Cleveland Indians Trade Talk: Yankees Reliever Andrew Miller For Cody Anderson And Francisco Mejia?

In Cleveland Indians trade talk, I debate the idea of a rumor floating around the internet that the Indians would move top prospects Cody Anderson and Francisco Mejia to the New York Yankees for reliever Andrew Miller.

Online news outlet The Lake County Sentinel is reporting a source informed them that the Cleveland Indians are working on a trade that would send prospects Cody Anderson and Fransisco Mejia to the Yankees for Andrew Miller.

If this rumor turns out to be true, the Indians will be getting some top-notch, back-of-the bullpen help that will only increase the franchise’s chances of winning its first World Series since 1948.

Miller is coming off his first All-Star nod and is the second year of a four-year, $36 million contract he signed with New York prior to the 2015 campaign. The 6-foot-7 left-hander has a 1.13 ERA and he’s tallied a whopping 70 strikeouts in just 40 1/3 innings.

“Throwing with the wrong hand” is especially important when considering adding Miller because the Indians don’t have any southpaws in the pen to speak of.

His presence on the team would allow the Indians to make every contest a six-inning game. Considering the Tribe boasts the best starting rotation going in MLB these days, that’s a deal Tribe fans would take every day of the week.

Manager Terry Francona would have the option of juggling Miller and Bryan Shaw in the seventh and eighth innings, with Cody Allen ready to bring the hammer down in the ninth.

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After a rocky start, Shaw has looked like the Shaw of old, as he’s thrown 13 scoreless innings while he’s posted a 1.78 ERA over the past three months.

Allen has 19 saves and has fanned 50 in 40 2/3 innings.

Now, a look at the prospects.

Cleveland loves their farmhands, especially when they’re pitchers, such as Anderson, and elite level catching prospects, such as Mejia.

As Tribe fans learned last winter, the Indians are very reluctant to trade any of their starting pitching. Considering how frequently pitchers get hurt these days, it’s not a bad philosophy to have.

But with Josh Tomlin having a career year and Mike Clevinger poised to join the rotation soon sometime in the near future, Anderson is expendable.

He impressed us all in 2015 when he posted a 3.09 ERA in 15 starts. He helped solidify the fifth spot in the rotation, and he appeared poised to hold onto the job in 2016. Unfortunately, everything doesn’t always go as planned.

MLB batters adjusted to Anderson, and has yet to show he can adjust accordingly. To be fair, Anderson has dealt with some injuries this season. Hey may still turn out to be a very good pitcher.

Mejia just competed for the World during the MLB All-Star break as a participant in the Futures Game.

Mejia was recently promoted to Class A Lynchburg after tearing up the Low-A Midwest League with the Lake County Captains. With the Captains, Mejia batted .347 with seven home runs and a .915 OPS. In 12 games with Lynchburg, he’s slashing .333/.333/.500.

He’s only 20, and it looks like he’ll keep rising up the prospect rankings before making his MLB debut three years from now.

Next: 5 Indians Top Prospects Deserving Of A Promotion

But you’ve got to give something, to get something, and Miller makes the Indians a more complete team. Plus he’s under contract at a reasonable price for the next couple of seasons. Should this deal present itself, the Indians need to find a way to get a trade done.