Cleveland Indians: 5 trade destinations for Mike Clevinger or Zach Plesac

Five trade destinations for the Cleveland Indians and Mike Clevinger or Zach Plesac.

For the first three weeks of this weird, shortened 2020 season, the Cleveland Indians had the best rotation in baseball

Now, trade talk is dominating the staff as starters Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac deal with the fallout of breaking curfew and violating team rules during a road trip to Chicago. In Clevinger’s case, he withheld that he was out and continued to hang around the team–a decision that rightfully irritated some of his teammates as the COVID-19 pandemic weights on their minds.

Truthfully, even before Clevinger’s misstep, the Tribe was going to probably look at trading him in the very near future, much like they did with Trevor Bauer. Clevinger is making $4.1 this season. He has two years of arbitration remaining.

Arbitration prices are skyrocketing, and the fiscal conservative Tribe is always looking down the road. Trading Clev this upcoming offseason will give his new team two years of control. If the Tribe were to keep him after 2021, they probably wouldn’t get a ton in return for a player who could walk after 2022.

Now, Clevinger could potentially help a team for three postseasons. He’s a valuable commodity, and that’s putting it lightly. He could be an ace on a chunk of teams, so with that in mind, here’s five trade destinations for Clevinger.

While Zach Plesac could be lumped in here, too, I’m looking for the Tribe to keep him around, unless he really becomes a problem. Time heals all wounds, and the cheaper Plesac will get his second chance.