With less than a day until the season's only trade deadline arrvied, Major League Baseball needed a couple of clubs to step up on Tuesday, and a couple of unlikely candidates rose to the occasion.
The Indians parted with Trevor Bauer, but in a way that doesn't necessarily dim their pursuits for the AL Central or wild card berth. They dealt him to Cincinnati, of all teams, in a three-way deal with the Padres, and managed to get guys who should offer some help now (rental Yasiel Puig), help later (left-handed pitching prospect Logan Allen), and help now and later (Franmil Reyes).
The Reds dealt top prospect Taylor Trammell to the Padres, which is why they gave up Reyes and Allen to the Indians.
There's risk in trading a guy like Bauer, whose ERA (3.79) and underlying stats (4.17 FIP) have taken a step back, but partially because he's been asked to do so much. He leads the American League in innings and batters faced. Then again, that's part of the reason to deal a horse like Bauer -- if they indeed used him all the way up, that and less team control would detract from the kind of return they could get later. They just have to hope that Corey Kluber and/or Carlos Carrasco can offer enough when they return from their respective injury and illness.
If they can, then using Bauer to fill in holes in the outfield (Puig) and DH (Reyes) makes this approach more "divide and conquer" than "splitting the baby." I've been fascinated by Reyes' career stat line from afar (43 homers, 17 doubles, 77 RBIs with a .265 average, which seems impossible), and now I'll get to see it up close. If Bauer's impact was a B+, then they can get away with three B's in return. If they trade a B+ for three C+'s, then that's where the trade's impact is muted.
It wouldn't surprise me if Allen contributes way more than anybody else, and sooner than expected, given the Indians' talent for developing guys who arrive and stick (Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac).
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As for the White Sox, we'll only need five-plus more hours to know whether this newfound desire to keep Alex Colomé ...
... is just a thinly veiled leverage ploy leaked through the White Sox' reporter of choice. The White Sox had an argument for keeping Colomé when they were only a good weekend away from .500, but their 4-14 start to the second half shows the diminished impact a high-leverage reliever provides when there aren't leads to protect. Colomé will become a more expensive high-leverage reliever in his last year of arbitration next season, so this half-season seems to contain a lot more of his trade value than his 2020 alone.
