Cleveland Indians: Trading Away Proven Talent for a Suspect Future?

The Philadelphia Phillies found themselves not too long ago dusting the cobwebs off Pedro Martinez, thought to be done by many. Now, the defending champs, whose bid for a repeat becomes even more of a reality, find themselves making locker room space for the reigning Cy Young Award winner—Cliff Lee.

Meanwhile, miles away in Cleveland, tumbleweeds roll across the streets as the remaining players wonder why they should even bother.

We all remember the eye-opening, head-turning trade that eventually landed, another former Cy Young winner CC Sabathia, into the hands of the evil empire’s clutches— not to forget his flight layover in Milwaukee that did nothing more than create a momentary flair in an otherwise insipid NL Central race that was over before it began.

This year, I have to imagine that Indians fans felt that history was not to repeat itself since it was thought that the club exercised its new found penchant for trading good players when they dealt Mark DeRosa to—you guessed it—another NL Central team—the St Louis Cardinals.

Well, history really does repeat itself.

For Philadelphia, and the vast fanbase, the notion of a repeat is now being echoed in the bars and chat rooms. The thought of this gigantic feat is being embraced now more than ever, and that very notion is very much a reality.

But for Cleveland fans, the idea of three high profile trades raping the team of not only quality players, but leaders on the field, leaves a gaping hole in the hopes of even a playoff appearance next year.

So what gives?

Sure, teams often make moves like this to do some very familiar things. Free up cap space, “build for the future” (a personal favorite of mine), and sometimes, just to get a handful of players to monkey around with.

This sort of move however, really forces some hard nose questions about where the club wants to go.

If they did in fact make the move to free up cap space, acquiring four other players (some of which come with a bit of additional luggage) in return will surely have an effect on said money which, in turn, could have an effect on what they will be able to do in the years to come if another player comes on the market that they want to entertain.

If they made this move to build for the future, one has to wonder what the future means to a team that sends its best players to other clubs.

Watch your back Adam Jones. You could be next if you start playing even better.

Somewhere, I am sure there is an Indians fan who will probably say that the influx of “talent” is more than the price paid in loss; I say the organization is robbing Peter to pay Paul. But even if that notion is entertained, one has to speculate just how much that theory holds water.

Jess Todd, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Connor Graham, Scott Barnes, and Jason Knapp are some pretty good names, but not the kind of players that stand out as probable answers for a team in an obvious re-build.

The exodus or Ben Francisco, Ryan Garko, and Rafael Bentancourt; along with Lee, leaves a huge void in the team, and the players who come in are no guarantee that this deal wasn’t as risky as it appears to be.

In addition to all of this, are three other significant underlying problems waiting to rear their ugly heads.

1. The Cleveland farm system is not really known for developing their pitching talent into elite pitchers, and considering they acquired five pitchers in this crazy deal, the outcome shows itself to be as predictable as a tarot card reading at the local fair; filled with doom and a potential for change but nothing more.

2. Let’s not forget about Victor Martinez, especially since they brought in Lou Marson. Martinez has been speculated as a guy who is already out the door so long as the right deal comes along and if that happens I can’t really see how this is going to go towards the future of the club.

3. There is also a downside to all of these players since they are in fact “projected talent”:

Jason Knapp is an 18 year old kid with really good stuff. The problem is, not all of them necessarily make it to the majors, just look at the unmentionable pool of drafted players over the years that prove that to be truth.

Scott Barnes is a kid who struggles with command and movement; something the Cleveland fans are all too familiar with in LHPs. The plus is, Barnes has a couple of pitches in his repertoire, and if he can fix those issues of command and placement he could be a diamond in the rough.

Connor Graham is a huge presence on the mound, but again, another pitcher who struggles with his command; something that is synonymous with the Cleveland farm system.

Carlos Carrasco is probably the best out of the bunch. He can cram a 95 mph fastball down your throat if he really wants to and has a developing slider that seems to be coming along nicely. His only downside is his confidence.

Jess Todd is a pitcher that can get a club the strikeouts they look for, but has too many consistency problems to think he is an immediate roster plug.

Lou Marson is a guy who Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro says “...could at least be an average everyday catcher.” Really? Well so long as the Tribe is replacing their losses with average players right?

Jason Donald is coming off a torn meniscus, and is seen as a possible utility player rather than an everyday guy; not to mention he was only hitting around .240 at the time of the trade. Yeah, remember last year when the Tribe scoffed at Francisco’s hitting in the same vicinity as a utility player? Now this is acceptable in a prospect?

The moral of the story is simply this: In order to build for the future of your team, the ends have to justify the means. Looking at the most recent moves, there isn’t a whole lot of justification going on in Cleveland right now.

Perhaps, the club sees something that this writer does not, but I doubt it.

Let’s hear what you the Cleveland faithful have to say about this topic; let the Tribe speak!