Major League Baseball trade madness struck Tuesday night, about 20 hours before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, when the Cleveland Indians traded ace pitcher Trevor Bauer across the state to the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds sent mercurial outfielder Yasiel Puig back.
The San Diego Padres also were involved. They acquired Reds prospect Taylor Trammell in the deal and sent young players Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen to Cleveland.
It’s a multifaceted deal that will take years to fully evaluate, but the upshot for this year’s playoff picture is that Cleveland trades away a great pitcher — albeit one who threw a colossal temper tantrum Sunday — for an offensive boost.
What we know:#Reds give up Taylor Trammell, Yasiel Puig; get Trevor Bauer.#Indians give up Bauer; get Puig, Franmil Reyes and Logan Allen.#Padres give up Reyes and Allen, get Trammell.
Not known if other pieces involved.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019
The Indians make the call
Many say Bauer was in line to win the American League Cy Young Award last year before a freak injury on a line drive cost him several weeks, and he was effective this year, too.
But Bauer can be a headache, as most recently evidenced by his 300-foot throw over the center-field wall from the mound when he was pulled from Sunday’s game.
The Indians eventually decided this was the time to trade him, both for an offensive boost — Reyes has 27 home runs for the Padres, and we’ve all seen Puig’s prodigious power from his days with the Dodgers — and to be rid of Bauer.
Still, it’s quite a call for a red-hot team chasing down a playoff spot to trade away its best starter (at least with Corey Kluber on the shelf).
Factoring into Indians thinking on Bauer is that Salazar is back, Kluber is doing a simulated game soon and their belief and hope is that Carrasco will be back sometime this season. But they’ve obviously been wrestling with this for weeks. #CookieStrong
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2019
The other chess pieces
Taylor Trammell is baseball’s No. 30 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and the Padres are betting big on him here. They gave up Reyes, who doesn’t really have a defensive position but possesses big power, and Allen, a good prospect in his own right, to pick up Trammell.
Trammell has just a .688 OPS at Double-A this year, but again, he has a lot of promise.
Meanwhile, for the Reds, it’s a gamble to get rid of Puig, a popular veteran in the clubhouse, and a top prospect like Trammell, just for a year-plus of Trevor Bauer. If Bauer were to re-sign in Cincinnati, that equation would change, but it’s obviously no guarantee.
#Padres GM A.J. Preller placing a big bet on Taylor Trammell, the game’s No. 30 prospect according to @MLBPipeline. Trammell has struggled at AA, batting .236 with a .688 OPS. Franmil Reyes has hit 27 homers in the majors this season and Logan Allen is the game’s No. 98 prospect.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2019
