The Cleveland Indians absolutely ran away with the AL Central title this season. But, as they enter the offseason, they are willing to trade some of their valuable assets.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the only players that appear safe at the moment are SS Francisco Lindor and 3B/1B Jose Ramirez. So, players like RHP Corey Kluber and RHP Carlos Carrasco among others will be open for business during the Winter Meetings.
For the Yankees, an ace is exactly what they are looking for with Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka not proving they can be that consistent starter. Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, and those type of pitchers rarely get shopped around.
"Who wouldn't be?" a Yankees team source told the Daily News' Wallace Matthews when asked if the team would be interested in Kluber. "I'm sure (the Indians) would want a lot for him but I know what our people think of Kluber. So I'm sure we'd be interested."
Kluber had yet another fine season with the Indians, boasting a 2.89 ERA over 215 innings with 222 strikeouts in 33 starts.
The only knock on the 32-year-old righty would be his postseason performance the past two seasons. Obviously, the Yankees will be making moves to further their champsionship-caliber roster, and pitching this past postseason was one of their downfalls.
Back in 2017, it was actually the Yankees that hit Kluber hard in the ALDS -- both games coming at Progressive Field. He owned a 12.79 ERA over 6.1 innings after allowing nine earned runs that included four homers. This season against the Astros in the ALDS, he had a 7.71 over 4.2 innings. But Kluber has World Series experience from the Indians' run in 2016, where he fared well during their ride.
In regards to his contract, Kluber is set to make $15 million with a team option in 2020 and 2021 before hitting free agency in 2022. The haul for such a player is likely to be high, but the Yankees have the assets to strike a deal.
So, while free agents like Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi will certainly be looked at, a trade with the Indians could be in GM Brian Cashman's agenda this winter, too.