Why Cleveland Should Lend a Hand

The Cleveland Indians front office was clearly aiming for a World Series title to finish out the 2019 regular season. They weren’t being too ambitious either - they had two MVP candidates anchoring a trend-bucking lineup in José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor, four bona fide aces and a good fifth starter, and a fine bullpen. While the team undoubtedly was of the stars-and-scrubs model, they were undeniable favorites to win a hilariously dreadful AL Central division - a division that would feature the wannabe-Orioles Tigers, sad Royals, rebuilding White Sox, and a Twins team trying to rebound from a plainly sad season in 2018.

Of course, the team had its flaws going into the 2019 season. While their outfield picture included adequate depth, none of the options were necessarily reassuring (my apologies to Jordan Luplow and his family). In direct contrast to the outfield, their starting pitching projected to be absolutely dominant. Led by two-time Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber and perennial controversialist Trevor Bauer, the rotation was projected to be the best in the majors and finish with a combined 3.65 ERA via FanGraphs.

There’s always a “but,” isn’t there? The issue with Cleveland’s pitching staff was its lack of depth beyond the top five starters and a simply mediocre bullpen. They still figured to win their division, holding off the supplemented Twins, barring a disaster.

Disaster was not barred. It struck with a vengeance. Hard. Right on Corey Kluber’s elbow and the following:

Carlos Carrasco’s blood

Mike Clevinger’s back

Jefry Rodriguez' latissimus

You don’t want to know more...

Oh, how could I forget? José Ramírez, their rock and consecutive third-place MVP finisher, turned to absolute dust. He’s hitting 44% worse than league average. For a guy who was supposed to be one of two lineup superstars, that isn’t such a good thing.

Now, disaster hasn’t struck on a team level. Some players are going to come back to Earth (hi there Carlos Santana!) and some, like Ramírez, are bound to positively regress. The Indians are 34-33 (.507) and are 11 games behind the scalding Minnesota Twins for the division lead as of the evening of June 12th. It’s safe to say that the AL Central banner won’t fly in the city of rock this year.

FanGraphs pegs the Indians at a 35% chance to make the playoffs (mostly in the form of a Wild Card berth), all things being considered. While that is in no way a bleak outlook for the 2019 season as of now, the Indians franchise is trending in the wrong direction. According to Bleacher Report, their farm system ranked 24th out of 30 teams after the recent Amateur Draft.

The team needs to think strategically: go all-in for 2019 by trading from their already-thin farm system (they are vocally unwilling to spend any more money) and hoping to win what would likely be a one game wild card, or give up on the year and restock the minor league system with fresh talent.

Though pessimistic, I believe that the Indians should plan for future seasons. 2019 hasn’t gone their way and it doesn’t look much better. They’ve played poorly against teams that usually lose, which isn’t a great sign either. Trading away solid pieces is the way to go when beginning a retool or a rebuild, so Cleveland should begin with some of their starting rotation and bullpen pieces.

Bullpen pieces, as you may have noticed, that I have neglected to mention thus far. Cleveland’s closer since the 2018 Trade Deadline has been Brad Hand, a lefty with a very solid resumé to display (at least after he left the Marlins). Cleveland fans should feel a sense of comfort when they watch Hand, as the slider specialist should remind them of old (in several ways) friend Andrew Miller.

I’m suggesting that Indians fans and front office personnel should be willing to say goodbye to Brad Hand. The reliever is relatively cheap and controllable through 2021 (team options), while being an effective relief pitcher for any lefty-needing team. As established, Cleveland could really use the prospect haul Hand would command from a team; they do not need Hand for upcoming seasons due to an uninspiring major league outlook.

To which teams should Cleveland consider trading the lefty? Obvious answers would include contenders in need of lefty relievers: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, and more.

All of the aforementioned teams could use a Hand, and I know just the one.

May your pennants fly forever.

-Ryan