Cleveland Indians rumors: Tribe may be asking Dodgers for Cody Bellinger

In Cleveland Indians rumors, the Tribe is talking to the Dodgers about a potential trade, and the team may be asking for All-Star Cody Bellinger in return.

Cleveland Indians rumors are sure to catch fire after Carlos Carrasco signed his three-year, $37.5 million contract extension.

As you’d expect, Carrasco isn’t going anywhere and the Tribe appears “motivated” to ship either Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer in a trade to re-tool the lineup.

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“Movtivated” isn’t my word, rather the verbiage of MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.

• The Cleveland Indians and LA Dodgers have been tied together in trade rumors for weeks.

The Indians have a minor surplus of starting pitchers, which would help the Dodgers, while LA has outfielders to swap.

For weeks I’ve been writing about a package that starts with LA’s No. 1 prospect, Alex Verdugo. He’s 22 and has already collected over 700 minor-league at-bats. He’s ready for the show.

A package featuring Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood has also been reported, but those players aren’t enough, according to FanCred’s Jon Heyman.

The Indians are likely one of the team’s asking for Cody Bellinger in a trade, but the Dodgers are hesitant to deal their All-Star outfielder according to Heyman.

You can understand why the Tribe might favor Bellinger in a trade. He’s young, but already a proven commodity at the big-league level.

He made the All-Star team as a rookie, who went onto hit 37 homers during the 2017 campaign. His power was down last season, but he still crushed 25 homers while posting an .814 OPS.

If anything, this nugget may provide a glimpse into the value the Indians pace on Kluber. Forget young guys who are ready to play who may be good. If this rumor is true, president Chris Anontetti wants young talent that’s already balling out.

Considering Cleveland is picked to go to the postseason for the fourth straight year, this is what you would call, “Ideal.”

Let the Dodgers assume the risk with Verdugo. He looks like he’s going to be good, but there’s no guarantee. In Bellinger, the Indians would get someone who is established and is continuing to grow.

Bellinger is under club control through the 2023 season, so the Indians would receive five years of club control of a player whose already been an All-Star. You can see why the Dodgers might be hesitant to move him, even for an ace.

With that said, the Dodgers need to get over the hump in October, having lost the last two World Series. Having Corey Kluber may be able to help them do that.

• Heyman touched on on the Cincinnati Reds and Indians talking trade, which I believe will be something to watch during the Winter Meetings should the Tribe be unable to pull something off with LA.

The Reds are desperate for starting pitching and have enough money to lure one this year’s prized free agents to the Queen City.

It was rumored Cincinnati would wait to see how the free-agent market unfolded before seriously talking trade.

Since then, Nathan Eovaldi is returning to the Red Sox and Patrick Corbin signed with the Nationals. That leaves Dallas Keuchel as the only egg left in Cincinnati’s basket. They’ve courted him hard. If he spurns them, the Reds may have to talk trade, and they’ve got some intriguing prospects such as Hunter Greene and Taylor Trammell.

Next. Cavs: Five players who may be dealt next. dark

The only problem with those guys is that they’re far from being big-league ready.

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