Winter Meetings Recap: Cabrera trade talks are fluid

Day four of the winter meetings is almost in the books. The news and rumors are winding down as people have already began departing Nashville, but the activity should continue through most of the rest of today. If anything of substance regarding the Indians has legs we will provide the update on Twitter @TonyIPI and on the “news” page here on the site.

Here is a recap of all the Indians news from today, which is much shorter considering how quiet things have been the past 24 hours:

- What’s going on with this massive three or four team trade? This thing has been fluid over the past 72 hours with many different teams involved in it, though the Diamondbacks and Rangers have been the two constants. Up until today the Indians had been constants in those talks, but Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is now saying the blockbuster deal may just involve three teams the Rangers, Diamondbacks and Rays and that the Indians are out of it. The non-inclusion of the Indians would appear that they have dropped out of discussions with the Diamondbacks to send them shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera for young pitching, but the rumored three-team deal would supposedly not net the Diamondbacks a shortstop. If this is the case, then it would be safe to assume that the Indians and Diamondbacks are working on a traditional two-team trade between one another because both seem to want to get a deal done since the Diamondbacks want a shortstop and the Indians want young pitching. Momentum was being gained in the talks where last night some people in the industry felt a deal might get done today, but as the minutes and hours keep ticking away the chances of that appear remote. The Indians are also reportedly talking to other teams about Cabrera. Bottom line, whether they trade Cabrera today or in the coming days or weeks, it looks likely that the Indians will move him at some point this offseason.

- One of the interesting rumors that came about last evening was the Indians were talking to the Dodgers about shortstop Dee Gordon. They also have talked to free agent shortstop Stephen Drew. This obviously would be in response to a Cabrera trade, so the Indians appear to lining their ducks up in a row. The Indians may still go with Mike Aviles at shortstop if they trade Cabrera, but they still may opt to use him in a super utility role and bring in a stop gap option at shortstop (Drew) or a longer term option (Gordon). An acquisition of Gordon would be interesting as he is more of a long term solution at the position, and everyone knows the Indians have star prospect Francisco Lindor waiting in the wings. But, provided Lindor stays healthy and continues to develop and perform as hoped, he is probably still two or three years away from the big leagues as he probably would not debut until sometime at the end of the 2014 season or during the 2015 season. Gordon is a former high profile prospect that is young, plays very good defense, is athletic and has lots of speed. He has no power and the bat has been a question mark so far in his big league career, but he has held his own and many feel he is just beginning to come into his own. If the Indians were to trade Cabrera for pitching and somehow reel in Gordon, it would be a fantastic swap. Of course, to get Gordon the Indians would have to part with some valuable players, so my excitement may need to be tempered until I see what they potentially give up.

- The sweepstakes for first baseman/third baseman Kevin Youkilis could be coming to a close. The Yankees have reportedly offered him a one year $12 million deal, and the Indians and a few other teams are said to be in the mix and have offered two year deals for $16-18 million. The feeling from many in the industry is it could be down to the Indians and Yankees. He would get a lot more for one season with the Yankees, but with Alex Rodriguez expected back in June or July it could limit him to a designated hitter role. If he signs with the Indians, they would look at him as their primary first baseman but also have him as the designated hitter from time to time and maybe even give him a few games at first base. So, the playing opportunity appears to be better with the Indians, but the opportunity to win is better with the Yankees.

- Speaking of first basemen, the Indians have a lot. Even before a potential signing of Youkilis, the Indians have the likes of Matt LaPorta, Lars Anderson, Russ Canzler, Mike McDade, and now Chris McGuiness in tow as Major League options at first base. The Indians selected McGuiness in the Rule 5 Draft today, so he will obviously be given every opportunity to make the big league roster as the regular first baseman. He is a big left-handed hitter with a good eye at the plate, some solid power, and plays average defense at first base. The Rangers were also supposedly toying around with the idea of having him play some left field this offseason to add to his versatility, so that is something the Indians will probably continue to experiment with this coming spring so he can make the roster as a left-handed bat on the bench that can play left field, first base and designated hitter. With the absence of a true designated hitter after the departure of Travis Hafner, this could allow the Indians some flexibility in keeping two first base types on the roster and have more platoons.

- The Indians lost right-handed pitcher Hector Rondon in the Rule 5 Draft today (Cubs, 2^nd). Rondon is an interesting case as he was a minor league free agent that the Indians just resigned two months ago. He has pitched just 10.0 innings over the last two seasons - 41.2 innings over the last three seasons - because of elbow surgery in 2010 and an elbow fracture in 2011. He is having a very good showing this offseason in the Venezuela Winter League and his velocity is back in the mid-90s, so obviously the Cubs liked what they saw of him and are taking a small gamble on him. This is a case where I think the Cubs did him a disservice as he would have probably benefited more from a normal spring training not having to work too hard to make a Major League roster and just opened the season in Triple-A. Coming off three years of injuries, any bit of normalcy would have really helped. Instead, he will now go into spring training fighting to stay with the Cubs and make their big league opening day roster, which means he will overexert himself and could result in another injury or a lack of performance. That said, he is deserving of the selection and I wish him well, and considering his injury history and how much easier it is to hide a reliever on a Major League roster, he could be gone for good. It is not a big loss as his prospect value is minimal, but he could become a solid middle reliever in the big leagues if he stays healthy.

- The Indians also lost left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland in the Rule 5 Draft today (Orioles, 23^rd). He had a fine season overall, but after an impressive showing at Double-A Akron he really struggled in his first taste of Triple-A when he went to Columbus in June. He has average stuff with a high 80s fastball that touches the low 90s at times and a solid slider, but what makes him valuable is his ability to get groundballs with plus sinker. He is a lot like former Indians lefty Aaron Laffey as an athletic groundball machine from the left side, and will probably initially break into the big leagues in a swing role where he starts and pitches in long relief. Because he does not miss a lot of bats along and he also had a subpar showing in Triple-A this year, barring something surprising happening with him this spring, he will probably be returned to the Indians at some point. It is important to note that while every player has a chance to stick that generally 20-25% of all players selected are returned to their former teams, so all of McFarland, Rondon and McGuiness have the odds stacked against them. But, like I said with Rondon, I wish them all the best and lots of luck in achieving that big league dream.

Quick hits

- The Indians still remain as one of the main suitors for outfielder Nick Swisher. The Red Sox and Giants are supposedly out of the running for him, leaving the Indians, Mariners and Phillies as his strongest suitors. He is expected to wait and see what happens with outfielder Josh Hamilton because teams that lose out on Hamilton are expected to jump into the mix on him and his market could explode – which of course is not good for the Indians.

- The Indians have reportedly talked to outfielder Ryan Ludwick. He could be another fallback option for the outfield if they are unable to sign Swisher.

- The Indians have also reportedly talked to right-handed pitcher Mike Pelfrey. He had Tommy John surgery back in the spring, so he probably would miss the first month or two of the season, but is a big right-handed starter that teams may like as an option for the second half of the season.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.