The Cleveland Indians have discussed the possibility of trading one of their top starting pitchers with multiple teams this offseason, and the talks they have had with the Los Angeles Dodgers apparently went beyond a casual conversation.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported on Sunday that the Indians and Dodgers have had “serious” discussions about a possible trade involving Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer. However, Cleveland is looking for a massive haul of top prospects in return, and a deal still seems unlikely.
Sources: In Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer trade talks, #Indians have yet to move off their insistence on a Chris Sale-level return in order to move one of them. Discussions with #Dodgers have been serious, but no sign of recent progress. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 6, 2019
The Dodgers added two more prospects to their farm system in their massive trade involving Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp last month, so there was speculation that they could use those new assets as part of an attempt to get Kluber.
Both Kluber and Bauer had outstanding seasons last year, and the former is a two-time Cy Young Award winner. You can understand why the Indians want a massive return, especially since neither pitcher is all that expensive relative to his performance. Kluber is owed $17 million in 2019 and has club options of $15.5 million and $16 million in 2020 and 2021. Bauer has two more seasons of arbitration left.
The Dodgers are not the only team that has discussed trading for Kluber, but the Indians don’t seem all that motivated to deal him or Bauer.
