Now’s not the time for Tribe to deal Bauer
Recently, the family made a vacation stop at Progressive Field, home of your Cleveland Indians, and it was a grand night for baseball until a squall blew in and soaked the place. The upper deck did not offer much protection beyond its tunnels. Therein, packedtogether Indians fans talked about three things: wetness, the pungency of ripening bodies and Trevor Bauer.
The major league trade deadline — 4 p.m. Wednesday — is looming. Rumors have been persistent that Bauer, the Indians’ ace right-hander, can be bought, if for a steep price.
Joel Sherman, longtime baseball writer for the New York Post, this week quoted an unnamed league executive: “(The Indians) are very progressive. Bauer is available. They are openminded. Despite what is going on (in the standings), this is just business. No one shows up at their ballpark. They have problems running a business because of financial flexibility, so they will make the best decision within that framework to trade him now or the winter.”
For the sake of Cleveland fans, let it be in the winter, if at all.
On one hand, a case can be made to trade Bauer for a large return. Speculation is the Indians could get two major league players (help for an offensively anemic outfield, perhaps) and a top prospect (a pitcher?). What is more, the Indians can avoid having to shell out the $20 million, plus or minus, that Bauer will win in arbitration for next season.
It’s a seller’s market, especially if you’re selling starting pitching. A raft of teams (including the New York Yankees, damn them) are aimed at the playoffs or are on the bubble, and they are looking for arms. Bauer, who averages 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings, would be among the most prized pitchers available.
Sure, Bauer comes with some unique baggage. Indians fans will never forgive him for cutting his pinky while playing with a drone during the American League championship series in 2016. (Would they have won the World Series if he hadn’t?) He is also infamous for socialmedia wars with fans about everything from racism to global warming. He once went on a Twitter-blocking spree during a game — Game 4 of a 2017 division series against the Yankees (damn them).
But Bauer has a live arm. Given the question mark that is Corey Kluber, who is making his way back from a fractured arm, Bauer is Cleveland’s most important pitcher. And, as of this writing, the Indians were holding the top wild-card spot in the American League — and they were just two games behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
Other baseball executives might describe Cleveland owner Paul Dolan as “progressive” or “open-minded,” but most fans use words like “miserly.” Such is the case with my Cleveland correspondent, Zach, who has for years been a partial season-ticket holder.
“If (Bauer) goes, the message is the Dolans are giving up on the season when the team is two games back,” the Cleveland correspondent said. “It’d be crazy. Their best starter? They could get a lot for him, sure, but it can’t be worth it. People here are still (ticked) off about losing Michael Brantley for nothing. Jordan Luplow?”
Brantley signed a free-agent contract with the Houston Astros; he was hitting .326 going into Friday night for a first-place team. Luplow was hitting .254 for the Indians. The one is more expensive than the other by a factor of millions. Moneyball it any way you want to but, in this case, you get what you pay for.
What can the Indians get back in a Bauer trade? It is a question that will hang over Cleveland, like a wet jersey in a dank tunnel during a rain delay, until 4 p.m. Wednesday. It’s a good question. One answer: not the playoffs, not this year.