Cardinals’ Rumors: Cleveland Indians trade partners again?

Aug 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (from left), starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28), starting pitcher Josh Tomlin (43) and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (59) watch in the rain in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

As the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be unimpressed with the free agent market. Could they look to acquire an Indians pitcher?

The Indians have a a couple really nice young and controllable pitchers, and rumor is they are available and the St. Louis Cardinals could be interested according to MLB Trade Rumors. We all know how tough trades are and how difficult it must be for GM John Mozeliak to even think of trading with Cleveland again, especially after the last couple of deals.

However, it seems as if there is a bit of a relationship built there between the two teams, and with a new GM running things over there, a trade could be more in the Cardinals’ favor than before.

I normally am against trading prospects, but there are a few guys that I would be willing to give up. The Indians may look for a younger more controllable starter in return, as well as some high potential hitting. So, maybe the Cardinals could give them Luke Weaver, Charlie Tilson, and flame thrower Sam Tuivailala.

That may not be enough to get one of these stud pitchers from the Indians, but I think that is a good starter, and given how much the Cardinals have given the Indians in the last two deals, I think that’s a good “make up” deal.

All of this would definitely hinge on which pitcher the Cardinals would be after. There are three different options for the Cardinals, so let’s take a look at all three and make a case for which pitcher has the best chance to be traded and which one would intrigue the Cardinals the most.

Next: Fantastic strikeout machine

Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) throws a pitch during the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Option #2 Corey Kluber

Who wouldn’t want to have the former Cy Young Award winner on their staff? Kluber showed his worth last season when proceeded to mow Cardinals’ hitters down, striking out 18 and allowing just one hit over eight innings against the Cardinals’ anemic offense.

Aside from that start, Kluber for all intents and purposes had a down year in 2015 a year after winning the Cy Young in 2014. Kluber finished with a record of 9-16 with an ERA of 3.49 and 2.97 FIP, which is pretty good, but not as good as his 18-9, 2.44 ERA and 2.35 FIP that got him the Cy Young in 2014. That year, Kluber was worth a ridiculous 7.3 fWAR.

Kluber was still really good in 2015, as he was still worth 5.5 fWAR. So, what you’re getting in Kluber is an established ace. He is not much older than Carrasco, but will turn 30 in April. Not much of a concern for Kluber, who was a little bit of a late bloomer, not getting his break as a full-time starter in the big leagues until 2013.

Kluber would likely be even better with a better defense behind him. So, to acquire Kluber would be like acquiring an ace in his prime and he would fit in well in this rotation, especially given he is likely under team control until 2021. Kluber, would probably be the most expensive get of the three, but he would probably be the most “sure” bet.

Next: The Prospect

Oct 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar (31) delivers in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Option #3 Danny Salazar

Salazar is actually the most intriguing of the three, and I would think the least likely to be traded. This is due to the fact that Salazar is the youngest at age 26 (in 24 days), and thus has the least experience. In 60 starts, Salazar is 22-21, with a 3.66 ERA and 3.53 FIP, but what points to Salazar getting better is his career K/9 of 9.86 and decreasing walk rate.

More from St Louis Cardinals Rumors

• What’s next for the St. Louis Cardinals after Contreras signing?
• Report: Cardinals Emerge As Mystery Team for Carlos Rodon
• Cardinals: Trade targets after signing Willson Contreras
• Cardinals Rumors: Is Willson Contreras Defense a Concern?
• St. Louis Cardinals: Alejandro Kirk or Danny Jansen?

Salazar had been a bit of a fly ball pitcher until this past year when he posted a 43.9% ground ball rate. This past year was also his best year, as he finished the season with 3.0 fWAR.

Interestingly, Salazar changed his repertoire up a bit this year, as according to Fangraphs he stopped relying on his fastball a lot this year as his percentage went down to 51.3% after being in the high 60s the past two years.

This was due to Salazar utilizing his two seam fastball almost three times as much as had the previous year. This helped his change up value jump up to 13.6 runs above average, after being worth 2.4 runs above average the year before. So, it shows that Salazar is evolving and changing his repertoire, which also included a curveball for the first time.

All of this considered makes Salazar a good option to consider for the Cardinals, but I would expect the Indians would probably rather keep him and move one or both of the other two.

Next: Evaluating the leftover free agents

Prognosis

The Indians are an interesting team to keep an eye on for sure, as I could see the Cardinals being interested in all three of these guys, depending on what the price is. With Mozeliak’s comments on the Bernie Miklasz show earlier today, I don’t know that Mozeliak will be willing to pay the high price these three would likely require, but you never know.