Would Indians trade Trevor Bauer in middle of pennant race?

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported yesterday that he expects the Indians to be “aggressive listeners” on Trevor Bauer leading up to the trade deadline.

Which is weird because, last I checked, the Indians had cut the Twins AL Central lead in half to a manageable 5.5 games and, at the moment, are in playoff position as the second Wild Card team in the American League. Bauer has struggled a bit in the first half, and he remains somewhat inconsistent, but he has slowly begun to right the ship, allowing one or zero runs in four of his last six starts. When on, Bauer is one of the more dominating starters in the game. Would a team with serious playoff aspirations actually deal their best healthy starter at the deadline?

The argument for “yes,” as explained by Rosenthal, is that (a) Bauer is expected to leave via free agency after the 2020 season; (b) the Indians expect to get Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar and, possibly, Carlos Carrasco back in the second half; and (c) if they deal Bauer they can get some offense that will help them stay in and, possibly, better compete for that 2019 playoff spot.

The argument for “no, that’s insane” is that (a) a guy leaving after 2020 is not exactly gone yet, so saying you need to flip him now is disingenuous; (b) maybe Kluber comes back and is effective down the stretch but you CANNOT count on Danny Salazar given his injury history or Carlos Carrasco, who literally has cancer, to be your horse in a playoff race. It’s also worth asking what kind of offensive player would be worth the loss of Bauer. Rosenthal mentions that the Yankees are scouting Bauer, but what does that get Cleveland? Maybe the return of Clint Frazier? I like him long-term, but he is not going to be as valuable to the Indians in 2019 as Bauer would be.

Which makes me think that if this speculation actually has legs and the Indians actually trade Bauer, it’s a white flag trade. A surrender. A cost-savings measure, pure and simple. And a profoundly cynical one at that given that the Indians are in win-now mode, are actually winning now, and seem to be in very good position to at least win the Wild Card and, quite possibly, catch the currently-fading Twins for the division crown.

If the Tribe trades one of their best players in those circumstances, why would any fan want to support this team going forward?

Phils’ Hoskins tears knee, expected to miss significant time

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long the slugging first baseman might be sidelined.

Hoskins hit 30 homers with 79 RBIs last season for the reigning National League champions.

He was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Sooner after, he fell to the ground and began clutching his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off of the field.

Hoskins, a free agent at the end of the season who turned 30 last week, hit six homers in Philadelphia’s playoff run last season. The Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The injury was another blow for the Phillies, who will be without top pitching prospect Andrew Painter for another few weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow. And slugger Bryce Harper isn’t expected back until around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.