If the Indians Want to Trade Corey Kluber, They Need to Do it Now

If the Indians really want to move two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and get a decent amount for him, this is probably the best time to do it if you are the Indians front office.

If you’re a Cleveland Indians fan, it’s safe to say you haven’t been having a pleasant winter.

While the Minnesota Twins are fresh off a division win and the Chicago White Sox are finally tossing their hat in the ring, your favorite team is potentially on the verge of trading Francisco Lindor. I’m certainly not here to convince you to get excited about the Indians potentially moving one of the faces of the franchise.

I’m here to tell you why they need to trade another.

Lost in all the Lindor madness, Cleveland is also listening to offers for starting pitcher Corey Kluber. If that’s the case, if the team is indeed serious about dealing away the two-time Cy Young winner, it can’t afford to wait. The Tribe needs to move Kluber this winter.

This certainly isn’t pushing some sort of “everything must go” narrative. The Indians still plan to contend in 2020, and provided they take the right approach this offseason, they still can.

However, if someone comes along with a solid offer for Kluber, Cleveland would be wise to accept it.

If you’re wondering why, just look at what happened when the team shopped him last winter.

Just as we’re seeing now, the biggest rumor surrounding the Indians last offseason wasn’t about who they were targeting, but who they were potentially looking to move. They were reportedly listening to offers on both Kluber and Trevor Bauer. The asking price was understandably high, but either pitcher could’ve been had with the right offer.

From Cleveland’s perspective, said offer never came, and both starters opened the season at the top of the Tribe’s rotation. What happened from there likely made the Indians second guess their choice to get stingy Kluber.

Cleveland’s ace got off to a rocky start in 2019, seeing significant increases in his ERA and WHIP. His control suddenly appeared suspect, as he was allowing more walks per nine innings than he had at any point in his time as a starter. Eventually, an unfortunately-placed line drive fractured his arm in May, and he ended his season with a WAR below zero for the first time since 2012.

Essentially, Kluber significantly decreased what Cleveland could realistically ask for in a trade. Even now, it’s unlikely the Indians can get for Kluber what they may have been able to land last winter, when he was coming off his third straight season as an All-Star.

Knowing this, if the Indians are truly shopping Kluber, spending another winter seeking nothing but a blockbuster offer just risks experiencing the same scenario all over again in 2020.

Sure, there are reasons to believe Kluber can bounce back for Cleveland this season. After all, spending so much time on the mend last season should ensure his arm isn’t nearly as tired as it looked at the beginning of the 2019 campaign. Maybe extra rest was all he needed to get him back to his Cy Young form.

Or maybe what we saw to start last season was a sign of what’s to come. Maybe the shellacking he took in the 2018 ALDS really was a red flag, a hint of regression coming on the horizon.

With that in mind, if you’re the Indians, are you willing to hold out for only a blow-your-socks-off proposal? Are you OK risking the possibility of not making a trade and seeing Kluber further damage his value?

To clarify, the Indians shouldn’t be taking the first offer that comes their way, moving a two-time Cy Young winner for pennies on the dollar. They should continue working the market until coming across a fair deal.

However, there’s a difference in seeking a fair deal and holding out for someone to overpay. They took the latter route last winter, and it likely resulted in their inability to ask for as much this time around.

Cleveland seems to be serious about shopping Kluber. With a desire to shed salary and a crop of young starters ready to earn their spot in the rotation, it makes plenty of sense to move him now if that’s what the team is truly looking to do.

After all, it may be the Indians’ last chance to land a good return for his services.