MLB rumors: 5 teams who should trade for Yasiel Puig

1.  Cleveland Indians

Oscar Mercado is hitting .359 with a 1.178 OPS over his last 10 games (entering Thursday), with four home runs and 12 RBI, and he has been as advertised in his first big league run (.290/.340/.479 slash line, eight home runs, 29 RBI, nine stolen bases) while playing a bit of all three outfield positions for the Indians.

Tyler Naquin has been fine in right field (.288, nine home runs, 30 RBI), and he has been crushing it July (.396, three home runs, 11 RBI over 48 at-bats). But overall, the Indians could use a boost in the outfield and Puig is a natural fit and easy upgrade over Naquin.

With a 30-12 record since June 2, Cleveland has trimmed their AL Central deficit behind the Minnesota Twins from 11.5 to two and moved into the top Wild Card spot in the American League. A soft schedule has helped, with a lot of the Tigers (10 games, 10-0 record), Royals (nine games, 7-2 record), Orioles (three games, 1-2 record) and Blue Jays (three games, 2-1 record) over that stretch, but a team that once seemed to be an inevitable trade deadline seller now has become a legit buyer. The schedule stays soft through the coming weekend, with a four-game series against the Royals starting Thursday night.

Even if the Indians are a mix of buyer and seller depending on what player is being discussed, Puig has to be on their list of pieces to buy as they try to keep their momentum rolling looking toward August.