As baseball enters their annual winter meetings this week, the Cleveland Indians are said to be shopping most of their best players.

Shin-Soo Choo is on the market because he will be a free agent at the end of the 2013 season and his agent is Scott Boras, who almost always takes his clients to the free market.

Chris Perez is on the block because he’s due a big raise in arbitration, and is arguably the team’s biggest trading chip.  If there is any strength in the organization it is in the relief pitching department, and the front office may just feel they can fill a few holes by dealing Perez, and they have options to replace him.

And Asdrubal Cabrera is said to be likely to be moved because he plays a premium position and there is a shortage of shortstop available.  GM Chris Antonetti may want to maximize Cabrera’s value right now.

All of these players have one thing in common, they are due to make a lot of cash.

Even though the Dolan family is reportedly set to sell SportsTime Ohio to Fox for a reported $200 million, it doesn’t look like any of that money is going into the baseball operation.

If the Indians want to add payroll, they certainly have plenty of options.  The free agent market has spiraled out of control once again with players like B. J. Upton getting $15 million per year and .211 hitting Russell Martin getting $8.5 million a season.

So the smart play would be to take on some cash in a trade or wait for the initial wave of free agency to pass and see what kind of value is out there.

If they want to make a big splash, there is one player out there that the Indians should make a bona-fide offer on, and that is Marlins’ OF Giancarlo Stanton.

At last year’s trading deadline, there was some discussion in the media about dealing the Tribe’s top prospect SS Francisco Lindor.  We were against this because if you are going to deal a talent like him, you have to get a player who is still on the way up and has plenty of time under Cleveland’s control.

Stanton is that guy.  For one, he just turned 23 years old last month, meaning he will play the entire ’13 campaign at that age.

He also will not be a free agent until after the 2017 season, meaning the Indians would control him for five more seasons.  Add to both of those bits of information the fact that he is an out-and-out stud, with already 93 big league home runs.

He led the National League in slugging percentage last season at .608.  He’s not a product of his ball park either.  His home and road splits are virtually the same.

As good as Lindor can be, if he has to be the centerpiece of a deal to get Giancarlo Stanton, then so be it.

Following the 2007 season, the Marlins were shopping a young right-handed hitter named Miguel Cabrera.  We thought he was the closest thing to Manny Ramirez that would come around in a long time, and said the Tribe should go out and get him.  They didn’t and look how it has worked out for the Tigers.

He has won two home run titles, two RBI crowns, and two batting titles since going to the Motor City.  And Detroit has been to the playoffs two straight years.

Because it’s the Indians, it is likely a dream, but if the front office wanted to get people excited about baseball in this city once again, they would start a conversation with Miami.  It may be a long time until another hitter like Giancarlo Stanton could be available.

MW