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 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.