Trading Trevor Bauer or Corey Kluber Is a Big Positive

It’s pretty much only a matter of time before the Cleveland Indians trade either starting pitchers Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. Both will bring back big returns. The Indians need outfield help in any return for either or the two so expect a team with depth in that area to be the team to land one of the two tribe’s aces.

While Indians’ fans probably aren’t fans of the team dealing one of their top starters, it almost has to happen at this point. It will not only help the team now, but it will help them going forward with the potential talent they get in return. While it could be a possibility that both could get dealt, it’s unlikely for that to happen.

The clear positive here is the Indians have more than enough depth to account for a loss of any pitcher including Bauer and/or Kluber. There’s no arguing that Kluber is clearly one of the best in the game and his affordable contract makes him all the more attractive of a trade chip. Bauer further established himself as a top shelf starter last season with his outstanding numbers, so his trade value is high in his own right.

With the recently extended Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, and top prospect Triston McKenzie, the Indians can afford to trade one of the two in Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. You can also count the one who doesn’t get traded will be apart of that depth, obviously.

Kyle Tucker of the Astros and Alex Verdugo of the Dodgers would be great options to headline a trade package for one of the Indians’ ace’s, but that’s both if either team is willing to pull the trigger on a deal due to their interest, respectfully. Of course, there’s many other teams in on the two, including the Mets who have Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo as options for the Indians to choose from and others from interested teams around the league.

Cleveland has an exciting offseason and will still go into the 2019 season with a contending roster even if one of their starters in Trevor Bauer or Corey Kluber are traded.

Destination Speculation; Winter Meetings Edition

We are officially to the annual GM winter meetings, which means executives from every MLB organization will get together and is also a time where we usually see the most offseason activity amongst all 30 clubs around the league(it also includes the Rule 5 draft, which is held on the last day of the meetings).

With that being said, rumors will be all over the place pertaining to free agents and trade candidates alike. There’s always that move or two that will catch us all off guard, so it’s important to keep up with the latest news concerning each team around baseball, including the team you root for, because well, you never know. Here we will speculate on places we could see some oft-talked about players potentially going during the upcoming week. First we start with:

-Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer

The Cleveland Indians have been one of the most talked about teams thus far, due to their desire to shop starters Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco was just signed to an extension which makes him less likely to be traded, but that still leaves Kluber and Bauer. Both would fetch potentially huge returns in trades and Cleveland will not settle for anything less than a large return. Teams we’ve heard discussing the Indians’ starters so far have been the Mets and Dodgers. Other speculative fits could also be the Braves, Padres, Reds, Phillies, and Astros. Perhaps Houston namely, could include Kyle Tucker in a deal for Kluber or Bauer due to the Indians’ desire to acquire some outfielders.

-Noah Syndergaard Trade?

Rumors have swirled around Syndergaard thus far, to the point where multiple teams have discussed players with the Mets however no deal has come to fruition. Since then, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen has made it known he doesn’t intend on dealing the Mets No.2 ace unless a massive offer comes along. Could he get dealt? The Padres have been the most aggressive team on Syndergaard yet Mets brass has insisted San Diego include one of Fernando Tatis Jr or Mackenzie Gore as part of a trade package that, unsurprisingly, the Padres don’t want to offer. The same teams listed above in the Kluber/Bauer section could be in on Syndergaard, but the Mets surely wouldn’t deal “Thor” to the Braves or Phillies. Don’t be surprised if he gets dealt despite Mets management saying they are unlikely to deal him.

-Does Dipoto Continue Dealing?

Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has been wheeling and dealing over the past several weeks, both building up the farm system and adding young, MLB ready talent. While Seattle has already dealt most of its top trade chips, could Dipoto still surprise us by biting on an offer for star outfielder Mitch Haniger or perhaps starter Marco Gonzales? We will find out this week. Jay Bruce, Carlos Santana, and other high priced veterans recently acquired have been talked about already too. Don’t underestimate dealin Dipoto, he always has something up his sleeve.

-Bryce Harper and Manny Machado Sweepstakes:

It’s not entirely known if Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado will sign at the winter meetings but if they do, expect record contracts like we’ve all predicted. It will surely be fascinating to see who will end up with one of these two(or even both).

-Yusei Kukuchi

He’s been posted by his home team in Japan, and while it’s unlikely he signs during the meetings, whoever wins the bidding for his services will surely be adding a quality, young starter who can slot in well in any big league rotation. Expect west coast teams to have the most interest.

There will be A LOT more moves this week, including plenty of free agent signings(at least we hope due to last year’s free agent freeze), and trades will flow in with notable players such as Zack Greinke, J.T. Realmuto, and Madison Bumgarner potentially being dealt this week. It will make for another fascinating week this hot stove season so stay tuned and feel free to continue the discussion with your comments below!

Reds Interested In Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer

The Cincinnati Reds are on a quest this offseason to add to their starting pitching staff and have continued to look just about everywhere for available options. The team has already shown interest in starters such as Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, and trade candidate Sonny Gray. But now they are interested in a couple of other high profile trade candidates.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi says the Reds are open to a blockbuster trade that would send either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati, but also cautions that there hasn’t been progress on any deal to this point.

Obviously this would be a huge development if the Reds and Indians were to come together on a trade this significant, but the Reds need starters and the Indians are looking to cut payroll and have shown an interest in trading one of their top starters for immediate and lower-cost help on other parts of the big-league roster.

The Indians are looking for outfielders and bullpen help so the Reds would have to be willing to sacrifice in one of those areas to make a trade possible.