Cleveland Indians: Five trade spots for Corey Kluber
The Cleveland Indians may be looking to re-tool their roster this off-season as they are putting many of the veterans on the trade block. One of those is former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. Where could they trade him to?
The off-season has just begun, but the Cleveland Indians are already a team to watch as they could be a major player in the trade market. Not as a buyer, but as potential seller.
Faced with market constraints, the Indians will listen to trade offers for some of their veteran players this winter, according to sources. Kluber, Carrasco, Encarnacion, Gomes, etc. Lindor, Ramirez will definitely be held.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 2, 2018
Yesterday was the deadline for qualifying offers to eligible free agents, and the Cleveland Indians didn’t give one to Andrew Miller, Cody Allen or Michael Brantley, meaning they won’t get draft pick compensation if those players sign elsewhere.
One of the names that Olney mentioned is the former AL Cy Young Award Winner Corey Kluber. He’s set to make $15 million next year with two club options for 2020 at $15 million and 2021 at $16 million for his age 33-35 seasons.
Kluber is coming off another excellent season, making his third straight All-Star team, going 20-5 with a 2.89 ERA, his fifth straight season of over 200 innings pitched, and a 0.99 WHIP.
The top pitchers in the free agent market are Patrick Corbin, Nathan Eovaldi and Dallas Keuchel. With the contracts they could garner in free agency, teams may be more apt to make trades instead.
Even if the Cleveland Indians were to trade a couple of the players listed, it doesn’t mean they are going in the tank. There is still quality up and down the roster, plus with the packages they could get back, and with how weak the AL Central is, they could line themselves up for another playoff appearance in 2019.
The big chip to cash in would be Kluber. So where could he go? Let’s take a look at some possible destinations
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees watched their biggest rival celebrate on their field not once, but twice this year, plus watched them win their fourth championship since 2004. It’s going to be a very interesting off-season in the Bronx, but one of the ways they can catch the Boston Red Sox is to upgrade their starting pitching. There are questions about Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka, while J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia are free agents. They have some money to spend thanks to their young core of position players and resetting the luxury tax.
Insead of spending money on adding Manny Machado, they could spend some money on Corbin to help upgrade, but why not be aggressive and try and get Corbin AND trade for Kluber if he’s available. Combining them with Severino and Tanaka, plus the bullpen and the offense they have on a team that won 100 games last season could be what they need to put them over the hump in the playoffs, even if Didi Gregorius misses half the season or more recovering from Tommy John surgery.
These clubs made the Andrew Miller trade just a couple of seasons ago, and even though the New York Yankees farm system isn’t as highly ranked as it has been thanks to promotions to the majors, they still have some quality prospects in the farm system.
Atlanta Braves
Corey Kluber was born in Birmingham Alabama. Hop on I-20 east and in about 2.5 hours you’ll find yourself in Atlanta Georgia. The Atlanta Braves came on last year to win the National League East. They are a squad built on quite a bit of youth, both on the pitching staff and with their position player core.
The National League is wide open and now would be the time for them to strike. Adding Kluber to lead a rotation with Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Julio Teheran, Kevin Gausman and others could put them in a position to win a pennant next season before members of that core get expensive.
The Atlanta Braves could use some more offense and some bullpen help, but maybe adding an ace like Kluber can help that bullpen be better by picking up more innings. Pitching in the National League may help Kluber’s numbers moving forward as he gets older as well.
For the Indians, the Braves have the kind of farm system that could make a reload easier, with all of the pitching prospects the Braves have. Someone like Touki Toussant in a deal for Kluber, could give the Indians another young arm to add to the rotation and move forward with.
St. Louis Cardinals
The St Louis Cardinals have missed the playoffs the past three seasons. Within that time, the Chicago Cubs have won a World Series and the Milwaukee Brewers were one game away from an NL Pennant. The fanbase there won’t be happy about a fourth straight season with no playoffs and adding Kluber would be a move to help prevent that.
The Cardinals have plenty of young outfielders and young arms to send to the Cleveland Indians in any deal for Kluber. Dakota Hudson for the rotation and Tyler O’Neill for the Indians outfield would represent a nice return for them and not totally hurt the Cardinals in 2019 and moving forward.
For the Cardinals a rotation of Kluber, Miles Mikolas, Carlos Martinez, Jack Flaherty and Luke Weaver can put them right back into contention in the division and the National League. This doesn’t even include Michael Wacha, Adam Wainwright or Alex Reyes, who with all his injuries, may have to move to the bullpen and combine with Jordan Hicks to form a real power back end of a bullpen.
The St. Louis Cardinals have plenty of TV money coming in, so adding Kluber’s salary shouldn’t hurt them next year and moving forward.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers bullpened their way to missing the World Series by one game. Part of the reason why they had to bullpen as much as they did is that they didn’t have that stud at the top of the rotation to anchor it. Young arms like Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff may be a part of that rotation, but they still lack that ace to lead that staff.
That ace could be Kluber, if they make the move to add him. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is aggressive when he believes the team is close, as they added multiple pieces at the trade deadline to try and push them over the top.
The Cleveland Indians and Brewers made the CC Sabathia trade years ago, no reason why they couldn’t make a deal again.
The Brewers have pieces that could help Cleveland. Domingo Santana could play in the outfield right now. Freddy Peralta could be a rotation arm for the Cleveland Indians. Maybe pieces like catcher Jacob Nottingham or pitcher Austin Houser could be of interest as well.
In a wide open National League, the Brewers time is now and a trade with the Cleveland Indians for Kluber could be exactly what they need.
Philadelphia Phillies
Payroll flexibility? Check. Prospects? Check. Team that may need a couple pieces to get to the playoffs in 2019? Check. The Philadelphia Phillies check all the boxes for a team that could be a match for the Cleveland Indians in a Kluber deal.
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For the Phillies, a top three of Kluber, Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta gives them an excellent top of the rotation. Add in arms like Nick Pivetta, Jarad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin and you have some quality starting pitching depth for a team that just ran out of gas in 2018. The Phillies have some pieces and even if they spend a ton in free agency for Bryce Harper or Manny Machado (or both) adding an arm like Kluber as well, could make just as big an impact.
Prospects like Enyel De Los Santos, Dylan Cozens or players with big leagues experience like J.P. Crawford or Nick Williams could be nice pieces coming back to Cleveland to help fill holes on their roster.
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In the end, if the Cleveland Indians decided to trade Kluber, I think the Cardinals end up winning out. They have plenty of quality to trade, plus they are not in the American League, which i think will play a part in terms of their strategy in dealing him.