Cleveland Indians: Corey Kluber trades dominate offseason predictions

The Cleveland Indians could make a bold move and trade Corey Kluber this offseason. That possibility seems to dominate offseason conversations right now.

November is always the toughest month of the year when it comes to covering the Cleveland Indians. The team obviously hasn’t won a World Series since 1948, so it’s not like I am still sipping champagne in celebration.

The month often brings the talk of change and that is no different this year.

The main rumor floating around is that the team could be looking to shop Corey Kluber. That has led to some coming up with potential trades the Indians could make that involve Kluber.

ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield recently published an article detailing some potential blockbuster moves for every MLB team. Two Kluber trades showed up on the list.

The first saw Schoenfield suggest that the Atlanta Braves trade for Kluber in exchange for OF Christian Pache, 3B Austin Riley and RHP Touki Toussaint.

The second was with the Milwaukee Brewers and saw Kluber being sent north in exchange for 2B Keston Hiura, OF Domingo Santana and RHP Freddy Peralta.

So as we can see, the Indians are getting several players in return in each deal.

I have stated all along that I do not want to see Kluber traded just yet. Unless the deal was so lopsided in the Indians favor, turning it down would be foolish. But that likely won’t happen at this point.

Both potential blockbluster trades proposed by Schoenfield also bring major-league ready talent to town. But Kluber is a perennial Cy Young contender. I would expect some proven All-Stars coming to Cleveland in return.

The goal remains to compete for a World Series and that means the team must go all out to do just that. There is the real possibility that if the team wins it, the group could be dismantled soon after and we could go through a rebuilding period that lasts an unknown length of time.

Is it still worth it if we get to celebrate at least one championship? I think so.

It should take a lot to get the Indians to trade Kluber. The deals presented in the ESPN article don’t do it for me.