Cleveland Indians: 3 trade deadline deals when the Tribe sold but later won

Cleveland Indians deal Jake Westbrook to St. Louis, receive Corey Kluber

At the tail end of the trade deadline during the 2010 season, on July 31, the Cleveland Indians struck gold in a three-team deal. From the eyes of the Tribe, it was a one-for-one deal, moving current starting pitcher Jake Westbrook for a prospect named Corey Kluber. While Cleveland was the one true seller of the deal, they ended up being the biggest winners from the trade.

When the trade went down, Westbrook held an ERA of 4.65 with a strikeouts per nine of only 5.7. Nevertheless, the Cardinals were in need of a starting pitcher and were willing to deal one of their outfielders. Luckily, San Diego needed an outfielder and was willing to part with a prospect to get the deal done.

While Westbrook was a fan favorite during his tenure, he doesn’t come close to matching the following that Kluber would go on to build. Two Cy Young Awards later and Kluber has gone down has one of the best pitchers in the history of the Cleveland Indians, all for the price of Jake Westbrook.

At the time of the trade it seemed like the Tribe was just trying to shed a contract. However, when it was all said and done they found one of the best players to ever take the bump for Cleveland. Even though they were sellers, they still ran away with the trade.

Cleveland Indians move Bartolo Colon for one of the best returns ever

Note: The original trade was with the Montreal Expos, but only current teams were available to select for the trade

Trading away a 29-year old pitcher with a 2.55 ERA seems like a move familiar to the fans of the Cleveland Indians. It’s almost like the team has done the same thing the past two seasons. However, the deal that sent away Bartolo Colon to the Montreal Expos might be on the best trade deadline deals in the history of the game. Luckily, it leans to the favor of the Cleveland Indians.

Colon pitched a total of 17 games for the Expos in the regular season and Tim Drew totaled 13 appearances for Montreal. That’s it. As for Cleveland, they landed three players who went on to put together solid major league careers.

As for what came to Cleveland in the deal, Lee Stevens was the first contributor, playing 53 games that season for the Tribe that ended up being the final season of his career. The prospects, on the other hand, all landed well.

Cliff Lee had the most success of the trio, winning the Cy Young in 2008 when he led the majors in wins (22) and the American League in ERA with a mark of 2.54. That was by far the best season of his Cleveland career and the team later dealt him to Philadelphia, more on that later. In total, Lee had a really strong career, even if it wasn’t all in Cleveland.

The next name listed on the trade is Brandon Phillips who, like Lee, had a strong career, just not in Cleveland. Phillips was never given a clear shot in Cleveland. He played 135 games with the Tribe, but 112 of those were in one season. The other 23 were spread out over three seasons. Once traded to the Reds, Phillips blossomed into one of the better second baseman in the league, being a three-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner.

The final piece of the deal was the player with the most initial upside, Grady Sizemore. While Sizemore managed to make three All-Star games, was a two-time Gold Glove winner and a Silver Slugger, his career was cut short, perhaps before his prime, due to injury. He played a total of eight seasons in Cleveland with the stretch from 2006-2008 putting him among some of the best outfielders in the game at the time.

Cleveland deals Cliff Lee to Philadelphia for four prospects

While this trade might not have had the success of the Colon trade, moving Lee proved to be the right decision for the Cleveland Indians that netted them a trio of major league producers. Coming off his Cy Young season, Lee was set to demand too high of a price in the near, so the Tribe cashed in when the opportunity presented itself.

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On July 29, 2009 the Tribe traded away the defending American League Cy Young for the second consecutive season at the trade deadline. Lee ended up being dealt to the Mariners in the offseason, then to Texas during the season all to end up back with Philly in free agency during the 2010 offseason.

For Cleveland, the key piece landed was Carlos Carrasco who pitched 11 seasons in Cleveland, including leading the majors in wins with 18 during the 2017 season and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting, being the same season that Kluber won his second. Had Kluber not been the team’s ace, Carrasco would have been more commonly spoken amongst the best pitchers in the game.

For the rest of the deal, both Jason Donald and Lou Marson were able to contribute in Cleveland. Donald totaled 170 games over three seasons in Cleveland and was the typical utility infielder, similar to Ernie Clement now. Marson played 253 games for the Tribe and was a steady depth catcher.

This isn’t the best deadline trade ever made, far from it. However, it was the right deal for the Tribe. Had they waited the price on Lee would have decreased. Instead, they played the market well and got the most they could have for him.