The rumors keep swirling around Major League Baseball about the Indians trading Trevor Bauer, and quite frankly we don’t understand it.
Yes, we understand that Bauer is going to get a significant increase in pay for 2020 through the arbitration process, and is going to be a free agent following that season.
We hear the arguments about dealing Bauer and improving the team now, and if you can do that, we are all ears. We have said it many times before, we would trade anyone for the right price.
And maybe someone will pay that price for Trevor Bauer, we just don’t think anyone will.
That’s because the right price for Bauer would include getting a major league starting pitcher in return. That’s what the Indians need unless they decide to do the mind boggling task of giving up on a season in which they are on pace to win more than 90 games.
No one has been more critical of the Indians’ offense than us, and the series against the Twins showed the need to fill holes in the lineup, even with Jose Ramirez starting to resemble the guy who finished in the top three of the MVP voting the past two seasons.
However, trading Bauer for someone who can impact the lineup right now and not getting a MLB caliber starter as part of the package is just robbing Peter to pay Paul.
If you deal Bauer, you have a shortage of starting pitching in our opinion.
One of the reasons the Indians are in possession of a playoff spot right now is their pitching, which ranks second in the American League in ERA, and the strength of that staff recently is the ability to trot Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber out there every three of five games.
Moving Bauer creates a void in that strength. Without him, your rotation is Clevinger, Bieber, Adam Plutko, rookie Zach Plesac, and who? Another rookie in Aaron Civale?
Can you win enough games to make the playoffs with this rotation?
And spare us the “we’ll get Corey Kluber and maybe Carlos Carrasco back soon” talk.
If you can tell us how Kluber will pitch when he comes back, then please supply us with the next numbers for the MegaMillions drawing. Kluber was up and down before he was injured, and he is basically starting his season over.
Could Kluber be the pitcher he has been for the last five years? Sure. Is it worth gambling a playoff spot on that chance? Of course not.
We understand the offense is still below par, so go out and get a rental bat, even though we know the front office doesn’t like to do that. Let’s say you can get a Nicholas Castellanos for a prospect not currently in the Cleveland top ten?
That way you boost the offense without touching the rotation.
Or you can get a young starter with some big league experience in exchange for Bauer. We don’t think a team will do that with Bauer eligible for a big payday in ’20 and free agency in ’21.
Maybe you make two deals, one for a starter, say Marcus Stroman, and then move Bauer somewhere else.
That would be more prudent so you can continue to compete this season.
The Minnesota Twins are a good team, but they no longer have a 10 game lead in the division, it’s now three. You can’t weaken the strength of this team, which is starting pitching.
If you make the team better, then make the deal. But if you are going to weaken part of the team to fix something else, that doesn’t make sense.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 