It is no secret that the Cleveland Indians have been playing some great baseball in their torrid start to the 2011 season. For the first time in a few years, the Tribe could find themselves in the position in the American League Central standings that they could emerge as ‘buyers’ at the All-Star Break rather than ‘sellers’.
Over the last couple seasons, we have seen C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Rafael Betancourt, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, among many others be dealt around the Break.
While there is no glaring weak spot on the roster as of yet, there may be some teams come the midpoint of the season who will be looking to clean house. Taking into account the fact that the Cleveland Indians are indeed a smaller-market franchise, these would be trades that would not only make sense on the diamond, but also in the checkbook.
While it is still very early in the season, the Indians could find themselves looking for pieces that could help push them to their first AL Central crown since 2007 and beyond with a deep run in the postseason.