Checking the Hot Stove: Updates on All the Cleveland Indians’ Offseason Trade Rumors
It’s been a real snoozefest of an offseason for the Cleveland Indians. Four months after Michael Brantley grounded out to end the Tribe’s 2010 season, the Indians have signed just one major-league free agent and haven’t made a single trade. Cleveland fans weren’t expecting the team go on a shopping spree this winter, but still, things have been eerily quiet.
Fortunately, we Tribe fans have had plenty of rumors to get excited about in the absence of actual deals. Here’s a list of all the as-yet-unresolved gossip we’ve heard this offseason, with updates about where things stand. (more…)
Grady Sizemore Trade Rumors: The Real Reason This Deal Won’t Happen
Last week, MASNsports.com’s Phil Woods turned the baseball world on its head when he reported that the Cleveland Indians have had “conversations” with the Washington Nationals about trading center fielder Grady Sizemore and stating pitcher Fausto Carmona, and the blogosphere hasn’t shut up about it since. I count myself among the main perpetrators—at least most other writers didn’t propose a return package for the Indians’ two highest-profile players.
Now the (eight) million dollar question is: Does this rumor have legs?
The Trade That Would Have Changed Everything: Grady Sizemore for Matt Cain
All the talk of the Washington Nationals’ interest in Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona reminded me of an article I wrote at the end of the 2009 season, in which I suggested the Cleveland Indians send Sizemore to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed starting pitcher Matt Cain. In retrospect, it wasn’t a particularly strong argument, and my repeated mentions of Sizemore’s batting average and Cain’s ERA while ignoring their OBP and FIP, respectively.
Still, my proposal made a good deal of sense (if I do say so myself). The Indians had an abundance of young, interesting outfielders vying for playing time and a need for rotation help; and the Giants was in need of an offensive upgrade after scoring just 657 runs in 2009, and the presence of Tim Lincecum meant San Francisco had a spare ace to trade.
Hindsight is 20/20, but had this deal gone down, it would have been an unequivocal win for the Indians last year. Sizemore missed almost all of the 2010 season and struggled mightily at the plate even when he was in the lineup (.211/.271/.289). Cain, meanwhile, outperformed his peripherals once again, posting a 3.14 ERA and 4.0 WAR for San Francisco. But beyond that, it’s not an exaggeration to say that this trade would have completely changed the course of the season.
Indians/Nationals Trade Talks: Bryce Harper for Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona?
In case you haven’t heard, the Washington Nationals have talked with the Cleveland Indians about trading for Tribe center fielder Grady Sizemore and starting pitcher Fausto Carmona. This news is the most exciting thing we’ve heard about the Indians this winter, even if “there’s not a lot of meat” to the rumor.
We’ve seen much ink spilled over the possibility of Sizemore and Carmona moving to D.C. in the last couple days, but every analysis I’ve seen has ignored the biggest, hardest, and most interesting question: who would the Nationals give up for the Tribe’s two best-known players?
We’ve heard before that teams had been calling about Carmona, and given that he just posted a 3.77 ERA at age 26, was a Cy Young contender when he was 23, and is under team control through a series of club options through 2014, he could certainly bring in a decent return. Last month, I speculated that the Nationals could be among the teams pursuing Carmona, and that a package of Jordan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa could be enough to get Cleveland to part with its young ace.
With Sizemore, things start to get a little hairier. After spending three years as the best outfielder in the game, two seasons of slumps and injuries have impeded his once-promising career. But he’s supposedly healthy now, and if he’s truly 100 percent, a return to MVP-caliber form for the two final seasons of his contract isn’t out of the question. Plus, Sizemore is a fan favorite at Progressive Field, and while his departure wouldn’t be as heart-wrenching for Clevelanders as when that egomaniacal basketball player (what’s his name again?) decided to “take his talents to South Beach,” the Indians would need something special in return to avoid a public relations nightmare.
When considering the Nationals’ roster and farm system, there was one name I couldn’t shake from my mind. It sounds crazy at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. In exchange for Grady Sizemore and Fausto Carmona, the Indians should demand Bryce Harper. (more…)
Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals Talking Grady Sizemore, Fausto Carmona Trade
Despite the lack of action from the Cleveland Indians front office this offseason, we’ve heard some juicy rumors about the Tribe. The Seattle Mariners showed interest in Luis Valbuena. Amidst rumors of an extension, the Indians avoided arbitration with Shin-Soo Choo in the steal of the offseason. And the Tribe was somehow both very interested in and completely apathetic towards Bartolo Colon.
But all that is peanuts compared to this: The Indians reportedly have had “conversations” with the Washington Nationals about Fausto Carmona and Grady Sizemore.
