Cleveland Indians trade chatter: Seattle’s Mitch Haniger fits price range
Upgrading the roster externally seems like the longest of long shots for the cash-strapped Cleveland Indians, but some recent trade chatter highlighted a path to improvement.
It’s a miracle they’re still in contention, but here sits the Tribe on June 3, 2.5 games behind the White Sox in the Central. Just imagine if they could a little bit? Time to think trade.
MLB.com’s Sarah Langs floated the idea of the Indians trading for Seattle right fielder Mitch Haniger.
Haniger is batting .264 (.865 OPS) with 14 home runs. More importantly to the Tribe, Cleveland can afford him, as he’s due $3 million this season and can’t be a free agent until after 2022.
Cleveland Indians biggest need
The outfield still remains a major concern for the Indians after two months of play. As Langs noted, Cleveland’s outfielders posted a wRC+ of 82, which is the third lowest mark in the big leagues. Haniger’s wRC+ sits at 141. The league average is 100.
Haniger didn’t play in 2020, and has only played in over 100 games just once in his four-year career prior to the the current season. In 2018, he hit .285 (.859 OPS) with 26 homers. He trended downward in 2019, batting .220 (.778 OPS). He did hit 15 homers in 63 games.
Jordan Luplow has had moments, but can’t play consistently well enough (or stay healthy enough) to warrant being an everyday player. Josh Naylor has held the fort at the position, but looks better at first base.
Seattle will want prospects in return, and the Tribe has several nice pieces that should catch the Mariners’ attention. Ideally, the Tribe would make this deal now, rather than waiting for the deadline, but the Mariners will assuredly wait until the pressure mounts on rival clubs, so Seattle can get the best offer possible.
The Indians have made big trades in each of the last two seasons, trading away Trevor Bauer in 2019 for a deal centered around Franmil Reyes. Last season, the Tribe sent Mike Clevinger to the Padres for several prospects, including Naylor, Owen Miller and Gabriel Arias.
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The 2021 MLB trade deadline is July 30. MLB moved the date up one day because July 31 falls on a Saturday. With so many day games, the league decided to bump it up.