Cleveland Indians Trade Deadline

For the first time in years there is a team in Major League Baseball that has the means to trade for basically anyone that could bolster their playoff roster. The Cleveland Indians most certainly have what it takes to put together a blockbuster deal. The farm system is booming filled primarily with outfielders and starting pitching and it is these prospects that can be moved to fill the current gaping holes in the Indians 25 man roster.

There are basically three holes that the tribe needs to plug in order to put themselves over the top. The first of these is most obviously the bullpen. Outside of the make believe success of Joe Borowski and his 26 saves in 29 chances and the actual success of Rafael Betancourt's 37 Ks and stuningly low 3 walks, the Indians bullpen consists of Cabrera's erratically electric arm and other unproven rookies, some as old as 30. In fact, the Indians rank 19th in the ML in ERA with a bullpen ERA of 4.06 and 18th in BAA from the bullpen at .253. Even more telling is the fact that the Indians have used their bullpen more than only 4 other teams at 255 IP.

Now, you might be thinking well thats accountable to the great SP, well, not so much. In those same two categories for SP the Indians rank 20th and 24th respectively, which leads me to next point. If the Indians are going to win it all this year they are going to need to add another top tier SP to follow the 1-2 punch of CC and Fausto. The 4 man combination of Sowers, Lee, Byrd, and Westbrook simply has not gotten it done this year nor had I really expected it to. To me before the season the rotation was basically a one man show. Like every other tribe fan, I was anxiously awaiting the complete emergence of CC as an ace and boy has he delivered so far. I also was hoping to see the Fausto Carmona I new existed, the one with an electric fastball and even better sinker and slider. Even after arguably the worst rookie season for a rp ever, once blowing 4 saves in 5 days, I still had faith in the young man's unbelievable stuff. He too has achieved way beyond even my optimistic expectations.

As for the other four they basically are the types of pitchers that hit their spots and create lots of (sometimes) weak contact, thus relying greatly on the defense behind them. This becomes a problem when the SS is more suited for 3B and often times the corner outfields are filled with guys of similar limited range. Needless to say I had little to no expectations for the soft throwers that round out the rotation.

The third whole for the tribe is a true defender at one of the corners who can really mash on LHP. Usually with the Indians at the trade deadline the discussion stops right there as it is usually unlikely not only that they make a deal to fill a hole, but even that they have what it takes to make a deal like that.

However, this year is different.

From what I have heard and read the Indians can most easily obtain what they need in two deals. The first deal would concern the bullpen and the hitter and would consist of moving many marquee guys including Glaus, I mean Marte, Garko, and other lesser known prospects such as Trevor Crowe, John Drennen, and Brian Barton. These three outfielders are the most expendable prospects for the tribe do the very over-crowded OF. In fact, the Indians currently have 7(Choo, Nixon, Michaels, Sizemore, Gutz,Frisco, Dellucci) who have started significantly for the Indians in the last year or so. This makes those three the most logical and valuable players that can be moved.

All this buildup leads to this in a deal to Texas the Indians could acquire 1B Mark Teixera and RP Akinori Otsuka. Otsuka would provide the experience and consistency so sorely needed in the pen and Teixera would greatly improve the defense at 1B and provide a huge threat against LHP. In fact, Teixera's career line against lefties is .309/.385/.562, not too shabby. These two would come at a hefty price though. It would probably at least take Crowe, Marte, Garko and one of the other two OF prospects, but it would definitely be worth it for a chance to win it all. The likelihood of this deal is not very high due to the success of Garko and on the GM's insistence on standing pat, but a possibility as the Rangers are looking to get younger and to get rid of Teixera's huge salary.

The second deal that could potentially make the Indians a world champion revolves around a great, but much lesser known SP. His name is Erik Bedard and he is the ace of the woeful Baltimore Orioles. It is rumored that the Orioles my be looking to move Bedard as the are unlikely to be able to resign him at the end of his current deal. Bedard is certainly the type of guy that can put the tribe over the top. He is leading the American League in Ks and currently has an 8-4 record and a 3.22 era for a team that is currently 10 games under .500. I cannot imagine that the Orioles could pass on an offer of Lee and Sowers for Bedard. Lee, although having a horrible year, has produced quite well in the past and could succeed with a change of scenery to a non-contender and Sowers is a very young pitcher that has the makings to be a very good middle of the rotation guy but is just not quite ready for primetime yet. Sowers' departure is of little concern in the longterm as the Indians would have three frontline starters all under 30 and Adam Miller and Chuck Lofgren who promise to be similar to the new big three in just a couple of years.

There you have it through two major deals the Indians could turn themselves into a virtual lock to win it all without making much sacrifice for the future. It will be interesting to see how the next two weeks pan out as the Indians continue their chase of the Tigers for the division lead and their chase for help as the deadline approaches.