Cleveland Baseball Fantasy Trade Thread

[Steve_424]

Created to share ideas on what you would do if you were the Cleveland Front Office!

 

[sportscoach]

Well Eric Haase just got waived, so I would pick him up just for depth reasons, but I would then try to outright him later.

First off, We have to move Lindor, but the question is to who?

I really like what I could get back from Toronto, and I dont think any FO knows better than Shapiro about Lindor. IF he feels he can legitimately resign Lindor, he will make the move for him, plus he does have a good core already in place, without the large contracts. He would be able to keep his team together long term and should have a great lineup overall.

Trade I propose would be Francisco Lindor, Tristan McKenzie, plus a PTBNL for 2B/OF Guirrel, RHP Julian Merryweather, 3B Josh Groshans, RHP Kloffenstein/Woods-Richardson, INF/OF Otto Lopez and C Riley Adams.

I personally like McKenzie's talent and potential, but I don't like his drop off in velocity last season, but he is 6 years younger than Merryweather and neither Kloffenstein nor Woods Richardson have seen MLB playing time.

Next, on paper we need to move Carrasco's contract. IF I am moving him, it would be to Tampa since they have the players we need in the short term and long term. Also I know people are like, Rays don't do big contracts, blah blah blah, but why did they go get Morton a few seasons ago for a heftier contract, but a similar structured contract to Carrasco has in free agency? Also we have made a bunch of trades with them before, so I could see them making a deal that makes sense on both sides in the long term.

Trade I would propose would be Carrasco, Vargas and SS Angel Martinez, plus cash for INF Xavier Edwards, LHP Shane McClanahan, OF Randy Arozarena, LHP Josh Fleming.

Next I would try to outright Haase and Taylor, but give the minor league invite to spring training. We need catching depth so that would good to keep them. I would also bring in Left handed pitchers, other catchers, try to get Mike Freeman back into camp, plus get the best possible veterans on minor league deals regardless of position (15-20 guys). Since I sent cash in the Carrasco trade, I would not be signing any major league free agents this season. Also getting McClanahan, Arozarena and Fleming is worth spending some cash on.

40 man roster would be:​

	Pitchers​
LHP Logan Allen	RHP Jordan Humphreys	LHP Scott Moss
RHP Shane Bieber	RHP James Karinchak	LHP Kyle Nelson
RHP Aaron Civale	RHP Phil Maton	RHP Zach Plesac
RHP Emmanuel Clase	LHP Shane McClanahan	RHP Adam Plutko
LHP Josh Fleming	RHP Jean Carlos Mejía	RHP Cal Quantrill
LHP Sam Hentges	RHP Julian Merryweather	RHP Trevor Stephan
RHP Cam Hill	RHP Eli Morgan	RHP Nick Wittgren

Catchers	INF/OF	Infielders	Outfielders
Austin Hedges	Jake Bauers	Gabriel Arias	Randy Arozarena
Roberto Pérez	Lourdes Guirrel Jr	Bobby Bradley	Daniel Johnson
Riley Adams	Nolan Jones	Yu Chang	Jordan Luplow
	Otto Lopez	Ernie Clement	Oscar Mercado
	Josh Naylor	José Ramírez	Bradley Zimmer
	Franmil Reyes

NRI Guys
​

C Eric Haase	INF Andruw Monasterio	RHP Kloffenstein/Woods-Richardson	LHP Juan Hillman
C Beau Taylor	INF Xavier Edwards	RHP Jordan Stephens	LHP Tanner Tully
C Bo Naylor	INF Josh Groshans	RHP Nick Sandlin	LHP Kirk McCarty
C Gavin Collins	Util Mike Freeman	RHP Cody Morris	LHP Anthony Gose
INF Owen Miller	Util Tyler Krieger	RHP Robert Broom	LHP Adam Scott
INF Tyler Freeman	OF Connor Marabell	RHP Kyle Dowdy	LHP Joey Cantillo
INF Tyler Friis	OF Mitch Longo
INF Jose Fermin	OF Mitch Reeves

Then Another 1-2 veteran FA catchers
3-4 veteran FA INFs + 3-4 Veteran OFs
3-4 LHP FA veterans + 5-6 RHP FA veterans.

Sandlin replaces Plutko, Owen Miller replaces Zimmer on final 40 man roster via my predictions. Plutko and Zimmer both get acquired by other rosters. I still want a veteran Closer, but I dont see us being able to afford one right now, but we may move for one in season if guys arent effective.

25 man roster
Starting Rotation:
Bieber, Plesac, Civale, Merryweather, Quantrill/Fleming

Bullpen:
Quantrill/Fleming (long man/spot starter), McClanahan, Nelson, Clase, Wittgren, Karinchak, Stephan, Sandlin

Starting lineup position:
1B Naylor, 2B Miller, SS Chang, 3B Ramirez, LF Guirrel, CF Mercado, RF Arozarena, C Perez, DH Reyes

Bench
INF Clement, OF Johnson, OF Luplow, C Hedges

 

[sportscoach]

@Gson

Using the trade simulator you gave me in the other thread, Lindor for Guirrel, Adams, Kloffenstein, Lopez and Merryweather is very feasible

You would have to do Lindor and Plesac if you wanted to get Guirrel, Adams, Groshans, Manoah, Merryweather and Lopez. McKenzie is worth 20 something points will Plesac is 50 something.

Groshan has a value of 40 which is higher than lindors at 36 lol

For my second trade....

Its not even feasible, its like 15 to 100 via that thing, Carrasco has absolutely no value at all.

 

[sportscoach]

@EdMonix11 @MadThinker88 @Steve_424

What do you think the Indians should do going forward this offseason?

 

[MadThinker88]

@sportscoach

I'm still in a wait & see position. A move made in one area (say trading Lindor) might require or cancel a needed move in another area depending on the full deal/ return.

I was catching up on a podcast while clearing some snow this morning and a point was made that I hadn't considered.
Moving Lindor might be necessary for payroll concerns but if the Tribe isn't getting good enough value, the FO might then decide to keep Lindor (@$20M) & then move Carassco & Roberto Perez (@a combined $17.5M) to make up for the payroll issue. The Tribe won't keep all 3 players/ salaries but it doesn't need to move all 3 either.

At this very moment the Tribe has internal options for filling a rotation spot (if Cookie is dealt) or a single MIF spot (if Lindor isnt traded this offseason). Catching depth is lacking in the higher minors. Whether keeping or trading RPerez, Tribe still needs at least 2 catchers to be added for filling out depth/ spots in upper minors. Bringing back Eric Haase or Tony Wolters might be a good move for pairing w/ Beau Taylor in Columbus.

I know many fans are expecting Nolan Jones in the majors during the 2021 season. I suspect he will appear but I doubt he appears during the 1st 6 weeks plus of the season. The Tribe will be wary of the Super 2 designation & they will try to get Jones some AAA action before bringing him up to the majors. That provides a window of time for Daniel Johnson/ Zimmer/ Mercado & others to put up or shut up..

Johnson/ Luplow can platoon in RF while Zimmer/ Mercado can platoon in CF. LF/1B/DH can be filled be some combination of Reyes/ Josh Naylor/ Jake Bauers/ Bobby Bradley/ bargain bin FA signing or return from a deal that gets made.. I would be intrigued by an Adam Duvall signing as he normally performs better vs lefties but can hold his own in regular daily playing time.

Many fans will not be happy with this approach but I am very interested in seeing Tyler Freeman & others making debuts in late 2021 & in 2022 (if there is a season with the CBA/ labor concerns) & I do not want to add more road blocks or risk losing more talent via the upcoming Rule 5 drafts.

 

[Gson]

@MadThinker88 Interesting take...

Many parts of your comment I would agree without prejudice.. The fiscal sanity is a huge factor for this team.. The Tribe needs to move the Lindor Salary..or at least most of it.. Your suggestion of Beto and Cookie get that done.. So.. there is agreement on the fiscal sanity side..

I disagree that Carrasco would be moved.. and here's where we really diverge.. I think Carrasco never gets traded..ever. His last contract as an Indian is his current contract. The Indians won't offer another year.. or another penny.. and may not pick up his option.. but he's going to remain an Indian for the rest of his baseball life, imho..

With respect to Nolan Jones.. absolutely agree.. When is the cutoff for super two?.. May 18th or perhaps 50 games into the season, whichever comes later?.. Before then.. we won't see him at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario..

The year of just working on his game: Freeman and Owen both get full marks for this.. It would surprise me to see Freeman break camp.. but, it's a long shot.. Someone said Yu Chang if there's one infield spot open via trade and I agree with that.. If there's more than one.. then we'll see...

Thoughts?..

 

[CDAV45]

@sportscoach

I'm still in a wait & see position. A move made in one area (say trading Lindor) might require or cancel a needed move in another area depending on the full deal/ return.

I was catching up on a podcast while clearing some snow this morning and a point was made that I hadn't considered.
Moving Lindor might be necessary for payroll concerns but if the Tribe isn't getting good enough value, the FO might then decide to keep Lindor (@$20M) & then move Carassco & Roberto Perez (@a combined $17.5M) to make up for the payroll issue. The Tribe won't keep all 3 players/ salaries but it doesn't need to move all 3 either.

At this very moment the Tribe has internal options for filling a rotation spot (if Cookie is dealt) or a single MIF spot (if Lindor isnt traded this offseason). Catching depth is lacking in the higher minors. Whether keeping or trading RPerez, Tribe still needs at least 2 catchers to be added for filling out depth/ spots in upper minors. Bringing back Eric Haase or Tony Wolters might be a good move for pairing w/ Beau Taylor in Columbus.

I know many fans are expecting Nolan Jones in the majors during the 2021 season. I suspect he will appear but I doubt he appears during the 1st 6 weeks plus of the season. The Tribe will be wary of the Super 2 designation & they will try to get Jones some AAA action before bringing him up to the majors. That provides a window of time for Daniel Johnson/ Zimmer/ Mercado & others to put up or shut up..

Johnson/ Luplow can platoon in RF while Zimmer/ Mercado can platoon in CF. LF/1B/DH can be filled be some combination of Reyes/ Josh Naylor/ Jake Bauers/ Bobby Bradley/ bargain bin FA signing or return from a deal that gets made.. I would be intrigued by an Adam Duvall signing as he normally performs better vs lefties but can hold his own in regular daily playing time.

Many fans will not be happy with this approach but I am very interested in seeing Tyler Freeman & others making debuts in late 2021 & in 2022 (if there is a season with the CBA/ labor concerns) & I do not want to add more road blocks or risk losing more talent via the upcoming Rule 5 drafts.

We're all in "wait and see" mode because there are no other options. What we would like to "see" is the discussion, and obviously there are many different ideas. I would agree with you Mad that a Duvall signing would be intriguing. I would have rather signed Renfroe, but beggars can't be choosy. I would think that a corner OFer would be returned in any trade so signing Duvall might not be needed.

Eric Haase working with our AAA pitching staff would be a plus for us and he would be a good backup behind Hedges. Offensively, their very similar. Defensively, Hedges is a bit better, but Haase is good. I swear to God if they sign him he'll be back in my avatar. Wolters might be a good pick up and a better option than Haase.

Something that has been touched upon, but not really discussed in detail is the effect of Reyes possibly playing either corner OF or 1B. I wanted him to start working with the shovel last season, but better late than never. It's difficult to believe he cannot at least become serviceable with the 1B mitt. If he can then that opens up a few more avenues to improve this lineup. For now, we'll assume that he is not going to play any 1B.

I think this team is quickly becoming to LH heavy. With that in mind, I would rather see a Johnson/Mercado platoon in CF, Naylor/Reyes in LF, and maybe a Luplow/Jones platoon in RF. If Jones isn't ready then maybe platoon Bauers and Luplow. I'd like to see both Zimmer and Bauers replaced with a RHH and Duvall would be a legitimate option if one is not acquired through a trade. Should Johnson falter then Mercado takes on the full time duties. Should he falter then we're f'd.

I don't believe for one second that Lindor will be with the Cleveland baseball team for the 21 season. Considering that, I'm not convinced that Freeman is a good SS even if his bat is ready. The same for Miller. Chang is likely the go to man to replace Lindor and he is a fringe prospect himself. What we need is a stopgap until one of Arias or Rocchio are ready to take over. Someone like Swanson would be a perfect fit for that IMO, but there is a legitimate argument that Chang should be given an opportunity. I would prefer that Chang, Freeman, and Miller battle it out for 2B and UIF duties.

I don't like this approach and I don't think that trading any or all of Lindor, Ramirez, and Carrasco has to constitute a "rebuild". The returns would make that determination IMO. It's just too damn bad that we couldn't keep the IF we had last season intact and trade from our pitching and prospect depth to acquire a corner OFer. Wish in one hand...............