NASHVILLE, Tenn: The Indians and Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday engaged in trade talks involving All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier, but the two sides have yet to find a fit.
Frazier would provide an upgrade at third base for the Indians and bolster the lineup. Last season, he hit .255 with 35 home runs and 89 RBI en route to an All-Star bid and a title in the Home Run Derby. Among qualified third basemen, Frazier is tied for fourth in baseball with a combined 9.1 WAR, per FanGraphs, over the last two seasons.
Frazier is scheduled to make $7.5 million in 2016 and is eligible for arbitration in 2017 before he hits the open market.
The Reds are rebuilding and appear to be open to trading just about all of their established players at the major-league level. They reportedly had a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for closer Aroldis Chapman, but that trade fell apart when a report surfaced that Chapman was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in October.
But the rebuild continues in Cincinnati as the Reds look for prospects and the Indians look to add a bat to their lineup. That difference in targeted value and time frame could make for a match, though it has been reported that the two sides have been unable to come to terms and a deal could now be unlikely.
“I think in any type of trade discussion, when the time frame is different for one team or another, it can make it easier to align just because you value one thing and the other team values another thing,” Indians General Manager Mike Chernoff said. “It can be much easier to find a fit. When a team is looking to impact their major-league team but just balance it out in a different way, it’s much harder to find that fit because you’re going to value your own players more than any other team, usually.
“So I think, not specific to [Cincinnati], but any case where one team is rebuilding and one isn’t, it can at least provide the time frame aspect of it to have interests that are different from what the other team is looking at.”
The Indians continue to discuss the possibility of dealing a starting pitcher — most likely Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar — in order to bolster the offense and add a bat.
One of the reasons the right match hasn’t been found is that the Indians, like many other teams, value talented, controllable starting pitchers.
The Arizona Diamondbacks just sent a massive haul — headlined by Ender Inciarte, a talented young outfielder and this past year’s No. 1 overall pick in the draft Dansby Swanson — to the Atlanta Braves for starting pitcher Shelby Miller, who is in some ways comparable to Carrasco and Salazar. There’s the also the fact that two pitchers — David Price and Zack Greinke — just received contracts in excess of $200 million each.
The going rate for a pitcher with the talent and contractual situation of a Carrasco or Salazar is pricey, and the Indians aren’t going to let go of either unless they find a great deal of value.
“I think [the Diamondbacks-Braves trade] just shows the high value of major-league controllable starters,” Chernoff said. “So, whether it’s on the free-agent market and you’re seeing what guys are getting in terms of dollars, or you’re seeing on the trade market what teams are giving up for controllable starters, I think it just reaffirms the value of those guys, whether it’s to us as we keep them or if other teams come at us as we explore potential options.”
The Indians also don’t just feel that they are giving up a valuable commodity. They know they won’t be able to get anything like it back unless they also pay a hefty price.
“You see the demand for pitching right now and, fortunately, that’s the one thing we really have and we’re glad,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “So we realize that it’s hard to get pitching. You see what it cost us.”
Two more teams were added to the rumor mill in relation to an Indians starting pitcher on Wednesday. The Houston Astros are looking at Carrasco and the San Francisco Giants are looking at Salazar. Both times, reportedly, the Indians’ asking price was lofty.
For now, the Indians are still listening to offers. But they won’t be budging on value anytime soon.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.