Cleveland Indians: 6 moves Tribe should make to win World Series in 2020
1. Use the arms and get an outfielder
You can never have a surplus of pitching. That said, the Indians need to use one of their extra arms to bolster their outfield.
The front office failed to do it last offseason and it’s one of the reasons the Tribe is sitting home watching the postseason on TV.
Chris Antoneti and Mike Chernoff finally got around to making the outfield upgrades at the end of July, adding Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig. The Indians would like Reyes to play more outfield. If Albert Belle can play one of the corner spots, Reyes can do it, too.
While Puig will get headlines for leaving, I’d argue the Indians are hurt more by the loss of Tyler Naquin, who injured his ACL a few weeks back. Naquin has really shown he can hit and losing him for most of 2020 hurts.
Jordan Luplow also deserves playing time. The Tribe thought he was someone who needed a chance when they picked him up from Pittsburgh. They were right. Luplow hit .320 with 14 homers and a 1.181 OPS against lefties. I call him the Babe Ruth of platoon players.
Assuming Oscar Mercado starts in center, while Reyes gets time in right, the Indians will probably also look for Bradley Zimmer to claim a spot. The former first-round pick was kept out over a year because of a shoulder injury. He came back to collect 13 at-bats toward the end of this season.
If the Tribe is serious about contending, they can’t rely on “What if,” though. That means swinging a trade and have they have the pitchers to make something happen.
Clevinger and Bieber would be untouchable. But Aaron Civale, Adam Plutko and Zach Plesac should draw plenty of interest.
Why would I so cavalierly trade one to these three young arms? The Indians have more depth coming through the minors.
Remember Jefry Rodriguez, the pitcher who actually made a few starts earlier this year after being acquired in the Yan Gomes deal? He’s reportedly healthy now.
There’s also Adam Scott, a fourth-round pick in 2018. He’s not a major prospect, but the Indians reportedly really like him.
Scott Moss, acquired in the Reyes,-Puig-Trevor Bauer trade, also figures to be big-league ready soon. Logan Allen, picked up in the same deal, is a name your’ going to hear, as well. He was a highly regarded prospect the Padres rushed to the majors. The Indians seem more than happy to re-tool his mechanics.
The point is the Tribe has arms to trade and help can be added to the outfield. Hopefully the front office doesn’t wait. Those games in April and May do count, as we were reminded this October.
What would I do? The Indians should call the Yankees about Clint Frazier who hit .267 (.806 OPS) in 246 plate appearances. Or, maybe even Kyle Schwarber should be an option. The Indians should trying to win the World Series in the next two years (more on that later), which coincides with the final two years of Schwarber’s arbitration years.