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What’s The Best Cleveland Indians All Time Deadline Trade?

By Ryan Rosko

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The 2015 MLB Trade Deadline has passed, and even though teams can still make waiver deals, the Cleveland Indians are probably done with trades this season. Again, for good reasons people were questioning the team’s moves. One popular opinion, of various forms was expressed late last week, and heading into the weekend. That opinion is when will the Cleveland Indians trade for talent that can benefit the team now?

I completely understand and agree. Cleveland fans have been used to seeing their team trade away talent for years, rather than acquiring talent prior to the trade deadline. Watching the Indians being a seller or staying pat more often than not can make their own fans have a negative attitude towards the team.

Who can blame them? Cleveland has had opportunities to improve the team in different ways, but because of various, and multiple of reasons those upgrades never occurred. The Indians already have a solid minor league system, why continue to ignore the big league team? There is a talented, young core of players playing in Cleveland, who would definitely appreciate any help for the now rather than the later.

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Despite not always agreeing with what the front office is doing, if one were to reminisce and think back on the different trade deadlines the Indians have made prior to the deadline over the years, then we would be reminded that the Tribe did well on some.

They did not do just well in the future, but for the present moment too. The FoS staff takes their own trip down memory lane for this edition of FoS Talk, as they express their favorite trade deadline deal and why it made an impact.

Jay Frierson

The obvious answer is the Bartolo Colon trade, but for me and it’s still slightly pending, is the trade when Jake Westbrook and Ryan Ludwick were traded to the Cardinals and we acquired the Klubot (Corey Kluber). I picked that trade because Kluber is the real deal and we have him as our ace for the next 4-5 years. Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Lee Stevens (never played) was a bit overrated to me.

Phillips is one of the best second baseman in Reds history and Sizemore had two good years, but became injury plagued and is now on his third team. Lee won a Cy Young, left Cleveland in the rear view and went to the World Series with the Phillies. It was great on paper, but it never benefited us. Kluber has the chance to be a huge difference maker for years to come. We just have to give him run support.

Joe Russo

It’s a pair of trades for me. In 2006, the Tribe convinced the Seattle Mariners to give up Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera for Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez. The separate deals came a month apart, but together represent one of the most lopsided transaction in recent Tribe history. Choo would go on the be an on-base machine and man right field for a few years while Cabrera provided All-Star level play for a time at shortstop. These two were big pieces of the success the Indians have had in the last decade.

Ric McElroy

How about the June 27th, 2002 trade with the then Montreal Expos? The Indians sent Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew to the Expos for Grady Sizemore, Brandon Philips, Cliff Lee and Lee Stevens. That was a month ahead of the deadline!

Kris Grimes

I too had to do some digging, and looked through many of the past trade deadline deals for the Tribe. So what was my favorite? It was the deal made on July 27th, 2007, when the Indians traded minor league C Max Ramirez to the Texas Rangers for CF Kenny Lofton.

Why? Well what else could be better than one of the greatest players in Indians history returning? As an icon and symbol of those great mid-late 90’s Indians teams, I got to see Kenny Lofton back in an Indians uniform and it gave me chills.

Sure he was older, maybe a bit slower, and now played left field, but the trade brought me back to being a young teenager. I had fond memories of Kenny Lofton leading off a game, getting a base hit, stealing second, and then scoring on a base hit up the middle. He was the prototypical lead-off hitter, and he was back. I couldn’t believe it.

Lofton really helped solidify that 2007 team. The move allowed the Indians to have Lofton’s speed and ability to hit for average helped to solidify the bottom of the lineup and get runners on base for the top of the order. This made lineup more versatile & if it weren’t for a complete meltdown of the pitching staff up 3 games to 1 on Boston in the ALCS, who knows what that team could have done in the World Series.

Ryan Rosko

I have liked a lot of trades the team has made, but not necessarily just prior to the trade deadline. There were some that I really like such as the Kluber and Colon deals, but one that could be underrated is the July 26th, 2008 trade. On that day, the Tribe sent 3B Casey Blake to the LA Dodgers for P Jon Meloan and 1B/DH Carlos Santana. I know Santana has not played up to his ability, but if he can make the needed adjustments sooner rather than later, he is still young enough to be a very special player for the Tribe.

Next: Lonnie Chisenhall Needs To Show Cleveland Indians Improvement

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