Despite winning their division for the third consecutive year, the Cleveland Indians may be looking to make some big changes. Reports since the beginning of the offseason have indicated that they want to trade one of their big-name starting pitchers.
One team that they have been in discussions with is the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a potential trade involving Yasiel Puig and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber being a possibility.
With the Indians needing an outfielder, the Dodgers seem to be a perfect match as it is a position of excess depth for them.
The three starting pitchers on the Indians that teams are coveting are Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer. Carrasco signed an extension with the Indians on Thursday though, so his name can effectively be taken out of discussions.
Even with Carrasco locked up, the Indians remain interested in trading one of Bauer or Kluber, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:
On the heels of Carlos Carrasco’s three-year, $37.5M extension, Cleveland is increasingly motivated to move Trevor Bauer or Corey Kluber, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Plenty of options on the trade market, which is extremely active as Patrick Corbin has signed with the Nationals.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2018
Kluber is 32 years old, but could potentially be under contract for three more seasons as he has team-friendly options for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He would be owed $52.5 million across the three seasons.
Bauer is younger at just 27 years of age, but he is only under club control for two more seasons, the second of which could be pricey due to salary arbitration.
The Dodgers already have a lot of starting rotation depth in place, but if they have the ability to acquire a pitcher that is the caliber of Kluber or Bauer while giving up some depth at positions that have an excess, then that is an opportunity that cannot be passed up.
