Indians GM Chris Antonetti not interested in trading starting pitchers
If the Cleveland Indians are going to be sellers this year, it doesn't look like they'll be trading off any of their talented, young starting pitchers.
With the Indians sitting 11 games behind the first-place Royals in the AL Central (5 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot), it seems as if Cleveland would be best-suited to sell off some pieces before this year's non-waiver trade deadline.
While a number of Indians players are drawing interest from other teams, don't expect to see GM Chris Antonetti make a deal involving any of their young pitchers.
"There is a lot of interest in a lot of our players," Antonetti told Cleveland.com.
Unwilling to sacrifice any of their young starters, it seems unlikely that the Indians will be able to acquire the offensive help they need.
"As a general manager you always feel that you want to make a move to help the team," said Antonetti (via Cleveland.com). "My job, though, is to balance the short term with the long term. We're all by nature extremely competitive people and we want to see results immediately. At the same time we need to make smart decisions for the organization."
Cleveland currently ranks 12th in the AL in runs scored, averaging under four runs per game, while the first-place Royals average 4.4. The Indians have also struggled mightily to hit with runners in scoring position, averaging .228 and ranked 13th in the league.
With the division title seemingly too far out of reach, the Indians best chance to make the postseason is clinching a Wild Card spot. However, Antonetti doesn't see it that way.
"That's not what we're focused on," he said. "We're focused on how do we win as many games as we can? We can't control what every other team does. We can't control what the Royals do.
"We're focused on how do we win as many games as we can because ultimately that will decided if we make the postseason whether it's as the division winner or the wild card."
(h/t Cleveland.com)
