Indians: Trades for guys like Trevor Story and Jon Gray are non-starters

The Indians should not trade for guys like Trevor Story and Jon Gray.

Let’s be clear, the Indians have no business trading for guys like Trevor Story and Jon Gray. Now, or ever again. It’s not a dig at the Rockies, or Story or Gray. These are fine players who would, admittedly, give the Indians a boost. The problem lies with the cost of guys like them. Not only does baseball have an issue with the contracts they’re handing out; with most in the modern era being bad investments only a few years in, but with what teams should expect in trades.

Now, if things were more even like in the NFL with regards to revenue sharing, this wouldn’t be an issue. Yet, when every player thinks he’s worth $20 million a year and only four teams can afford to hand out those contracts, you end up knowing that talent will leave your squad. For teams like Oakland, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay, that’s fine. Talent leave, you keep winning, and your window never truly closes because you’re constantly reloading.

For other teams, that’s not the situation at all. With guaranteed money for players and teams not interested in taking on big contracts of declining players, those team’s windows shut hard and fast. This takes us back to the problem with trading for one-year players like Story and Gray; they’re going to be gone come January.

Not only are they going to be gone, but you’re going to have to mortgage part of your future to pay off a percentage of your present. Maybe in certain situations, where Billy-Bo-Bob Bobberson of rookie ball, who’s 34 and has 19 DUI’s is the prospect that’s going over for a Story or a Gray; sure. That’s fine. Young prospects taken deep in the draft or guys in Double or Triple-A who are nearing 30, and maybe an 18-year old kid you’re not that high on; yeah. Make that trade.

Make that trade, however, with a guy like Nolan Jones for Story and/or Gray? Heck no.

The Indians need long-term deals back for high-priced prospects

We keep circling back to the Pirates trade we pitched a few weeks ago as an example of the kind of trade the Indians should be making. The trade proposal saw the Pirates sending over Bryan Reynolds, Adam Frazier, and Tyler Anderson. Frazier is under contract for 2022, while Reynolds is under contract until 2026. Anderson is the only player who is on a one-year deal. So giving up some prospects to get guys like Frazier and Reynolds makes sense, because you’re not sacrificing your future.

For guy slike Story or Gray? The only way a deal makes sense is if they each agreed to a team-friendly contract extension but that won’t happen.

So unless a trade the level of the Pirates proposal we pitched ends up materializing, the Indians should not be making any big trades. One-year deals are just not worth it for a team that lives and thrives on its farm system and talent development.

Don’t make their job harder.