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

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

The current edition of the Cleveland Indians are expected to be sellers at the 2021 Major League Baseball trade deadline later this week. After a run towards the division fell flat during a difficult July schedule, the Tribe’s priorities shifted from trying to compete this season to building for the future. The team isn’t giving up on this year, but there’s an opportunity to cash in on some expiring contracts.

If there’s a bright side to the unfortunate position it’s that Cleveland has had a good amount of success at the trade deadline in the past as sellers. The team has been competitive for the better part of the last decade, so it’s a position that is, thankfully, not as familiar as it once was. However, the history of the organization supports that perhaps the Tribe can find some diamonds at the deadline.

Going over the last 20 trade deadlines, there are a trio of deals that stick out from the rest that illustrate the club’s success at the deadline. At the time these deals seemed like the waving of a white flag for that season, but the moves proved pivotal to the future success of Cleveland baseball. While the Tribe were sellers in the initial deal, it was in fact Cleveland that turned out to be the winners of all three deals.

Now, this hasn’t always been the case. Like any other team, the Cleveland Indians have made moves that they might later regret. The good news is that the right trades outweigh the wrong over the last couple decades, beginning with these three.

If Cleveland does in fact become a seller at the deadline, the hope is that the front office will be able to replicate the success of these trades. The outgoing players might play different positions, but if the incoming talent can just scratch the success of these three deals, then the Tribe’s front office will have walked away from this deadline looking like geniuses down the road.

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 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.