Cleveland Indians trade rumors: Daniel Hudson expected to be traded soon

According to several reports, the Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to finally deal reliever Daniel Hudson soon. Three hours ago was actually soon, based on the first tweet from MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, but he still has not been dealt. So "soon" is, in reality, likely to be tomorrow. The important question for Cleveland Indians fans is: Will he be traded to the Tribe?

Outside of opinions and general spitballing, the Indians have not been officially linked to talks to the the 29-year-old yet that I can find, but a deal would make sense for both sides. The Indians could use a reliever, as I have noted before (although you could argue they need a lefty more), and they also have several prospects that could help out the D'Backs in the next season or two, if general manager Dave Stewart is hesitant to jump feet-first into a rebuild after spending so much last offseason to acquire Shelby Miller and Zach Greinke.

After a strong start to the season, Hudson has stumbled in July. In just 6.1 relief innings, Hudson has allowed 12 earned runs off of 16 hits. ZiPS and Steamer projections think he will be better than the 6.08 ERA he has on the season, with the former dropping him to 3.82 and the latter putting him at 3.55.

Hudson is only under contract until through 2016, so if the Indians are indeed one of the teams interested in Hudson, as MLB Daily Dish suspects, then he will be a rental at best, which could potentially make him cheaper for a team like the Indians who seem hesitant to sink their farm on one player.