Cleveland Indians Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz Ahead of the Deadline

The MLB trade deadline is just a few short days away—two days, to be exact—and the Cleveland Indians are getting in on the fun.

In a deadline buildup that has seen big names like Scott Kazmir, Johnny Cueto and, most recently, Troy Tulowitzki move to potentially greener pastures, the Indians have...traded David Murphy. Murphy has been a solid piece for the Indians over the past two seasons, but it's an underwhelming move nonetheless.

That said, bigger moves could be on the way, and the potential is there for a major-ish roster shake-up in the next few days.

Before any big move come the rumors, and the Indians have appeared in some rather large rumors over the past few days. So, for a look at what might be coming down the pipeline, here's a quick rundown of the latest buzz surrounding the Indians as we head toward the trade deadline.

Indians Willing to Listen on Starting Pitching

The Indians, despite their less-than-desirable position in the standings, find themselves in an enviable position with three—and potentially four—starting pitchers worth trying to acquire.

Teams have taken notice of the Indians' starting pitchers, and according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the club is willing to listen on offers for their starters:

Fox Sports MLB insider Ken Rosenthal corroborated and expanded on that information, stating that the Dodgers and Red Sox were, at the time, two of the team's many suitors:

Then there was the missed deal with the Toronto Blue Jays:

The best guess as to why this deal fell through is that the asking price on Carlos Carrasco was too high for the Blue Jays' front office. Just last week, the Jays were a contender to land Kazmir, but according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the team "balked at demands for their top prospects—think Jeff Hoffman or Daniel Norris, who came up during the Josh Donaldson talks over the winter—in return."

Presumably, the asking price on Carrasco would've been higher, as he's a young, talented and controllable asset. If the Blue Jays were reluctant to deal Hoffman or Norris—in general, not just for Kazmir—then it's easy to see why the deal might have fallen through.

The Indians will continue to listen to offers for their young starters, but so far, the biggest news has been the potential, then missed deal for Carrasco.

Indians in on Carlos Gomez

The Indians are looking at deals that benefit them both in the short term and the long term. One such deal could be to acquire Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.

According to Rosenthal, the Indians—along with many other teams—are interested in the 29-year-old outfielder.

Gomez is a stud, and he would do wonders to bolster the subpar offensive output the team has received from its current crop of outfielders. Consider the contributions from the team's current starting outfielders compared to what Gomez has done this year, as illustrated in the chart below.

Splits	PA	2B	HR	SB	RBI	R	AVG	OBP	SLG	fWAR
Indians Outfielders	1693	88	36	18	188	161	.256	.324	.391	3.2
AL Ranking	1st	1st	10th	12th	2nd	11th	9th	t-5th	11th	12th
Carlos Gomez	306	19	8	7	42	41	.263	.330	.424	1.7

Gomez's numbers aren't what we've come to expect from the veteran outfielder, but a lot of that can be attributed to an early-season hamstring injury that cost him 16 games between April 15 and May 2. 

Gomez has been solid since returning from the DL, amassing a .270/.343/.426 batting line with seven home runs, 15 doubles, 36 RBI, 38 runs scored, seven stolen bases and a 2.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Surely the Indians would like to see a little more pop out of Gomez if they were to acquire his services, but even with the missed time, Gomez would rank second in home runs, first in runs, third in RBI, second in steals and second in fWAR among Indians outfielders, according to FanGraphs.

Indians Have Interest in Marcell Ozuna

Another rumor, another outfielder. The Indians, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, are one of several teams that have checked in on the availability of Miami Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna:

Both teams seem to be doing their due diligence regarding the others' top young players, and the idea of the two teams hooking up on a Carlos Santana-Ozuna or Carrasco-Ozuna trade is certainly within the realm of possibility.

Ozuna would be a slightly riskier but potentially better acquisition than Gomez, whom we discussed in the section above.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

First off, Ozuna is younger—he's just 24 years old—and he's under club control through the 2019 season. Second, the potential is there for Ozuna to be a 30-plus home run hitter with above-average run-producing potential.

That said, there's also bust potential packed into that 6'1", 225-pound frame. Last year, the Dominican Republic native struck out at a whopping 26.8 percent clip—164 times in 612 plate appearances—and then was demoted this year after posting a .249/.301/.337 batting line with a 23 percent strikeout rate through 79 games played.

Whether anything comes of this rumor remains to be seen, but given the Indians' perceived interest in acquiring a talented, club-controlled outfielder, Ozuna is a strong possibility should the Marlins choose to shop him around.

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