We all know the Cleveland Indians are not expected to be very active this winter in terms of player acquisition. They are expected to depend on the development of their young players to better the team in 2011.
However, there is one player the Indians would love to trade and that is DH Travis Hafner, he of the contract worth over $10 million per year for the next two years. Pronk is still a productive major league hitter, his OPS last season was 824, second highest among regulars on the Indians to Shin-Soo Choo, but he’s become a platoon player. He hit just one home run against southpaws last season, and his OPS against lefties was just 706.
If new GM Chris Antonetti wants to move the DH, he has a limited market, because he can’t be dealt to the National League. And the Tribe would have to play part of his remaining salary to move him too.
Is that a good deal for the Indians?
It would be only if the ownership would take the extra money and put it in the major league roster.
Hafner is due $13 million the next two years. Let’s say in order to deal him; Cleveland would have to pay half of his remaining salary. That would give the Indians $6.5 million to spend on a starting pitcher and/or a bat.
The next thing to look at is what teams may be interested in the big man. The teams that come to mind quickly are Tampa Bay, Detroit, Chicago, and perhaps Oakland and Los Angeles. Do those teams have some pitching they might want to give up in exchange for a DH?
An intriguing name is James Shields from Tampa who makes $4.25 million next year with club options in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The right-hander has won more than 10 games and pitched over 200 innings in each of the last four years. His ERA was over 5.00 in 2010, but the three previous years, it’s been in the 3.30-4.20 range.
Why would Tampa want to unload him? They have a top prospect, Jeremy Hellickson, who is ready to join the big league rotation. And they would like to reduce payroll as well. Now, why would they want Hafner? They still think they can contend and DH has been a weak spot for the organization. The payroll cut will come from letting Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena leave as free agents.
It is doubtful that either the White Sox or Tigers will trade an established starting pitcher to the Indians, and it is equally likely the Tribe front office doesn’t want to see Pronk 18 times a year either as a divisional foe.
As for the Angels, they would love to get rid of lefty Scott Kazmir, who is coming off a 9-15 season with a 5.94 ERA. He’s also guaranteed $20 million over the next two seasons, so he wouldn’t be a good fit for the Indians. Perhaps the Los Angeles could put together a prospect package, and Antonetti could look for a starter elsewhere.
The A’s could use a veteran bat in their lineup and have a boatload of young pitching (although not as much as yesterday since they traded Vin Mazzaro to Kansas City for OF David DeJesus), so they could be a match if they are willing to take on some payroll.
The other benefit for Cleveland is that it would open up the DH spot, and coincidentally, there are a couple of former Indians looking for a team on a one-year deal. Do the names Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez ring a bell?
Could either of those guys be a stop gap for the Tribe in 2011? They probably could hit more than the 11 homers that Travis Hafner hit for the Indians in 2010.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 