Cleveland Indians: 5 outfielders the Tribe should trade for
By Chad Porto
Kyle Schwarber
It seems unlikely Kyle Schwarber is going to get paid big money in 2021. The MLB is not going to be spending a lot of big money, and even before the pandemic hit, teams weren’t spending that much money. Schwarber also isn’t someone who deserves a huge contract either.
He’s got crazy power, admittedly. He’s also got a crazy bad average. He’s a career .235 hitter, but he’s been averaging over 30 home runs over his last three years. He isn’t known as a heavy RBI guy, two years of 59, and 61 RBI’s respectively (before having 93 last year) but that isn’t a big issue for the Indians as just his sheer presence in the lineup could cause a team to think twice about walking someone like Franmil Reyes or Francisco Lindor.
Schwarber’s pending free agency does hurt the desire to trade Mike Clevinger or Adam Plesac for him, so who knows what you’d have to give up to get Schwarber in Cleveland but his lack of contact and pending free agency may mean that you won’t need to give up one of the two embattled pitchers.
Ideally, you’d want an outfielder who’s controllable for at least two additional seasons and isn’t someone you have to worry about making consistent contact with the ball. Yet, Plesac and Clevinger are not welcomed back by their teammates, and the team is in desperate need of someone who can impact the offense and protect Reyes. So maybe it’s worth taking a shot. As long as he agrees to a contract extension before a trade is done.