Let me begin by saying that if the Indians are within striking distance of 1st place in July, C.C. will not be traded. Indians general manager Mark Shapiro has publicly stated he will not deal Sabathia if the team is still competing for first place in July. Mark also believes the club still has a shot at resigning the lefty to a fat contract in the off-season (optimism at its finest).
So we must make a couple assumptions when analyzing a potential C.C. Sabathia trade. First, and foremost, we assume the Cleveland Indians will be out of the divisional and wild card races no later than July 31st. Second, we assume the trade market is rich enough to make a deal worthwhile. Essentially, it’s too early to predict what will happen.
Should it happen?
Predictions aside, I believe the Indians should trade C.C. Sabathia if a good deal presents itself. Shapiro is doing the right thing by publicly stating he wants to keep the reigning Cy Young winner, but behind closed doors he knows a new contract is unlikely. Unless the Indians are somehow frontrunners to go to the World Series by the end of July, I'm looking for a deal.
Let's face it, the Indians have too many holes patched with duct tape to ignore offers for a guy that, while immensely talented, will be walking next year. The bullpen needs help. The lineup could use a power hitter. There's a gaping hole at second base. The farm club is running out of good prospects. Wedge is running out of new ways to arrange the lineup. Dealing C.C. could solve many of these problems.
Jake Westbrook’s season ending injury should not be overlooked, however. Losing Sabathia means the tribe would be left with a rotation of Fausto Carmona, Cliff Lee, Paul Byrd, Aaron Laffey, and Jeremy Sowers. Not bad, but can Sowers handle being the 5th starter? Furthermore, do we really want FOUR lefties in the rotation? Dealing Sabathia would sit much better with me if we still had Westbrook around.
Despite the downgrade in the rotation, I still think the Indians should actively shop C.C. at the trade deadline. If he can draw even half of what the Twins got for Johan Santana, I’d pull the trigger.
