Cleveland Indians trade rumors: Trevor Bauer is New York Yankees’ 2nd choice

With the MLB trade deadline approaching, Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer is the second choice of the New York Yankees.

Will the Cleveland Indians trade Trevor Bauer? The New York Yankees are interested, but according to baseball writer/podcaster Jon Heyman.

However, the notion of the Mets trading their top pitcher across town to the Bronx is about as likely as the Indians doling out a $300 million contract this offseason. It’s just not going to happen.

That bumps Bauer up in the Yankees’ pecking order.

That’s all well and good, but the Tribe’s willingness to make a trade looks more and more unlikely with each victory the Tribe hangs up in the win column.

As of Tuesday, the Indians are only 3.0 games back of the Twins in the AL Central and are head of the Rays and A’s for the No. 1 Wild Card spot.

Heyman said the following on his Big Time Baseball podcast (7:09).

"“Bauer is the next guy on their list…the chances of him being traded are diminishing as the Indians draw closer to the Twins, but they’re listening and we’ll see about that. But i he’s their No. 2 guy, probably the first guy with a realistic, some chance of being traded to the Yankees.”"

The truth remains that right now, Bauer is the Tribe’s most established starter and moving him could make waves in the Tribe’s clubhouse. The clubhouse could not see the organization as “committed” if the front office trades away one of its best assets.

Corey Kluber (broken arm) is throwing bullpen sessions, and Carlos Carrasco (Leukemia) continues to throw, although it’s uncertain if he’ll play again this season.

That leaves Bauer to front the rotation behind Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Zach Please and Adam Pluto.

Speaking of Carrasco, the 2019 Indians have truly come together as a team rallying behind Cookie. The powerful women that the All-Star Game with Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Bieber and Terry Francona standing along side Carrasco on the third base line was a moment that will never be forgotten.

The team’s also started wearing, “I stand with Cookie” shirts, as they support their teammate’s battle against cancer.

The point is these Indians have found something to play that’s bigger than baseball.

It was evident on June 5, when the Indians announced Carrasco was going on the IL with a blood disease.

The Tribe played the Twins that day and got behind early, trailing 4-1 after two innings. You could see it in their eyes. They knew what Carrasco was facing. And then something clicked.

Roberto Perez gave the Indians the lead with a home run in the bottom of the seventh of that contest and the Tribe hasn’t slowed down since, going 28-11 since.

You can’t measure this stuff with sabermetrics and analytics, but you can’t argue with results. This team has chemistry and the idea of messing with it would qualify as crazy.

Plus, Bauer can be dealt in the offseason. No, he won’t carry as much value as he will right now, but the Indians should still be able to get a decent return.