Trade rumors involving the Cleveland Indians and LA Angels surrounding Corey Kluber are underwhelming, if you’re a Tribe fan, that is.
The Los Angeles Angles are reportedly seeking to acquire Corey Kluber and are in trade talks with the Cleveland Indians.
The report comes from longtime Tribe scribe Paul Hoynes, of Cleveland.com.
Hoynes listed pitcher Patrick Sandoval, middle infielder Luis Rengifo and outfielder Trent Deveaux as three players who’ve piqued the Tribe’s interest.
It’s that’s the list the Tribe desires, it’s an underwhelming return for a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
Sandoval made it to the big leagues last year and actually pitched against the Tribe. Â On the Major League level, he was 0-4 with a 5.03 ERA. Sandoval pitched in 10 games and posted a 5.03 ERA, while striking out 42 batters in 39.1 innings.
He wasn’t that much better in the minors during the 2019 campaign. He went 4-7 with a  5.71 ERA in 20 appearances, which included 19 starts. He struck out 98 in 80.1 innings.
Hoynes noted that Sandoval would still be considered a rookie in 2020 because he didn’t log enough big-league time last season. Baseball America ranked him as the Angels 12th best prospect prior to the beginning of last season.
Rengifo hit .238 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in 357 at-bats a season ago. Â He hits from both side of the plate and would probably have the leg up in the competition to replace Jason Kipnis at second base.
He’s only played 108 big-league games and posted a .281 career average in the minors. Baseball America ranked him as the Angels sixth rated prospect entering last season.
Deveaux just wrapped up his first season in rookie ball. Baseball America ranked him as the Angels 22nd prospect entering the 2019 campaign.
Kluber appeared in just five games last season before being shelved with an injury, so his trade value isn’t what you might expect it to be.
The Indians are almost always looking to shed salary, though, and they’d be shaving off $17 million off the payroll next season by adding any combination of the aforementioned Angels prospects.
To hear these prospects linked to Kluber indicates how other front offices view his value. Plus, with the Indians flexing strength in its starting pitching depth, Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff may feel this type of return is acceptable.
None of the Angel prospects listed are among the top 100 prospects in baseball. In fact, only one Angel appears on the list: outfielder Jo Adell.
Considering how underwhelming the return would be, perhaps it would behoove the Indians to let Kluber pitch. Now that he’s healthy, he should be able to restore some value before the trade deadline.
And, as the Indians showed a season ago, they aren’t afraid to deal a key cog of their rotation, even when they’re in contention.
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