Cleveland Indians: 5 trade deadline proposals Tribe must consider

1. Yasiel Puig for mid- to low-level prospects

Yasiel Puig is a “name,” which may come as a surprise as the Indians are usually bargain shopping around the trade deadline.

And while yes, the Dolan ownership slashed payroll this offseason, the front office does have a track record of taking on money if the team is “going for it.”

It may take a couple more weeks of winning baseball before the front office commits to truly making a postseason push, but if they ultimately decide they’re contenders, Puig should be a target.

Yes, he’s making $9.7 million, but he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year. The Tribe would be on the hook for two months of his salary.

Adding Puig would be slimier to what the Tribe did back in 2017, when ownership took on money, about $3.5 million, if memory serves me right, to take on Jay Bruce.

Bruce had some valuable moments down the stretch as the Indians won a AL best 22-straight games.

Tribe fans just saw Puig absolutely crush a ball during the Tribe’s recent two-game series in Cincinnati.

Puig’s posted a 1.1 WAR and is batting .257 with a .797 OPS. He has 20 homers and 21 doubles.

By adding Puig, the Tribe would have an every day right fielder, allowing Terry Francona to keep Oscar Mercado in center while working a platoon of Tyler Naquin and Jordan Luplow in left.