Cleveland Indians Trade Rumors: Tracking Hot Updates, News and Reaction

While the year may have changed, the question in Cleveland remains the same: Are the Indians contenders or pretenders?

It's an impossible question to answer, with the club less than six games out of wild-card berth despite a losing record and a negative run differential.

They could become buyers, looking to add another bat to a lineup that's been underwhelming, or they could look to sell, moving pending free agents for additional pieces that could be useful in 2016 and beyond.

Keep it here for the most up-to-the-minute rumblings about the Tribe, along with analysis and everything that comes with it. While the post date will always show as July 15, simply click to the next slide to see the latest from the rumor mill, as the Indians look to either bolster their roster for the stretch run or position themselves for future success.

Done Deals

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

July 28: Traded OF David Murphy to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for SS Eric Stamets

July 30: Traded 1B/OF Brandon Moss to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for LHP Rob Kaminsky (Analysis)

July 31: Traded LHP Marc Rzepczynski to the San Diego Padres in exchange for OF Abraham Almonte

July 30: Trade Brandon Moss to Cardinals

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Cleveland has traded Brandon Moss to St. Louis in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Rob Kaminsky.

Moss is hitting .217 with 15 home runs, 17 doubles, one triple and 50 RBI in 94 games this season. He has hit at least 21 home runs in each of the three previous seasons, including a career-high 30 in 2013.

While losing Moss will be tough on the Cleveland offense, the club will likely save some money in the deal. The slugger is making $6.5 million this season and is eligible for arbitration this offseason.

Not only could this deal help the Indians save money, but they got a pretty good prospect in return. According to MLB.com, Kaminsky is the No. 3 prospect in the Cardinals' farm system.

The 2013 first-round pick is 6-5 with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.162 WHIP in 17 starts at High-A this season.

While there's some debate as to how high his ceiling is (some say he's a No. 3 starter, some say a No. 2), MLB.com's Jim Callis couldn't have been more effusive in his praise of GM Chris Antonetti, calling the Moss-for-Kaminsky deal a "flat-out heist" for the Tribe.

Indians Have Interest in Miami's Marcell Ozuna

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Tuesday, July 28 at 12:31 p.m. ET

Cleveland is among the teams that have called Miami about outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who may or may not actually be available, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

Ozuna, 24, hit .269 with 54 extra-base hits (23 home runs), 85 RBI and a .772 OPS in 2014 while providing above-average defense in center field.  But he struggled through 79 games this season and has been at Triple-A since early July, where he's hit .344 with 11 extra-base hits (four home runs), 11 RBI and a 1.023 OPS over 17 games.

Spencer notes that Miami has had scouts watching Cleveland's pitching recently and speculates that either Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar could be the Marlins' primary target.

Trading a Starter Is Not in Cleveland's Plans...or Is It?

STEVE NESIUS/Associated Press

Update: Friday, July 24 at 4:11 p.m. ET

While the team's official stance is that it would have to be a “very compelling deal” for them to part with a starting pitcher, that's not stopping teams from calling. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal lists the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers as among the clubs to inquire.

It's all speculation on my part, but with big market clubs sniffing around, a "very compelling deal" might very well include the acquiring team taking Michael Bourn or Nick Swisher off the Tribe's hands, as the pair are due $14 million and $15 million, respectively, next year.

--End of Update--

Update: Thursday, July 23 at 2:35 p.m. ET

Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan reports that Cleveland and Toronto have discussed a potential deal involving Carlos Carrasco and that the Indians have been willing to at least listen when other teams call about their pitching, which completely contradicts earlier reports that said the rotation was off-limits.

--End of Update--

Tuesday, July 21 at 12:26 p.m. ET

Multiple teams have called Cleveland about its cadre of controllable starting pitching, but the Indians aren't about to break up the strongest part of their club thus far.

"We are not motivated at all to do that," GM Chris Antonetti told Paul Hoynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. While unloading someone like Trevor Bauer or Carlos Carrasco might bring back some useful pieces for the Tribe, it's not part of the team's long-term strategy.

"As a general manager you always feel that you want to make a move to help the team," said Antonetti. "My job, though, is to balance the short term with the long term. We're all by nature extremely competitive people and we want to see results immediately. At the same time we need to make smart decisions for the organization."

Cleveland Has Made Lonnie Chisenhall Available

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Thursday, July 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Former top prospect Lonnie Chisnehall has seemingly worn out his welcome in Cleveland and is being shopped by the club, according to a report from ESPN's Buster Olney.

It's possible that some teams might consider him as the left-handed part of a platoon at third base or as a useful bat off the bench, given his career .722 OPS against right-handed pitchers, but the Indians aren't likely to get anything other than organizational depth in return for him.

Will the Indians Find an Upgrade at Third Base?

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Lonnie Chisenhall was a better defender than Giovanny Urshela, who has only been slightly better at the plate than his predecessor. So the Indians almost turned to...Chris Johnson as their answer at the hot corner?

That's the word from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, who tweeted that a deal was in the works between the Braves and Indians that would have bought the underachieving Johnson to Cleveland in exchange for the more grossly overpaid but equally disappointing Nick Swisher before Swisher's knee sent him to the DL.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman speculates that Milwaukee's Aramis Ramirez could be a viable target for the Indians, though whether he'd actually be an upgrade over Urshela at this point in his career is debatable.

Other options could include Miami's Martin Prado and Oakland's Ben Zobrist, but the former isn't officially available and the latter will likely prove too expensive for the Indians to seriously pursue.

Are a Pair of Veteran Outfielders on Their Way out of Cleveland?

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Should the Indians decide to sell, sources tell Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal that veteran outfielders David Murphy and Ryan Raburn would be the most likely pieces moved.

Considering both are platoon players at this point, the Indians might prefer to unload Murphy, who has a $7 million team option on his contract for 2016, rather than Raburn, whose $3 million team option is far more reasonable.

Neither one would bring back anything substantial in a trade, but if the Indians don't plan on bringing them back in 2016, they might as well see what they can get for them.

Would the Indians Trade Carlos Santana?

Associated Press

The Indians could move Carlos Santana if they wanted to, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that multiple teams have asked about his availability.

Signed to a team-friendly deal that pays him $6 million this season, $8.25 million in 2016 and includes a $12 million club option for 2017, the Indians are understandably reluctant to move him. But there's a case to be made for doing just that.

Santana still has a knack for getting on base consistently but can no longer hit for average, with a .228 mark since the beginning of 2014. While he's still on pace to belt 20 home runs for the third consecutive season, his total number of extra-base hits continues to drop.

While he could stop those downward trends, there's no guarantee that he will. At the very least, the Indians should be willing to listen to offers—another team might blow them away with one.