Report: Indians Possible Deal of Pitcher Corey Kluber Won’t Be Till After Christmas

The week of Christmas is officially here, and it sounds like the Indians are going to be taking a little break from looking to deal one of their ace pitchers for a few days.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweeted out that the Indians and their chats about moving of their pitchers has continued, with talks “heavier on Corey Kluber than Trevor Bauer.”

That news isn’t much of a surprise, as it seems Kluber’s name has been popping up more and more as of late, being linked to teams like the Dodgers and Reds.

Oddly enough those two teams made a huge deal on Friday a trade that saw the Reds acquire Alex Wood and outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp.

The Dodgers got in return pitcher Homer Bailey, backup catcher/infielder Kyle Farmer, SS/2B Jeter Downs and RHP Josiah Gray.

Los Angeles will save roughly $17 million in the trade, and many think that’s money they can use to pay another starting pitcher – possibly Kluber.

Morosi says that unless something unexpected happens, no deal will come down before Christmas, meaning that the eventual trade of Kluber could not happen until early 2019.

A story out Saturday says that the Dodgers won’t trade Cody Bellinger, a player that the Indians would obviously love to have, but Los Angeles has him under control for the next five seasons, and they won’t move him.

One player that the Dodgers might part with is top prospect Alex Verdugo, a player that could step right into the starting lineup, and play everyday in the outfield.

Verdugo last season played in 37 games for the Dodgers in 2018, hitting .260/.329/.377 with six doubles, a home run and four RBI.

With Triple-A Oklahoma City where he was excellent, hitting .329/.391/.472 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 91 games.

Many think the Indians roster depletion and deals have been a positive despite the fact the team still has plenty of holes to fill, and with a trade of Kluber (or if things do shift to Bauer), the franchise could start to fill those holes on the team.