Kansas City Royals: How will AL Central fare in early 2020s?
By Cody Rickman
CLEVELAND INDIANS
Notable departures:
- Corey Kluber SP
Even with the recent departure of the former Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber via trade and Trevor Bauer (midseason trade), the Cleveland Indians promise to have one the best starting rotations in the American League. Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Shane Bieber are strong combination at the top of the rotation. The Indians bullpen was inconsistent in 2019 and should be better in 2020.
Positionally, the Indians still have stars in Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. The Indians have been in the hot stove news a lot recently with potentially moving Lindor and Mike Clevinger to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The return on a Lindor and Clevinger trade to the Dodgers could net the Indians some exceptional talent like top prospects Gavin Lux SS, Dustin May SP, and Keibert Ruiz C.
The Outfield and Catcher positions for the Indians are still in flux and there might be a revolving door for players for each of those positions.
After the Indians traded away Bauer mid-season and Corey Kluber this offseason, the front office may be moving the ball club into a rebuild due to financial constraints. If the Indians move Lindor and Clevinger to the Dodgers, expect the Indians to move into a full rebuild mode.
Depending on the returns of a potential Lindor/Clevinger trade, the Indians could fall from the top of the division. Several of the Indians top prospects are nearly ready, but none of them appear to be future stars. Nolan Jones 3B, Triston McKenzie SP, Tyler Freeman SS, and Logan Allen SP all appear to be prospects capable of projecting into solid to good careers.
The Indians are looking more and more like they are heading into a rebuild and may hover around 74 wins for much of the new decade.