff hangover after reaching the NLCS in 2020, but they’ve had their fair share of struggles in 2021, especially with pitching.

The biggest issue for Atlanta is the loss of budding superstar Ronald Acuna Jr, who tore his ACL in early July tracking down a fly ball in right field. The Braves have since acquired Joc Pederson from the Cubs to fill plug that leak, and that likely won’t be the only move made by Atlanta.

Should Atlanta call Cleveland to try and make a splash at the deadline and make a push for the division, Drew Waters is a name that has to be discussed at length. The Braves have quite a log jam in the outfield this year and beyond, having traded for Pederson rather than promoting top prospect Christian Pache to fill in for Acuna Jr. So, despite being the team’s No. 2 prospect Waters might be expendable.

Waters is a 22-year old outfield prospect, measuring at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, projecting as a strong corner outfielder with an above average bat. So far in 2021 Waters has slashed .256/.346/.439 in 56 games with Triple-A Gwinnett, logging 15 doubles and eight home runs. He does have a career 29.8% strikeout rate in the minors which is concerning, but at just 22 he has ample room and opportunity to grow.

No player in Cleveland is truly unavailable, so Waters will likely be the prize return for a particularly big fish. Regardless of how the Braves approach the deadline, Cleveland Indians General Manager Mike Chernoff wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t ask for Waters should Atlanta come calling. Waters’ circumstances are a bit more flexible than any other team’s No. 2 prospect in baseball, and the Tribe need an outfielder of his caliber.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #2: Rafael Marchan, C, Philadelphia Phillies

Early reports out of eastern Pennsylvania are that the Philadelphia Phillies are going to be aggressive at the 2021 MLB trade deadline. General Manager Dave Dombrowski certainly has a history of that and the Phillies are in the hunt this season. Sitting at 49-49, Philadelphia is just four games back of the NL East leading Mets, so just how aggressive will Dombrowski be?

Cleveland’s No. 3 prospect is catcher Bo Naylor and No. 25 ranked prospect is catcher Bryan Lavastida. The issue is that neither of them has advanced beyond Double-A yet. Roberto Perez is arguably one of the most underrated players in baseball, at least defensively, and Austin Hedges is more of a band-aid. With veteran catchers Ryan Lavarnway and Wilson Ramos in Triple-A, the Tribe could use some advanced catching in their system going into 2022.

Rafael Marchan is Philadelphia’s No. 4 overall prospect, and at age 22 had two cups of coffee in the big leagues so far with respectable success in small sample sizes. He’s just 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, but has incredible reviews in terms of his ability to play behind the dish paired with a reportedly high baseball IQ. Offensively there’s more power to develop in his frame, with just one home run in his four year pro career, but the average is coming along to pair with an 8% walk rate and a 12% strikeout rate.

With the Phillies having just signed JT Realmuto to a five-year contract extension it seems they are set at catcher barring an emergency. If the City of Brotherly Love reaches out to The Land then Marchan needs to be at the top of the demands list if Dombrowski is as serious as he claims to be.

Cleveland Indians Trade Target #3: Dasan Brown, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto is starting to see the fruits of its rebuild. Vlad Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette are the real deal offensively, and the pitching is coming along as well with Alek Manoah making a very strong debut. Toronto is 49-46 this season, within striking distance of an AL Wild Card, but likely won’t be the biggest buyers at the deadline unless they can land a player with a few years of team control left.

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The Blue Jays are still probably a year or two away from serious contention, but a second half run isn’t out of the question. Now, stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Cleveland needs outfielders with an above average bat and tools to round into an every day player. The first two players on this list are in the high minors, but Toronto’s Dasan Brown is a longer term project.

Brown is 19-years old and in Toronto’s A-Ball affiliate in Dunedin, but is far and away the fastest prospect in the Blue Jays’ farm system. His speed makes him a solid defensive prospect, able to cover a lot of ground in center field, but the bat will need the most work as he moves up through the minors and fills out his six-foot, 185 pound frame. There’s potential for more power, and more importantly the possibility of a four-tool player down the road.

Brown is Toronto’s No. 14 ranked prospect despite how long his development is expected to be, but ultimately not untouchable if the Blue Jays make a play for someone young and under control for several years (think James Karinchak). Brown should intrigue any team that gets a call from Toronto, but whether the Indians lean into this as a rebuild or a re-tool will be the determining factor in who Mike Chernoff decides to pursue as a return.