Cleveland Indians: Carlos Carrasco remains a top trade chip

The Cleveland Indians may look to make a big trade to help upgrade several parts of the roster. One starting pitcher stands out as a trade chip.

This offseason has a much different feel to it for Cleveland Indians fans.

The team is not simply looking to add one bat or one relief pitcher to take the team to the next level. Instead, several mainstays are expected to leave town and the team has to make some notable changes.

The likely departure of Michael Brantley opens up a major hole both in the lineup and in the outfield, while Andrew Miller and Cody Allen both potentially leaving means some changes for the bullpen.

The starting rotation is the one spot where there aren’t any major question marks. But the value there could also mean that a player is traded to upgrade a major hole elsewhere.

Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco have seen their names come up in trade rumors all offseason. Carrasco even showed up in a recent MLB.com article as the team’s top trade chip. Oh, great.

I’ll come out and say I don’t like the idea of either Kluber or Carrasco being traded in 2019. Especially if Trevor Bauer doesn’t intend to remain in Cleveland long-term, given his desire to continually sign massive one-year deals.

I would prefer the team to at least start the season with both Kluber and Carrasco on the roster, to see what holes on the roster stand out. Perhaps certain players step up and the need for a wild trade goes away.

And if the goal is to drastically cut payroll, the top option to do that remains Edwin Encarnacion and his over $21 million salary in 2019. Kluber would be next in line, while moving Jason Kipnis would be a minor miracle.

Us fans likely won’t get any real updates until the Winter Meetings next month. Until then, we will continue to go over all the best possible scenarios for the Indians in order for the team to improve in 2019.