It's coming, folks. Brace for it.

Every July there are lots of rumors about teams trading for pieces they need.

Well, the Indians need pieces.   Certainly they need bullpen help, maybe even more by then than they do right now.

Maybe they even need that RH bat in the OF, depending on how the defensively-challenged Melky Cabrera hits.  

But here is the rub: People will want the Indians' top prospects.

Remember Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier and others for Andrew Miller?   That was two of our top 3 prospects.

People say that prospects are just that.  Not a sure thing.

But we are in Cleveland and prospects are the ONLY thing we can afford.

And, yes, some prospects don't work out.  Still, on this team, Jose Ramirez was a prospect, Francisco Lindor was a prospect.  Cody Allen was a prospect, Roberto Perez was a prospect, Lonnie Chisenhall was a prospect, Jason Kipnis was a prospect and the list goes on and on.

The point is that this team is built on a foundation of our prospects.

But wait, the story gets better.  This team is also built on propsects we got from other teams in deadline deals.  Mike Clevinger, Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco all came over in deadline deals.

Cory Kluber and Trevor Bauer were prospects when they were traded to the Indians in winter deals.

The point here is that prospects are NOT just prospects.   To Cleveland they are a way to build a team whose window is wide open in terms of getting to the playoffs.

And this July we will no doubt be looking to get more veterans by trading prospects.

So which prospects are you willing to give up for a 2-month rental or a 1 year and 2 month rental?

Francisco Mejia?  Triston McKenzie?  Shane Bieber?  Bobby Bradley?   Or maybe you are willing to give up top prospects like Nolan Jones or Will Benson because they are so far away from Cleveland?
The point here is that there is a good chance that we will trade for a guy we could have had for cash over the winter.  Yes, we might have overpaid in dollars to get a particular guy in free agency.   However, we will now have to overpay in prospects to get that same guy.

For someone who has been following the Indians closely for almost 60 years it pains me to know that this is going to happen BECAUSE the Indians wouldn't spend more money over the winter on some of the free agent relievers.

In Cleveland, trading prospects for short-term fixes just should NOT be part of the equation.

But that is what we will likely see this July.   I am already getting sick to my stomach just thinking about that likelihood.