The July 31 non-waivers trade deadline will arrive this week with the Indians still on the fence on whether they should be buyers or sellers.
One hint is seemingly contained in a tweet from FoxSports’ Ken Rosenthal, who reported that the Indians are drawing a lot of interest from teams on Asdrubal Cabrera.
That would indicate the Indians have apparently decided to be sellers, right?
Not so fast.
Have you seen Cabrera’s statistics? He’s hitting .247 with a .308 on-base percentage, almost 50 more strikeouts (76) than walks (27), and he leads all American League shortstops in errors with 14.
So would trading those statistics be a white flag trade, or a bugle charge? Addition by addition or addition by subtraction?
Francisco Lindor was recently promoted to Triple-A Columbus, so team officials would presumably like to see him get a few weeks’ worth of at-bats at that level, but it wouldn’t be a stunner if Cabrera was traded and Lindor promoted.
If nothing else, Lindor would be a major defensive upgrade at shortstop.
If the feeling is that Lindor needs a few weeks at Columbus, Mike Aviles could be the stop-gap bridge at short.
What could the Indians get for Cabrera? Certainly not what they need, which is a quality major-league starting pitcher with a proven track record. At best, the Indians might get a second-tier minor-league prospect. Given that Cabrera is in year three of a career decline, and he can become a free agent at the end of the season, it’s hard to imagine Tampa Bay calling Tribe General Manager Chris Antonetti and offering a straight Cabrera-for-David Price swap.
Sometimes teams decide whether they are buyers or sellers simply by whether they have the inventory with which to shop for something they need. For example, the Indians need a dependable starting pitcher.
The best of whatever is available would likely cost the Indians one of their top minor-league prospects, or young major-leaguers. Can a team like the Indians afford to give up something like that?
Probably not. Certainly not, given where the team is in the Central Division and wild card standings.
If you’re going to go for broke with a blockbuster trade, you better be sure you have enough other ammunition to make a push for a postseason berth. If you do, a blockbuster trade can be a defensible gamble.
But if you have other holes than simply the one you’re trading to fill, then you’re probably better off biting the bullet and waiting until next year.
The Indians’ other significant free agent-to-be is Justin Masterson.
He’s also the Indians’ other free agent-to-be without much value. Masterson is having the worst year of his career. There might be some teams with a marginal interest in him as a two-month rental, but those could be two ugly months.
Just ask the Indians, who have already watched three ugly months by Masterson.
The contracts of Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, not to mention Bourn’s endless run of hamstring injuries, probably make both of them untradeable.
Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis, Yan Gomes, Carlos Santana, and Lonnie Chisenhall are all core players who are semi-untouchables, unless the Indians really are intent on making a blockbuster deal.
The rest of the position players and bench players are just guys, at least in terms of any trade deadline discussions.
If they are inclined to be sellers, the Indians could probably move a reliever or two, in what would be a low-wattage deal.
Contenders are always looking for a boost to their bullpens.
Carlos Carrasco is an interesting case. As expected, he has pitched much better out of the bullpen, and could be a closer candidate down the road. Certainly he has the big arm for which teams are fond of trading. Just ask the Indians who did exactly that in the ill-fated Cliff Lee trade five years ago.
So with the trade deadline fast approaching, the Indians have still not clearly defined themselves as buyers or sellers. They may not even have any difference makers they would be willing to trade, for whom other teams would offer something of substance in return. Maybe that settles it right there.
In terms of current inventory, needs, and the lack of convincing evidence, either way, that they are strong or counterfeit postseason candidates, the Indians fall mostly in the gray area.
They are neither.
They are just kind of floaters competitively, which puts even more pressure on Antonetti, who must continue to try to read the baseball tea leaves as the clock ticks down to July 31.
What exactly does he have here?
Should he try to: A) add; B) subtract or C) stand pat?
I would lean towards C, not rule out B, but forget about A.
JIngraham
@News-Herald.com
@jitribeinsider
