Indians: A few surprising moves made at the non-tender deadline

The Cleveland Indians made a few obvious decisions Monday night along with a few that seem a bit odd given the state of the team.

MLB free agency is moving a bit faster this offseason and the Cleveland Indians decided to spice things up with a trade on Monday.

A trade for a backup catcher.

The Indians acquired catcher Sandy Leon from the Boston Red Sox. That signaled some movement at the catcher position was set to happen. Was superstar Roberto Perez being moved? Not quite.

Here is a recap of all the moves made Monday:

Leon comes to Cleveland and replaces Kevin Plawecki as the backup catcher. Leon reportedly received a $2 million deal with the Indians, which is a bit of an increase over Plawecki in terms of money.

Backup catcher is not the most glaring need but apparently the Indians see Leon as an upgrade. Insert a shrug emoji here.

Both Plawecki and James Hoyt are seeking new jobs in moves that won’t draw too much attention from fans. Neither were major factors in the World Series chase in 2020.

The other move was signing Andrew Velazquez, who appeared in five games for the Indians in 2019. Once again, not a major move, but one that is interesting considering the Indians could easily go out in free agency and acquire some proven talent to add to the roster.

Both Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Villar are off the market now. They were not the only options, but talent is finding new homes while the Indians stay put. Calling up Nolan Jones at some point does seem like a possibility in 2020. I’m just not sure he is ready to contribute to a World Series push the moment he arrives.

Swapping backup catchers is a vintage Indians move. Fans are waiting to learn more about Francisco Lindor‘s long-term situation, but Leon is the big name of the day.

Just another odd offseason for Indians fans.