Cleveland Indians trade talk: Need for a bat not as great

The Cleveland Indians continue to surprise in June, but a trade that involves adding a position player who can hit to the roster looks unlikely.

The Cleveland Indians are in the playoff picture, whether you think they can continue cutting away at the Twins’ division lead, or sneak in as a Wild Card.

With contention comes trade possibilities, but thanks to the play of Oscar Mercado and Bobby Bradley, perhaps the front office doesn’t feel the need for a bat is all that great.

Lineups during the first two months of the season were some of the worst Indians’ fans have seen since the early part of the decade when Shelly Duncan and David Dellucci were on the roster.

Eno Sarris wrote the following for The Athletic regarding the Tribe’s potential need for a bat:

"“The lineup has some upside and doesn’t look as terrible at the bottom as it did earlier this season. By projections, the team should now have seven players with above-average numbers going forward, and that doesn’t count the surging Bradley and Mercado, who have shown more power this year.”"

Sarris threw out the name of Tigers outfielder Nick Castellanos, who has a 0.8 WAR to go along with his .273 average (.789 OPS).

Castellanos, who can be a free agent at season’s end, would’ve been a Godsend back in April, however, Sarris made the argument that three baseball Bradley has put in play, he’s already knocked as many 110 mile-per-hour exit velocity balls as Castellanos has all year.

He concluded that based on projections, the Indians should now have seven players with “above-average numbers” for the rest of the 2019 campaign, and that doesn’t even could Bradley and Mercado.

“Maybe their internal additions mean the Indians don’t need a bat as much as it once seemed?” Sarris wrote.

You can certainly take what you will from Sarris’ opinion on the Tribe’s lineup. There’s no doubt it’s been way better of late as Jason Kipnis is playing like it’s his All-Star season of 2015, while even Jose Ramirez has been a tick better.

However, I’d argue the Indians probably aren’t looking to take on money or give away too many prospects in a deal to acquire a bat.

Castellanos is making $9.5 million this season. Too rich for the Indians right now, based off what they did in the offseason. The front office spent the entire offseason slashing payroll. The Tribe seems content to ride out the season with what they have and if it turns into a postseason appearance, then great.

It’s not the approach I’d take with the Francisco Lindor window closing, but don’t shoot the messenger.

From the Tigers’ perspective, I wonder what Castellanos would be worth now that he’ll be a three-month rental. With Detroit rebuilding, it would’ve made since to trade him sooner.

As for the Indians, let the young guys play. Mercado has been a revelation. Bradley’s sample size is so small, but how can Tribe fans not get excited.

At the very least, the 2019 Indians can now offer hope, which is something that didn’t exist in April and May.