Cleveland Indians: 3 moves they need to make before the trade deadline

Trade Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger

It’s pretty clear their teammates want nothing to do with Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger after their selfish antics made them public enemy number one in the clubhouse. Neither man had the guts to speak up and tell the truth when they returned from galavanting around Chicago, all in the face of the rules laid down by the MLB and the Indians team. The team will not forget that.

There is no way the team will be ok with either man returning when it’s so obvious they don’t have any concern for the health and well being of anyone else. The only recourse is to trade them.

That doesn’t mean you should just trade them to trade them, however. Clevinger is good enough to snatch you a top prospect and a starting outfielder and that should be priority one for the club; flipping Clevinger for a prospect and a starting outfielder. The Angels make sense. They have a good outfield prospect in Brandon Marsh. He’s a year or two away from being ready for the majors but you could go get Brian Goodwin in the same trade.

With Plesac, you’re not going to get the same value, despite him being younger. Clevinger is still a fairly young commodity with history to show what he’s able to offer. Plesac is having a good season in 2020 but it’s his first and only “good” season of his career. Teams know that and despite his potential, there may not be the same market for him. He can still bring in someone to help, however. Maybe a fifth level starter for the rotation, a veteran outfielder, and a few lower-A prospects. You probably won’t land a Marsh-level prospect with Plesac but who knows?