The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Clevinger dealt to Padres
The three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location.
For a team that counts its pennies as frugally as the Indians do, the three most important factors in making a trade are control, control, control.
The Indians beat the 4 p.m Aug. 31 trade deadline by less than four hours when they traded right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger, who is 42-22 for his career and 1-1 this season, to the Padres in a nine-player deal.
The Indians announced they are sending Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named later to the Padres for outfielder Josh Naylor, pitcher Cal Quantrill, shortstop Gabriel Arias, pitcher Joey Cantillo, catcher Austin Hedges and shortstop Owen Miller.
“One of our objectives is to build a sustainably competitive team,” Indians president Chris Antonetti said on Zoom about 15 minutes after the trade deadline passed.
“We think this trade allows us to do that. We’ll bring three players back to our major-league team that will impact and help us improve in a variety of areas, but also gives us some really great building blocks for the future.”
The Padres, second in the National League West and five games behind the Dodgers at 21-15, have a three-game lead in the wild-card race. They view Clevinger as a pitcher who could help them make a deep playoff run.
The Indians and White Sox are tied for first in the AL Central at 21-13. The Indians acquired a half-dozen bodies in the trade, but not much immediate help.
Naylor is expected to step in as the starting left fielder. He has played in 18 games and batted 36 times this season. He is hitting .278 with one home run and four RBI and four runs scored.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t had outstanding offensive numbers in a variety of areas,” Antonetti said when a reporter pointed out Naylor’s numbers are not outstanding. “We do think Josh’s track record in the minor leagues will help transition. Even if you look at his small sample in the major
leagues, he’s been a productive player, maybe more productive than at least today we currently had.
“Also, there were a lot more teams looking to acquire players than trade players. Acquiring established major-leaguers was not easy to do at this trade deadline.”
Antonetti broke down the players acquired from the Padres, starting with Naylor. He said the deal could not have been made if the Indians were not as deep as they still are in starting pitching.
• “Josh Naylor is a lefthanded hitting corner player we feel has a chance to be a good contributor offensively,” Antonetti said. “He has a track record of hitting in the minors. He puts the ball in play consistently and makes really hard contact. We think those are two good ingredients for him to have a successful career as a major-league hitter.”
• Quantrill, 24, is 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA over 17 1/3 innings in 10 games with one start. He has given up two home runs, struck out 18 and walked six.
“Cal Quantrill is currently a really successful major-league reliever with a pedigree of starting,” Antonetti said. “He’ll go into our bullpen and be an asset for us there. We think he has a chance not only to be a successful reliever, but a
successful starting pitcher.”
• Hedges, who has played in 29 games but batted only 57 times and is hitting .158 with three home runs, six RBI and seven runs scored.
“Austin Hedges is renown for his elite defensive ability,” Antonetti said. “He’ll join Roberto Perez and Sandy Leon with what we feel is now the best defensive catching contingent in the major leagues.”
• Arias (ranked seventh), Cantillo (ninth) and Miller (11th) are all in the Padres’ farm system, but all are ranked among San Diego’s top 11 prospects.
Antonetti said Arias “is really skilled defensively and has made great strides at the plate.” Miller can play second, third or shortstop. He said Cantillo “has a very deceptive fastball/changeup combination with a developing breaking ball.”
Clevinger, arbitration eligible in 2021 and 2022, will be a free agent in 2023 without a new contract. Hedges is under Indians control for only 2021 and 2022, but Naylor and Quantrill don’t hit free agency until 2026. The free-agency clock hasn’t started ticking on the three minor leaguers.
Clevinger started the 2020 season second behind Shane Bieber in the Indians’ starting rotation. He was 1-1 on Aug. 8 when he and teammate Zach Plesac broke team
rules and MLB COVID-19 protocol by going out with friends and returning to the team hotel after curfew.
Manager Terry Francona was home at the time dealing with an illness. Sandy Alomar Jr. was acting manager.
Plesac was caught and sent back to Cleveland by car. He did not associate with teammates after the incident, but Clevinger sat in on a team meeting the next day to discuss what Plesac did. He flew back to Cleveland on the team plane before his part in the episode was discovered. He has since apologized for his deceit.
“We moved past that,” Antonetti said.
Plesac and Clevinger were demoted to the alternate site at Classic Park in Eastlake on Aug. 14. Clevinger was recalled and started against the Twins on Aug. 26, so the Indians could showcase him to potential trade partners. He pitched six innings and allowed two runs in a game the Indians rallied to win, 6-3.
Plesac will be recalled from Eastlake to start against the Royals on Sept. 2, Antonetti said.
Allen, 24, is hitting an anemic .160 with one home run and four RBI in with 15 at-bats over 15 games.
Domingo Santana was designated for assignment to keep the Indians’ majorleague roster at 28 players.