FanPost

The best trade deadline deals in Cleveland Indians history

The Indians could have spared their fans a lot of arguing if they'd just kept this guy. * PHOTO - Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

The Indians didn't make a blockbuster trade before the July 31 deadline, which probably is a good thing. In order to procrastinate on doing my actual writing jobs, I figured I'd write this 2,500-word post about the best Indians deadline trades of the past. I considered trades beginning in 1986, when the deadline was moved from June 15 to July 31, and I considered a deadline deal to be any trade made between the All-Star break and the end of July. So the Bartolo Colon and C.C. Sabathia trades miss the cut for being too early in the season.

July 11, 1990

  • Indians trade C Tom Lampkin to San Diego for CF Alex Cole

The Indians reached the All-Star break in third place with a 40-42 record, six games behind the Boston Red Sox. They swapped Tom Lampkin, a 26-year-old catcher who was hitting .221/.294/.322 for AAA Colorado Springs, for Alex Cole, a 24-year-old center fielder who was hitting .290/.376/.334 for AAA Las Vegas. Cole was a former second-round draft pick who had never played in the majors.

The Indians initially sent Cole to Colorado Springs, but he forced a promotion by hitting .429/.509/.469 in two weeks there. He was the Indians' leadoff hitter in August and September and finished with a .300/.379/.357 line, scoring 43 runs in 63 games thanks to 40 steals. If a rookie performed like that and led a team to the playoffs, the season would go down in history. Unfortunately, it would have taken about eight deals this good for those Indians to overtake Boston.

Cole was good again in 1991, hitting .295/.386/.354 in 122 games. He lost his job to Kenny Lofton in 1992, flamed out in a reserve role, and was dealt to Pittsburgh. He finished with 2.6 WAR for the Indians. Lampkin compiled 0.2 WAR in very little action over three seasons for the Padres and didn't stick in the majors until 1995.

July 14, 1992

  • Indians trade RF Kyle Washington to Baltimore for RHP Jose Mesa

The Indians were in last place with a 36-52 record at this All-Star break. They sent Kyle Washington, a 22-year-old outfielder who was hitting .293/.385/.358 for AA Canton-Akron, for Jose Mesa, a 26-year-old starting pitcher who was 3-8 with a 5.19 ERA. The Orioles were in second place and could not afford to keep starting Mesa, who had a 5.41 career ERA and more walks than strikeouts. Washington was coming off a monster 1991 season when he hit .342/.436/.525 with 52 steals in A ball, but the Indians had no need for outfield prospects with 25-year-olds Kenny Lofton, Mark Whiten, and Albert Belle all in the major leagues.

Mesa joined the Indians rotation and went 4-4 with a 4.16 ERA the rest of 1992 and 10-12 with a 4.92 ERA in 1993. He moved to the bullpen in 1994 and was a workhorse, pitching 73 innings in relief with a 3.82 ERA in a strike-shortened, 113-game season. His K/BB rate, which was 1.21 in his career entering the season, improved to 2.42. He became the Indians' closer in 1995 and would hold that role through 1997. In those three seasons he appeared in 197 games, saved 101, and had a 2.47 ERA. He allowed only nine runs in 1995 and finished second in Cy Young voting and fourth in MVP voting. He was traded to the Giants in 1998.

Mesa later closed for the Mariners, Phillies, and Pirates and ranks 17th in baseball history with 321 career saves. He compiled 10.5 WAR for the Indians. Kyle Washington hit poorly for Baltimore's AA affiliate in 1992 and 1993 and was out of organized baseball by 1994.

July 28, 2000

  • Indians trade LF Ricky Ledee to Texas for 1B David Segui

Despite an incredibly talented team, the Indians had scuffled to a 51-48 record. The Indians trailed the White Sox by 10.5 games in the AL Central but were only three games behind Oakland in a crowded wild card race. They traded Ricky Ledee, a 26-year-old left fielder who was hitting .236/.325/.409, for David Segui, a 34-year old first baseman who was hitting .336/.391/.519. The Indians hoped Segui could replace the production of Dave Justice, who had been traded three weeks earlier for Ledee and Jake Westbrook.

Segui did just that. He hit .332/.384/.498 for the Tribe, playing every day as he and Jim Thome split the first base and DH roles. In 57 games, Segui scored 41 runs and drove in 46 despite hitting sixth or seventh in the lineup. Unfortunately, the Indians fell just short despite Segui's contributions. The Indians went 39-24 after the trade but finished a game behind both Oakland and Seattle for the wild card. Ledee hit only .233/.309/.349 in a year and a half with Texas before becoming a free agent.

I was at Jacobs Field for the final weekend, in which the Indians swept the Blue Jays but saw their season end because the A's and Mariners both won Saturday and Sunday. This would have been a perfect year for a second wild card as the Indians were playing great baseball when their season ended.

July 19, 2002

  • Indians trade LHP Chuck Finley and RF Luis Garcia to St. Louis for CF Coco Crisp

These Indians had a 42-52 record and scarcely resembled their playoff team of a year before. They traded Chuck Finley, a 39-year-old pitcher who was 4-11 with a 4.44 ERA, and Luis Garcia, a 23-year-old outfielder who was hitting .289/.343/.452 for AA Akron, for Coco Crisp, a 22-year-old outfielder who was hitting .301/.365/.428 for AA New Haven. The rebuilding Indians clearly had no use for Finley, so they sold him to the highest bidder for the stretch run. Crisp was a good prospect who was not going to supplant Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, or J.D. Drew in the St. Louis outfield.

Finley pitched his best baseball in years, going 7-4 down the stretch with a 3.80 ERA to help the Cardinals win their division. The Cardinals won both of his playoff starts but lost to the Barry Bonds-led Giants in the NLCS. Finley retired after the season. Garcia never made the big leagues.

Unlike FInley, Crisp was just getting started. He reached the majors a few weeks after the trade and was a good-fielding center fielder and mediocre hitter until his breakout season in 2004. That year, Crisp hit .297/.344/.436 with 15 home runs and 20 steals. Combined with good defense, his season was worth 3.3 WAR. Crisp followed that up with a career year in 2005, hitting .300/.345/.465 with 16 home runs and 15 steals. He was outstanding in left and center field and his season was worth 4.3 WAR. He played the game with joy and flair and was a fan favorite at Jacobs Field.

Crisp headlined an ill-fated trade after the 2005 season that brought back Andy Marte, Guillermo Mota, and Kelly Shoppach. Crisp won a World Series with Boston in 2007 and later started for three straight playoff teams in Oakland. He compiled 8.8 WAR for the Indians and over 29 WAR in his career to date.

July 26, 2006

  • Indians trade 1B Ben Broussard to Seattle for RF Shin-Soo Choo and LHP Shawn Nottingham

The Indians were out of contention in late July at 44-55. They traded Ben Broussard, a 29-year-old first baseman who was hitting .321/.361/.519, for Shin-Soo Choo, a 24-year-old outfielder who was hitting .323/.394/.499 for AAA Tacoma, and Shawn Nottingham, a 21-year-old starting pitcher who was 5-12 with a 4.12 ERA for high-A Inland Empire. The Indians sold high on Broussard to a Seattle team that was three games out of first in the AL West and desperate for offense.

Broussard was a bust in Seattle. He hit just .238/.282/.427 for the rest of 2006 as the Mariners finished last in the AL West at 78-84. He wasn't much better in 2007 and was out of baseball by 2009. Broussard performed below replacement level after the trade. Nottingham never reached the majors, but Choo blossomed into an outstanding hitter for the Indians. He hit .292/.383/.469 over seven seasons for the Tribe, compiling 21.7 WAR. He received MVP votes in 2010, when he hit .300/.401/.484 with 22 home runs and 22 steals. With one year remaining on his contract, Choo was the main piece in a trade that brought back Trevor Bauer, Bryan Shaw, and Drew Stubbs.

From Seattle's perspective, this is the nightmare scenario for a trade. They gave up six years of a very good player in exchange for adding a sub-replacement player for the stretch run in a last place season. A trade like the Finley-Crisp deal is the cost of doing business for a team like the Cardinals that develops more talent than it has spots on the field, while a trade like this one hurts a small market club for years.

July 27, 2007

  • Indians trade C Max Ramirez to Texas for CF Kenny Lofton

The Indians were 59-43 and had their strongest team in years. They trailed the Tigers by a game and a half in the AL Central but led the wild card race. They traded Max Ramirez, a 22-year old catcher who was hitting .303/.418/.505 for high-A Kinston, for Kenny Lofton, a 40-year-old outfielder who was hitting .303/.380/.438. Far from being a nostalgia-driven move, this was necessary on the field. The Indians' Trot Nixon was washed up at age 33, while Lofton was still an above average player.

Grady Sizemore's presence allowed the Indians to move Lofton to left field, where he was still a plus defender. With Franklin Gutierrez in right and the likes of Nixon and Jason Michaels on the bench, the Indians deployed a great defensive outfield and eliminated their greatest weakness. Lofton batted seventh and hit a respectable .283/.344/.370. The Indians went 38-23 after the deal and overtook Detroit to win the AL Central. In Lofton's 11th postseason, he hit .279/.326/.419. Ramirez never made the majors so this trade is an easy win for the Indians.

July 26, 2008

  • Indians trade 3B Casey Blake to Los Angeles for C Carlos Santana and RHP Jon Meloan

The Indians were 45-56 and had waved the white flag three weeks earlier by trading C.C. Sabathia. They traded Casey Blake, a 34-year-old third baseman who was hitting .289/.365/.465, for Carlos Santana, a 22-year-old catcher who was hitting .323/.431/.563 for high-A Inland Empire, and Jon Meloan, a 24-year-old pitcher who was 5-10 with a 4.97 ERA for AAA Las Vegas. Blake was an impending free agent, so he was of no use to the non-contending Indians but represented a big upgrade for the Dodgers over the platoon of Blake DeWitt and Andy LaRoche.

Blake hit .251/.313/.460 with 10 home runs in 58 games down the stretch, helping the Dodgers to win the NL West. The Dodgers' Manny Ramirez-fueled playoff push ended with an NLCS loss to the Phillies. They re-signed Blake to a three-year deal in the offseason, during which he compiled 8.2 WAR to finish out his career. Santana reached the majors for good two years after the trade and has hit .246/.366/.436 so far for the Tribe with 110 home runs in 745 games. He has compiled 17.8 WAR while pleasing, polarizing, and frustrating various sections of the Indians' fan base. He is signed through 2016 with an option for 2017. Meloan pitched only two innings for the Indians and is now in independent ball.

Blake was a good acquisition for the Dodgers, but even at the time there was a common perception that they overpaid—particularly since they arguably gave up less-regarded prospects to add Ramirez three days later.

July 31, 2010

  • Indians trade RHP Jake Westbrook to St. Louis in a three-team deal for RHP Corey Kluber

On deadline day, these Indians were a flat-out bad team at 42-61. They traded Jake Westbrook, a 32-year-old pitcher who was 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA, and received Corey Kluber, a 24-year-old pitcher who was 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA for AA San Antonio. Westbrook was an oft-injured impending free agent who wasn't pitching particularly well, so the Indians swapped him for a lottery ticket in the form of a 24-year-old pitcher who was repeating Double-A. Westbrook went to St. Louis, the Cardinals sent Ryan Ludwick to San Diego, and the Padres traded Nick Greenwood to St. Louis and Kluber to the Indians.

Like every pitcher who goes to the Cardinals in a July trade, Westbrook shaved a run off his ERA and went 4-4, 3.48 down the stretch. The Cardinals missed the playoffs but saw enough to bring him back for a three-year deal, during which he was a solid back-end starter who went 32-28 with a 4.40 ERA to finish off his career. Westbrook won a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 2011. For the Indians, Kluber turned out to be the proverbial diamond in the rough. After a solid 2013 in which he had a 3.85 ERA in 24 starts, he won the Cy Young in 2014 in a monster season that saw him go 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts. He is one of baseball's best starting pitchers and is under club control through 2019 after signing an extension, with team options through 2021.

The Indians and Cardinals were both winners in this trade, so of course the third team, the Padres, got fleeced. The Cardinals sent an unproductive Ryan Ludwick to San Diego, where he hit just .211/.301/.330 down the stretch for a Padres team that missed the playoffs by one game. St. Louis didn't even have to give up their own prospect to add Westbrook. The Padres might well have made the playoffs in 2010 if they hadn't been playing a sub-replacement level Ludwick, and they lost a future Cy Young winner in the bargain. In the Padres' defense, nobody saw Kluber as a Cy Young-type pitcher until a few months before he actually won the award.

Also Considered

1995 - David Bell, Pepe McNeal, and Rick Heiserman for Ken Hill

Hill was a great acquisition, but the Indians gave up a player who went on to be a productive MLB regular for several seasons. I view this more as a fair trade.

1996 - Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza for Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino

Baerga had very little left while Kent had a near-Hall of Fame career after this trade, so it could have been the best on this list - but Kent and Vizcaino were each here only for two mediocre months.

2009 - Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp

2009 - Victor Martinez for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price

The Indians got a good player in each of these trades, but they gave up legitimate superstars so that's pretty much the expected return.

2010 - Austin Kearns for Zach McAllister

It is impressive that the Indians got anything for Kearns, but all that goodwill is eliminated by the fact that they signed him again in 2011.

Which deadline deal do you think was best for the Indians?

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