Cleveland Indians Should Trade Grady Sizemore for Seattle Mariners Jason Vargas

With the All-Star break less than a few days away and the MLB standings starting to take shape, teams now know if they have a realistic chance at the postseason. This mean they have to decide if they are buyers or sellers.

The Cleveland Indians are definitely buyers. Reports quoting Chris Antonetti came out recently.

“We’re open in any way we can to improve the team, whatever that might be,” Antonetti said. “Especially with Choo suffering the injury that he suffered, we’ll probably focus most of our efforts on improving our offense and getting a little more consistency there.”

Now while Antonetti says offense, the Indians are still looking for pitching. Their pitching has been amazing this season, but their rotation needs some slots filled. Fausto Carmona and Mitch Tolbert just won't cut it.

Their only reliable pitchers are Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, and Josh Tomlin. Not to mention, Alex White is out, and Zach McAllister's debut wasn't exactly inspiring.

The Indians cannot rely on just three pitchers for the remainder of the season and expect to make the playoffs. Moves are in the Indians' future.

Before the trade talks begin, the Indians do have options. David Huff, a lefty currently pitching in Triple A Columbus can be called up at any minute. He is having a fine season at 8-2 with a 3.70 ERA and already has major league experience.

Even though that is a solid option, the Tribe's rotation still needs work. So a trade still seems necessary. 

It is reported that the Seattle Mariners are currently looking for an outfielder. A perfect fit for both teams here is Grady Sizemore.

Sizemore, who has struggled since his knee injury in 2009, has missed many games, and his performance has slipped. Yet, at the same time his name still holds some baring. 

Why the trade works is simple. Now only do the Mariners need an outfielder, the Mariners current head coach is Eric Wedge, the Indians and Sizemore's former head coach.

The thing about Wedge is that he is very opinionated about his players. He either likes them a lot or doesn't. Wedge was a big contributor as to why Brandon Phillips ended up in Cincinnati. He didn't like Phillips (that worked out so well).

While in Cleveland, Wedge praised Grady. He absolutely loved him. Had he not had to wear his own jersey in the dugout, he probably would have worn No. 24.

Also, Wedge likes to have his former players on his team. At the moment, ex-Indians Franklin Gutierrez and Aaron Laffey currently play for the Mariners.

All this tells me is that if Wedge heard their were rumors about Sizemore on the trading block, he would do something to try and get him in Seattle.

The question is what would the Indians would want in return. This should be stating pitcher Jason Vargas.

At the age of 28 and currently in his sixth season in the bigs (his third with Seattle), Vargas has had a mediocre career. His career ERA at 4.39 isn't eye popping, and his career record at 24-32 could be better on a better team, but this season he has come into his own.

He is currently 6-6 with a 3.49 ERA. A pretty solid season for the left-hander.

In the end, the Mariners would get their outfielder, and the Indians would add a solid piece (a LEFT HANDED starting pitcher) to their contending roster. The Indians may have to add a prospect to finalize the deal or maybe cash considerations depending on Grady's performance, but this could work.

It would not be a blockbuster, but it helps the Indians out a lot. This will open center field for Michael Brantley as well as a possible outfield position for Jason Kipnis, which could keep Orlando Cabrera in the lineup, or possibly Luis Valbuena if he can translate his success from Columbus to Cleveland.

Not to mention the fact that the Indians won't sell the farm system for a starter, so they could still acquire a stick to throw into the middle of the lineup.

This is still speculation, of course, but the Indians are in the midst of trade talks, so only time will tell.

I hope everyone enjoys the All-Star Break. Go Indians!