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Even after moves, Cleveland Indians still listening on Corey Kluber

By Benjamin Chase

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 05: Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers a pitch to the plate during the second inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians on September 5, 2018, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated Kansas City 3-1. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 05: Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers a pitch to the plate during the second inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians on September 5, 2018, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated Kansas City 3-1. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Cleveland Indians dangled multiple members of their rotation earlier this offseason as they were up against financial constraints. However, reports surfaced that in spite of recent deals that eased those financial pressures, the Indians are still pursuing deals with their pitchers.

After the Cleveland Indians made their recent big deals with the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox that sent away Yonder Alonso and Edwin Encarnacion and replaced them with Jake Bauers and Carlos Santana, many thought the savings gained from those deals, along with a previous trade of Yan Gomes, would end up pulling the top Cleveland Indians arms off of the market as their financial situation was significantly improved.

Reports from Jon Morosi of MLB.com (multiple Twitter links) state that the Indians are actively discussing moving Corey Kluber with multiple teams, and specifically have interest from their in-state National League counterpart, the Cincinnati Reds.

The list of teams that Morosi mentions outside of the Reds is not surprising – the Dodgers were long considered a favorite for Kluber, the Milwaukee Brewers are in definite need of a frontline starter, and the Philadelphia Phillies have been very interested in a frontline starter to add in with Jake Arrieta and Aaron Nola to create a dynamic front three in their rotation.

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The reported interest of the Cleveland Indians in the two top prospects in the Cincinnati Reds system, Nick Senzel and Taylor Trammell, may not seem like a smart match on the surface until you realize that Senzel spent fall instructs working in the outfield, and many feel that he could end up taking over in the outfield for the Reds right now.

With a definite need in the outfield and an abundance of outfielders in Cincinnati such that they were able to allow Billy Hamilton to walk away and still have multiple candidates for each outfield spot, Cleveland and Cincinnati could be a very intriguing match.

The big player in this that is still to be watched is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a major league ready outfielder in Alex Verdugo, along with a large amount of young catchers that are on the cusp of the major leagues. After trading Gomes and trading away Francisco Mejia last summer, the Indians’ catching depth at or near the major leagues is lacking, so the Dodgers definitely are a good fit.

dark. Next. Mixed history of competitive balance picks

This news is definitely surprising and could be sad for Cleveland Indians fans to consider, though the team could end up getting such a package back that it makes worth giving up the multiple-time Cy-Young award winner.

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