Indians: Cleveland needs to consider making a big trade with the Pirates

Reasons why this trade work

For the Pirates

They get four Top 30 prospects from the Indians lower-A clubs. Geroge Valera is the #4 rated prospect in the Indians organization (by MLB.com) and could be a 25+ home run hitter for any club he plays for. Jose Tena is a shortstop and the number #23 prospect in the Tribes organization. There are few shortstops ahead of him but for now, we aren’t trying to break the bank. Tena is hitting .308 in the minors and while that average may not translate at the Major’s, he’s still effective enough to warrant a look at some point.

Lenny Torres is the #11 ranked prospect and is a right-handed pitcher. Heading into 2021 Torres hadn’t pitched in a game in over two years, so there’s a lot to explore with the barely 20-year-old prospect. Lastly, Jhonkensy Noel is the #30 prospect in the minors and could fill in at two spots on defense. Noel is another potential power hitter like Valera.

Plus the Pirates get ready-to-play guys in Owen Miller and Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez gets the team to move off of Adam Fraizer’s deal, while Miller provides a guy who’s potentially an everyday starter in the right situation.

For the Tribe

You get a solid number four guy in your rotation with Tyler Anderson. He isn’t anything special and this year is definitely misleading to some degree but he should hold the team together as the better pitchers return.

Then there’s Adam Frazier, who isn’t getting paid huge dollars, but the Pirates would probably like to shed payroll at some point this year. Frazier is leading the NL in hits, and his .330 batting average is pretty to look at. He’s a genuine lead-off hitter, something the Tribe desperately needs.

Then of course there’s Bryan Reynolds. He’s not the flashiest guy and quite honestly he’s as far from a franchise guy as anyone can be with a .280+ average, but with Jose Ramirez, and eventually Nolan Jones still on the roster, the Tribe won’t have to worry about Reynolds being the best player because Ramirez and (hopefully) Jones can be those guys.

Reynolds could be a good number three hitter ahead of Ramirez, allowing Franmil Reyes to hit at number five; or you could have Reynolds hit two, with Ramirez and Reyes at three and four in the lineup. The only problem there is that Amed Rosario has settled in nicely in the number two-hole.

If the above deal isn’t enough to get Reynolds and company, OF Bradley Zimmer, minor league 2B Aaron Bracho (#8), and Carlos Vargas (#17) could be added to the trade.