Cleveland Indians rumors: Reds trade talks continue after Winter Meetings

In Cleveland Indians rumors, the Tribe and the Cincinnati Reds continue to talk trade, even after the conclusion of the Winter Meetings.

The notion the Cleveland Indians were done talking trade had to be non sense. Yeah the front office met the goal of slashing payroll, but with the outfield still resembling a hot mess, something had a to give.

And now MLB.com’s Jon Morosi has given us something to re-heat our hot stove by tweeting the Tribe and Reds have continued talks around Corey Kluber.

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The name of Cincinnati’s No. 1 prospect, Nick Senzel appeared in the tweet, as the did one of the stars of last season’s Future’s Game, outfielder Taylor Trammell.

The Reds are desperate for striating pitching and lost even more leverage when free agent Matt Harvey signed with the Angels.

Senzel’s MLB debut is nearing, and judging off his minor-league stats, all the guy has ever done is hit. He’s a lifetime .314 hitter (.903 OPS) in three minor-league seasons.

Trammell reminds me a lot of a player the Tribe just lost in Michael Brantley. He’s a smooth operator at the plate who plays left field. Like Brantley, he didn’t hit a ton of home runs, however, unlike Brantley, he could develop more power through time.

The downside to Trammel is that he’s poised to start the season at the Class AA level.

If this is the package the Indians are considering though, perhaps Senzel stays at third (he can also play first), while Jose Ramirez stands pat at second and Jason Kipnis stays in the outfield.

Kipnis recently revealed that the Indians told him to prepare for the outfield as he trans this winter. It’s easy to say no one could’ve predicted the Tribe trading Yandy Diaz, but perhaps Chris Antonetti and the gang envisioned Kip in the outfield with a newly minted infield as a more viable alternative.

Some form of Kipnis, Jake Bauers and Leonys Martin would be tased with handling the outfield, while Tyler Paquin and Bradley Zimmer (when healthy) get opportunities to finally seize a spot.

You’re right. That doesn’t scream World Series contender. But it’s something, considering an infield of Senzel, Lindor, Ramirez and Santana would look pretty darn good.

I’d feel better about this proposed trade if current Reds’ right fielder Jesse Winkler, 25, was attached. He was injured last season, so over the course of two seasons, he’s played a total of 136 games, batting. 299 (.857 OPS) with 14 homers and 58 RBIs.

Next. Clock ticking on Tribe, Brantley signs with Astros. dark

The Reds and Indians have a history of making moves. The three-team trade, which involved Cincy and brought Trevor Bauer to Cleveland from Arizona was conceived at the 2013 Winter Meetings. The deal was concluded weeks later.

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