Derek
Table Setter
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- Jan 10, 2009
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You must realize how tough it is to see your POV when you can’t even provide a single hypothetical trade that you wish had happened, right?You don’t see my POV? “Activity for the sake of activity” is working pretty well for TB, no? Their window of contention is going to last longer than the Tribe’s did.
I am not going to use hindsight to cherry-pick an example of what the Indians could have done differently. That’s not how it works.
It’s impossible to say the Indians could have traded for player X at any point in history. It’s simply a losing argument to get that specific given all the variables in play. That said, teams can address needs when motivated. To suggest there were no moves to make to better the big league club the last 3 years (2019 still being a contention year) is just not something I buy. Rather, the Indians weren’t motivated to make this kind of deal because they prefer making the other kind of deals more. And they have a hard time moving on from fringe players which prevents them from seeking actual upgrades
Instead, I’ll give you an example of what I would like to see this off season:
1) Trade for someone like I. Happ or L. Gurriel. If neither is available, find someone similar who is. Guys like this get dealt every off season. I’d even trade for 2 of them.
2) Trade Plesac to accomplish the above or for more prospect capital. He’s not long for the organization and i don’t see the point in delaying it.
3) If they move Plesac, trade for someone like John Means. Much like hitters leaving the Marlins have proven to be a trade opportunity, we have seen similar things with SP’s leaving behind Camden Yards. It’s time for a solid LHP in the Tribe’s rotation.
4) Stop with the Jake Bauers decision making process and move on from guys like Zimmers, Harold, and Mercado. Maybe they can keep 1, but enough overvaluing control at the cost of production.
I purposely do not mention specific prospects involved in these deals because that always kills the conversation. Someone always get hung up on their favorite prospect. It’s why folks once argued they wouldn’t trade B. Zimmer for Yelich. The Indians can acquire big league help without mortgaging the future. They have enough talent and depth to survive a few trades.
Literally, all you’ve told us is that the team needed to make more trading involving their own prospects. Can’t even tell us which prospects you wanted traded, and as I’ve stated before, we cleared out the upper levels pretty thoroughly during our contending years.
I never said that Tampa has made moves just to make them. They’ve made the moves they’ve needed to. Same as Cleveland has done.
What fringe players did they hold onto during their contention years? Our rosters were stacked.
Did you think this was a contention year? It was not. This was a year to find out what we had in some guys as we build toward our next window. You don’t need to bottom out to rebuild. Hell, everything that could go wrong this year, did, and we still won 80 games. Still, this was definitely a rebuilding year.
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