2 trades that helped the Cleveland Guardians win the AL Central

Francisco Lindor

Monday night's Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees was postponed because of inclement weather in New York.

The game will be played at 3 o'clock CDT Tuesday. The winner will travel to Houston to face the Astros in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series on Wednesday.

That's a quick turnaround, so the big winner in this postponement would appear to be the Astros.

Regardless, I've been thinking lately about how the Guardians managed to win 92 games and basically blow the White Sox and Minnesota Twins out of the water in the AL Central this season. 

Hell, Cleveland was picked to finish third or fourth in a lot of preseason magazines, which is only proof that one never knows.

Two trades that Cleveland made in the recent past come to mind:

Aug. 31, 2020: Cleveland traded Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and a player to be named later to the San Diego Padres for Josh Naylor, Owen Miller, Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Gabriel Arias and Joey Cantillo.

Jan. 7, 2021: Cleveland traded Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets for Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf.

Look at that return that Cleveland got in that Clevinger deal. Is that about half their roster? 

Naylor is their cleanup hitter and second-best run producer. Miller appeared in 130 games for the Guardians this season as an all-purpose player. Hedges can't hit a lick, but he's Cleveland's primary catcher because of his outstanding defensive work at a premium position. 

Quantrill went 15-5 in 32 starts this season as Cleveland's No. 3 starter. Arias is a 22-year-old who appeared in only 16 regular season games for the Guardians, but hey, he was in the lineup for Game 4 against the Yankees.

Of those six guys in the Clevinger deal, five of them are helping the Guardians right now.

And Clevinger? He missed all of 2021 with an injury. Since the trade, the 31-year-old right-hander has posted a 4.12 ERA and 4.60 FIP over 27 appearances. 

Yes, I think the Guardians are happy with that trade.

I remember when Lindor was traded in January 2021, and many people -- including me -- thought Cleveland got fleeced. We were wrong.

Sure, Lindor is still a good player. He bounced back from a lackluster 2021 to post 26 homers, 107 RBIs and a 125 OPS+ for the New York Mets this season. And Carrasco provided New York with 29 decent starts in 2022 -- he was 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA.

However, I don't think the Guardians are disappointed in the return they got for those two players -- Gimenez and Rosario now are starting middle infielders for them on a playoff team.

Gimenez had a 7.2 WAR and made the All-Star team in his age-23 season this year. He batted .297 with 17 homers, 69 RBIs, an .837 OPS and a 141 OPS+. And oh yeah, he's the likely Gold Glove winner at second base in the American League this season.

That 7.2 WAR equals the best season Lindor had in a Cleveland uniform -- that coming in 2018.

The 26-year-old Rosario isn't quite as good Gimenez, but I don't think Cleveland fans are disappointed in the 4.1-WAR season they have received from their shortstop. Rosario batted .283 with 11 homers, 18 steals, 71 RBIs, a .715 OPS and a 106 OPS+ in 2022. That's not All-Star level, but it's certainly above league average.

So, how did Cleveland get this good? There are a few different reasons. Shane Bieber is an elite, reliable starting pitcher. Triston McKenzie has made strides to join him at the top of the rotation. Emmanuel Clase is the best closer in the AL, and he has two good relievers setting him up in James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan.

But when you're telling the story of this Cleveland Guardians team, you have to look at these two trades, which netted them three-quarters of their starting infield -- including one All-Star -- a starting catcher and a starting pitcher, plus two other players who are at least helping on the margins.

While the Guardians did move three decent-to-great players in those deals, they absolutely got quality coming the other way.

Indians trade Francisco Lindor, Carlos Carrasco to Mets

Francisco Lindor

The complexion of the 2021 American League Central race was altered Thursday as the Cleveland Indians traded the face of their franchise, plus a starting pitcher, to the New York Mets.

Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco are on their way to New York, and in return, the Indians received two middle infielders -- Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez -- and two prospects -- pitcher Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Greene.

A trade of Lindor has long been rumored, and with him entering the last season of his contract, the Indians finally swung a deal. In doing so, their chances of winning the AL Central are greatly diminished. 

In truth, Cleveland has been subtracting talent for a while. In recent times, we've seen the Indians trade Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger. They also cut ties with reliable closer Brad Hand because of money. 

In 2020, most of the Cleveland offense came from four guys: Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana and Franmil Reyes. Santana is gone, having signed a free-agent deal with the Kansas City Royals, and now the perennial All-Star Lindor is out the door as well.

Ramirez is a great player, arguably as good as Lindor, but now he's going to have to carry the Indians' lineup by himself. I'd be pitching around him a lot in 2021. 

Cleveland's starting rotation will not be crap, even with the subtraction of Carrasco -- a respected 11-year veteran who is 15 games over .500 in his career. The Indians still have the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner in Shane Bieber, plus Zach Plesac, Triston McKenzie and Aaron Civale.

There's enough there to stay competitive most nights, but now it would be a surprise if the Indians are able to hang with the Minnesota Twins and White Sox all season in the AL Central.

That said, I can't say the Indians did poorly in this deal. Everyone knew they had to trade Lindor, so it was unlikely they were going to get a king's ransom in return. What they did get is two players who will start for them immediately. Rosario figures to be their shortstop. Gimenez will likely play second, with free agent Cesar Hernandez unlikely to return.

Wolf was a second-round draft pick of the Mets in 2019. Greene was a second-rounder in 2020.

The return could have been worse for Cleveland, but I'm sure that's of little consequence to their fans, who have to be saddened to see two solid performers walking out the door -- one of which has been the franchise cornerstone through some very good years.