Yankees Rumors: Trevor Bauer could be available this summer

According to Joel Sherman, there is growing speculation that Cleveland could look to trade Trevor Bauer this summer, and reports suggest that the Yankees may be interested.

Should the Twins continue to hold onto first place well into July, and Corey Kluber is unable to return from a broken pitching elbow, there is the belief that Cleveland could look to trade Trevor Bauer. After all, the Yankees were rumored just this past offseason about potentially acquiring the 28-year-old right-hander.

Currently sitting just 4.5 games out of first place in the AL Central, the Indians are still very much in the thick of a two-horse race — especially when you consider the baseball season doesn’t genuinely begin to take shape until Memorial Day.

Thanks to the advent of the second Wild Card, many teams, some unworthy, stay in the hunt for the Postseason until August, thereby putting a premium on trades this season — now that the post-July 31 waiver trade period has been wiped away.

However, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports, win or lose, nothing is off the table for Cleveland this summer.

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Few baseball operations departments are more widely admired around the sport than that of the Indians. And when you ask outsiders, they say president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff will honestly assess their situation.Translation: Their best chance to win the Indians’ first title since 1948 was 2016-18 (particularly 2016). They will not keep throwing prospects and tight funds at a pipe dream to avoid repeating the Tigers’ path from serial contenders to punching bags. Thus, even if their record is somewhat inflated by their divisional competition, they will not hesitate to trade, say, Trevor Bauer, Brad Hand or Carlos Santana if it sets them up to shorten any period of retooling.

Bauer, who made his first All-Star team in 2018, and finished sixth for the AL Cy Young Award, is again pitching well this season.

During an AL-high 64.2 innings, the Los Angeles native is 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.160 WHIP and 75:31 K:BB ratio. Although he has already allowed eight home runs (nine all of last season), Bauer has given up only 44 hits across 10 starts.

Arbitration eligible through 2020, trading for Bauer would likely cost more so than free-agent-to-be Madison Bumgarner. However, it would also be far less expensive, money-wise, than dealing for another potentially available arm in Max Scherzer.

The other positive of acquiring a pitcher like Bauer — that is still a few years away from reaching his professional peak would be keeping him away from American League competition such as the Red Sox and Astros.

While some may question Bauer’s mentality, and if it can withstand the undefeated New York media (if/when he is placed on the trade block), the Yankees should consider making a serious offer.