The Cleveland Indians are in a tough spot. At 52-53, they are in the mix for a playoff berth. Cool Standings gives them a 24 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. However, most of that is tied to a second wild card berth.
There’s very little chance of catching the Detroit Tigers, so at best they would be playing the Los Angeles Angels or Oakland Athletics on the road in a one game playoff. Accordingly, it seems likely that they will hedge their bets and focus on smaller moves.
Two players that the Indians could move are Justin Masterson, who will become a free agent after the season and Asdrubal Cabrera who will also hit free agency this offseason. Both are useful players, but won’t move the needle too much in either direction with regards to the Indians playoff chances.
Before hitting the disabled list, he had his usual ultra-high ground ball rate and a solid strikeout rate of 20.6 percent, but a very high 12.4 percent walk rate. In addition, batters were hitting .350 on balls in play, a much higher rate than the league average. As a consequence, Masterson had a bloated 5.51 ERA.
Looking forward, Masterson projects for an ERA around 4.00. He’s probably a slightly better option than Jake Peavy, who the Boston Red Sox traded to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for two viable prospects.
With the Tampa Bay Rays looking less inclined to deal David Price, and the Philadelphia Phillies seeming loath to part with Cole Hamels, the pitching market is thinning. The Indians might be able to pick up a solid prospect or two from a team that’s willing to settle for a less flashy upgrade.
The 28 year-old Cabrera is carrying a .249/.309/.392 slash line for a 98 wRC+. He’s not a great defensive shortstop, but can hold his own at the position. After managing just 0.5 fWAR last season, he’s totaled 1.2 fWAR thus far.
Like Masterson, he’s not a game-changing upgrade by any means, but several teams could be in need of his services. Since 2009 he’s been a shortstop exclusively, but before then he played more than 1300 innings at second base.
The A’s might be on the lookout for a middle infielder. For all their success, their second basemen have been barely above replacement level. Cabrera would be an upgrade over Nick Punto or Eric Sogard, and he could spell Jed Lowrie at short as well.
Also, the Toronto Blue Jays might be looking for a second baseman. Brett Lawrie is currently on the disabled list and when he comes back, they might want him to play more third base in place of Juan Francisco. There are plenty of places to put a switch-hitting middle infielder, and several teams would welcome Cabrera’s versatility.
He won’t bring back a big prospect, but with Francisco Lindor in the wings, he’s not in the Indians long-term plans.
The Indians would like to be able to sell off veterans who are becoming free agents without killing their wild card chances. These are the types of moves teams in the hunt for a wild card spot should make.
It’s not wise to sell the farm for a shot at a one-game playoff, but smaller and less costly transactions can have short-term impact without mortgaging the future.
