Cleveland Indians Trade Rumors: Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer Or Carlos Carrasco Could Go To Dodgers

When the MLB offseason began, it was reported that the Cleveland Indians were open to moving one of their top starting pitchers. With the Winter Meetings less than two weeks away, it appears the AL Central champions might have found themselves a trade partner.

Cleveland is reportedly in talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers about a deal that would put either Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco or Trevor Bauer in L.A. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi also suggested that the Milwaukee Brewers or Atlanta Braves could be a potential landing spot for one of the Indians’ pitchers.

The Indians are still looking to compete in the 2019 season and probably won't trade more than one of their starters. Only the Houston Astros had a better ERA from the rotation among American League teams in 2018. Cleveland cruised to a division title with a 13-game advantage over the second-place Minnesota Twins before getting swept in the ALDS.

Kluber, 32, has had the most success of Cleveland’s starters with two Cy Young awards and two other top-three Cy Young finishes in the last five seasons. He’s got a reasonable contract for an ace with three years and $46.7 million left on his deal, in addition to bonuses.

Bauer, 27, might have the most value because of his age, upside and contract. The right-hander was sixth in the 2018 AL Cy Young voting with a 2.21 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 175.1 innings. He’s arbitration-eligible in 2019 and 2020 before hitting free agency prior to the 2021 season.

Carrasco, 31, is a reliable starter with a very team-friendly contract at $19.2 million over the next two years. He’s posted an ERA between 3.29 and 3.38 in each of the last three seasons.

Kluber, Bauer and Carrasco all ranked in the top-10 in WAR among AL starters last season.

The Dodgers have a few highly touted prospects and major-league players that the Indians might be interested in acquiring. In the middle of last season, MLB Pipeline ranked minor-league outfielder Alex Verdugo 32nd overall and catcher Keibert Ruiz 39th overall. Pitcher Dustin May was ranked 71st. Cleveland could also be interested in trading for an outfielder that's on Los Angeles' 25-man roster.

L.A. signed Clayton Kershaw to a three-year extension shortly after the Dodgers were eliminated from the World Series for a second straight year.