Five ways the trade of Mike Clevinger to the Padres will impact the Cleveland Indians.
The Cleveland Indians really did it. I mean, they actually did it. Despite being in first place, the Tribe traded front-of-the-rotation arm Mike Clevinger, and didn’t even get a top prospect in return.
For Clevinger, Greg Allen and a player to be named later, the Tribe landed a haul which included shortstop Gabriel Arias, pitchers Joey Cantillo and Cal Quantrill, second baseman Owen Miller, catcher Austin Hedges and outfielder Josh Naylor.
One baseball executive supposedly loved the haul the Indians got in return, as the Tribe went for quantity over quality in their latest deal.
We’ll see how it pans out–and it’s hard to say this right now–but you’ve got to give the Indians’ front office the benefit of the doubt. They’ve hit more than they’ve missed and the last time they dealt with the Padres, they added Franmil Reyes, a right-handed stick that packs power.
That said, the Indians traded a player who was probably going to start Opening Day had Opening Day gone on as scheduled and had Clevinger been healthy.
Here’s five impacts the deal will have on the Indians organization.
1. It feels like a loss
Not long after the Trade, MLB Network released it’s power rankings, with the Indians and Padres listed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Ask yourself right now: Which team would you give a better shot to win the World Series in the next two to three years?
The Indians have the most exciting player in baseball–but he’ll likely be gone after this season. The Padres have the next most exciting player in the game–a talent named Fernando Tatis Jr. Unlike Lindor, Tatis won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
The Padres shelled out over $300 million for free agent Manny Machado. The Tribe’s big free agent acquisition was $6.5 million for Cesar Hernandez.
The Tribe trades front-of-the rotation arms while they’re tied for first place. The Padres see this opportunity to go for it, and jumped all over the opportunity to get an ace, all the while not giving up one of their top five rated prospects.
Sure, give the Indians the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard to be excited this one heading down the stretch of this crazy 2020 campaign.
2. Plesac is back
With Clevinger gone, it’s been reported Zach Plesac will re-join the team. Plesac’s been in exile at the alternate training site since breaking COVID-19 guidelines.
With Clevinger now in California, the Indians really need Plesac back.
While Triston McKenzie was awesome in his debut, he was just OK in start number two. In that outing, he pitched with a lead, but could never get his command under control. It should’ve been an easy victory for the hard throwing right-hands, but the Indians had to pull him after four innings to avoid ramping up his pitch count.
That leaves the rotation as Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Carlos Carrasco, Plesac and McKenzie, for now, anyway. It’s still a really good starting five, but the unit has been weakened, just over a month before playoff baseball begins.
3. Trade helps now
The Cleveland Indians can finally claim to have addressed one of their outfield spots by instantly inserting Josh Naylor into left field. Notice I wrote addressed, not fixed. Naylor’s the latest guy who the Tribe is going to throw against the wall to see if he sticks.
Naylor may not be the exciting prospect we all wanted to stick out there, but this 2015 first-round pick is still just 23 years old. He started to flash some power in the minors, hitting a combined 27 home runs between 2018 and 2019, but that power’s yet to translate at the big league level.
He’s the brother of Bo Naylor, the Indians first-round pick from 2018, who’s currently top rated prospect (catcher) in the organization.
Pitcher Cal Quantrill, a first-round pick from the 2016 draft, should also join the big league club. He had been a starter throughout his time in the minors, and even started games with the Padres last season, but he’s been a bullpen guy in 2020.
In 2019, as a starter, he was 6-8 with a 5.16 ERA and 7.78 strikeouts per nine innings. As a reliever this season, he’s 2-0. He’s struck out 18 in 17.1 innings.
Austin Hedges is an upgrade at catcher over current backup Sandy Leon. Hedges is known for his defense. At the dish, it’s pretty bad. He’s hitting .199 with .616 OPS in parts of six big-league seasons.
4. Trade helps later
A trade of Francisco Lindor will probably happen this offseason, as the front office won’t want to dedicate $25 million to one player, no matter how great he may be.
With Lindor’s eventual departure a foregone conclusion, there’s already armchair scouts looking at his replacements.
The Tribe has some nice prospects in Tyler Freeman and George Valera. Both could be ready to help the big-league club in 2021. But the addition of Gabriel Arias, the Padres seventh-ranked prospects, adds depth to the position group.
The 20-year-old probably would’ve started the season at Class AA, had their been a minor league season. He’s a got a good glove and his power started to come around in 2019, as he hit 17 homers in high A ball.
Pitcher Joey Cantillo is also one to be excited about. The Hawaii native was the youngest player taken in the 2017 draft, as he was a young 18 when selected in the 16th round.
With a fastball that can touch 93-94 miles per hour, Cantillo also possesses a nice change, in addition to a big curve (he needs to improve the command on this). He’s also 20 and his ETA is probably for 2022 or 2023.
Owen Miller, the Padres 11th rated prospect, was drafted in the third round back in 2018. Miller makes contact, posting a lifetime mark of .303 (.808 OPS) in the minors. He played double-A ball last season and it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see him make the jump to the big league at some point in 2022.
It’s worth noting he’s listed as a shortstop, but his future is probably at second base.
5. Follow the money
If you read Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto or The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd over the weekend, you were delivered the grim, fiscal reality that is the future of the Cleveland Indians.
Basically, if you thought the Dolans were cheap before the pandemic, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Recently, we got to see how the Braves, which are owned by a publicly traded company, are doing financially, with no fans in the seats. As you’d expect, Atlanta is taking a hit, which gives you an idea of how much the Tribe is hurting. Atlanta made $11 from April through June, when it made just over $100 million during that same time a season ago.
Writers such as Terry Pluto were speculating Clevinger could be in line for $8 million next season, via arbitration. That seems cheap by today’s baseball standards, but it’s too much for the Indians.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Dolans manage the next few years. I say that because they’re already the longest tenured owner in franchise history. Will the impact of the financial burden caused by the pandemic finally force them to sell the team?
No one feels too bad for them, because if they were to sell, they’d likely get over $1 billion for the organization. Not bad, considering they paid $323 for the organization around the turn of the century.
The Dolans take a lot of flak, and a lot of it’s deserved, but at the very least, the Dolans are trusted public stewards of the Tribe. They’re a Cleveland based family, and with them in charge, there’s no fears about the Indians skipping town. With a new owner, you just never know.