Cleveland Indians prospects on the move, but not yet in trades

It wasn’t a banner weekend for the Indians, unless you’re talking about a banner that reads “Baseball sucks and I hate it.” Errors, mental lapses, and a complete lack of situational hitting doomed the Indians to getting swept by the team that surpassed them for best record in the AL. It’s not the end of the world. Every season has its ups and downs, even for the best team. But it was a good reminder that this team could use an upgrade piece or two to get them over the hump and into October. Speaking of upgrades, the trade winds are starting to pick up. Here’s what’s going on around the league.

Orioles 5, Indians 3

For the third game is a row, the Indians found themselves down early. For the third game in a row, they missed out on several key scoring opportunities. For the second start in a row, Corey Kluber was hooped out of a win. And first the first time ever, some jobber named Nolan or Dylan or Trevor Reimold beat the Indians with a walkoff homer against “closer” Cody Allen.

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Indians news & notes

Indians promote top prospects Bradley Zimmer, Clint Frazier to AAA | Cleveland.com - In case you missed it, the big boys are now one step closer to the big leagues. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t still be part of a potential trade deal soon...

Tribe targets: Ryan Braun | Burning River Baseball - A great deal of trade deadline discussion has focused on what it would take to bring in Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy, but BRB proposes putting together a package for an under-the-radar Brewer. It’s an intriguing prospect, but perhaps one too risky to seriously consider.

Does a Melvin Upton trade make sense? | Wahoo’s on First - Melvin Upton Jr. is another name that has been tenuously linked to the Indians as a potential trade target. Like Braun, Upton is getting up in years and is at risk for a significant decline in the next few years. He’s also due a lot of money this year and next. Probably not the greatest idea.

Indians welcome homecoming after road trip | Indians.com - It was shaping up to be a pretty decent road trip after series wins in Minnesota and KC, but then the Indians ran into a buzzsaw called incompetence in Baltimore. The good news? Twenty of the next 25 game will be played within the friendly confines of The Prog.

News from around the league

• In a move that somehow makes the Cubs more hateable, Chicago is closing in on a deal for Aroldis Chapman that is seemingly held up only by talks of an extension for Chapman
• The jersey destruction by Chris Sale wasn’t the only recent protest by the White Sox clubhouse
• The Kid was finally inducted and got emotional in his induction speech
• CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa has the trade rumour roundup, including news that the Mets are making a big push for Lucroy