3 Cleveland Indians who should be ready to pack their bags
After the deal to send Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets, these three Cleveland Indians should be ready to pack their bags.
It was no secret the Cleveland Indians were going to trade shortstop Francisco Lindor, and now it’s done. Lindor is on his way to the New York Mets, with pitcher Carlos Carrasco, for a package of four players that includes Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez.
The Indians could still be seen as a contender in the AL Central. But they’ve now traded their best player and second-best starter. And don’t forget about waiving their best reliever, Brad Hand, rather than pick up his $10 million option for the coming season.
The Indians clearly want to cut payroll, and owner Paul Dolan set the stage for Lindor to be gone a long time ago as he’s been lined up to cash in big via free agency after the 2021 season. Carrasco will make $12 million this year and in 2022, with a $14 million vesting option for 2023.
Reported deal:#Mets Acquire
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 7, 2021
SS Lindor (proj. $19.5M)
SP Carrasco ($12M)#Indians Acquire
SS Rosario (proj. $2.2M)
SS Gimenez (proj. $600k)
P Wolf (#9 prospect)
OF Greene (#10 prospect)
Spotrac’s updated tracker has the Indians with the lowest payroll in baseball right now for 2021 ($22.95 million). It won’t stay quite that low, but continued notable subtractions could happen too.
In the wake of the deal that has sent Lindor and Carrasco out of town, these three Cleveland Indians may want to be ready to pack their bags soon.
Scouting Report. RHP, Cleveland Indians. . Aaron Civale. player. Pick Analysis. 3.. 5
A rough outing (eight runs on 10 hits over four innings) in his final start pushed Civale’s ERA over 4.00 (4.74) in last season’s short sample (12 starts), and his K/9 (8.4) and BB/9 (1.9) were better than his 10-start debut run in 2019 — when he posted a 2.34 ERA.
In his first six starts last year, Civale had a 3.15 ERA. In his last six, he had a 6.62 ERA. Below the surface numbers suggest his BB/9 will correct/regress a bit, and he was hammered by right-handed hitters last year (.333, .941 OPS).
Civale is not even eligible for arbitration until after the 2022 season. But the way the Indians develop pitching, that makes him a tradable asset if they believe he’s ultimately only a mid-rotation guy with limited upside.