Indians Deal Rosario to Braves for INF Sandoval - Who is Released Hours Later

The Indians decided to sell on Friday, moving a couple players that were at least considered to be big parts of the 2021 season. Instead it's going to be youth and prospects for the remainder of the year.

Why?

That’s the question a lot of Cleveland Indians fans are certainly asking themselves after news broke that the team traded with the Atlanta Braves for infielder Pablo Sandoval. 

It is in exchange for outfielder Eddie Rosario and 500,000 cash considerations.

This season, the 34-year-old Sandoval is batting .178 with four home runs and 11 runs batted in. He was released by the Indians just hours after the deal. 

On the flip side, Rosario is at .254 with seven home runs and 46 runs batted in. Additionally, he is making eight million dollars on the year, some of which the Indians will eat. 

This may have factored in on the decision to trade him to the Braves in exchange for a player on a minor league contract for much less money.

Sandoval is a career .278 hitter with 153 home runs and 639 runs batted in. These numbers are obviously deceiving as he is certainly not the hitter he once was back in the day.

Take note that Rosario does have a strained right oblique. He has not seen action since July 5th and will likely spend a few more weeks on the injured list before making his Braves debut.

Indians fans are simply hoping for any type of contribution from Sandoval as a member of the Tribe moving towards the back-half of this ’21 season. 

Whereas Braves fans are happy to have a new addition that could certainly make a big contribution, if healthy, for the remainder of the season once he returns to action.

The Braves are four games behind the New York Mets in the NL East and certainly are still in playoff contention. The Indians sit eight games behind the White Sox.