In what has become an annual tradition, the Cleveland Indians have again gone and got themselves a new cast of characters at the new and unimproved single trade deadline to try and fit themselves into the postseason puzzle. Like Andrew Miller, Jay Bruce and Josh Donaldson before, Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes have now been tasked with helping the Tribe not only make it to the postseason but win the World Series. Let’s look at the trade from Cleveland’s point of view as to why it was made and what we can reasonably expect from the return.
Going out: Trevor Bauer
It feels wrong to say the words the only thing Cleveland lost is Trevor Bauer, but it’s the facts. The nuances of why Bauer was on the move are much more in-depth. We know that Bauer has the personal mission to never sign a long term deal, which is completely within this prerogative and makes sense from a player standpoint, but getting players to sign the long term “hometown discount” deal is what allows Cleveland to keep contending and not dip further into the free agency pool than they feel comfortable. Knowing Bauer was due a large raise in next year’s arbitration hearing is what inevitably spurned Cleveland to look to move the mercurial starter.
Bauer’s 2019, while good to great in its own right, pales in comparison to his almost Cy Young-winning 2018. A 27.9 K-rate is nothing to cry about, but down from his 30.8% in 2018, and coupled with a rise in his BB-rate, Bauer was allowing more hitters on and paying for it. 2018 seems to be more of the outlier season as Bauer’s HR/9 ballooned back to more inline career numbers in 2019 after being almost superhero level low in 2018.
Moving Bauer via trade seemingly became priority No. 1 after Sunday’s antics, but despite every single national writer saying the centerfield long toss session hurt his value, Cleveland was able to recoup arguably the two best bats available at the deadline, one controlled until 2024, along with even longer-term options Logan Allen, Victor Nova, and Scott Moss. That return is mighty for a player many thought threw his value as far as the centerfield wall.
Coming in: Yasiel Puig, Franmil Reyes, Logan Allen, Scott Moss, Victor Nova
Let’s quickly run through the lower players before getting into the beefy bats. Victor Nova is a 19-year-old third baseman playing rookie ball but hitting .303. It will be sometime before he is making noise, but he’s a good long term piece nonetheless. Moss is a 24-year-old lefty in Double-A for Cincinnati who struggled in A+ last year but came back around to have a 28.2% K-rate while holding Double-A batters to a .223 average. It remains to be seen whether or not Moss will continue to be stretched as a starter, but he’s an interesting prospect as well. His age could necessitate a move to the pen if he is to be utilized sooner rather than later, but if the developmental team sees him as a possible plus starter, that makes sense as well.
Logan Allen’s fit on the 2019 roster is a little more complicated and convoluted. Allen has been used as a starter throughout his minor league career with good results but has struggled in San Diego’s rotation in 2019. He sits in the mid-90s with his fastball, with a slider that he uses as a weapon to lefties and a changeup against right-handed batters. That mix has done him well, and he’s definitely far from a two-pitch pitcher, but with Cleveland’s rotation, he could see more bullpen time going forward, which makes sense given Tyler Olson’s lacking production. A return to health of Danny Salazar makes up for the loss of Bauer and prospect Aaron Civale is healthy again to help out the big club as well until Corey Kluber and *fingers crossed* Carlos Carrasco get healthy.
Now the big bats. Puig has been a long-time target of Tribe fans for years, always yearning for the Right-Handed-Power-Bat™. Puig might be the closest thing to Manny Ramirez we see in our lifetimes: the ability to get around a baseball, paired with the arm cannon in right and the head of a punch drunk boxer. While only in Cleveland for the rest of the 2019 season Puig instantly ups the level of play in the outfield, offensively and defensively. Taking over The Corner from Tyler Naquin should be easy, as his 54 assists since 2013 puts him at 8th most in that amount of time, and I couldn’t be happier about seeing him gun down runners at the plate in a Tribe jersey.
As good as Puig has been, his 22 home runs would tie the current team leader Carlos Santana, Reyes is the bigger get to me. Cost controlled through the 2024 season, Reyes is prototypical DH most American League teams see themselves using. His 27 home runs are the leader in the clubhouse, and his 117 wRC+ is the third-best mark among qualified Indians hitters. Reyes will fill the DH spot for 2019 with an eye to be in left field in the future, and when you look at the production former DH Jake Bauers was putting out, he will be lightyears better suited for the role. His age and contractual control allow for the team to continue to keep the window open further, putting a big bat like his in the lineup allows for Bauers to go back to Columbus and work a bit more on his swing. An outfield of Reyes, Oscar Mercado, Bauers, Greg Allen, and Daniel Johnson is a group that is young, exciting and the future of the franchise.
While losing Bauer’s abilities does put a damper on what can be expected in a postseason series, the return to health of Salazar and Kluber does loom large. If they come back healthy and productive, this is a slam dunk trade for both the here and now. If either one falters as they come back, the trade for it’s future parts, is still a win for Cleveland.
https://waitingfornextyear.com/2019/07/new-year-new-blockbuster-deal-for-the-tribe-trevor-bauer-yasiel-puig-franmil-reyes/
2019-07-31 13:30:31Z
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